Happy Thanksgiving!

Sure, she looks cute and innocent in those pigtails, but.......

....Meet Ella, the great yogurt bandit!

Beware, she will grab your grocery bag out of your hand to get to her beloved yogurt and then leave a trail of gooey destruction all over your house!

We spent our Thanksgiving surrounded by close friends, one of which was a 26 pound Sicilian turkey who we referred to as "Giuseppe Grasso" (Fat Joe)! Yes, we decided to pass on the ol' Butterball brand this year and instead supported our local poultry farmers, and it tasted buono!

Long time coming.....

Look at how big this girl is becoming! I'm trying to put more pics on our Dropshots page, but we'll see if the computer will cooperate. Check it out just in case it works! I believe the site is www.dropshots.com/ajaandre. Ciao!

Well, it's already Halloween! Hard to believe! As you can see, Ella dressed up as Genevieve the Giraffe (ala Aja's old dance costume) for the Autumn Fest held at our base last weekend. Phil and I attended a costume party where we proceeded to win the "Best Couple" prize as the devil and a Mormon! No offense, we just think Mormons are funny!

Ella is One Year Old!

It's official; I'm one year old now! All hail to the Birthday Girl.

I loved all of my presents. I am now a one girl band!

I also loved all of my party guests, especially Ellis.

I don't know if she feels the same about me though!

Thank you to all of my party guests!

How sweet it is to be one year old and allowed to have cake at last! I love birthdays!

Hanging out with my cousin Cooper on the farm in Michigan

Buon giorno from Napoli!

Ella in the baby pool in Naples. She is quite the water lover and likes to walk around the pool in her lily pad floatie.

Is that Ella or a gondolier?

License to Drive--watch out for the duckmobile!

Ella is 11 Months Old!

Ciao! I'm 11 months old!!! I now have 8 teeth, still detest sitting still for anything, love to eat pickles, say "nana" for mama and "dada" for daddy, and prefer to crawl (walking's overrated anyway!).

















I really like to push and pull things like chairs, doors, and stolls.

















Hello there! What's for dinner?

Chunky Monkey

Okay, so she wouldn't make a great monkey, but she's cute, isn't she?

Happy Birthday, Nonni!

It's my Nonni Linda's BIG birthday today! If you see her, wish her a great one!

I love and miss you, Nonni!

Memorial Day Weekend in Scoglitti

Last weekend we headed south to the beach town of Scoglitti with our friends, the McKowns, for some much needed R&R. At this time of year the beaches are not crowded at all, so we pretty much had the area to ourselves.

It was a bit windy, but Ella still loved going to the beach! She got to sample sand for the first time!

Ella and Phil at our secret beach.

Flowers in her hair.....music everywhere!

Checking out nature in our front yard. She likes to eat the grass!

Ella's favorite new toy--a chocolate soy milk box!

Ella Louise is 10 Months Old!

I'm a big girl now! As you can see in my picture, I now stand up all the time, but only while leaning against something sturdy. I am a master crawler on my hands and knees and I especially like to test my Mama's attention by making a beeline for the stairs! I have six teeth, still only two on the bottom, but all four front teeth on the top. I can clap my hands together and wave hello or goodbye. I also love to point at everything, especially all of the artwork on our walls at home. I really love my Auntie Monique's painting entitled "Poppy Fields", probably because I see a lot of wild poppies outside right now. My Mama and Daddy think they have a budding scientist on their hands because I love nature, especially putting flower heads and leaves in my mouth! That's all for now...until next time! Ciao!

This is how I slide back down so I don't hurt myself.

Check out this chair I received from my Moma and Grandpa Andre for my 1st birthday! I know, my birthday is still two months away, but I'm not complaining!

They finally gave me a chair that's just my size!

Little Miss Independent

Rise and shine, Ella!

Time to get up and start the day!

Okay, I'm off to see the world in my new backpack! Peace out, Mama and Daddy!

Well, maybe I'll just hang out with Mama and Daddy a little longer:)