The Gulledges

Catching up!

2009-01-18T17:37:00.000-08:00

One of my New Year's plans was revisit the past 4 months and actually catch up the Gulledge Blog.
I have a love/hate relationship with the Blog, but it is as close to a baby book as this mommy will ever make so I shall carry on!
When we last left the adventures of E, it was Sept 1st...pre-Hurricane Ike! Those pics will come soon, but I thought the first entry should be of her 1st Birthday party and the great pics that come with it!

And she's off...

2008-09-01T14:08:00.000-07:00

A few more random pics to finish up the rounds from August. Honestly, I did not take many pictures over the past 2 months. Ella got a stomach bug and was really puny for about 3 weeks start to finish. Nobody wants to see pictures of that. Trust me. These show the healthy version of our kiddo. It stressed Bert and I beyond belief for the bug to linger that long, but at the end of the day that is how long it takes to get out of the system. First time parents, no doubt!

Standing up!!! Very official first steps were August 25th! Takes one or two and then falls on her diaper, but she will be nonstop soon.

This is a picture that I love! Ella smiling from ear to ear, yelling with delight. August was a hard month for our family, as Ella's Uncle John died after a year-long fight with colon cancer. We took Ella to Dallas for almost a week to be with John and the rest of the Gulledge family. It was beautiful to see the smile on John's face when he saw her at the hospital. She reached out to grab his fingers and he was all grins. Ella was an amazing child that week. Strange places for her to sleep, very few naps, and many new faces. She got to meet many wonderful people along the way.
I guess that is one of the beautiful things about being a child...you become a source of happiness to so many people when things are sad, just by smiling. She sure brings a smile to her daddy and mommy every day.

Spaghetti

2008-09-01T14:05:00.000-07:00

Ella is just like her Daddy...spaghetti is her favorite dinner of all time. She may be a little messier, but she is pretty cute!

Yum!

How can I get all of this in my mouth at once???

I LOVE SPAGHETTI!!!!!

Better baby proof soon...

2008-09-01T14:03:00.000-07:00

I swear I only turned around for a second and this is what was going on. Cat food is not toxic so why not have a little fun cleaning out the pantry.

4th of July

2008-09-01T14:01:00.000-07:00

We had a 4th of July party at the house with ages ranging from my 92 year Nana to a 9 month old Ella!
Aunt Gigi and Ella

Mama Cherry feeding Ella some Cheerios

Look is standing up!

Look, Mom 1 hand!

9 Months!

2008-09-01T13:59:00.000-07:00

When we last posted, some 3 months ago, Ella had a great case of hives and big summer cold. As you can see she has recovered nicely. Our friend Becky brought Ella this cool tie-die t-shirt from San Francisco!

Aunt Gay put a bow in my baby's hair...a bow. I will admit that I wore bows every day in high school. I will also admit Ella looks pretty cute!

I found this great little picnic table at IKEA and even put it together myself. You can only imagine how helpful Ella was during the process. It will be fun to have outside when she is old enough to actually sit on it. We have visions of adding a deck in the backyard and planting a big shade tree!

Will be catching up the blog soon

2008-08-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

After reading sister Gay's blog, I realized that I had not even downloaded pictures from the camera in over a month! All is well with Ella. 10 months old, motoring all over the house and pulling up on everything she can. Be on the lookout for new pics soon.

out, out, damn spot...

2008-06-22T16:02:00.000-07:00

Ella woke up on the next to last day of vacation with a small red spot on her hand which looked like a bug bite...no big deal until we saw them all over her body. A quick call to the pediatrician's office told us to watch her and if they got worse to get her seen by a local doctor...

So, here we are at the doctors office...

Needless to say, it got way worse before it got better. At the end of the day(s), she had a reaction to the antibiotic she was on for an ear infection and then got a viral infection that resulted in hives...it looks really bad. We have the BEST doctor in the universe who even let us come to her house Friday night instead of taking her to the emergency room ( mom and dad freaked out!!!) and all was well by the end of the weekend. Ella is a trooper and was amazing while she felt so bad.

Trip to the Aquarium

2008-06-22T15:59:00.000-07:00

Bonnie graciously gave us her aquarium passes one day and we took Ella to the Monterey Aquarium. It is huge and one of the best in the country. We headed to "Splash Zone" which is an entire wing dedicated to kid-friendly activities and such.

Ella had a blast on the "wave machine" which is meant to mimic the feeling of waves for the little one's.

Daddy teaching Ella all about the fish!

You can sort of see 2 sharks ( big ones!) in the "Outer Banks" tank. There were sharks, sting rays, see turtles, all kinds of fish, and an octopus. Ella liked it for about 30 seconds and was then more interested in Bert's hat!

Big Sur

2008-06-22T15:56:00.000-07:00

We spent one morning exploring Big Sur and stopped to take a hike in Pfiffier State Park.

Ella has so excited that she fell asleep.

Top of the hike!

Ella and Daddy...

2008-06-22T15:55:00.000-07:00

Got some great pics of Ella and her daddy...

Tastes like chicken...

2008-06-22T15:54:00.000-07:00

I think it is a Toucan, but whatever it is, Ella loved it. You can begin to see the fact that she is not feeliing so great...the great spots began the next morning.

tail feathers!

Yummy in my tummy!

New toys

2008-06-22T15:52:00.000-07:00

It is always fun to go to other people's homes because everything seems so new!
Ella played with blocks!

She loved Jaden's giant Panda bear

Nothing better than a globe and a shark!

Trip to Carmel

2008-06-22T15:50:00.000-07:00

We took Ella to Carmel, CA to see Bonnie and have a week of vacation. She did great on the plane and we had a ton of fun. The weather was cool in the evenings so we bundled up to go out!

We spent Father's Day at Kim and Mark's ( Bonnie's parents) and had a great brunch. Ella played with Jaden, Molly, and Will. I think she has a crush on Will!

Ella and Kim...everybody loves Nana!!!

Work with Mommy

2008-06-22T15:47:00.000-07:00

I took Ella to work with me for 2 days when the sitter was off. We had a blast and she LOVES Tammer!

Working hard on the computer!

A little light reading...have to keep up to date in the recovery world!

Happy, happy girl when Uncle Tammer is around!

Eight months...and crawling

2008-06-04T17:23:00.000-07:00

Ella is sitting up, crawling, clapping, and laughing all of the time!

And there she goes...

"Fish Store"

2008-06-04T17:15:00.000-07:00

Bert has been wanting to check out the new Bass Pro Shop in Pearland, so last Sunday we called over to the Stricklin's to see if Sam wanted to go with us. He was super excited to go to the "Fish Store". I have never been, nor really had any desire to go, to a store dedicated to fishing and boating...but let me tell you, it was unreal. It is as big as 2 SAMS Clubs put together.

I'm fairly certain that Sam got in every boat possible.

Captain Sam Stricklin

A little kayak action...

After 2 hours, Ella was ready to go ( much to Sam's dismay). On the way out, we bought Sam a hot dog and sat down. He looked at me and said "do you remember when we were inside and you said that when we leave the inside that we could get on all the boats that were on the outside?" We left an hour later.

Fun with Denny

2008-06-04T17:03:00.000-07:00

These pictures speak for themselves...

Seven Months

2008-06-04T16:50:00.000-07:00

Ella is growing like crazy and developing her own personality at the same time! Here are a few pictures of the last month!

Look who can sit up!!!!!!!!!

Bert's Birthday

2008-06-04T16:48:00.000-07:00

Bert's Birthday fell on the same day as the Houston Crit race, so he got the joy of working all day!
Ella woke up at her typical time ( 4:45am) and we had made a cake for her Daddy, gone to the store and had a nap by 8:00am! We then headed Downtown to spend some time with Bert...

Ella got into the action and "helped" her Dad all morning. Her main job was to inspect his sunglasses to make sure that they were sturdy. They were.

Ella's Godparents, Jerry and Debbie, came to watch the race and brought Splash, their very large lab!

Ella and Debbie

FINALLY!!!

2008-05-02T17:13:00.000-07:00

My dearest friend in the universe, Bonnie, is now "officially" Ella's Godmother! They finally got to meet in person that weekend and it was love at first sight!

Bonnie brought Abby a present for her birthday...some fancy Hannah Montana purse thingy. Looks like a lot of work. Abby adored it!

This is my Godson and Bonnie's son, Jaden. We had a great time together and we played with Abby, Sam, Francie, and Amelia over the weekend. He loves movies and brought a few with him for all of us to watch together. He and Bert watched "Sharktales" twice!

Ella and GrandDad

2008-05-02T17:11:00.000-07:00

GrandDad came over after the Baptism had some time with his girl.

After a bottle, they played and played and played

Ella's Baptism

2008-05-02T17:10:00.000-07:00

Ella was baptised in April at Palmer Church. Here are a few pictures!

This is one of my work friends, Tammer. I work at a very small, recovery-based High School called Archway Academy. With only 4 staff members, our daily lives are very busy trying to help these teens get their diplomas in a sober environment. I am very blessed that my co-workers have become my dear friends and consider all of them family. Tammer, Becky, and Linda all came to witness Ella's baptism!

How neat is it for Ella that the Denny performed the service.

The Bear Snores On

2008-05-02T17:08:00.000-07:00

Ella is totally engrossed is reading books these days. Aunt Lois and Aunt Gigi have made sure that book accompanies ( Mommy says THANK YOU!!!) every gift occasion so we have all kinds of new books to read!

Her current favorites are The Bear Snores On, Jamberry, and Barnyard Dance

Several years ago, my brother and his family moved to Prauge and gave Bert and I a trailer for the back of the bike. I think we won the award for most baby things in the garage without actually having a baby. Anyway, we took Ella out a few weeks ago and she LOVED it!

Random

2008-05-02T17:05:00.000-07:00

I have not had too much time to post lately, so the first few will be a few random pictures taken over the past month.

Denny had a sudden trip to Houston for work and came out to see Ella.

Uncle Don gave Ella a "KISS" outfit that Bert loves.

Spring Softball

2008-05-02T17:02:00.000-07:00

Ella and I have had a great time this Spring watching cousin Abby's softball games. Bert usually rides Saturday mornings, so it gives us a chance to watch the Lady Ags.

Ella and Aunt Shawn...Ella is overwhelmed with excitement

Sam after a blue candy "ring"

It takes a lot of energy to be a baby girl.

6 months!

2008-04-06T08:39:00.000-07:00

6 months old! Ella just had her 6 month check up and is in super shape! Dr. Julie kept saying how "strong" she is ( Daddy is very proud). The small heart murmer that she was born with is barely detectable and the tiny hole in her heart should close on it's own over the coming months. She weighed in at a whopping 14 lbs and 12 oz...in the 25% range for her age. She has now has 2 teeth and is free to eat "real" food, although babyfood is not really the good stuff. So far, sweet potatoes are NOT on the A list, but peas are hanging tough. Oatmeal still wins the race.
A few pics from the past few weeks...

"Babysitting Sam"

2008-04-06T05:23:00.000-07:00

Our neice, Abigail, has had a very busy spring playing softball...lots of pratices and games (she knocked an in the park homer in one game!!!). Sam usually goes along to all the games and such, but every once in a while he gets to come hang out with us. My mom ("Denny") was here a few weeks ago and we all took the opportunity to "babysit" Sam. We did all the normal activities like...
play at the park...

play with hotwheels and hummers...

We did all the responsible things like putting on coats before we went outside, look both ways before we cross the street, etc, etc...and then...

We turned him over to Uncle Bert...

Ella and Maggie

2008-03-27T17:21:00.000-07:00

Maggie likes milk...Ella likes Maggie.

Easter Sunday

2008-03-27T17:20:00.000-07:00

Trinity Church was overflowing on Easter Sunday and Ella loved every minute...she was even part of the recessional, as Denny traded me her prayer book for the baby and carried out of the church.

The best part of Easter for Mom was looking across the room and seeing Uncle Craig standing there...he was in the USA for business and drove out for church. Pretty neat to see he and Ella meet for the first time.

Ella liked greeting all the folks with the Denny

Easter Hill Country Ride

2008-03-27T17:18:00.000-07:00

Bert and I have been going to Kerrville for the Easter Hill Country Ride for years and this year was Ella's turn. It is a great weekend of bike riding in the Texas Hill Country and we love the people that go and the good places to eat. The weather was perfect this year and we had a great time introducing Ella to all of the bike buddies.

Ella and her new friend Tracie

Kelley and Ella...Ella fell in love with Kelley at first site

Ella and I took off for the Denny's house on Friday while Bert stayed to ride another six thousand miles...Ella is getting her first driving lesson from Denny.

A new addition to the circuit

2008-03-27T17:16:00.000-07:00

Ella has a "circuit" of contraptions that all entertain her for about 20 minutes....the swing, the hong-kong phuey chair ( see older posts) and the exersaucer. It was time to add a new thing to the rotation...a high chair

She really thinks that it is fun...

Maybe she is happy because it means cereal when she goes in it!

St. Patrick's Day

2008-03-27T17:12:00.000-07:00

Our little leprechaun...

Although the annual shin-dig at The O'Stricklin's was not the official annual shin-dig, a few folks showed up to enjoy the weather and hang out together. Ella had a great time on the blanket and was really into the grass.

Almost as good as Valentine's Cards

2008-03-07T17:31:00.000-08:00

I brought home a present that our sweet friend Betty sent for Ella...she had a great time "opening" the gift...

Nearly as tasty as the Valentine's cards...can't wait to see what she does with an Easter basket.

Cereal

2008-03-07T17:29:00.000-08:00

Ella has now graduated to cereal...the first time I gave it to her she broke into a huge grin and gave me a look like "finally..."

Elefants and a visit from Denny

2008-03-07T17:28:00.000-08:00

A few pictures of Ella in her new elefant shirt...mom picked it out on mom loves it!

The Denny came for a quick visit and we took Ella and Sam to the park. While Sam and I buried a Hummer in the rocks, Denny took the time to teach Ella about pebbles...

One of my favorite pictures from my childhood is one of my Nana holding me at a playground...this one reminds me of that picture.

Valentine's Day

2008-02-17T05:46:00.000-08:00

Ella won the prize at the mailbox today! 5 cards awaited her for her first Valentine's Day...

She found them all very tasty...

Bert and I gave her a big red balloon which she loves, but the cards were a bigger hit

"I want to eat you..."

Sleeping beauty...

2008-02-16T18:22:00.000-08:00

These pictures speak for themselves...

The running crew

2008-02-16T18:21:00.000-08:00

I took Ella in to town last Saturday to have breakfast with all of the running crew friends. I've been lucky enough to know these incredible people for several years and it was great to finally introduce them to Ella.
Joanne and Ella

Abby and Ella

Susan is holding Ella while Helen tries to entertain...Debbie is waiting for her turn to hold her.

Ella and Emilie...I met Emily when she was is high school and promptly nicknamed her "Baby E". Emily is all grown up ( a recent Penn State grad!!!) now and we have our own Baby E...

February, frogs, and the flu...

2008-02-10T17:42:00.000-08:00

Ella has taken a liking to a small stuffed frog that Bert and I have dubbed "Mr. Frog". She sleeps with him, chews on him, and thinks he is epic. I may have gone a little overboard after I realized how much she likes frogs...

In my humble opinion, there should be an 11th commandment...
"Little children shalt not get the flu". Ella came down with the full-blown version a few weeks ago and we learned a very sad lesson in that you can't give a 3 month old a thing to cure it...just tylenol and a lot of love. After five long days and nights she started to get her A game back, for which her parents were very grateful. She is a tough little girl and as beautiful as ever, even with the flu...

When everyone started to feel better (Bert came down with the flu in the middle of Ella's illness) we went and bought an exersaucer for Ella...she really loves it!

3 and a 1/2 months

2008-01-20T09:15:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe that Ella is almost four months...she is laughing outloud, rolling over, and bringing unbelievable joy to her parents everyday.

Hong-Kong Phuey Chair

2008-01-20T09:11:00.000-08:00

Ella loves the bouncer-rocker chair that we have re-named the "Hong Kong Phoey" chair as she uses her incredible Ninja-like moves to deck the pig, cow, and sheep that dangle down. She has a mean right and knocked the sheep clear across the living room. This is the morning ritual as we get ready for work.

I'm still a little sleepy....

Look at me!

Watch out Mr. Sheep...you are next.

Ella and the animals

2008-01-20T09:08:00.000-08:00

Ella has finally discovered her animals...not the kitties, but her fine collection of stuffed ones. She seems to favor things from the water...ocean or pond, it does not matter. This is the octopus...

The otter and the frog...

The frog...she prefers to shove them in her mouth all of the time...could it be that teeth are coming soon?

She was not as amused as mom was with the octupus on the head!

Tummy time, Part 2

2008-01-20T09:05:00.000-08:00

What a difference a month makes...the last post about the dreaded tummy-time was pretty emotional for the little one, although this proud mama is pleased to report that she flipped over the first time we did the exercise. As you can see below, Ella is much better and happier this time around!

Not a full-blown grin, but tolerable.

Almost a smile, she is pretty strong at 3 months.

Are we done yet????

This one is for you, Bonnie

2008-01-01T16:42:00.000-08:00

My friend Bonnie, born and raised in Texas, moved to Carmel, California almost ten years ago. To remind her how things are done her in TX, I toured the neighborhood in search of the best Pearland has to offer in the way of Christmas yard decor...these were the winners...

The nativity scene(complete with Star of David)...if you look to your right Santa Claus is looking on to make sure everything is ok. Although it could be a Wise Man trying to be funny.

No sleighs and reindeers in TX, all you need is a John Deere tractor and a cow!

Love this one...a very ornate cactus

My personal favorite. Santa complete with his red cowboy hat.
And yes, his gun.

The cousins...

2007-12-29T18:09:00.000-08:00

Ella is really getting to spend time with the cousins and we are trying to fill a wall in her room with pictures of all of them together. We may have to get creative in that when it comes to the Normand kiddos! No trips to Prauge this year! We show her pictures and talk about Martha, Jennings, and Grayson all of the time!
Love this picture of Francie, Amelia, Ella and all of the bunnies!!!!

Sam and Ella...there is much love between them!

Abby, Sam, and Ella

Abigail and Ella

Christmas morning

2007-12-29T18:05:00.000-08:00

We woke Ella up at 6:15 to head over to the Stricklin's to watch Sam and Abby open their presents. We did this last year and had a blast. Later in the morning Granddad made pancakes and then everyone went for a nap!

Sam is introducing Ella to Spiderman in this one...

...and Darth Vader in this one!

Abby got a cool robe, and horse named Emily and tickets to Hannah Montana! Bert made me promise that I would be the one in charge of things like that, unless it was a Metallica reunion tour.

Christmas Eve, part 2

2007-12-29T18:01:00.000-08:00

So these are the obligatory family shots...we really did not have any and they turned out fairly well.

Daddy and Ella

Mommy and Ella

My personal favorite that has a new space in my office. The vote is in and all agree that Ella looks more like her Daddy than Mom...ok by Mom as they are both really cute!

Christmas Eve, part 1

2007-12-29T17:59:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas Eve with the entire Gulledge and Williams clan. We had a great time and Ella had fun plaing with Francie and Amelia! We took a ton of family shots for the first Christmas memories!

Aunt Gay and Ella

Mama Cherry and her youngest granddaughter!

Aunt Doris and Uncle Rick with Ella. Doris got gyped over Thanksgiving as she was sick and did not get to meet her neice! They spent alot of time together on Christmas Eve!

Aunt Gay and Uncle Don's

2007-12-29T17:55:00.000-08:00

Ella's first Christmas was very full of things to do...she never made it out of her pj's for the trip to Gay and Don's for tamales and such with Grandad.

Wow!

Aunt Gay and Ella hanging out.

I don't think Ella ever left Aunt Gay's lap during the evening...

Maggie and Ella

2007-12-29T17:51:00.000-08:00

Maggie recently got her annual buzz cut, which results in a very cold kitty. She has taken to being close to any human possible and decided a nap with Ella was a good idea.

Bert got a big kick out of this!

Tummy Time...

2007-12-13T16:56:00.000-08:00

I....

really....

hate...

tummy time!!!

2 months!!!

2007-12-13T06:45:00.000-08:00

Check out the grin at 2 months!!!

Sam and Uncle Bert in an indepth discussion about something. If you look closely you can see the milk mustache on Sam's lip.

Yea! It's almost Christmas!!!

Trip to Nana's

2007-12-13T06:41:00.000-08:00

Mom was in town a few weeks ago and we took Ella to meet her great-grandmother. Ella is Nana's 18th great-grandchild and it was a very special day to have the 4 generations gathered together for the first time.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-26T04:59:00.000-08:00

We all went to Dallas for Thanksgiving this year and spent a few days at Montgomery Farm. We had a great time getting to know the Williams family and Ella finally got to meet Mama Cherry, Uncle John, and Uncle Rick!!!

Ella and Mama Cherry meeting for the first time!

Amelia and Aunt Lois making the dressing!

Ella and Dad watching the game after a long holiday weekend.

A trip to the Hill Country

2007-11-25T17:12:00.000-08:00

Ella and I went to the Hill Country to see Denny and she was introduced to the parish of Trinity Episcopal Church, met the Bishop of Texas, and was a participant in the recessional!

Hanging out in Denny's office.

Lounging at the lake house...

Meeting Dr. Jane...

A visit from Grandad!

2007-11-25T17:08:00.000-08:00

GrandDad came down for a visit the weekend before Thanksgiving to see his newest grandchild. They had a ball together and we spent alot of time with the Stricklin's as well. Everybody had a great weekend and we loved the visit!

Gay caught this one while we were totally engrossed with Ella

Sam loves his new cousin and has tons of great advice for her. He told her the other day that she should not eat any of his hot wheels cars because they would make her tummy hurt.

A day in the life of Ella...

2007-11-15T05:48:00.001-08:00

Watch a little TV...

Tiger being my favorite (second only to the "Today Show"

Stretch a little...

Do a quick spin workout with Dad...

Night, Night!

Check out the grin!!!

2007-11-05T06:23:00.000-08:00

First smile...November 2nd
She smiled at me a few times before this, but her is the actual proof!

One Month Old

2007-11-05T06:21:00.000-08:00

Ella is officially a month old! Below is her wearing her new Sunday "Game Day" outfit to support Mom's fantasy football team!

Amelia, Ella's cousin, LOVES bunnies and brought this to Ella

Halloween Part 1

2007-10-31T14:28:00.000-07:00

A few pics from Halloween!

I don't think she thought the pumpkin was as funny as I did...

Little Girl and Daddy

2007-10-26T06:07:00.000-07:00

Ella has fallen in love with her Daddy and Bert is quite smitten with his little girl as well!
He has taken to fatherhood like a champ and can calm her down in 5 seconds flat!

She did not really like the hat that Aunt Gay is putting on...it made her pretty mad.

The 2 Aunt Gays

2007-10-23T13:25:00.000-07:00

Not every little girl is lucky enough to have 2 Aunt Gay's!
Hence her middle name...

Aunt Gay Stricklin

Aunt Gay Gulledge

Ella meets the Family

2007-10-23T13:19:00.000-07:00

Uncle Don

Denny

GrandDad

Aunt Gay

Weeks 1 and 2

2007-10-19T18:22:00.000-07:00

First tub bath...

this should be a video...try hitting the "movie" icon

Meeting the cousins!

2007-10-18T12:44:00.000-07:00

Sam gives Ella a welcome home kiss and introduces her to "Bear-Bear"

Abigail holding Ella for the first time!

We have a new nephew...Buzz Lightyear!

Aunt Lois, Francie, and Amelia came to visit Ella last Sunday. They brought dinner, a frog shirt from The Museum of Natural Science (both girls love to see the reptiles and such!) and a bear blanket. The flash on the camera was not working well, so we will have to get more pictures soon!

Welcome Home

2007-10-11T16:27:00.000-07:00

Maggie checks out the newest addition...

Aunt Gay was here to welcome Ella home

Remember the scene from ET?

Welcome to the World!

2007-10-11T15:40:00.000-07:00

Ella Gay Gulledge
October 3, 2007
12:34 a.m.
7 lbs 11 oz
20 inches
(hair included)