18 Months and Mostly Loving It

Ella turned 1 1/2 this weekend, and in typical Gutt style, we did it up big.

To celebrate, we had a parade. Or perhaps, there was a parade at the end of our street for Manitou Days. Either way, it was a good time. However, the 20% chance of rain apparently meant that there would be rain in White Bear. Near the end of the parade, it skies opened up and we had a nice dousing. But, it didn't last too long and we had a double rainbow over the lake to enjoy!

Ella loved the parade, especially the firetrucks and the bands - the two things we weren't sure she'd like.

Jack watched with us and also had a great time! Especially seeing his Daddy driving a firetruck!

Taking shelter under the neighbor's tree. Nana and Papa came over to watch Ella so we could go to the beach dance.

Double rainbow!

On Saturday, the Twins played a celebratory game for Ella. Or, it could be that we had tickets for the Twins game. I wasn't sure we were going to make it throughout the game. Last year, Ella loved baseball! This year, her first game started out rough. For the first three innings, any time there was cheering, Ella erupted into tears. And of course, there were a few home runs during the first three innings. Luckily, they weren't her barf tears - though, I was worried about that too! I started talking her through the game and she watched players bat and run. Eventually, she just started clapping when everyone else did. *whew* dodged that one!

Chewy saved the day!

It was cowboy hat day - Ella did not like the hats and kept removing them from Chelsey and Grandma's head.

Apparently, the eighth inning was nap time, but otherwise, we all ended the game in good spirits, even though the Twins weren't able to pull of a win - so close. So very close. Ella even stayed awake during the car ride home - keeping herself occupied by pulling every goldfish cracker from her cup and strategically placing them in her lap.

After the nap, ready to party!

Rally cap time

Chelsey couldn't get her hat into rally-cap form.

By Sunday, Ella's head was getting a bit big from all of the Ella-themed celebration. So, we decided to change the focus to Father's Day. I made Loran overnight french toast. We enjoyed a leisurely morning - complete with a gift for Loran!

After nap time, we went to Como Zoo. We had a nice time, despite getting rained on.

Ella was in toddler-mode, full force and didn't want her picture taken, at all.

After the zoo, we went to Loran's favorite restaurant/bar - Old Chicago. We only got an appetizer because Ella was ready to climb the walls.

Once home, Ella put on her personality. She had to wear her Twins headband - which was hilarious!

So, our weekend was quite busy, but quite fun! We had a great time celebrating Ella and Daddy. Maybe too much fun because as of this morning, Ella is being a bear. So much so, she earned herself an extra morning nap! And, she actually fell asleep for almost two hours. That was good because I was able to finish putting up the fence around the garden, pick some lettuce and relax a bit. But, now she's up and ready for lunch - then we're off to the grocery store. It never slows down around here! Maybe we'll even get a second nap in before swimming. Hey, a girl can dream.