Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day everyone! 

Things are going great here. I got to sleep in an extra 30 mins than usual & when I came downstairs everything was nice & clean! :) I've such a wonderful husband. Then I was able to take an 1 1/2 hour nap! It's great to get caught up on

 sleep. Today we're going to spend time together as a family & just relax all day. Jonah is going away for 2 weeks starting next weekend

 for some training, so Ella & I will be flying out to TN to visit with my mom & grandma for a couple weeks. We're looking forward to our visit b/c we haven't seen them since Christmas. 

This past couple of weeks have been a lot of fun & crazy. We had Jonah's grandma D in for a couple nights & then his brother Josh & his family came in for a visit. It was great to get the 2 cousins together & just to be able to spend time together with our little families. The next couple months are going to be packed for Jonah. For those of you that don't know, Jonah will be deploying again sometime this fall. We plan to head back up to Michigan though to visit with family before he goes. We'll keep you posted on that. 

Here's a quick Ella update! She had her 9 month visit this past Wednesday: she's in the 95% for height & the 25% on weight. She's tall & slender; all I have to say is... those aren't my genes. Ha! She is crawling everywhere, eats about 3 meals a day, & walks from the couch to the ottoman. I'm pretty sure a big reason that she is so small is because of all the energy she has; which is great! She's our little energizer bunny. Also her two top teeth are coming in. Her Aunt Andrea discovered them while they were playing the upside down game one day. 

That's about it for now; I'm going to go spend some time with my hubby & little one! Lots of love!!

Ella's Baptism

We had a lot of fun visiting with family & friends up north! We made it back home safely out in So Cal. Here's some cute photos of Ella the day of her baptism. We missed those of you who weren't able to make it to this special event! A little Ella update: she's a little over 8 months old now, crawling, standing up, holding her bottle, and such a very active little girl. We were sad to leave Michigan, but it's nice to be back home together as a family. Lots of love!

The best Easter EVER!!

Hello Everyone!!

Wonderful News!! Jonah is home FINALLY!! :o) Our prayers were answered & Jonah is home safely. We were able to meet him around 3AM Saturday morning. We spent the rest of the day sleeping & admiring our little girl together. We got up early Easter morning & were able to make it to church. It was so wonderful to finally be able to attend a service together as a family. We will be heading up to Michigan April 4th-18th. We are so excited about seeing family/friends & look forward to visiting with you all. Our time together until then will be to relax around the house & just enjoy spending time together just the 3 of us. Thank you so much for all your love & support. Words could not express how happy we are to finally be together. It was a long 7 months, but we pulled through!

Wow, it's warm!

So, on our way to the airport today it was almost 80 degrees in San Diego. I'm sure my northern family/friends are lovin this news. Anyways, Dawn is here (my mother-in-law) visiting for the week & I've planned a couple fun things on our "to do" list. We're hoping to get to the zoo sometime, see the flower fields in Carlsbad, visit Balboa Park, some pre-birthday shopping (I'm turning 25 in less than 2 weeks, ewww I'm old), and just hanging out for the most part. This is great b/c I needed a little pick me up. Jonah is going to be home in 4 weeks & the anticipation is killing me.

Jonah called today & got to talk to Dawn & I for awhile. He's doing good, bored some, missing home, and just as excited about getting home as we all are for him arriving. He has been going out on some calls this week where he's been able to kind of take charge & be the control leader of the operation. He sent me a photo that was taken today of him out dismantling an IED.

Ella had her shots last week & she's doing great overall. She's such a cutie & I'm so excited about Jonah finally coming home to be with not only me, but his daughter as well. I look forward to seeing the two of them together. I know she's going to be a Daddy's girl b/c he spoils her already just like he spoils me. You're so wonderful Jonah. :O)

Jonah will be home anytime mid to late March. Please keep him in your prayers for safety & to get home to his girls safely. Here's some recent photos of the 2 loves of my life. :O)

70 Degrees Here!

I thought that all of you experiencing cold weather would love the fact that I'm rubbing in how warm it is in sunny California. Haha. Yes, we've made it safely home finally. It was a very stressful trip back home, but we recovered. My sister, Michelle, (bottom picture) came to visit Ella & I last weekend. Unfortunately, we were sick the entire time that she was here. Sorry Sis! We had fun though & she was such a big help. :O) Now that we've recuperated & gotten the house orgainzed with all of Ella's baby items, we're starting a routine & waiting for Jonah to come home. He'll be home in approximately 6 weeks from today! YAY!!

Ella is doing great. She is conquering sitting up by herself. However, she loves to be on her tummy now & is trying to crawl. I'm hoping she'll wait at least until Jonah gets home, however, she already knows how to scoot to where she wants to be, so baby proofing has already started in our household. She eats 2 solid foods a day (usually a fruit in the morning & a veggie/carb at night). She seems to enjoy all fruits, carrots, & sweet potatoes. She's not too thrilled about the green veggies. Haha. On February 7th Ella turned 6 months old. She has her well baby check up in less than 2 weeks where she'll be getting her shots again. She's finally sleeping in her own room at night which is a blessing. I was hoping that this would be accomplished before Jonah got home. She's such a Sweetie & I can't wait for her daddy to finally be home to be with her & me too of course! :O) Love you Jonah!

Please continue to keep us in your prayers, especially for Jonah. I'll keep you up to date on when he'll be arriving home. We are still planning to fly up to Michigan sometime in mid April to be able to visit with family & friends. Thanks again for all your love & support. ~EMD

I forgot to mention: Jonah & I have been married for 1 year now! It's been a crazy one that's for sure, but we truly have been blessed & we can't wait to celebrate it together asap. :O) Also, Ella has 2 teeth that have decided to come in on her bottom gums. They look like they'll grow out just a little more; I'll try & get a good photo once this happens. This might explain all the extra fussiness/drooling. Haha.