A simple request.

Hello out there. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind doing me a favor. Could you please leave a comment on this post so I can see who's reading it? You don't have to write anything clever and it doesn't need to be in complete sentences... or even in English. Just write something. Please.

Thank you :)

Lunchtime will never be the same.

This weekend, Heidi will be moving back to Minneapolis. Ella and I will be very sad. No more lunches in the Circle. No more games on Sunday. No more Heidi :-(

But what we will have is a really good excuse to visit Minnesota! We wish you safe travels and the best of luck. We'll see you soon.

Uh Oh.

This morning, Ella demonstrated her new mobility by rolling her way across the living room floor. She's been rolling around for a few months now, but has just figured out that it can help her to get around. Unfortunately, we have wood floors. I have ordered some more carpet squares to help make it a little easier on Ella - hope they get here soon! She hasn't been hurt yet, but it's only a matter of time...

Ella is also soooo close to crawling. She has figured out how to put her little butt up in the air... but only when her head is laying down. And she's good at scooting with her arms when her head is up... but only when her butt is down. If only she could put the two together. Pretty soon, nothing will be safe!

Poor Baby... An Update

Poor little Ella is having a hard time right now. She's finally fallen asleep for a nap after about 15 minutes of screaming. The problem: teething. It seems she's been teething for several months now and we don't even have one tooth to show for it all. I feel so bad for the little munchkin. She likes to bite on anything and everything she can find - my fingers, my hair, her pacifier, rattles, keys... I just hope she gets a tooth sometime soon!

At least she's happy most of the time. Though she no longer wakes up laughing, Ella does talk to herself in the morning to let us know she's awake - usually around 6:30 a.m. Then when I go to get her, she smiles and laughs and then sticks her fat little face in my neck and rubs her eyes. We go into the bathroom and look at Brady getting ready for work and she turns on the charm - so happy to see him. Sometimes he gets her in the mornings, brings her in to see me, and I have the pleasure of bringing a smile to her face... it's almost as if she's been waiting all night just to see us. And that makes me so incredibly thankful to have such a silly little girl to wake up to each morning.

Ella has been enjoying her expanded selection of foods. I'm not sure why anyone decided to call them solids, because they are anything but solid... We've been giving her carrots, peas, sweet potatoes, pears, and her favorite... apples. We're trying to keep everything organic and have found a few brands we like - Earth's Best and Happy Baby (really cool because it comes frozen in trays - like ice cubes). She's still eating cereal once a day, as well. And we've finally figured out the portions. It seems we were overfeeding her when we first went to "solids". Ella was just overly enthusiastic about her new diet and I let her have what she wanted. Now we've cut back a bit - which means less nasty diapers! Thank goodness for that!

On the floor

What a Zoo!

Ella and I had ourselves another adventure today... After a 1 1/2 hour nap (finally, yes!) and a full belly, we took the metro down to Java Green to get some yummy veggie food and met up with Heidi for lunch in the circle (Dupont Circle). Ella ate some carrots and then we were off to the Zoo. And this time, we actually made it there... though only walked through part of it. We went through the Asia Trail and then looked in the Elephant House - a pygmy hippo was out and about. That was about as far as we got before Ella started getting a bit cranky. So, we walked back to the metro and headed home.

About halfway through, Ella decided to fill her diaper... and her pants and her onesie. Lucky me! So, here are some photos of her playing once she got all cleaned up. Now she's taking a nap. So much excitement for such a little girl!

Narcissus

Until the novelty of my new camera wears off, I will be posting photos as often as possible. Last night, Ella woke up from a long nap and was incredibly crabby. The only thing that seemed to calm her down was looking at herself in the mirror... and playing in the sink. :-)

Closeups

Gadgets and Gizmos

I apologize for not writing for nearly a week... and for the delay in new Ella photos. Brady was away this weekend for the NCAA tournament in New Orleans and took the camera with him. But... today, my new camera was delivered. So exciting! I decided to get myself a really nice digital camera to use for work and play. I haven't even opened the manual and am a little unsure of all of the bells and whistles, but here are a few photos I took - just playing around this afternoon. Ella was kinda cranky, so no smiles. Enjoy!

The Mother of All Loads

I am still recovering from what has to have been the biggest Ella mess I have ever seen. It was disgusting and I am not going to spare you any details because you weren't here and there isn't any photo evidence...

It all started about an hour ago after I finished feeding Ella - milk and then a jar of pears. I set her down on her little play mat and went to the bathroom. I wasn't gone even two minutes and when I came back Ella had rolled onto her belly and was COVERED in poo. I mean covered. I'm not talking a sissy 3-month-old poo. I'm talking large. Like something out of a man. Not anything my sweet little chubby faced girl could have created. But apparently she has abilities that I was unaware of. It was on her arms, her legs, her front, her back, her hair! I pulled her from the mess and held her as far away from me as possible while carrying her up to the bathtub...

Our first stop was the bathroom sink, where I peeled her clothes off of her and gave her a quick rinse. Then she got the most thorough bath any 6-month old has ever seen. Ella is one clean girl now... and finally sleeping. I guess she was just pooped out.

After I put her down for her nap (and put EVERYTHING - including the play mat - into the washer), I discovered that this monstrous feat of infant digestion was not limited to the floor. Oh no. I must have set her on the couch before I laid her down... The evidence was clear, which means - I somehow left her there not knowing that she had already taken her man-sized poo. Luckily, the damage was limited to one pillow and the cover was washable. But boy, am I exhausted! And not at all hungry for lunch :-)

p.s. Imagine pureed sweet potatoes. Combine it with some rice cereal. And add in some strained carrots for good measure.

Out on the Town

Ella and I went for quite the stroll today. We started out taking the metro to Farragut North and walking to Java Green, where we met Heidi and ordered some tasty food (I got the Chicken Java Panini and Pink Lady Frappe). Then we hiked up to Dupont Circle, spread out a blanket and enjoyed our lunch. We were soon joined by Katie and had a grand old time. It was such a beautiful day! Ella ate some carrots and then got a little cranky, as it was nap time. Originally, I was going to take her up to the zoo... but I figured she'd sleep through it and I didn't need to see the zoo. So... I decided we'd look at some different kinds of animals - ones who can dress themselves.

It was quite a people watching experience. Every time I go downtown, I am shocked at the terrible outfits some people piece together. Sadly, the worst offenders are women. Shoulder pads are not going to make a comeback, so put them away... for good! And if you can't walk without a limp in your high heels, then maybe you ought not to be wearing them. Also, it's 70 degrees out there - a little warm for a full length fur coat, you'd think. I could go on and on. At least I was entertained. And Ella did not fall asleep. In fact, she's still awake at 4:30 pm and has been since 10:00 am. She has got to be TIRED! Poor thing.

We ended our walk at the Verizon Center (about 2 miles, I figure), under a humongous advertisement for Will Ferrell's new movie, Blades of Glory. It looks so bad that it will have to be good :-) Then we hopped on the metro back to good old Takoma Park. I am exhausted!

Back to work tomorrow.

Chillin'

Orangetastic!

I just had to write that. I really hate how you can make pseudo words just by adding -tastic or -errific. But I'm doing it anyway.

Today, Ella had her 6-month check up and everything went well. She's been struggling with a bit of a cold for the last few days, but seems to be on the mend. Her cough/whimper combination is still a bit heartbreaking. But I think she may be trying to "milk" it for all it's worth... so to speak.

Ella is now weighing in at 16 pounds and is a little over 26 inches long! Wow - she's grown 7 inches in 6 months!!!! She's still sleeping through the night, from 10 to 11 hours. It's great! (knock on wood) The next big thing is that we're going to start feeding her real (read: pureed, pasteurized, and rendered unrecognizable) food. I decided to give her a little this afternoon - just to see if she liked it. The short answer is yes, Ella loves her carrots. She just doesn't understand why they don't come in a continuous stream and would like it very much if I could find a way to feed them to her FASTER! Oh, this is gonna be fun :-)

All Dressed Up...

This weekend, we took Ella to a birthday party at our neighbors' house for their son Pablo, who is now two! It was quite the production. We sang Happy Birthday to him in SIX languages. Yes, six. Ella was a little overwhelmed with all of the little kids there, but had a good time. She wasn't too sure about it when we arrived, as very few people were speaking English... but she got over it - she doesn't speak English, either.

Here are a few pics before the party. I got her all dressed up in a new outfit from my mom. It was soooooo cute! And she didn't even poop on it! Yay!

Have a great weekend!

It's 63 degrees here and absolutely beautiful... a far cry from the 3 inches of snow we received on Sunday, and the nasty rain we had all night. Ella and I went for a really long walk up and down the hills of Takoma Park. She likes to go, go, go!

Wessley and Gretchen are coming up to visit this weekend. It's great to have them so close! I hope this finds everyone well. Have a great weekend!