My little girl is still little.

I'm getting a few complaints that my posts are not as frequent as they once were. Things are just a bit busy around here. But I assure that Ella is still little and still very cute. For more updates, keep reading.

Last week, we met with our realtor and have decided to put our house up on the market in March. We'll be heading to the West coast in June/July. So... in the meantime, I need to get this house CLEAN so potential buyers won't notice the complete lack of storage in this place. Or that not all of the walls are square. But if that's the worst of it, I guess it's not so bad. We also need to find a place west of Seattle. Like now. But we don't have time to fly out there to check it out just yet. We're stuck looking at online listings, oohing and aahing at the prospect of buying a house 2-3 times larger than the one we're in (with a yard!) for only half the cost. Yay! The plan is to get out there sometime in the next few months to look in person, but it is dependent on Brady's work schedule (work, schmirk). Long story short: yes, we're still moving. When? Sometime this summer.

Also in the last week—Ella started using the toilet as it was intended. That's right, two craps in the latrine. Woohoo!!! She's pretty predictable in the morning, so I've started putting her on it. Seems to be working. I refuse (REFUSE!) to buy one of those portable potties. I am not cleaning that up. I may as well have her going on the floor... That's what I'm saying now—we'll see what really happens. I just find the idea of it absolutely appalling. So I got a mini toilet seat to put on the not-so-mini toilet seat—that seems to fit her just right!

Ella is also using more words—blue, moo, rawr, choo choo, yellow, red, ouch, Ella, etc.—but seems to like to say "mama" whenever she wants something... no matter who she is talking to. It was cute at first, but is getting a little annoying. Sometimes she says please, which now sounds like "meeeee" and that gets her just about anything she wants 'cause it's so cute. :-)

Want more photos? They're right here >

National Building Museum

Birthday pic!

Who looks the most excited? That would be me...

Pushing Buttons

Ok, so I'm walking outside of the gym today... and a woman from class (Sports Circuit on Tuesdays—woohoo!) is about to cross the road. She stops and says, "Oh. I didn't know you had children." To which I respond, "Yep. Just this one." And she replies, "You just don't look like the kid type." Me: "I guess I am now!"

What does that mean???????????? And how does one respond to such a comment? You don't look like the kid type... Here's a hint, lady: next time use some tact and either come up with something less ambiguous/offensive or keep your mouth shut! Just my two cents :-)

Turning 29... for the first time.

That's right folks, today is the big day—my first 29th birthday. Hard to believe that I'm this old ... and that I'll be turning 29 for many years to come. My day started at 3:30 this morning. Ella woke up as if the sun had already risen and she was missing out on breakfast. She was talking to be heard (LOUDLY!), so I went in her room and said, "Ella, don't you know it's the middle of the night?" To which she replied, "Ohhhhh." She didn't sleep all that much after that. I can tell you that missing out on sleep makes me feel really old. I had a pretty good day, considering...

I was treated to lunch at Adega Wine Cellars by Mara and Audrey (the most lovely 3-year-old you'll ever meet!). They have great eggplant fries. Sounds weird, but trust me, they are GOOOOD! Afterwards, I rushed home to take Brady to physical therapy. He is doing well, but physical therapy seems to be painful at this stage... maybe he just needs to take it easy (hint, hint Brady). Afterwards, Josh came over to watch Ella while we went to a quiet dinner at Nicaro in Silver Spring. Very good. Then, back home to eat some cake (yes, I did make my own birthday cake) next door with the Foleys. The kids had a good time blowing out the candles... and dipping their fingers in the frosting. It turned out to be a lovely day!

Thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes! I'm always amazed that people remember... :-) Hope you all have a great night!

Thanks Grandpa Steve!

We just got a package in the mail from my dad... a beautiful handmade pull-toy. So very, very cool! Thanks Grandpa!

A week after surgery...

Well, it's been a week since Brady's surgery and he seems to be doing well. We started physical therapy last week. After Friday's grueling session (it looked painful to me, anyway... especially the electrical stimulation therapy—yikes!), Brady's leg/knee started hurting him BADLY. And it became rather swollen again. So, after calling the ER and then an orthopedic surgeon, we determined that he should give his leg a rest... so no exercises over the weekend. The pain is under control now and the swelling seems to be going down. We'll be going back to PT later today (and he'll be going 3 days/week for quite some time)... hopefully they don't work him so hard this time :-)

Here's a little clip of Ella reading with her Daddy from this morning :-)

A haircut!

Well, kind of. Ella was getting sick of having hair in her eyes... so I cut her bangs. Ella has bangs! Way cute :-)

Those legs look warm