A fun mess!

I know some of my fondest memories of childhood are of being messy. Covered in mud or shaving cream or dirt. So -- the other day when Ella showed interest in her food -- I let her have it. We had a blast fingerpainting everything with baby food. We laughed and laughed!! She's a trip.

Crawling!

Our little pumpkin pie is crawling!! Of course she chose to share this major milestone with Daddy. I was at work on Saturday when she took her first wobbly paces on all fours. She also fed herself and pulled up on the coffee table on Saturday -- it was a big day for our little lady. We're proud of her!! And, as Matt just added over my shoulder, crapping ourselves because now we have to hurry and child-proof the house...and hide the Lladro piece we got as a wedding gift.
Babci will be happy to know we started getting things ready tonight by lowering the crib. Ahh--that feels so much better on my c-section scar!! Much like it does when Ella digs her big little feet (see just a swingin' post) into it.

Music Baby

Of course all mothers believe their children are gifted but I think Miss Ella may someday be musically inclined. There are plenty of amateur musicians in the family and she just may have gotten all the right genes! At any rate -- Matt got his guitar out the other day and started teaching Ella how to strum. She LOVED it. We also played Grandpop's harmonica for her and she grinned from ear to ear. I keep it around now and play it (very poorly) whenever she's cranky. My music baby!!

Eight months old!

Our little princess is eight months old! We went to mass, had a nice lunch on our patio and then mommy went to work. Nothing special. But we did take a moment to marvel at our precious and beautiful child and recognize just how much she's grown and what joy she has brought to our lives.

Finger foods! Not so much.

On Saturday we tried something new...finger foods. We gave her some cherrios -- or oat rings as one of our baby books calls them. She did a pretty good job grasping them but they never quite made it to her mouth. It's a learning process so we'll try again later. She did seem entertained by the whole experience so hopefully she'll pick it up in stride. We were amused by watching her tedious efforts to pick up the cereal and then bring it carefully to her mouth and then drop it just centimeters from her lips. It takes so little these days.

Just a swingin'!

On Friday we spent a fun "family day" together. We went out for lunch at Rockin Robin's at our local mall, The South Bay Galleria. Rockin Robin's has delicious hamburgers -- or as our friend Ted Walters would call them -- fat bombs. Ella was an absolute angel. And since she was in such a good mood we strolled around the mall a bit. We stopped in Gymboree just to measure Ella's shoe size since she's had quite a growth spurt lately. The kid, only eight months old, wears a size 4. I inadvertently put the sales lady in an awkward position when I gasped and asked, "Is that big for an eight month old?" She smiled and looked away and said, "Well -- it's on the big side." Just for the record, I wear a 7 1/2 so she does not get that from me!!
Anyway - one benjamin franklin later we exited the store with a few new outfits for our growing little button and Daddy bought her some adorable pink boots! We'll have to take pictures soon.

After Ella's afternoon nap we strolled to the park for her favorite new activity -- swinging. She loves swinging and looking up at the trees and giggling at the other kids. It was a really nice day!

Figuring out the fishies

As Miss Ella's afternoon nap was coming to a close -- just before 3 p.m. I heard her start talking to her animal friends like she always does when she wakes up happy. I usually let her chat for about ten minutes before I go in and pick her up. This gives me time to prepare whatever snack or meal she's supposed to have. Today -- along with the quiet baby chatter I heard music. But her fish "aquarium" http://store.babycenter.com/product/toys/toys_06months/7595 times out in 10 minutes and the whale sounds on her sleepsheep http://cloudb.stores.yahoo.net/ongo1.html lasts only about 20 minutes. She had taken an hour and a half nap. So I cracked the door and peaked inside. She was up on all fours and watching the fish swim and listening to the music. My guess is -- after watching us hit the little "seashell" that makes the fishies swim and the music play so many times -- she figured it out and punched up the little display for herself. By the time I got the camera the song was over and she was on to other fun things in her crib.

Sweet little friends

Earlier this week Miss Ella visited with her first little "friend", Ryann Davis. Ryann lives next door with her Mommy and Great-grandmother. They are just about two weeks apart and enjoy looking at each other, giggling and talking that sweet little language that only they understand! Aren't they cute?

No Slippers!

While out for a quick morning stroll to the nearby grocery store -- Ella wore her bedroom slippers. She got lots of compliments on them while she and Daddy made their way through the aisles. But since she doesn't like wearing shoes of any sort -- she got rid of them pretty quickly when they returned. See the slipper that has been discarded in the bush? She did that all on her own. She's a funny kid!

Saturday with Daddy

I returned home from work yesterday to find a very happy Ella and a very happy, however tired, Matt. They were playing on the bed and just killing time before her bedtime.

Ella spent most of the day playing, with daddy and on her own, quite nicely. She's sitting up on her own now but we keep one of the big stuffed animals behind her just in case she falls back. A bump on the head, however minor, can initiate a major meltdown -- understandably of course. in the picture she's wearing a new pair of pajamas -- 9 months!! She's growing up too fast. They're a smidge too big but her foot fits perfectly!! Like my Dad always said -- it takes more foundation to build a sky scraper than it does an outhouse.

Saturday afternoon Matt and Ella ventured into the front yard where Matt put out a big blanket for them to sit on. Ella is creeping all over the place (she's going to crawl very soon) now and quickly made her way to the edge of the blanket where she re-discovered the wonderful world of grass. She enjoys pulling the blades -- which is fun until she tries the same thing with Daddy's hair! Ouch!!

It took a while for her to wind down last night but once she entered the land of nod she had a pretty good night's sleep.

Where's the B. Dalton?

After Ella's morning nap we ventured out to the mall. I just finished reading a few books and needed to purchase some new reading material. Any suggestions?

At any rate -- when we got there I discovered the B. Dalton is MIA. I swear Matt and I just went shopping there -- however that actually could have been before Christmas for all I know. So instead of looking for new books we strolled the mall and went to the Disney store. Ella was quite fond of the Cinderella Doll, the plush one. I figure Santa or the Birthday Fairy might bring it to her.

Then -- on the way down the elevator -- which she loved because she's her father's daughter -- we met a nice lady and a man who at first appeared to be a boyfriend. Here's where I begin to worry about just who Ella will meet in the world and how she might avoid the wack jobs. The lady is talking to Ella and going on and on about how cute she is and what beautiful blue eyes she has. I'm beaming of course and Ella is doing her part -- smiling and looking adorable. Then the lady turns to the man and says, "Oh, I want one. And just the other day I thought I was going to have one but then I got my period." I quickly turned away not knowing what to say. The man looked appauld and almost choked on the soda he was slurping. In the elevator she continued about how she wondered how she would have supported the baby and how her mom would have to help. Then she explained that she had told her mother she was two months late and now her mother is suspicious and and believes she had an abortion -- which -- she is strongly against. Wow -- who talks openly about that stuff to a complete stranger in the elevator. I'm trying to make myself believe it was just one of those Sociology 101 assignments that instruct you to go into an elevator and face the back or start talking about something -- because no one talks in elevators. Hello? But most likely -- that lady is just one of the local crazies. And if she is free to roam the streets -- what the hell are they keeping in California mental hospitals?

When Ella's older I'll teach her to take the stairs.

Later today we had a very nice bicycle ride around the neighborhood. Ella loves riding on the bike! Now we're waiting for Daddy to get home.

A Quiet Day

Today has been a quiet day. As many of you know ~ today marks one year since my Dad passed away. It has been heavy on my heart and on my mind but Ella kept me busy and that helped. We had a good day. She took a couple of long naps and was in a really good mood for the most part.

I spent most of the day trying to get the house back in order. Ella watched as I did laundry and put things away from Babci and Granddad's visit. This evening we went to church and lit a candle for Grandpa Garrett. We entered a prayer into the book of intercessions and said a little prayer. Then we played on the patio until Daddy came home. She cracked us up when she decided to make a chew toy out of the faucet! She's so precious -- and quite a nice diversion from what could have been a very sad day.

Babci and Granddad Weekend!

We had a lovely weekend with Babci and Granddad.

On Friday we just relaxed and did a little shopping. We had a nice dinner at home. Then on Saturday we headed down to Manhattan Beach for lunch (see picture). We went to the Rock and Fish for some great crab, oysters, grilled artichoke and other yummies. Granddad thought the restaurant was called "Rotten Fish". Ha ha!

Ella was just happy to be sitting at the table with us. As it turns out there was a big volleyball tournament at the beach and there were hundreds and hundreds of people along the streets, in the restaurants and of course on the beach. When Ella got fussy, Granddad took her down to the corner where they enjoyed people watching!

On Sunday we went to church. When Ella got bored Granddad took her for a walk. They went up the street to McDonald's -- it was her first trip to Mickey D's and (against what would have been Mommy's better judgement) her first sip of Coca~Cola. She apparently loved it. See -- she's still got some Atlanta in her!!

Sunday afternoon we just enjoyed each others company and Daddy's homemade pineapple salsa.

Early Monday morning Babci and Granddad left -- and have arrived safely home to Atlanta. Ella misses them dearly!!

Babci and Granddad Visit!

Babci (Cynthia) and Granddad (Robbie) arrived safely in LA on Thursday morning. We had a lovely day just sitting on the patio and catching up. Ella has been in a terrific mood, smiling and smiling. She's having no problem at all being the focus of so much attention.