Ch-ch-changes

Sorry it's taken so long to update Ella's story; it hasn't been due to a lack of material. I've been spending my writing free-time on my blog, and Amber spends nearly every possible minute at home soaking up the Ella-goodness. The time to write about it never seems to materialize.

Much has changed since my last post. You may notice that the headline graphic now sports a new photo of Ella. We thought it would be nice to have the smiling face that greets our readers be somewhat current. This new photo was taken last weekend by Granny-T during her and Grandpa Ron's visit for Ella's dedication. As time moves on, this photo, too, will be replaced with that of yet an older Ella. But, for now, we get to enjoy what I think is the most beautiful photo in the world. Mucho Kudos to Granny-T for catching that image!

Ella's definitely starting to develop her personality. She's amazingly easy-going, usually quiet and content to just take in the world around her while either chewing on a toy or sucking her thumb. Several trips out to eat, the store, and church have confirmed this as a definite trend. She laughs and smiles often; cries and screams rarely. That said, though, she has begun developing what I call the "sharp edges" of her personality: when things do run afoul of how she likes them (most often when we make her stop eating and try to burp her before she's ready), she has discovered the "angry cry." To call it a cry is actually a misnomer; it's actually just a whining scream. While newcomers to this new phenomenon (like Granny-T) are left wondering what's wrong, Mom and Dad can't help but laugh. Get used to it, Kid.

Ella's development in what educators would call "gross motor skills" has been even more amazing. Where just a short time ago, Ella's hands were simply the balled-up knobs on the end of her flailing arms used to bat at things, they are now the grasping tools God meant them to be. Anything she can get her hands on, she grabs and escorts to her gaping, drooling mouth. She loves stuffing wet washclothes in her mouth and sucking out the water. It's her new favorite bath-time activity, along with kicking her feet and splashing Mommy. Among the many things that have found their way to Ella's mouth, none is more enjoyed than her thumb; specifically, her left thumb. (A southpaw, she might be!) This has really been a great development, for it enables Ella at such a young age to "self-soothe," which is just a fancy way of saying "get herself back to sleep." Whereas before Ella might wake up early in her nap because her pacifier fell out before she was completely zonked, now her initial wimper is quickly followed by the Maggie-Simpson-esque sound of her sucking the fingerprints off of her thumb. Here, you see Ella enjoying her tasty digit while reading her favorite book, "Squishy Turtle."

It's not just her arms that are stronger and more under Ella's control. She's really close to being able to sit up by herself. She never wants to lay back or be cradled like a baby anymore. Even in her car seat or bouncy seat, she grunts with effort trying to sit up. It's like she knows it takes effort to do it, but doesn't yet know which muscles will get the job done. Give her just a little bit of support for balance, and she sits straight up. Ditto for standing, which is a huge help to Dad as he tries to get her dressed in pants. Here's a couple of examples: the first is of Ella "just chillin'," using the Boppy as a recliner while watching Veggie Tales; the second is Ella standing (mostly) in her ExerSaucer, which she has only just started to enjoy.



Of course, Ella's Granny-T and Grandpa Ron from Oklahoma and Grammy and Aunt Becca from Arkansas all know this because they got to see it for themselves firsthand over the last two weekends. For the rest of ya'll, a slew of new photos has been (and will continue to be) uploaded to our photo albums at the Kodak EasyShare Gallery. If you haven't received the emails inviting you to view them, let me know and I'll send you one.

Also, a few new videos have been added to our building video clip library. I have started to list the date I upload the new ones so that it'll be easier to figure out which ones are new for you. For those using dial-up connections, the sheer size of most of these files will probably prohibit you from accessing them, and the ones you can download will take a long time. Sorry 'bout that: nothing I can do since I don't have the video editing software to reduce the filesize.

Finally, we would love to hear from any and all who are reading and enjoying this site. For the blog novices out there, that means posting comments to particular posts. "How do I do that?" you ask? Simple - at the end of each post, you'll see the following: "Posted by [author] @ [time] 0 comments." Click on the "0 comments" link (hence the pink color), and you'll be taken to the comment form where you can post your thoughts, or simply say "Hi." Once you do, that "0 comments" will magically become a "1 comments," and we'll know that somebody was here.