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Thursday, September 30, 2010

Clang! Bing! Boom!

Roz and her mama made a stop by our house late this morning. We had lunch, colored, played with stickers AND got to play Ella's daddy's drums!




Roz was a bit uncertain at first. The cymbal noise alone makes me cringe. Ella was quick to show her how to maneuver around the silver sparkle drum kit.




Have a good weekend! H, L & E

Sunday, September 26, 2010

The winds are a changin'

(Ella on her very first pony ride at Saturday's festival)

The air just feels different. It is Autumn - almost over night! And in our parts, it is a lovely time of year. In fact, we think it is the loveliest. The fall festivals and celebrations are in full swing. It was a busy weekend kicked off by a Kids & Cocktails gathering (another bonus of living in our neighborhood with a hip/trendy mom's group); a fall festival in the neighborhood just next to ours on Saturday afternoon; and an enormous block party back in our neighborhood Saturday night. Ella's daddy and his band kicked off the block party. We had a great time. Ella spent a lot of time dancing when she wasn't socializing with all of her friends. My word, the girl likes a good party.




(Nervous mom trying to make sure she holds on tight - she had entirely different plan)




(Ella pointing to her girl, Roz, just ahead of her...see below)



Have a great week, all. H, L and E

Someone's in the kitchen with Ella



When I'm in the kitchen (which has increased tenfold since her arrival), I spend a great deal of time negotiating Ella and her toys. And there are times that containing her on the kitchen counter to 'direct' me makes everyone happy.





Friday, September 24, 2010

Art and Shorties

Last night was the season finale of the Art Walk scene and the fall evening couldn't have been any nicer - a great warm breeze, a pretty sunset reflecting off the buildings.

The galleries were packed with people spilling out onto the sidewalks talking, laughing and enjoying music from various musicians (including Ella's Daddy).

Enjoy the video. Special thanks to the Z Family for their appearances and pay close attention to the hula hoops at the end. Our friends' daughter, Talia, is featured. Is she good, or what?! WOW.

Have a great weekend everyone! H, L & E

A day in the life of EML

A few videos coming at ya' highlighting Ella's busy world. There is scooting, of course; and talking on the phone, and walking, and her very first skinned knees and a dip in the kitchen sink (due to parents too exhausted to fill up the bathtub).


Tuesday, September 21, 2010

To market, to market to buy a fat pig...





...well maybe not a pig, folks. But we did head to our fabulous farmers' market early Saturday morning. Ella's drummin'-daddy was playing with his band.



There were scads of people. We got some locally grown produce and took in the scene. It was wonderful.

Today marks seven months that we have been a threesome! In the last few days, Ella has come up with a whole new bag of tricks. We'll try to get some video up for you soon. In the meantime, enjoy your week. Beautiful Indian Summer in our parts.

H&E

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Screwball


Ella's got one nickname around here, Screwball, and it sticks like glue. She has a fabulous sense of humor. Years of waiting keep you wondering and dreaming of your child. Oh, how I hoped she'd have a little Lucy in her (if you know me, you get that reference!). And she does. She really, really does!


Just last night, I spent some time reviewing the journal we kept while waiting for our referral. All in all, there are four years of hand-written letters to Ella. It is hard - in a way that I never thought it would be - for me to read back through those entries we wrote ever-so-religiously. It reminds me of the wait, the patience that sprung up in places I didn't know existed. Because now? Now, it never crosses my mind. Gears have been switched.

I am so happy that we will be able to share that journal with Ella one day. I am so glad we were 'on the ball' and made such a conscious effort to document that part of her journey - bumps, bruises and all. And in time, the edges will blur together for me, her Mama. For now, my energy goes into feeding her screwball nature, her love for music, her ability to talk and sing every waking moment. And what a wonderful task before me...







PS - Thanks to Cousins Matthew and Nicole for a wonderful morning of playtime!

Monday, September 13, 2010

So come on, come on do the locomotion with me...*

We've written a lot about it. For those of you who haven't seen her scoot, check it out.





*Locomotion by Little Eva

Thursday, September 9, 2010

An anniversary of another sort

Tuesday marked a very special day in our extended family. Our little friend Rozalyn and her parents celebrated their first familaversary. It was one year ago on September 7 that they became a threesome in China. (Check out her blog at the right side, if you haven't already!)

Larry and I met Roz's parents a few years ago through the local FCC group. Our log-in dates were only seven days apart. They traveled in September 2009 and as you know, we didn't travel until February 2010. It took that long to match children with families in the China program. It will be impossible for us to look back on our wait, our journey and not think of this family. We were in it for the long haul together.



So, I took a break from work at lunchtime and we had a celebratory picnic together. The girls are finally figuring out how to play with one another...and share too - enjoy! (Click on images to enlarge)





Golden Celebration


This past weekend we celebrated my parents 50th wedding anniversary. It was a great evening of family and friends. There were stories and laughter and tears. Always tears in this family. We are blessed, for sure.





Thursday, September 2, 2010

A nice surprise!


In last week's post, I mentioned that Ella and I went to the Art Walk downtown. I also mentioned how happy she was sitting at her drumming-daddy's feet while his band played to the folks spilling out of one of the galleries.

I did a little sleuthing. I remembered our local university's independent newspaper taking pictures of the band, their mascot included. (Most of the band members have pretty strong ties to our university.) I went online, found the photographer's information/email and asked him ever-so-nicely if he could hook me up.

And he did. So, hat's off to Nick the photographer for sending me this sweet image. You can bet this one will be framed!

These are a few of my favorite things...

Ice cream.



Parties.









My big circle of people.





I have perfected my scooting skills even more! I now incorporate screaming and singing at near glass-breaking volumes. Repeating everything that Mama says is also very exciting.

I have figured out that my legs are strong, so pulling myself up on everything has been keeping me busy this week. There is so much more to explore now!

More to come this weekend, as my Grandma and Grandpa are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. Another party!

xo EML