Peapod

This cool little baby tent is called a Peapod. The website says that it's perfect for on-the-go parents, which we will definitely be next fall when we are home for five months! We are trying to get Ella used to it by letting her take naps in it and starting next week sleeping in it at night so that she will like it by the time we go home. She doesn't seem to have a problem during naptime but at night she seems to wake up more than usual when she's in it. Anyway, L was trying to show Ella how cool the Peapod was and the next time I looked up he was completely asleep!

Being Touristy

I don't know if this looks like a lot of stairs in the first picture, but it was A LOT of stairs especially when carrying a baby (which L gets all the credit for)! This week we had a three day* holiday so we took advantage of the extra time and did a few of the tourist things we haven't done in our city. Now we think that we have pretty much seen everything there is to see so we are officially ready to move on to the next place!

*Meaning that L had Thursday, Friday, and Saturday off but has to go to work on Sunday. Weird, huh? Our American minds think that it should be called a one day holiday with a weekend rearrangement but oh well! We aren't in America, are we?

Playtime

Up until about a month ago, as soon as a camera would come out Ella would look directly at it and start grinning but these days she is way too busy for that!

Soil Science Trip

Last week L's research group went to the field for a few days to collect some soil. L took these pictures of some of the farmers in the area. He has now completed his thesis and last week got it back from the panel of professors that had looked at it. They gave him a few suggestions which he has been working on. His thesis defense will be on the morning of June 10th (which for you Texans would be the evening of June 9th).

Playing Guitar

L often plays the guitar while watching Ella but this was the first time Ella showed an interest in helping him pluck the strings. We're both hoping that Ella will inherit L's musical abilities (versus my complete lack of them!).

Ella at 10 Months

Although I definitely believe that environment plays a tremendous role in the way children think and behave, I'm daily seeing more and more evidence that this little girl has some definite opinions all of her own! She is definitely not a complete blank slate as John Locke would have led me to believe. These days she loves crawling as fast as she possibly can (and will often turn around to wave bye, bye when leaving the room), sweet potato, bread, carrots, taking walks in her stroller, drinking out of her sippy cup, turning the pages in a book, pulling all of her books off the shelf (we're working on this one), playing peek-a-boo, listening to music, and taking baths.

These days she does not like eggplant, green beans, her dad's baseball cap, getting her diaper changed, being snuggled by her parents (we're working on this one too!), or sitting still long enough to have her mom turn the pages in a book.

Trip Home

My family after my grandmother's burial. In case you haven't heard the news, my sister and Alex are going to be married on August 1!!!!!

Denea and I taking our girls on a walk. It was a lot of fun to do "mom things" with Denea. I don't have anyone that I can do that kind of stuff with here.

Ella and my BFF, B. When I said goodbye to B four years ago, I never dreamed that it would be so long before I saw her again or that we would have three kids between the two of us. It was so much fun to see her and her absolutely adorable boys.

Reading with Gramma

Ella riding on the horse my dad made for me when I was a little girl

Nan introducing Ella to grass (she was NOT a fan)

Uncle Phil and Ella in their matching sleep sacksRiding the tractor with PepaMeeting Mema for the first timePop and his three grandkidsElla and Grandpa on my Grandmommy's back porch

As many of you know, my grandmother recently passed away and Ella and I went home to be with my family during this time and attend the funeral. I have posted the obituary my mom and I wrote about Grandmommy on the quilting page of our blog (there's a link on the right side of the page). Since she is the one that gave me a love for quilting I thought that would be a fitting place for that post. My grandmother will be incredibly missed and I think there will always be a part of me that is sad she never got to see Ella. I haven't quite wrapped my mind around the fact that she is gone and know that I will continue to acutely feel this loss for months.

But, in the midst of grief, what a gift it is to be able to have incredibly joyful experiences as well. I've posted just a few of the over 300 pictures that were taken while we were home! And, as always, it was wonderful to spend time with family at home. Ella was loved on by all her grandparents and aunts and uncles and I got to see my niece Nia Louise for the first time! All that Chick-fil-A didn't hurt either...

Thank you for thinking of us as we traveled as well. In the past Ella has had a rough time when traveling but she did a great job on this trip. She was able to sleep on the plane, we had great seats, and we sat next to helpful and kind people. And, I also thought that she had a relatively easy time adjusting to the time changes and different houses we stayed in. All of this is definitely just evidence of our Father's hand.