Newest Family Pictures

We went today (and actually one other time, taking pictures with a 19 month old is, well, exciting) and got our pictures taken as a family. If you would like to see them, click here . Enjoy the pictures of our little Angel, we sure do!

Where Does All the Time Go?

It's hard to believe that Ella is almost 19 months old. Brad took her for her checkup a week and a half ago, and she was 33 1/2 inches (90th percentile) long, weighed 26 lbs. 10 oz (80th percentile) and her head continues to be off the chart. She is amazing. We can see new things connecting in her brain everyday!

We went to visit my parents this weekend in Savannah. While we were there, Ella learned many new words, including: noodle (the pool kind), goggle, brilliant (like the Guiness commercials), Dixie (the dog), Andrew (my brother) and Uncle. She has even begun talking up a storm, of course we can only understand a little bit of what she's saying. But, she's trying to tell us something.

They always say that you should cherish the time with your kids while they are little, enjoy every moment. But, it's not until you begin to look back that you realize just how far they've come. What a joy, we are loving every minute of it.

Grey's Anatomy

Because we were on vacation, I was not able to watch the Grey's Anatomy season finale until last night. The show was a little surprising and a lot confusing. How could Callie really have been chosen as Chief Resident? Wasn't Dr. Bailey so much better than her? And, what is Derek talking about with Meredith, isn't he the one who chose Addison and not Meredith? And finally, what was perhaps most confusing for me was Christina's reaction in the apartment. What did she mean when she said that she was free? Did she not want to marry Burke? Is she glad to be rid of him, or is she crushed that he left?

I really like Grey's Anatomy, soap operaness and all. I am just not sure that I can wait until September to find out what happens.

Random Aside: As Dr. Bailey and George were sitting on the bench at the end of the episode, I said to Brad, wouldn't it be awesome if George and Bailey slept together?? It wouldn't really be awesome, but it would be very Grey.

Cold, Rainy, and Wonderful

We arrived in Boston last night (late, thanks to delays and air traffic control), and it's only about 45 degrees here today. Typical New England weather. And, I love it. We are having a great time, and it's good to catch up with people. As I was thinking about our trip, I realized that there's a part of me that acts as though life has stopped when we weren't here. But that certainly isn't the truth. Kids have grown taller, can talk and walk, and people have experienced things that we weren't here to experience with me. But, it's wonderful to know that friendships go on, even through the distance. We just pick up right where we left off.

Being here has reminded me how much I miss Boston. I miss our house, our friends, New England in general. But, I also can't imagine staying. I know that God led us to the right place at the right time. That doesn't always make it easy, though.

Ella has been so excited to be here. After a day with no sleep (on the airplane), she hasn't been eating. All she wants to do is play with the kids and the toys. Hopefully she won't leave Boston weighing 5 lbs less than when we got here.

Ouch!

In an effort to try to look respectable, I have been trying to do some basic exercises in the morning. This morning, however, I woke up to every muscle in my body complaining to me. I can barely lift my hands above my head. Perhaps the one comfort that I have is that it is actually working. Maybe someday I can be respectable!

Mother's Day & Baby Day

Today was my second Mother's Day. It began with Brad letting me sleep in an extra hour, even though Ella woke up at 6:30. We had a wonderful pancake breakfast and I got some beautiful roses and two nice cards.

Today was Baby Day at TCC (our church), and since Ella wasn't here last year for Baby Day, she got to be a part. This consists of going up on the platform and telling little things about her. She was by far the oldest one there, and loved being around the other babies. She just kept pointing, "Baby, baby, baby". Perhaps one of the best things is that she loves to carry purses, and so she took her purse from Guatemala to the stage with her.

The day continued with a long nap, and a wonderful dinner with salmon, sweet potatoes and corn on the cob. We went to the park, gave Ella a bath, and in a few minutes Brad is going to make me a Mother's Day peanut butter shake. Yum. I guess if I'm going to indulge, today's a good day.

I love the weekends, but they go by so quickly. I love being there when Ella wakes up, to put her down for naps, and just to experience the day with her. It's hard being a working mom (but I know that being a stay-at-home parent comes with challenges all its own.)

Last night, we taught Ella how to play Ring around the Rosy. She LOVES it! Even when we quit playing it, she kept playing it herself by singing a song that had some "R" words in it, and spinning in circles. Too cute.

"Gardening"

In an effort to minimize the work that we have to do on our yard (neither of us are big yard people, heck, we don't even own a lawn mower since ours got stolen), we chose to put down mulch in front of our house with a few shrubs in it. However, the mulch looked increasingly horrid as little green plants sprouted up all over it. Our yard was beginning to look a little trashy.

So, Ella and I spent a few hours today out in the yard weeding. Boy does that take a long time. It led me to several questions 1) Why do people like yard work? 2) How do people who do lots of yard work know what they're doing? 3) How much energy do I want to put into my own yard? We don't even have much grass.

I keep trying to bribe our parents to come and set our yard up, and then I will take care of it, but that doesn't seem to be working out very well. Perhaps I need to learn to do some things myself. Anyone want to teach me?