Aunt Laurel and Aunt Rachel

After church on Sunday we decided that we needed to take more pictures of Ella, to celebrate her cuteness. I must admit that you would be hard pressed to convince me that there isn't an appropriate time to take pictures of Ella, in honor of her cuteness, or for most any other reason. Besides, Laurel in her black dress, and Ella in her polka-dot dress-- it was just too good to pass up.

Laurel actually ended up spending the whole weekend at Mom and Archie's with us, and then I drove down with her Sunday and spent the next two nights sleeping at her place. It was a blast. I haven't had such good quality Laurel time in SO SO long!

I love it when Ella holds her hands together. I feel that she looks like one of the Von Trapp children, preparing for a concert. You don't get quite the full effect in this picture... but you get the idea.

Rachel and I also got to spend lots of time together this trip. We (Rachel, Mom, Me, Ella, Mitch) met for breakfast one morning at IHOP-- delish. And then I spent another afternoon with her at her apartment, which was just so nice. There's just never enough visiting time when I visit Texas.

Ella has a foot fetish... only her foot, though. At this moment she is nursing, I am typing with one hand, and she is grasping her foot as close to her face as she possibly can. Her foot is only safe when it is in her mouth. I can understand that. I often feel that way, too.

A day of fussiness.

While in Houston, Ella and I drove down to spend a day in League City to see my brothers and sisters. Mom, lives up in Montgomery now, so it's kind of a big drive, but I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. Well, in reality, Ella was pretty relaxed about the whole day, she was a rock star in the car... but when bed time rolled around she decided that she was ready to assert herself more than usual:

Poor Traci got the brunt of it. She just was not a happy baby. She was really just wanting her mom, which was fine with me, but I wanted to get pictures with Ella and other people, so we developed a system where I would calm Ella down, pass her off, take a quick picture, and then give her back in record time. That is, until Josh took his turn:

No need to pass back this time. Ella loves Josh. Bummer for everyone else who had been cried at that night... but I still think it's funny :)

On the upside, I now have drapes and a clean house.

Well, it's time for me to blog the events of a month and a half ago. I'm really ready this time, so don't try to convince me to put it off any longer, it won't do any good :) Late in September I made a pilgramage to the Holy Land (Houston). [It's funny-- I didn't start calling it that until we moved to the Land of Desolation (Idaho).] And it was marvelous... but yet another reminder that "winter" means different things to different people.

We left on September 22, the day Ella turned three months, and after my mom picked me up at the airport we spent most of the day at Grandma Polly's. This is a significant day, because Ella's Aunt Joy got her to laugh for the first time ever. These were no little heh heh's. This was a full on giggle. It has taken me weeks to replicate the magnitude of giggling that Aunt Joy brought on. I am pleased to report, however, that Ella does giggle furiously on a regular basis for both her father and me.

As with ever child I have ever encountered, Ella was thrilled with my mom's scooter. You just wouldn't believe all the tire marks they left around the house from pealing out and taking sharp corners. :) Mom and Archie's house was home base during my two week visit to Houston, and we had a blast. Papa Archie rocked Ella to sleep while he was doing his homework. (Or watching football.) (Or both.) And we all bonded over Dancing with the Stars. And although Archie insists he is too manly to enjoy such a show, I percieved that he was secretly enjoying it. Don't hide who you truly are, Arch, embrace your love for Ballroom Dance Reality Shows.