Joyful Gratitude

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Trip to the Zoo

Ella and I met up with Meaghann, Skylar, and their friend Diana at the SF Zoo today.

Skylar and Ella looking at the Lemurs.

Ella checking out a sculpted monkey

Enjoying the Penguins

Petting a bear sculpture

Ella was so thrilled to be back in the Meerkat and Praire Dog section. She really enjoyed this part of the zoo when we came in February.

French Fry break

Praire Dogs!

Playing in the Meerkat tunnels with Skylar

"Nose" :-)

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Ella Update - Ella At 18 Months

So much is changing so fast with Ella these days. Sometimes I find it hard to keep up! :-) Here's what's new.

She's adding new words almost by the day now. Some of her latest words are "juice", "door", "shoes", "bee", "bubbles", and "dark". She even says "there she is" when playing peek-a-boo with us.
She's climbing on everything! I'm teaching her to put only her hands (no knees or feet) on tables and counters. Otherwise, there would be no limit to what she'd be up on. She's quite resourceful even moving chairs and stools to get where she wants.
She loves looking at her books and pointing out the animals and things she can say in them. She also loves to roar when she sees a lion or tiger and she makes a "sssssssssss" sound when she sees a snake or bee.
She's getting quite comfortable in the pool. She now blows bubbles on the surface of the water in the pool or tub. She confidently reaches for toys in the pool and even lays back in the tub and dips the back of her head a little. Pretty big progress for a little girl who a few weeks ago didn't like water on her head at all.
She's never liked to be beyond arms reach of me in new environments, but at her first trip to Gilroy Gardens last week she eagerly got on the toddler rides and let me walk a little ways away to watch her ride them. She really didn't want to get off. Her confidence is really growing.
She loves to give kisses. She frequently pairs "bye-bye" with a kiss.
She looks through the DVDs in the TV cabinet, picks one out, and hands it to me saying "this". At first I thought she was just showing it to me or wanted me to open it, but then I realized that she wanted me to put it on. Whichever one she picks she'll watch for at least 15 minutes straight. Her current favorites are Tim Burton's "Coraline" and Discovery Channel's "Ultimate Guide to the House Cat". :-)
We've already had to start spelling things out because Ella understands so much of what we're saying now. e.g. N-A-P and B-E-D

As you can see from the photos, Ella's cuter than ever at 18 months. As we tell her all the time, we love her a million, billion, trillion, gazillion, INFINITY!