I am happy to proclaim that nothing has changed in my status as a blogger, being that I'm clocking back in more than three months since my last post. Part of me finds it frustrating that no matter how hard I try, I'm just not good at this. Maybe it's a sign that blogging isn't my thing. Maybe I need to stick to a prehistoric paper and pencil journal to capture the daily happenings. I mean, really this blog is about our small little corner of the world, and more so a way to capture what Ella is up to these days. I envision pulling out a worn journal years from now (or perhaps pulling up this almost non-existent blog) to share with her the first time she crawled, her first foods, words ... you get the point. Well, thank goodness for her baby book, where at least those milestones are captured. While I will continue to give this a try, maybe I should seriously just consider the paper route and give up while I'm ahead. At least my type-A, do-it-ahead personality has a few genuine faults.

With summer break well in swing, I'm absolutely reveling in my time home with Ella. While some days I'd gladly like to sleep in, I love waking up and starting my day off with her. I can always count on a huge, gummy smile from her and the happy little grunts and coos that she uses to show her excitement. In fact, she is talking more and more, and at times I swear I might hear a babble that closely resembles "mama" (although ususally when protesting something) or little "ohs" or "mmhmm"s. This if course, are all figments of my imagination.

Ella started crawling just a few days after turning 6 months old. She had been rocking out the hand and knee pose for sometime, and before we knew it, she was off. It is amazing to sit back and watch this little 13 pound creature roam her room, deliberately seeking out a favorite toy or book and playing on her own. Or, even better, following me as we go about our day. And she seems so proud of herself, always offering her smile, tongue out and all.

We're also doing really great with solids. We're making all of our own food and we're up to banana, apples, avocado and sweet potatoes, in addition to the cereals that we had previously started. Although last week she pulled a week-long protest against just about everything, overall, she is a great eater.

This past weekend, we celebrated not only Ella's first Fourth of July, but she was also dedicated at church; we enjoyed a day spent with family and tons of good food. Ella got to meet some great aunts and uncles for the first time, as well as some cousins. It was a great day!

A quick recap of Ella's current milestones:

• Started crawling at 6 months, 5 days and crawls to objects that she wants
• Sits up on own from stomach
• Still nursing great!
• Her green froggy (given to me at my shower from Barb) has become her night-time "lovey"
• She loves looking at framed pictures of people that we have around the house, and often laughs, giggles and wants to touch the picture
• Fascinated by stuffed animals, carefully studying their faces - especially the eyes
• Still loves to read books, often touches her face to the faces of people or animals in the books
• Loves to swim! Enjoys water in general - bath time usually results in us getting wet as well
• Loves Sadie rides. Neko has increasingly been spending time sitting next to her, although he still isn't sure about her rapid arm movements at times
• Enjoys Babies with Books at the library
• Is working on pulling herself up in the standing position on her own. She especially loves to do this in the tub, although mommy isn't so sure this is the safest place for her to be learning this!
• Is fascinated by noses, and will often reach out and grab the closest one!
• While we've been at three, not-quite-one hour naps, I think she is gradually moving to two naps a day with the afternoon one being a nice, long nap. Thank you to swim lessons for helping us along!

I sincerely hope to post again soon, but won't make too many promises. A few pictures to end with...

Ella enjoying the "cool tub" on the 4th. :)