In Like a Lion...

Much of the northern half of the country is experiencing snow right now--some more than others. As a family we try hard to combat the chilly weather by making warm winter meals, cuddling up by the fire and laughing as often as we can. It's easy to get in a few hardy chuckles with a little giggle machine in our midst. Our little sweet Carmella sure knows how to melt away the troubles of the day. All she has to do is give us one of her big toothless grins and we're warm all over.

It is amazing how quickly these little ones grow. Ella is discovering new things every day. Like yesterday, I saw her grab her toes for the first time. She totally loves her Jumperoo and is getting used to the exersaucer too. The exersaucer has a lot going on, but she moves around and meets each new creature, flower, bug or toy one at a time. Here are some photos of our little explorer. Plus a bonus video of her cute little laugh that I finally caught on tape (or digital memory card—however you say it these days).

[All bundled up ready to go out. Thanks to my dear friend, Becky, Ella has all sorts of adorable winter sweaters. This is one of my favorites.]

[Ella finds her toes. "Hummm, I wonder if I will be able to put this in my mouth soon?"]

[Taking some time out to look up at the camera.]

[Exploring the toys on the Exersaucer. "Now let's see if I can move the rings with the back of my hand too..."]

Ella laughing at her mommy:

A Valentine's Weekend to Remember

I finally finished a research project I was working on for my little freelance writing side job. With that out of the way I feel like I can blog again. As much as I wanted to play around and post new commentary and photos on the web, I would have felt guilty doing so with an incomplete (paying) project on the docket.

This Valentine’s Day weekend was extra special. Mark completed his mid-term exam for Statistics on Thursday and wrapped up a group assignment for his Marketing class early too. So he had Friday night, Saturday night, all day Sunday and most of Monday free to chill out with his family. Ella and I basked in his love and attention for a full weekend.

Saturday was especially fun for us. Ella and I took the train into Chicago to meet up with Mark for dinner. An adventure for sure…I braved taking the baby carrier and stroller on the train by myself, lugging it all through Union Station and up two escaladers to finally put it all together at the Adams St. exit. A nice security guard did offer to carry the stroller up the last flight of stairs. By then I was getting quite tired and enthusiastically received his help. (We will get to see how much Carmella weighs next week, but I assure you that she is at least 19 pounds with the car seat factored in.) Once we got the stroller situated Ella and I took off on a 2+ mile walk to Kellogg where Mark takes his Saturday classes.

Ella met a bunch of Mark’s classmates before we ended up at Gino’s East Pizzeria for dinner. Here are some picts of our outing.

[Ella on the train before she fell asleep. She's all bundled up becasue it was only 30 degrees outside. And no, you cannot find a coat without bear ears on it for infants.]

[Hanging with daddy at Gino's East.]

[But Daddy, I'm hungry for pizza too! Oh well. I guess this delicious brup cloth will have to do.]

[An image from the nice relaxing weekend we had. Helping Daddy read the paper.]

[Playing with Herald the water horse...her favorite toy.]

This video is a typical day in the life of Ella. Fingers, fingers, fingers. Yummy..."Here, you try!"

New Talents Emerge

Chatter, chatter, squeal, giggle, and…nothing? What’s going on? For the third time today, Ella rolled over from her back to her belly. Previously she rolled from belly to back. Lately it seems as if she forget how to do that. Instead she is trying out a new skill. The only problem is…”Wait! MOMMY! How do I get back to my back?” Thankfully she likes tummy time now and can handle hanging out on her belly for a few minutes.

Sorry, no photos today. I need to do some video because she is starting to find all kinds of things hilarious! She will laugh and laugh. But I haven't found out how to get her to laugh on demand. So the video will have to wait until then.