Beautiful Family

Remember this cute family? Sarah asked me to take some more family pictures for them before we move away. I actually did these for them a few weeks ago. Their little Elizabeth is such a doll and has been a good playmate for Ella. We'll sure miss them!

One Less

As of today I have one less hurdle between me and my Master's degree! I sat for my oral coursework exam this afternoon. It was just me and three of my professors locked in a room for 2 hours with me in the hot seat. I had to answer questions, draw diagrams, apply knowledge to new situations, and prove I've mastered the material I've been learning. And I passed! Now all that's left is my thesis project. I'll be finishing that long distance because we're moving to AZ on Tuesday.

To celebrate passing the exam Blair and I took Ella to the pool/water park in our neighborhood this afternoon. It was great weather and Ella had a fun time experiencing the water and watching the other kids. Then we splurged on some Haagen Dazs and I spent the evening NOT studying. It was refreshing.

No pictures of Ella swimming yet but here are some pictures that our friend, Emily, took for us a few weeks ago. We had beautiful weather until just before we met for pictures. The wind picked up--no, it REALLY picked up--and a dust storm blew in and made the air hazy. And Ella didn't want to cooperate very much. But Emily still managed to capture some nice pictures of us! Here are my favorites.

Favorites

Ella has really been showing personality and preferences in the past several weeks. Here are some of her favorite things:

Bath time. She kicks her legs and grins when she sees us filling her tub.

Bananas. We have to hide them or she'll point at them and grunt then whimpers pathetically when we don't give her one.

Anything from mom and dad's plate. She loves to experience new things.

Avocados. It's her favorite food...she cries when it's gone. And, no we don't feed her like this. We use a spoon.

Peaches!

Morning yoga...nice cobra form. Okay, so she's not a yoga prodigy. But she does enjoy playing with her toys on the floor each morning.

Her stuffed elephant, Zobedia. Ask me later if you want to know about the name.

Smiling and being sweet

Ella is going on 11 months tomorrow. Her first birthday will be here before we know it! And she's still our favorite little person.