angry and beautiful

Ellena got 2 packages in the mail this week. One was from Aunt Wendy- she sent her air freshener Halloween costume. She is one angry yellow tree!
The second was a beautiful quilt from Aunt Marcelle. We look forward to hanging it in her room.

Vacation Proxy

In lieu of going to Disneyland this week, we decided to avoid the fiery inferno and vacation at home instead. On this, the last day of our 'vacation' we got up early and spent some time on Mount Lemon. We stopped at General Hitchcock camping ground and built a little fire and enjoyed the mountain air. Ellena loved it! She was so giggley and happy. If you look closely, you can see her 2 top teeth coming in-- before the bottom ones!
The top picture was taken from Windy Point.
We miss you Grandma and Papa! I am sure Italy has some spectacular views too!

all the new tricks

I would imagine with anyone's first baby, any new sound or movement must mean their baby is a genius. That's how I feel all the time. I think there must not be any baby in the world that does this many adorable things already. Here are the newest tricks within the last week or so:

1. She has been saying, "Hi Dada" for a while now. When I try to tell her to say "Mama", she always answers, "Dada".

2. We must have oo-ed and ahh-ed too many times after she coughed or sneezed because she will immediately follow up with a smile that seems to say, "Did you see that? It was very adorable." She will sometimes squeeze out a few extra cough noises for a captive audience.

3. Either on my lap or in my arms, she will start bouncing herself up and down. I think she loves the new control she is having over her body. She is still trying to crawl, and can reach or stretch to get what she wants, which is everything.

4. Peek-a-boo. There's not much more to say. She loves to play it, and has learned how to lift her dress up for it. I'm not sure, but this may be problematic in the future. She must not to able to stand the suspense because she goes very quickly.

5. When Dad leaves in the morning, we send him off at the door, and she will patiently wait for her kisses. Most other times, she shies away and won't let you kiss her, but she knows this morning ritual.

6. When I ask her if she wants to sing "Patty-Cake" she starts clapping. She claps through the whole song and will sometimes throw her hands in the air at the end. Even when she is wailing in the backseat on the way home, I'll ask her if she wants to sing, and I hear little pitter-claps while she briefly pauses for a musical number.

7. Lastly, just today she started waving. She will raise one hand and squeeze her fingers in and out of a fist. The best part is the same action is going on with the other hand, just not up in the air.

It is amazing to see how much she learns and absorbs every day. The time she spends on the floor playing with her toys is amazing to watch. She is so meticulous. To me, she looks like she is losing the 'baby' look and really starting to grow up. We love every minute!

My Guilty Secret

I feel that I must confess something I did last weekend for the first time. I am not proud of it. But confession is a cleansing activity and is the first step to course corrections and efforts to change and improve. It was something I have for many years warned my children not to get involved in. I was talked into it by others (including peers) and I was , well, weak and gave in. Worst of all, I dragged Pat into it.

"It" is... Guitar Hero. While we attended Cort Nielsen's wedding reception Saturday night we ran into Deniese Beam. The kids from our church youth group had been to her house a few times and played. Our Rachel loves the game and talked Pat and me into going to Beam's house to try it out. It is SO FUN! For you uninitiated, it is a video game where you have a miniature plastic guitar with 4 or five colored buttons on the "fretboard" and a toggle-like deal where you "strum". As the colored notes come down the fretboard on the video screen, you have to press the right button and "strum" at the same time. The more notes you hit properly, the more points you accumulate. Pat did very well and I did pretty well too although being a real-life guitar player is no real advantage.

There, I did it. I confessed to a newly-acquired vice. We are seriously considering buying a Wii system when its GH version comes out. And I have always been the one to decry video games as a monumental waste of time. Maybe that was because one had not come out yet that I really liked and could get REALLY good at! Who knows but I do feel better getting this off my chest. Time, prepare to be wasted! Just so you know,I am looking for a good 12 step program. -Dave