Oklahomala. . .

. . . as Ella refers to it.

My grandma and Kate, aren't they beautiful?

Want to win Ella over? Read her a book. She can rarely resist.

Ella was putting "gaso-lation" in the tank.

 (She knew 'gas' had a long name, but forgot what it was.)

Isn't she too young to give me looks like this?
Someday she'll be looking out a real car window with this face.

I feel like I have to say 'no' to so many things Kate wants to do; I didn't want to tell her she couldn't play in the dirt. She made such a mess of herself, but had the time of her life. (I did eventually have to find something else for her to do when she started to eat it. . .)

Evolution of a (Pretend) Phone Converstaion

As long as Ella has been able to talk, she would pretend to talk on one of Jon or my old cell phones. The first conversation is from roughly fifteen months ago. The last one is parts from two different phone calls this last week. She likes to talk while I jog with the girls in the stroller, but I haven't remembered at the right time to throw in a camera or paper and pencil to record what she says. (Since these conversations, I've tried twice - unsuccessfully - to get Ella to have a conversation. Me: Ella, your phone is ringing! Ella: No, it's not.)

Me: Who are you talking to?

Ella: Oma.

Me: How is she?

Ella: Good.

Me: What is she doing?

Ella: Dough.

(The above conversation happened daily and over time, it turned into "make dough" and then "making dough".)

***

While punching on keys,
Ella: I'm texting Grandma.

***
Ella: Are you on your way home? (I must frequently ask Jon this when I talk to him after school/practice.)
***

Ella: Ring, ring. Hello, Oma! ....How is your week?... Do you feel good or bad? ...Bad (spoken to me). ...Are you going to the doctor?... She's going to the doctor (again, spoken to me).... Where is Opa?... Good...Is Myla there?... We are coming to see you... no, we are not coming to see you... we are going home right now... have a good trip... sweet dreams. (Her inflection is really appropriate and sweet through all of this. I love it.)

(Mostly because a post about Ella should include a picture of her) I can't believe how grown up she looks in this picture. . . if only it weren't for the bit of lunch still hanging on to her face. 

A New Toy

 A few days ago I finally made the plunge and bought myself (or us, I'm sure Jon would like to think it is his too) a digital SLR camera. It is not something I really thought I would feel comfortable spending money on since we already have a camera and I bring in $0 a year. But. . . my dad encouraged me to think about it. And think about it I did! I would classify my dad as someone who is sensible about spending, and if he thought it was worth it, who am I to argue? It only took me about thirty days to decide between yes and no, and then what camera, and then what lens to buy. While I don't enjoy spending money, I am very excited to have one my my hobbies back. I didn't realize how much I missed it, and I can just cry thinking about being able to take quality photos of my girls.  I took some photography classes in high school and college back when we used film in cameras. What I remember most about playing around with different settings, is that I had to write down each f-stop and shutter speed and wait till I developed the film to compare. (Provided I kept track correctly, and didn't mess up the shot in some other way.) I feel like most of my photography education (or at least what I remember) was how to frame a good shot, and not how to technically use your settings to take a good shot. In the few days I've had it, I've played around only a little and can already see how awesome this is going to be compared to my film camera. There is so much to learn! (And boy, are Ella and Kate going to get sick of being photographed. . . )

   

Seven

Ella at seven months

Kate at seven months.

It is hard to get past the difference in the color and amount of hair, but I think they have at least a slight resemblance.

Running

Ella clearly has spent a good deal of time at cross country and track meets. At random points in the day she'll start a race: one arm up = get ready, other arm up = get set, and completed with a "bang" for go. At meets she likes to run around our blanket and stroller and say, "Mama, clap for me!" She also knows that she is to stay off the track during a meet (although I watch this super closely). At the end of a meet, she is giddy with excitement to be able to run in a lane. Last week, she got 150 meters down the track before she even looked back. I love that she has this experience. Even if she doesn't turn out to be a fast runner, I hope she sees it as a way of life as I did when I was little. When I was growing up, my dad ran nearly every day, and I thought that is just what you do. I never felt pressure to run, but a day feels kind of weird to me if I don't.

Yesterday, Ella left me in our bedroom to go for a "run". (The following went on for a minimum of 7 minutes straight.) Our living room, hallway and kitchen make a nice circular "track" to run on. After each lap, she'd pop into the room and tell me something. After a couple minutes of this, I made my way to the kitchen and started writing down the things she said/did each lap.

"Almost. . . there. . . two. . . miles."

"Kate, I'm running!"

"Mama, stay on the sidewalk. I might run into you."

"Want to touch my dirty feet?" (puts feet up on Kate's exersaucer to show her)

"Going to doctor to get some ouchies." (Referring to the shots - or the band-aids? - that she receives at the doctor"s office. I think this is good; she doesn't seem to think "getting ouchies is a bad thing, and it means she hasn't had to go to the doctor for much more than a check-up. Healthy kid, this one.)

"Mama, stay on the rug. I might bump into you. . . bump." (as she goes out of her way to bump me.)

"Mama, I"m almost to the park!"

(runs by with sunglasses)

(runs by smacking lips)

"Go pee. Go pee . . . Mama, don't help me." (as she backtracks to get to the bathroom)

I may regret this in the future

... But I couldn't resist Ella's request to join Kate in the crib. Can't you just hear the giggles and squeals? They are interacting more everyday and the precious moments between the two are multiplying. (Of course there are still those times that Kate has the toy Ella MUST have, or Ella absent-mindedly drops something on Kate's head. . .) Sometimes when I leave the room, I overhear Ella say to Kate, "It's okay, Kate. Mama will be right back."

A Glimpse of Normal

Jon spent much of spring break building a shed. I spent most of my time with the girls, but we tried to be "helping" as much as we could. Ella is good at climbing ladders, picking up screws, digging in the dirt, whacking me in the head with a broom. . . Kate is good at making me smile (as her shirt says). They are happy days when I get so spend them with these amazing people.