Beus Canyon Trail

We went on a hike up Beus Canyon which is just up behind Brian's parents house. It was a beautiful trail, following a stream and lush with greenery. I'm so glad Ellie enjoys the backpack and it is so fun to see her explore the outdoors, even if it means dirty hands and knees.

June 2014

June went by in a hot blur. Ellie and I had fun watching the birds nesting out our front window, playing in the little pool, working out in the sun with our sun hats, and Ellie's favorite...playing with balloons. We love nights that Dad is home in time to read bedtime stories and put Ellie to bed. Ellie learned how to walk this month and is a little locomotive. She never stops and seems so much happier now that she can walk. She can say a growing list of words that include dada, dog, all done, outside, hi, bye, shoes, and mama. We've also been working on animal noises and she knows dog, monkey, snake, and sheep. She has such a fun little personality and loved to give mom, the dog, and her stuffed animals all hugs.

Ellie's First Steps

Ellie has been cruising along furniture, pushing her bus around, and walking while holding someone's finger for quite awhile now, but she was very cautious about taking any steps on her own. For about a week she would take two or three steps, but then on Sunday, she just started walking all over. She has been practicing all week and is quite the little walker. She is already trying to run, though it generally ends up with a fall to her knees and maybe a few tears. While it is so fun to see her learn new things and hit the next mark in development, each new thing she learns opens up new dangers. She has had the stairs mastered for a long time, but now the stairs present a danger again with her toddling unevenly around, and bumps and bruises will abound again I'm sure. She is growing up so fast I can hardly believe it.

Malan's Peak

If there is anything I want to do more of this summer it is hiking. There are so many beautiful trails to explore just  minutes from our house. The other evening we went on a hike up Malan's Peak. It was too late for Ellie to join us, but Bristol made the trip. Though we didn't make it to the top, it was a beautiful trail. It is one that is back on the list for the future.

Life Speeds Up

Life has been speeding by and I haven't had a chance to write much. Spring often starts out slow. Shoots slowly push out of the ground, trees are only shadowed with green. Then one morning you wake up and look outside and the whole world is bursting with life. That is how life has been feeling. One day I woke up and it was just speeding by. Here are just a few things that have been happening.
* Ellie is growing so fast. She is not walking on her own yet, but she has taken a few steps by herself and she runs around pushing her little bus all day long. Once she decides she is ready, I think she will be running and not walking, just like she zooms up and down the stairs. She loves being outside and crawling in the grass, climbing on the slide, and swinging in her swing.
* Ellie had to go in and get her clogged tear duct probed. It is a short procedure, but they had to put her under general anesthesia. It was hard to hand her off to the anesthesiologist, and it didn't help that she was screaming. She did NOT want anyone in blue scrubs near her, not after the nurse tried to take her blood pressure. Ellie was so mad that the machine couldn't even register her blood pressure. She came out of the anesthesia well and didn't seem too bewildered. Later that day she was her smiling self and now I don't have to clean her gooey eye several times a day.
* Ellie keeps me on my toes trying to keep up with her. She never stops moving and wants to open and empty every drawer or cupboard that she can reach. She doesn't even sit still in the bath but crawls back and forth and wants to stand and play with the faucet. It is fun to watch her explore and learn about new things, but I don't know how so much energy is stored in such a little body. She is an energizer bunny and is still going even after she has exhausted all of us, even the dog.
* My dad got in a bad motorcycle accident in Peru. We were all scared and worried when we heard and felt helpless being so far away. He is back home now with an impressive story to tell. We are all so grateful that he was wearing a helmet and that it wasn't worse than it was (though it was certainly bad enough). I know my dad was being watched over, and it is interesting that the first medical station they took him to in Urubamba was actually a medical center that my dad helped to build years ago.
* We love our house, but Brian and I have decided to put it on the market and see if we get any offers. We bought the house for a very fair price and the market has improved. We've also put a lot of work into the house and believe that it just might be worth it at this point to try and sell. We don't need a house that is this big, and student loans certainly don't pay themselves. We might stick around, but we are exploring our options. Check out a home tour at  http://www.obeo.com/891345