… are hot. And humid. So, we don’t get out much. Ella has taught herself how to remove her diaper, pretend to eat treats out of an empty candy wrapper (and feed them to us), and put pieces of toilet paper (which she tore off the roll in the bathroom and scattered around the entire house) in the garbage can under the kitchen sink. She’s very busy.

I love the camera's flash, but not broccoli!

In other news, here are just a few pictures of our house. More to follow when there are fewer boxes lying around. Click on “View with PicLens” to see the captions.

[View with PicLens]

At 12/13 months Ella…

• has been sleeping through the night from about 8 PM until 7 or 8 AM, for about 3 months. It’s delightful and makes me wonder why she didn’t want to do this for the first 9 months of her life.
• enjoys bath time, and shows it by splashing so hard that the bath-giver needs to be wearing a swimming suit.
• loves eating everything. Her favorites are chicken, green beans, crackers, cheese, bread, and Clementine oranges.
• has taken up to 7 steps independently, but doesn’t seem to want to do more than that for now. She will, however, walk along furniture, walls, and anything else she can use for support for miles and miles.
• recognizes puppies and says “fff” because she knows puppies say “woof.”
• will say “Dada,” but not “Mama” yet.
  Me: Ella, say “Mama.”
  Ella: “Dada.”
  Me: Say, “Mama.”
  Ella: “Dada.”
  Me: “Mamamamama.”
  Ella: “Dadadadada.”
  Hmph.
• is so curious and into everything – sneaking open the lower cupboards just to gaze at their contents, standing on tippytoes to “play” the piano, and eating dust bunnies and hairballs from the floor (although our house is always impeccably clean, of course).
• signs “more,” “all done,” and “milk,” and has just recently been signing “please” by rubbing her tummy (instead of the upper chest area, as is the correct – but not nearly as endearing – way to sign “please”). We’re working on “thank you,” “food,” “water,” and “sleepy.”
• will play peek-a-boo with anyone, with anything, at any time. Sometimes she even plays peek-a-boo by herself. (It’s not as sad as it sounds: She’ll grab a blanket and put it over her face. Then, even if she thinks no one is watching, she’ll take the blanket off after a few seconds and giggle.) She’s the best.

(Remember: the exorbitant amount of pictures is meant for the grandparents… and anyone else crazy enough to sift through them.)

[View with PicLens]

Ella is 10 months and such a silly girl. She’s so fun. She likes taking baths and playing with toys she got for Christmas (not at the same time, though) – especially her doll Chloe, her alphabet train, and her stuffed puppy Violet. Daddy especially likes Violet because Violet has a USB drive onto which he can download fun things from the blogosphere.

9-month stats from December
height: 28 inches – 65%
weight: 21 pounds – 85%
head: 17.75 inches – 80%
hair length: 87 million inches (it’s getting so long!)

Some pictures for the g’parents and other adoring fans…

[View with PicLens]

Swine flu or SARS?

Update: Wittle Ewwa has an ear infection. She didn’t sleep a lick last night — all fussy and mussy — and the daycare called mid-morning to say she (uh, Ella, not the daycare) was very unhappy. Brian took her to the doctor where — behold! — her left ear was deemed infected. Four milliliters of ammoxicillan and some short naps later, she’s asleep in her crib. I hope the sleeping thing takes tonight.

Last week Ella began clapping. Like a good little puppet, she will usually do it on demand. This video was taken in the car with a cell phone, so it’s not the greatest quality — but you’ll get the idea. More later with better quality.