She's moving now!

Ella showed us yesterday that she can army crawl. just like every other day, we were playing around on the living room floor when Ella spotted Carl's Mtn. Dew and decided that she wanted it, now. suddenly she started moving herself along the ground using her arms to move herself forward. until now she had been pretty good at moving by pivoting on her stomach or rolling but she is now one step away from crawling. it's so exciting and frightening. we can no longer leave her in one spot and expect her to remain there or close by. we need to childproof things and keep a better eye on her (not that we didn't already). people keep warning us of how we need to stop wishing for her to be able to crawl because of all the issues it will cause but i am so happy for Ella. of course we will take precaution but it's great that she can spot something and move towards it. i know that she is feeling pretty proud of herself.

having fun

i love my little girl. she is so playful now. lately her favorite game has been tipping her head back and having me swoop her back up or slobbering all over my chest. she will do this for a long time if i play along. carl doesn't like playing the head tipping game because he doesn't want to have her hit her head on anything. this is a concern of mine also, but it is so funny to hear her laugh when she does it. other things Ella likes doing right now is splashing in the bath. we bathe her in a infant "whale" tub that Grandma Gillies gifted to Ella. we were placing it on the counter to bathe Ella but she has started splashing so much that i am now placing it inside the big tub so she can splash to her heart's content without me having to deal with water everywhere.
Ella also loves practicing her balance. she stands with assistance and loves staring out the window while leaning on the couch. she also is practicing her crawling skills. right now she can rock back and forth on her arms and legs and sometimes moves backwards but no forward mobility has been seen so far.
Last weekend Ella, and her parents, went up North on the Lake Superior coastline for a mini-vacation. Although it was very cold (we had snow on Saturday morning) Ella did well with all of the activity. Carl bought her a hat that looks adorable on her. we kept her bundled in leg warmers, sweaters, and coats and the cold didn't bother her.
now, we are looking forward to Halloween. Ella will have two costumes this year. i can't wait to show them off.