Ella is crawling in the photos below. depending on how you look at them you might see her moving forwards or backwards.

I am thankful

I had my first thanksgiving without the Medina clan yesterday. i spent it instead with my in-laws here in Minneapolis. Carl and i were in charge of the cooking, that was fun, while my mother-in-law, Mary, assisted and watched Ella.
i loved having more to do with the dinner since with my family i usually assist with opening cans and measuring flour but this year i was actually able to use my cooking skills. Carl took on the turkey and it came out great. i tried to make flan and it looked terrible but the taste was great. it was weird to not have multiple people yelling and laughing and arguing like it is with my family but i enjoyed the quiet of this year.

Ella had her first bloody accident today. she was trying to reach me on the couch and she slipped, hitting her face on the wood trim of the couch. i thought she had just bumped herself as usual but as i was patting her back, trying to comfort her, i pulled her away from me and realized her face was covered in blood. i immediately jumped up and took Ella to the sink to clean off her face and tried to find the cut, only to find that it was an itty-bitty cut on her upper lip, likely from one of her two bottom teeth. i can't believe so much blood came from that cut but Ella was fine. thankfully.

All New Ella

Ella has been busy learning many new things and dealing with many others.
a few days ago i took her to the Doctor because she had diarrhea, kept touching her ears, new teeth coming in, cough, stuffy nose, and a lot of crankiness. so the Doctor checked her over and told me that the symptoms could either be due to the teething, to a mild ear infection, rotovirus, or H1N1, but because she didn't have a fever it was likely not anything serious but in the meantime she would give me a prescription for an antibiotic (for the ear infection), advise me to get some Pedialyte, and to monitor Ella for fever. Three days later and nothing. Ella no longer has the diarrhea, her stuffiness and lessened and she is sleeping more at night.

Ella figured out earlier this week how to crawl. i wanted to post a picture but was unable to capture it. i will post some soon. She has also learned how to pull herself up to standing. i have already lowered her crib in anticipation of this. She is waving, well sort of. she raises her hand when she sees everyone else doing it. it's fun watching her learn new things. She will be having her first Thanksgiving this week. Sadly, we won't be traveling to Utah or Idaho to spend it with the Medina clan. the first time in a decade or so.

Ella and i are enjoying a nice day today. all day is play time, except when its nap time.

our first Halloween, with Ella.

i loved having a chance to dress Ella up. she spent the holiday being a penguin and a peacock. today she is dressed up for the Day of the Dead.
Ella and i went trick or treating at a nursing home where Ella got to show off for the residents there. it was fun to let her experience this tradition although it was obviously beyond her. she took some candies and sucked on them with wrappers on. afterwards, i got to enjoy the good stuff and gave away the stuff i don't like.
speaking of giving out candy, we had a huge turnout at our house last night. the neighbors/tenants decorated the house a month ago to resemble a graveyard and it definitely drew some attention. we had cars lined up down the street just to t or t at our place. carl had to run out to buy more candy because the 4 i had bought ran out around 7 p.m. last year we only had 4 treaters all together so it was a huge difference this year.
some children were too scared to walk up our sidewalk. two of the neighbors hid in the yard and jumped out at the children as they walked by. i saw several children run away and many end up in tears. the older ones were even frightened but they seemed to enjoy it more. i felt bad for the younger ones. i can imagine this will have an impact on how they feel about future Halloweens.