Illness strikes ---

Ella Grace has come down with what so far is a mild case of bronchitis, and we're trying to keep it that way. She visited the doctor this morning and has started taking some medicines to help. Her temperature did top a little over 104 this morning, so we have been concerned, but it seems that she should be okay now that we know what it is. She was very fatigued yesterday at school and when I showed up for her enrichment class they thought I had showed up to take her home! She slept pretty much the rest of the day, but then began to develop a fever. She is resting comfortably now and is getting lots and lots of sleep.

A Day in the Life ---

Wow. Been far too long since the last post. Especially with how these girls grow.

Both Ella and Eliza have grown phenomenally in the last six months. Eliza has greatly increased in almost all ways her understanding of the world around her and her ability to manipulate it. She still loves food, it is her favorite thing. We have been teaching her sign language to help her communicate when her tongue won't do what she wants it to do (we can tell she's trying to say much much more, but just can't get it to come out) and she spends a great deal of her day signing "more food" to us. She's also discovered television and, like her mother and sister before her, is capable of becoming completely mezmerized by it. Eliza likes to play games now, mostly her own version of Simon Says. She's showing a great mechanical aptitude like her older sister, and loves to dance to music.

Ella Grace has begun to get the hang of reading. It's the first thing she's come across at school that she wasn't instantly good at, but she's now learning how to deal with that aspect of life quite nicely. Far from avoiding the subject completely as she had done in the past, she is now very interested in reading and does so whenever she can, either reading to us or reading along we read to her. Her collection of books is greatly increasing, and as Eliza likes to look at books they are spending more and more time together with them.

Elizasaurous ---

Eliza has six teeth in now, and has very quickly found other uses for them than just eating food. When Eliza is tired of people holding her hand, she gently places their hand in her mouth... and chomps with all her might! Her favorite target is the back of people's hands. So stealthfully does she move, her victims rarely know they've been targeted until they are struck.

A Hole in the Head ---

...well, ear, actually. Ella Grace got her ears pierced today at her request. We said we wouldn't get them done until she actually asked for it, and today she did. She claims it didn't hurt, and Jannai didn't even know they had done it until they told her Ella was a very brave girl. Of course, we already knew that! :)

Little Miss Attitude ---

Not to be outdone by her older sister, Eliza has been demonstrating some newly acquired attitude of late. No longer a passive observer of the world, Eliza is now freely expressing her displeasure with various situations in a not-at-all bashful manner. She's expressed her happiness from day one, and still does more often than not. But beware of crossing her now! She's given Ella quite a few stern lectures in Eliza-talk, waving her finger in the air to make sure she has our attention. And a word to the wise: don't take anything from her. Like Ella did before, Eliza now shrieks at the top of her lungs should something in her possession be taken from her.

Eliza driving ---

This afternoon Eliza drove for the first time in one of those car/shopping carts you see at the supermarket. She really enjoyed it and helped us shop, as she has been doing for a little while now (the other day she hand selected some clothes she liked). She really got into limes, literally, trying to bite through their skin. When that failed she started throwing them overboard as we were walking down the isle.

Eliza covering the basics ---

On Sunday, Eliza for the first time, used a spoon to feed herself. She begged for the spoon, and then she dug in the bowl until she was sure there was something on the spoon to eat. If there was no food on the spoon, she went looking for some in the bowl. She's doing this regularly now.

In other news, Ella Grace is now riding her bike around her Auntie Lala's block. She is gaining confidence in her riding abilities. She would like to start learning how to ride without training wheels.

Eliza cutting up and cutting teeth ---

Eliza has now officially cut a tooth, if she hadn't already. We had thought one had broken through the gum, and it may have, but it quickly disappeared. Now there is no doubt that her first tooth is up, as she bit Daddy with it on Friday. Of course this means her teeth are bothering her more now, but thanks to Orajel it's not too bad for her. She's now taking 10-20 steps at a time as she gets the walking thing down. She'd abandoned walking-exploration in favor of crawling shortly after she took her first steps. Before walking she had no interest in crawling, but now she's doing both quite well.

Eliza's also quite fond of clapping her hands together, something she learned a little while back. Now she's responding to things she likes by clapping her hands in approval. She's quite the clown in the family, even at a young age goofing around and playing games with others. Put her and Ella together and you're in for quite an entertaining show.

Ella Grace got to see an old friend (at 5 she has such friends) who moved away about a year ago. Ella hadn't seen her since she had left. The two picked up with their friendship right were they had left off.

Beginnings ---

This is a blog to post family news and events. We're all looking forward to a good summer, as Jannai is off of work driving a school bus, Ella Grace is out of school, and Eliza is continuing to practice walking.