Monday, March 28, 2011

Penguin Splash

The Saint Louis Zoo has a great exhibit called the Penguin and Puffin Coast.  They opened it several years ago while we were in graduate school, and it's pretty cool.  You walk inside, where it is really cold, and the penguins and puffins swim in huge tanks just a couple of inches away from you. 

Well, a couple of weeks ago, we took Ella for her first visit to see the penguins.  She was really interested...
















The tuxedo crew lined up and posed for her...
















She was particularly interested in watching them dive into the water...
















...and she loved being right up close to them...
















...until right after I took this picture...





















...because then a HUGE splash of dirty penguin water got ALL over her and James.

Not cool.

We tried to make the best of it and clean her off, but you can see how wet her hair is...
















...so we decided to go outside and see the bears instead.
















...and then we went home for a nap.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Officer Down

Hello everyone.  Tonight I have some horrifyingly sad news, and I wanted to share it with those of you who grew up with me.  Late this afternoon, Senior Police Officer Buddy Christian was gunned down in the line of duty.  For those of us who grew up and went to school with the Christian kids, here is the report:

Senior Police Officer Elmer Christian was shot and killed while responding to a carjacking incident where another officer had been shot and wounded. The other officer was shot after performing a traffic stop where the suspect exited the vehicle and opened fire before fleeing on foot.  Officer Christian had just responded to the area when he encountered the suspect, who shot Officer Christian while he was still in his patrol vehicle.  Senior Police Officer Christian is survived by his wife, two sons, a daughter, his parents, and two brothers.

















I am so grateful for the sacrifice of this man, who dedicated his career to service of those around him, and my heart breaks for his family.  He will be much missed.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

New Growth

Most of you know that I love spring.  In fact, most people who don't have severe allergic reactions love spring.  My favorite part about it as seeing all the new growth that sprouts as soon as the weather is safe enough for new plants to break through the soil.

We've had some new spring moments lately, so I thought I'd share them...

This was Ella's first time ever playing on the deck.  She LOVES it.




















Apparently, she also aspires to be a gardener, because she really enjoys playing in the dirt...
 



















While she was re-potting the bay laurel for me, I was inside getting our parsley and oregano plants into their tray for the summer harvest...















After finishing our home gardening chores, we took a trip to the botanic garden to see what was sprouting over there.  They had some lovely crocuses!




















 Ella got down for a closer look...





















...and a snuggle...




















 Then she decided to show off and walk over to daddy, all by herself!
















 He was so proud!















 
 Then she went exploring in the herb garden...















I love my little girl.


Monday, March 14, 2011

Ella Uncut

Yesterday, I finally took Ella to have her one year old portraits made.  I don't have time (or money!) for a fancy portrait studio, so I took her to our local Portrait Innovations studio.  I called, got an appointment for about 45 minutes after I called, grabbed some of Ella's dresses and hairbows, and jumped in the car.  When I got there, they took us right back to the picture area and started snapping shots!

It was great!

Ella loves the girl who took her pictures, so she was very smiley.  I thought that they really showed her sunny personality well.  However, it is always funny to me that people only look at the pictures that turned out "well."  You know, the ones like this...















Perfectly posed, sweet smile....





















...happy little baby...















...looks like she's never cried a tear in her life...





















...sitting on the block with the big 1 on it like she does it every day, looking at the camera like it's the most fascinating thing on earth.





















What people never seem to see are the pictures that turn out like this...looking at everything BUT the camera...





















...trying to rip the ear off the poor stuffed bunny...





















...then getting into the Easter eggs...





















...grabbing her purple blanket and crawling out of the picture...




















...having her clothes fall off...




















...falling down when she tries to stand up for the picture...





















...and having to be held onto the stool so that she doesn't fall down and split her head open...





















So that's the real story, folks.  Out of 113 pictures, we got some good ones, but we also got some that show my baby in her element.  And I actually love those, too!  Have you ever had some candid shots that you loved?

Friday, March 11, 2011

Miles and Miles...

Okay, I'm sure people are waiting for me to do a post on Ella's birthday party last week.  BUT, my sister already did one on her blog, so I'm just going to send you over there!  Here it is!

Instead, I'm going to show you pictures of another baby.  My friend Roxi came to Ella's party, and she brought her new baby, her second son Miles.  He was an absolute hit, and all of the ladies lined up to get a chance to hold him.  What a sweetie he was! 

Meghan did a photo shoot for a few minutes, and we got some great ones...





























Here's a good one with his proud mama...isn't she gorgeous?



























...and then we pulled the proud daddy in, too!















sweet little tiny hands...

















Isn't he adorable?  I just wanted to take him home with me!


Wednesday, March 02, 2011

One Year Old!

One year ago tomorrow, our lives changed forever.  We started as two...and then there were three...















 ...a first kiss...
















 ...big blue eyes...
















...a new daddy...





















...a first bath...
















 ...a sweet little nap...
















 ...a new mommy...
















...a sweet wave to all her fans...





















 ...and a new family was born...




















We love you little one.  Thank you for making us parents.