Opening Presents

Aquarium

Yesterday was Ella's birthday and it was such a crazy day! Ella and I left home (for the last time...boo hoo!) around 8 in the morning and got on a train to come to the city where we will fly out from on Tuesday. L stayed home to finish packing/cleaning things up and then he took a 2:30 train to meet us. Ella had a doctor's appointment and some shots but other than the 30 seconds she cried after the shots she seemed to have a fun day. She's having a ball crawling all around the hotel room and today we took her to the aquarium to celebrate her birthday. She loved it! She pointed at all the fish and was, as usual, completely adorable.

Standing

As you can see, there are boxes EVERYWHERE now!

Cute Pajamas

Thanks, Aunt Jo, for these cute pjs! You can also see in these pictures the sleep sack that has become Ella's lovey. We were really proud of ourselves that our daughter could go to sleep without any sleep props but were incredibly humbled one day when we washed this thing during her nap and realized that she was actually quite attached to it. When she is going to sleep we put her arms through it so she seems to especially like holding the sleeve up to her nose. It's now to small for her lengthwise so we had to cut a hole in the bottom for her feet to stick through.

Feeling Better

We're so thankful that Ella is now feeling better. In this picture she was discovering how much fun it is to play under the table while Dad is teaching Mary and Peter.

Rainy Day

As you can see it rained so hard yesterday that the water was up to L's ankles (this picture was taken from our bedroom window). In some parts of the city the water was knee-deep!

Our Week

This has been one of those weeks that you just wish had gone a bit differently. The hardest part has been that Ella has been sick. I won't go into the details because I know that everyone who has kids has had weeks like this but it was pretty stressful, scary and sad for us to see her so unlike her usual self. She is no longer running a fever but is still incredibly cranky so I know she is still not completely feeling better. L and I have also both been feeling pretty emotional about saying goodbye to so many friends and the last straw was that last night L's bike was stolen...and not just any bike but the one he spent over a year and a half custom-building so it's irreplaceable. This week we will be busily packing and continuing to say goodbyes but last Friday L was told that he is being required to take an overnight trip (the day before we move out of our house) to attend the graduation for international students in another city so although it's a good thing that he can go to this, it still makes a stressful week a bit more hectic.

But, Ella is turning 1 next Saturday and we will be home the following week and God is in control! So I'll quit complaining.