Today was Ela's abuelito's (my dad's) birthday. So, in honor of him, here are some random cute pictures of Ela and at the end a birthday video just for Abuelito (but you can all watch it if you want)!

She decided to take her diaper off. Sometimes she'll take it off during her nap and we'll bring her downstairs before we notice her bare little bottom hanging out from under her dress.

It's been a while since I last posted about Ela and so I sincerely apologize to those who check back here for updates and pictures. I guess life has been busy, but we're still having a blast.

Let's see, what has Ela been up to? She just turned 10 months last Wednesday. Time has gone by so fast and I find myself fantasizing about her birthday party. I know she won't know or care but I will and I want to have the story to tell and pictures to show her when she's older.

She seems to have skipped right over the crawling stage and into the walking. The drive to get up and walk seems to be irresistible. There are times when she will simply insist that someone come help her walk around. This stage has been demanding on us parents since she requires our help all the time, although she's gaining more and more independence every day. She now holds on to furniture and tries to move from the coffee table to the couch and back (they're only about a foot apart). For a week or so she has stood on her own for intervals of about 10-60 second or longer. Today, for the first time, she stood and clapped her hands at the same time--this requires quite a bit of balance! She was giving herself a round of applause for having put her toy in the toy box.

We've been to the playground on the few days when the weather has been nice. She loves the swing. She hangs on tight and doesn't mind going high. We tried the slide but she doesn't get the fun in that yet so we pretty much head straight for the baby swings.

Ela walking the drive way with her abuelita.

I think this is the second or third time she stood solo.

Still loves bath time! She'll stand at the tub and dance around
and try to climb in the tub while I'm preparing her water.

She had a blast pulling out all the books. I think she was also proud of herself.

Playing in Abuelita's back yard on a beautiful spring day.

Sitting on a bench.

Bowls are tons of fun!

About a week ago Ela and I went to the park to play on the swings:

Ela's first time meeting Poppy


Downtown Kansas City with Daddy and Poppy


Some Chinese buffet where we decided to celebrate Ela's 1/2 birthday

Ela wanted to eat the cake, the candle and the bowl