Ella Lee Lewis

Here Our Heroine is preparing to tickle the ivories with her ticklish tootsies and her finger at the same time.

Don't try this at home folks; she's a trained professional.

Figurines

Lately Ella has been playing a lot with figurines (can you call them action figures if their limbs don't actually move?); mostly the Dora the Explorer figurines from her birthday cake, but there are other supporting characters, like the kangaroo pictured here.

Listening in on her playtime is a real blast these days. Sometimes I can even make sense of the stories she is telling herself.

Toddler Yarns

So Ella was in the bath last night, telling herself some pretty interesting stories.

Overheard last night (I kid you not):

"We'll help you find your mommy and daddy," screamed the crabs.

This being a dad thing is kinda fun.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

When Aunt Judy calls to make sure everything is OK you know a post is way over due. Sorry everyone.



So we're back from our trip and everyone has gotten over the illnesses they brought back with them.

Our vacation was a blast. Everything pretty much went without a hitch, except for the mix-up with the airline. Somehow they accidentally gave us a demon-child when we boarded the plane for home. Fortunately the only real casualty was our headphones. (Note to self: do not let cranky demon toddlers use the nicer electronics.)




Ella had a fantastic time in the country. We have learned that she LOVES bugs, reptiles and amphibians. She especially loves holding them.





And she loves her cousins (despite what her expression in this picture may imply)





Ella also took a shine to the big city. On our first morning away she woke up repeating "We're in Chicago! We're in Chicago!"





But the beds are higher off the ground, and she wasn't quite ready for that.