Talking away

Ella comes up with new things to say every day. Of course, it is usually parroting something she hears one of us say. Last night, she was in the bath and all of the sudden, we hear, "Oh my goodness!" in the midst of her chatter. She was mimicking Grandma Francis' reaction to cousin Brady nearly destroying a floor lamp yesterday morning. Today, I was changing her diaper and let out a, "Gross!", to which she responded with a string of rather dramatic imitations of the word. After spending the morning with Grandpa Francis, she was snickering in his unique little way. And now, when she watches Dora the Explorer, she calls out the items on the show and is starting to attempt the Spanish words. There is not much cuter than her speaking Spanish. Except her saying, "Que-mees" (excuse me) when she squeezes past Cammy or sings bravely to any song she hears.

One thing she has no words for -- being repeatedly tackled at full force by Brady yesterday. I can't believe the kid can move his body like that. He'd take a running start, put his arms out and make an NFL-style tackle, landing on top of her, laughing and kissing her. It was amazing. The first time he did it, I thought it was a fluke. The second time, I was stunned that he could do it again and the third time... well, I'm just slow right now and didn't make it in time. Poor Ella has no defense other than to say, "NO!", which really does no good. It was cute and looked painful, all at once. Brady is a solid kid and has no fear... and his dad is an offensive line coach. It is a deadly combination. So we'll be enrolling Ella in Baby Karate classes ASAP. Here is a picture of them taking a break from destroying Grandma Francis' leaf pile yesterday morning.