Batten down the hatches!

Ella is stepping!  I would say walking but it's more like two or three or five steps, gingerly, then a crash to the floor.  She won't do it on command- she's not a huge fan of party tricks- and it's not usually to reach anything.  She's really good at cruising along the couch to the ottoman to the exersaucer to the play table and every now and then, she gets gutsy and leaves her rink. 

The way our couches sit, we only have to block two little spots in between the couches and between the couch and the side table to keep her confined in the living room.  One of those access points leads to the Christmas tree and, man, if that one gets forgotten, she is out of there!  She loves that tree.  She doesn't try to yank it to the floor- instead, she sits right under the bottom branch and gives it loves.  She leans on it, kisses the pine needles, gently touches the lights, and spends a long time looking up at the angel on top.  It will be sad when her love affair with the tree has to end after December 25th.  They have a good thing going.

Oh, and she likes "tea" and scones.  Ella is very interested in drinking out of my cup.  It doesn't matter what is in it, she would rather drink out of my cup and spill it all over the place than deal with a ridiculous sippy cup.  So, this morning, I put some warm soy milk in her little purple, plastic tea cup and sat her at the table while I had my tea and scones.  No, I don't usually have scones- I'm not that sophisticated- but I got lucky and kept some from my fun tea party last weekend.  She had a ball.  With every bite of scone came a little "mmm!" from her and she may have to drink everything out of her purple, plastic tea cups.  She loved it.  She loved it so much, she put some butter in her hair and threw her cup with a little milk still in it right onto the floor.  That, my friends, is a compliment to the chef!  Time for a bath!