Home again home again...

Ella and I in Nanchang in the People's Park, and Ella at the library about a week ago. She's definitely growing.


Okay we've been home since October 1, I suppose I'vejust been too busy/lazy/exhausted to update this blog. Ella is doing wonderfully. You couldn't ask for a better adjustment. We all got sick on the plane ride home (amazing what 15 hours in an airplane can do to your respiratory system), but we all finally got better. Ella's been gaining nearly half a pound a week. She had her first doctor's appointment three days after we came home. She was 27.75 inches long and weighed 14 pounds 4 ounces. The height put her at the 50th percentile but she wasn't even on the chart for weight. At her most recent appointment, she weight 16 pounds 3 ounces and was 28.5 inches. So she's definitely growing.

Ella actually ended up being on the news as a result of her last doctor's appointment. There was a crew from Fox 8 news doing a piece on whooping cough vaccinations. The nurse poked her head into the office where we were waiting and said, "The news crew would like to get some footage of a younger patient. I told them that the cutest baby in the world is in the next office. Do you mind if they film your appointment?" I said, sure, so here's Ella on the news.

I'm really enjoying parenthood, as is Mike. It's tiring and sometimes draining, but incredibly rewarding. Ella is so much fun. She's very playful, very curious about everything, and has a good sense of humor. She babbles along in baby talk all day and sounds just like Pebbles Flintstone. It's more fun than I ever hoped or thought it could be.

She's gotten a ton of wonderful gifts from so many friends and family and neighbors. I feel compelled to at least put up a few pictures of Ella modeling a gift from Len Carrick--one of my printer friends. I believe he said he used a proof press for these.