Hanging with the Boo

Ella seems, well does, take up most of our time, and oddly, neither Julia or I are complaining much or at all. She is such a wonderful little girl. The screaming (here's a jinx) is to a minimum. I think there are days were it doesn't even make an appearance. She slept through all of last night, not even a wake for a diaper change. I actually got out of bed this morning without waking either lady or the two dogs. It seems like the little one has settled in just nicely.

Ella had another shower today. This fete was hosted by some of Julia's students. She got several nice outfits, including a complete fairy costume with tutu. She got some books, but one person got her the perfect gifts, a 7 oz. Gerber sippy cup and a rubber ducky. Now, I believe, that we have not made mention of either of these favorites in the blog, but somehow her preferences were known. (I have done a complete search of the house for bugging equipment and wiretaps.) A Gerber cup is her favorite and a seven ouncer is hard to find. You can find 10s everywhere but not 7s. The ducky . . . She has ducks on the bottom of her favorite pair of shoes. She can even say "ducky" but it comes out "gucky." She will get a desperate look on her face sometimes and say "gucky" when she is without the shoes, or she will got get them and do the "gucky" thing. It is so cute, and now you know what she's into. She has three little yellow ducks now and one pink, who all reside in the tub with the occasional venture into the rest of the house. She isn't too keen on the pink duck. An added bonus of the new duck is it is also a safety device. It will tell you if the bath water is too hot; there is the heat sensitive rubber disk on the bottom that spells the word "Hot." We tested; it works. The shower from Julia's students was awfully sweet. We'll get some pics of it on here soon.

Last Friday, we went to the International Adoption Clinic at the University of Minnesota. Not to say our physicians here in Menomonie haven't been great, but it was wonderful to talk to doctors and nurses who were familiar with the issues inherent in international adoption. Ella was so good, which she always has been at the doctor's office. The visit went really well. Ella is health, with the exception of the Giardia. She was retested here in Menomonie, and has started another round of treatment. The folks at UofMn explained to use that it isn't that much to worry about, or worry at all. Giardia has and is getting tougher and tougher. They lined us out on a treatment regimen and what to do if it doesn't work. They also allayed Julia and my fears of contracting the little bugger ourselves. We do a good job of washing everything; we should be OK. They also ran another battery of blood tests on the girl. That part she wasn't too happy about. The results all came back favorable. She was just a little low in the iron department, but the doctor said that wasn't unusual. IA kids usually go though a growth spurt when they get here (make up) and they pull from their iron reserves to do so. The good thing about her present diet is that she should be eating lots of meat to replace her iron reserves. Yea meat!

Thinking of eating, she ate some peas today on her own. She didn't really like them, but she didn't spit them out either. It's a start

Julia went back to work this week. I took care of the Boo all by myself Tuesday and Wednesday. We had a lot of fun and the house wasn't completely destroyed when Julia got back. It was nice to have an excuse to take a nap. It sure is nice to lay with Ella on top of you. Not only is she a tremendous heat source, but she's a great excuse not move. We watched (OK slept through) a soccer game on Tuesday and then Wednesday saw us nod off to History International.

We had snow this last week. If the picture didn't tip you off. Ella didn't quite know what to think about the whole shoveling the driveway. She sat down for most of it and then got up to experiment with the white stuff a bit later. It wasn't her first time in snow, but the first time she was really in it for a good amount of time. I took her out again on Tuesday; it was sort of cold. We were out with the dogs for about 20 minutes. I figure we were out as long as it took to get ready. She didn't want to get down that time and I carried as I kicked the ball for Roxie. She like to watch her run after the ball, and she also finds the jostling of kicking enjoyable.






















Another development in the food front. She's discovered chocolate and she likes it, as you can see. She also got to try a little Swiss Miss. They make it in Menomonie, I do believe. She was just doing her civic duty.

Those are the highlights of this past week. Of course the nice thing is I can always modify (or Julia can) when I/We remember the most important things.