Welcome Fall!

As we watch the leaves drop from our neighbors' tree, we can't help but wonder, "Where did summer go?" Fall has indeed arrived on Burke Avenue North, so Miss Carmela dug out her corduroy, pulled up her fuzzy boots, and went outside to kick up some leaves.

Carmela has been busy as ever the past few weeks. The most notable thing lately has been the emergence of a few more teeth — she now has all of her incisors (top and bottom), her top two molars, and a bottom molar. Ela also just came down with what Mom and Dad suspect is the first of many colds ('tis the season, and we don't waste any time), so Ela confesses she's been a bit of a mess the past few weeks. Mama and Daddy forgive her, but they would just love some sleep.

Ela got to attend her Auntie Ursula's wedding brunch at Ms. Ann Pearl's house, and she loved it! First off, she would like everyone to know that she LOVES scrambled eggs topped with lime creme fraiche and blue sturgeon caviar. Delish. Next, she loves to watch beautiful striped fish dart around inside a fish tank, and she really enjoys watching the feeding frenzy when they get a frozen cube of red worms. Awesome! Finally, she loves meeting new soft kitties. Success on all counts (and nothing broken to boot!).

Now that she's got the walking thing down, words are pouring from Carmela. She imitates quite a few ("spider," "noodle," "knee," "bite," "yes") that she doesn't use on her own without prompting, but she also is building a solid vocabulary of useful words that she knows and uses appropriately: "eye," "mine," "no," "bubble," "bath," "all done," "down," "Abba," "Mama," "cheese," "hot," "what's that/this?" "apple," and "banana." She also says, "Mmmmm" enthusiastically whenever she gets a bite of something delicious (like scrambled eggs with lime creme fraiche and blue sturgeon caviar), and if Mom or Dad asks if she'd like something, such as a delicious bite of apple, she'll bounce and hop in place to say yes, indeed! Ela also loves screaming, shrieking, bellowing, and shouting.

Ela's about in the same place as she was in the last post with regard to toys — they hold her interest for a few minutes, but she'll soon wonder off, leaving her toy behind her. She loves music, singing, dancing, and twirling; Mama has a cd of nursery rhymes that she particularly enjoys dancing to. Ela also prefers push toys because they help her work on her favorite skills: Walking and running. Ela also has picked up climbing recently, but frequently gets herself into a pickle and cries for help from whatever perch she's found herself on.

All in all, Ela is 100 percent toddler — busy, frustrated, joyful, funny, hysterical, curious, and loving. Mama and Daddy love the adventure of it all, but, again, they'd really love some sleep, okay, Baby?