Thankful for Growth.

There was a time that six children's books were required under Ellie's feet for her to reach her piano.  Now, provided her weight is shifted entirely to one side, baby girl can tickle the ivories (er, green/blue/yellow/purple plastic) with her toes, one foot at a time.

(At least one foot can reach.)

She's huge.  Aunt Danielle, Ellie says thank you so much for her piano.  She was a little suspicious when she had to balance on a pile of books, but now, it's the greatest thing ever.  Ellie's mommy, on the other hand, isn't sure whether to thank her cousin for hours of fun, or threaten to record the piano song as a torture device for Aunt Danielle as a Christmas "gift."  (I love you, Danielle!)

We're also thankful for speech therapy, which started yesterday.  Ellie rocked the straw cup.  (Huge thanks to Eli's mom, Lisa, who suggested a little lemon in the water to convince Ellie to drink it.  Ellie is a classy baby, so the spritz of lemon did the trick!)  Per her therapist, we also covered her little tray in a puree, and let her go to town.

("Mommy, my spoon is stuck in a sea of pumpkin!")

("Can I eat like this for every meal?")

And one last bit of thanks for today.  A local couple is adopting sweet Charlotte.  There are so many great adoption stories through Reece's Rainbow, but this one melted my heart, since Ellie and Charlotte will be able to play together once Charlotte comes home.  They're still raising funds to get Charlotte home for good, so make sure you check out their blog.