Here is Ella, modeling the new line of swimwear for the upcoming summer season.  It’s a little early, but call it wishful thinking.  Ella is ready to get out of the house and splash her way around the YMCA pool.  “Shrimp” classes (as they are called) start at 6 months, so Ella won’t have to wait until summer to hit the pool after all.

What’s this? An afternoon at the mall with Grandma Pat, and now Ella’s got her very own credit card? Well - she looks surprised to have it in her hands, so we doubt that she knows how to use it. But a few more years of watching mommy and daddy shopping, and she’ll be saying “Charge it!” in no time.

No, wait — this is an even better one…

“Did you say my limit was $5000??!! That’s a lot of toys!”

Well, look at what we have here — we had to put this photo online to show Papa Dave that it is possible to capture a photo of that super smile on Ella’s face!

Yesterday, Papa Dave found out how Ella can smile her head off for 10 or 15 minutes at a time, but as soon as you pull out the camera, she suddenly stops smiling, gets a confused look on her face, and wonders what type of contraption you are holding in your hands.

But the smile, in fact, can be caught. All it takes is a good camera battery, a large memory card, lots of patience, and keeping your shutter snapping finger in perfect shape; but it can be done. Here’s the proof.

Ella is almost ready to look elsewhere for a meal besides the usual bottle. She likes to sit in the kitchen, helping Mommy bake or helping Daddy do the dishes. But most often, Ella likes to see what’s going on in the kitchen when it involves feeding her own hunger.

So, we got out the bowls and spoons, because she’ll be eating solid foods in about month. Apparently, from the looks of the photo, she’s ready any time. But the doc says wait until 6 months. So, consider this the “before” picture, and we’ll have a fun time showing off just how messy Ella can be when the “after” photo is taken.