Getting There

Well, we're getting down to the wire with all of the things that are going on. I've finished all of the little mini-projects that have come up in the past few days (except editing Ellen's paper, and we'll see if I get to that) and now I'm tackling the big ones. Mostly it's just one big one; my Elang paper. I had to do field research and analyze it myself. That's done, and I've got my sources, so I'm about ready to tackle the actual writing part. Hopefully it won't be too bad.

Chaela has discovered the garbage. Luckily, this wasn't IN it, just beside it. She's pulled out plenty of stuff, though. It's time for a lid.

She's also discovered her natural climbing talent. Right now it's just this six inch high wooden thing, but I'm sure (sigh) that she'll figure out higher stuff sooner rather than later.



These two are from Joe's Christmas party. I had a really good time, mostly because it was good to get out of the house for something besides school. Afterward, Ellen came home to baby-sit for us while Will and I went to a movie, Four Christmases (better than I expected, but expectations were low). All in all, a very nice night. It was good to hang out with Ellen, and she was great with Chaela both during and after the party, as you can see. Thanks, Ellen!

And, of course, here are some classic no-diaper pictures. She's had a little bit of a rash, so I let her run free for a few minutes when she escaped me this time. She loved it.


Last, but not least, here's a video of the newest thing she's learned, communication! That's right, Chaela now knows one sign (eat, it's the only one we've taught her) and a handful of words. She can say da! (the exclamation point is a part of the spelling... you'll see), mmm, ooo, mama, and nana (banana, her favorite food), and says them in that order of frequency. Da! is definitely her favorite, and she mixes it up with dadadadada/daaaDA!daaaDA! and an occasional dad!. Lucky Will!



So that's us for now. We still have to clean our apartment, but all that's left beyond that is a few small homework assignments, some tests, and to throw everything in the car. I'm so excited to be leaving UT, and it's only 8 days away! I finally feel like I can go home. Even though we technically don't really have one exactly, but it's ok. I can't really explain it well, but I'm happy.
That's all for now!