Indianapolis!

Ella (and her mom and dad) got to check another state off their list this weekend. We all flew to Indianapolis, IN for Joe’s brother-in-laws surprise birthday party. Joe’s sister, Mo, threw her husband, Dan, a surprise “Almost 40” birthday party and most of the Murray crew flew in for the event. It was a lot of fun hanging out with the family.

Ella did great on the flight. She slept much of the way there and only got a little fussy during the decent. And she slept most of the flight back, including the landing. Man, babies have it so good. They don’t have to worry about the person in front of them reclining their seat and occupying an already crammed space. They don’t have to deal with the struggles of falling asleep in those uncomfortable seats. And they don’t have to worry about squeezing past the person next to you and walking down the aisle holding on for dear life just to go to the bathroom. They just sit in mom or dad’s lap and play. Then when they get tired they lay down in mom or dad’s arms and go to sleep. That is the life!

When we got back home on Sunday night we were up in Joe’s Man’s Room (yes, he has a Man’s Room) and I gave Ella a big kiss on the cheek. When I turned my head to talk to Joe, she leaned in and put her little lips on my cheek. Every time I would kiss her she would kiss me back. It was so precious! At least it was precious until she started licking my cheek, then it was gross.

Ella has also started propping herself up on her hands and knees. That girl is SO ready to crawl! She will prop herself up then move her mid-section up and down. Not back and forth, which is what is required for crawling, but up and down. At least she knows that it’s supposed to move. The big question we get at this point is, ‘How is that affecting her skin?’ Well, it definitely gives her boo boos on her knees. We try to use thicker padding to protect them a bit, which works somewhat. And we always make sure she has pants on, just for a little added protection. But the truth is…what can we do about it? She’s a baby, just like any other baby, and she wants to be on her tummy and play and crawl. We can do our best to keep her knees protected, and cross our fingers that once she learns to walk the boo boos will decrease. I guess all this means that its time for us to go out and buy a couple of gates.