some more family photos...

Nathan took the two photos above of Tua

love this photo of Tua grasping her daddy's finger

even in her sleep she knows where to find her security

next time we see her she will have changed so much!

Sunday morning before church.
Grandpa and Grandma found this great book for Ellie called "I Can Talk to God"
Again, I come home from a time with family and realize we have so few photos of Ellie with certain people. That's why you just need to have the camera ready to capture those special moments. This is a great one.

this was taken by my Grandpa Van (can I say he just had cataract surgery?)

we're laughing at how "natural" he looked holding a digital camera

by the time this was taken we had no idea if any of our heads were even in the shot, or if our family photo would include Seth and Bug

This particular photo was salvaged with some cropping. The smiles are genuine.

Happy Easter! Happy Birthday, Micah!

Singing "Happy Birthday" to Micah...

We had an early morning today (literally, Ellie woke up at 4AM so after it was evident she wasn't going back to sleep, we loaded up the car and got back to Kentucky in time for naptime this afternoon). Students started rolling back into town later this evening.

It felt like a whirlwind trip to Illinois, but we were able to spend time with lots of family, including be with Nathan's nephew Micah on his birthday! This year his birthday happened to fall on Easter so his party had lots of fun stuff for the young ones. Nonna and PaPa Waggoner had sent Easter baskets for the Waggoner grandkids. Ellie still doesn't get the "present" thing yet, but had fun crinkling the celophane wrapping and watching her cousins' reactions.

Part of the reason Ellie awoke so early this morning is that she has another cold (the runny nose which we thought was from teething has settled into a bona fide cold). She wasn't her usual pleasant self most of the weekend feeling miserable and adjusting to a different schedule and time zone, but she seems to be feeling better now that we're home again.

For another perspective on some of our weekend's activities, read my brother-in-law's 2 most recent posts ("$4 corn" & "field report") on www.houseofshaw.blogspot.com.

more Easter weekend photos...

...with Uncle Seth

Tesa Hannah

Cydil & Jenny with childhood playmate, Kelly (center)

We just watched some old home videos this afternoon of us together at ages 7, 6, & 5 (respectively) and can't believe how we're all grown up now!

Beetle & Cricket

Back in Illinois!

Ellie finally got to meet her cousin, Tua! We arrived at the farm LATE last night and Ellie is presently making up for her short night's sleep with a nice nap.

Though we just drove up to Illinois it feels like we're in Canada. It actually snowed this afternoon!

Here's a quick peek at the bottom of Tua's little tights. (They were bought for her by her Aunt Nadine in Germany, in honor of her mommy's affectionate name, Bug).

Here's Bug and Tua

Enjoying the last of the warm weather for a while...

This beautiful tree is in our front yard and a few days past its blossoms' prime, but you still get the idea. Today it was supposed to surpass 80F, but tomorrow it's going to rain and only reach 50 so we spent a little bit of time tidying the yard and snapping a few pictures.

Desparate times call for desparate measures...

Who would have thought that a midwestern (beef-cattle raising) farmer's daughter would be slipping her daughter something like tofu?

If you've been reading this blog for a while or if you have spent some time with Ellie in person then you know that she's got some 'issues' when it comes to how she eats her food and what she'll put down the hatch. Due to her strong preference for sweet foods and limited palate for savory flavors, I was wracking my mind for new alternatives for infusing her liquid diet with the nutrition she needs, particularly in the area of protein. No matter how enticing the little labels, foods like Gerber's chicken with vegetables and spaghetti in meat sauce were both met with a clamped mouth, turned head, and gentle push away by Ellie's right hand.

Friday I was bemoaning my lack of creativity in meeting Ellie's nutritional needs when thankfully my friend Andrea suggested tofu, the primary non-animal protein source favored by vegetarians. On Saturday I was optimistic and bought not one, but 2 boxes of tofu (one "firm", the other "extra firm" -- I had never bought it before so I didn't exactly know which kind to get).

So what is tofu? According to Wikipedia, tofu is 'strained bean curd' or 'coagulated soy milk' (don't scrunch up that nose, Dad) -- a product whose origin harkens back to the far east. What makes tofu such a versatile ingredient is its ability to blend in with many dishes, both savory and sweet. When you eat a diet of thick, blended food like Ellie, flavorless tofu pulls two punches in that it delivers protein without distraction and serves as a thickener to her primary meals: soups and smoothies.

So what does she think of it? So far, she hasn't acted like she's noticed anything different at all! And if you get a hankering to try it yourself, it can be found in the produce section.

Palm Sunday spring fashion, fun and friends

This isn't the greatest picture but I wanted to show off this cute little onesie and mini-skirt combo which was a gift from some friends in Ohio, perfect for today's warm weather!

Daddy was her hero and hung this swing in our backyard. Many thanks to Stephen and Rachel for passing on this wonderful gift! Swinging is Ellie's favorite pastime, right up there with bubble baths!

Els is enjoying some more swing time, this time after Global Cafe` tonight with Monica on a hammock strung between two trees in our backyard.