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March 29, 2003
Say Cookie!
From her first minutes out of the womb, Ella has been photographed at every angle, most every milestone and countless times just because she looked so darn cute. As a result now when we get out the camera she will stare at it and pose! To get her to smile, we have her say “Cookie” which she is always willing to do enthusiastically and leaves her with a big grin on her face. Lately we haven’t been taking quite as many pictures as her first year. We have, however, had to take a number of fake pictures as Ella will stand and pose until the picture is taken, and then rearrange herself into another pose and stare at us expectantly until we 'click' the camera. What a ham! It is also harder to take videos of her since as soon as the video camera comes out she either stops what she is doing and just stares into the camera or else comes running over because she wants to watch the movies of herself play back on the little screen. The other day we took a shot with a disposable camera and then Ella came over to play with the camera. This is something we normally keep her away from but since it was a disposable this time we didn’t stop her. She would go up to various things (Daddy, her bike) and hold the camera up to her forehead, presumably to take a picture, and then move on to the next subject. So cute!
Along this same note, it’s Picture People time again! They have issued a new coupon on the computer (and in other venues) for a free sitting and a free 8x10. This means, essentially that, as long as I can control myself from buying up every picture of the little munchkin I can get a free professional portrait done! Also, since you can print the coupons up on the computer, you can go as often as you like. Because I have gotten to be very good at only walking away with my free picture, I try to avoid going to a studio more then once during a promotion. I have discovered, however, that there are no less then five different Picture People Studios within a 45-minute drive from here, and I am not opposed to going to all the different ones separately. Some might think this ridiculous or just super cheap (I prefer frugal, thank you very much) but it is actually a very nice outing for the two of us. It has gotten to the point where Ella recognizes the studios and all the props. It is one of the few stores in the mall that I can let her run around in without feeling frantic that she will destroy merchandise or annoy shoppers/employees. I already mentioned how much she likes to have her picture taken, so the shoot is usually a breeze. Then an hour in the mall is easily killed, either by doing chores or hanging out in the food court getting a snack. Go back, get our picture (instant gratification—just my style), and we are on our way. As a result, we have dozens of these shots. Even I will admit that I probably go a little overboard but, as I pointed out to my husband the other day, if I have to have a compulsion, at least this one is affordable and leaves us with adorable professional shots of Ella growing up. And I do end up buying an extra page every now and then, when it is just too cute to resist, and then I can share a few with relatives. Anyhow, I will leave the link to the coupon on my TTM board, if anyone is interested (they also have a different coupon out that isn’t as good—it is just a free picture, but this coupon includes the sitting fee as well).
Bumski!
Jamie and Ella have a new game called Bumski (Jamie made up the name). She stands on the bed and when Jamie yells Bumski! she jerks out her legs and bounces down on her bum. Then she giggles and rolls around on the bed. The other day we were in the living room when she suddenly did her Bumski move. She was very disturbed to find the living room rug does not provide the shock protection of a bed. I am very nervous she will bounce off the bed but trust Jamie is watching her closely and I don’t want to ruin their good time. I just can’t help thinking of the song “Five little monkeys (especially since we call Ella our little monkey) jumping on the bed. One fell off and bumped his head…” and am afraid the song will prove prophetic…
War
I have up until now avoided discussing the war that has been going on in Iraq, as I didn’t think it was relevant to chronically Ella’s toddler years. Reading some of the other entries up to this point however, especially and most recently Tonya’s, I now think I would be remiss not to mention it, as well as my feelings, and not to bypass this world event that affects everyone in the world, directly or indirectly. Ella may not remember anything directly related to the war (I hope) but, like Vietnam with me, I imagine the repercussions will extend well into the future. My own personal feelings on the war are mixed. Primarily, however, I have to believe that the president, his advisors, and our security forces have a greater base of knowledge that I do and that he has made the best decisions for all of us. We will never know what would have happened had we not gotten involved in Iraq, but, considering some of the plots that have been disclosed (blowing up bridges, small pox, attempts to buy nuclear weapons, poisoning water supplies and looking into crop dusters to spread mass destruction) and the horrible unimaginable tragedy that befell us on September 11, 2001, we all know that terrorists groups are real, nefarious, and have no boundaries to the harm they wish to cause us. We will never know, but my worst fears were that the support of Iraq could have led to a successful nuclear attack on us, and this war may be the difference between that happening and that being prevented. I think that the many peace protesters are being idealistic and short sited. Of course we all wish we lived in a world without violence but the sad truth is, that is just not the way things are.
Ug. Such a sad, traumatic event. It is horrible to watch the war footage day after day and imagine those brave men and women, who very likely never imagined they would be in the situation they were in, risking their lives every moment for us. I am going to wrap this up by of course stating my incredible pride and gratitude to them for being in a situation that puts their personal safety in incredible jeopardy for the good of us, safe and sound thousands of miles away.
Thanks for reading,
Bonnie
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