Eluned G. Sharron Bethea

When Kate & Rachel were young, Nana had a solution for the "messy room" scenario - the door to their rooms was to remain closed and no food or drink was allowed in their rooms (least it disappear and surface months later). That policy took away a potential cause of friction between parent and child (although it took Poppa a long time to see the widsom in Nana's policy - the 1SG in Poppa had difficulty understanding why his daughters wouldn't "snap to" like the soldiers under his command did).

Love the August photos! Good to know she has a stuffed animal to snuggle with. ;) Such a fun baby to watch -- you can practically hear her thinking!

Your last couple of entries reminds us of two young ladies who took lunch to school every day. We would plan meals with an eye towards what Els Mom and Aunt Rai might eat for lunch. The two of you were very good eaters and your teachers would often comment on what your lunch boxes container - it wasn't unusual for your lunches to consist of artichokes, lots of fruit and vegetables, and perhaps some leftover lobster (that was in pre vegetarian days). I think some of the teachers wanted to trade lunches with the two of you.

Thanks for sharing the baby pictures she is adorable...

Already one year old! Time does fly. The fellowship hour at EUU on 1/4/09 was a wonderful way to celebrate Els first birthday; sharing your joy with your friends from church. We enjoyed a truly wonderful weekend with the three of you.

She is so adorable! I love being able to watch her discover new things. You are truely blessed.

As you may have figured out by now, Nana has been acquiring and squirreling away special items for several years (make that many years) awaiting the anticipated arrival of grandchildren. Now that Els has learned about Trader Joe O's, we have a little gift for Els and her parents that should make it easier to take O's on trips; and an item that might help Els master one of life's hurdles in a few months - we'll bring them down on our next trip. Love the updates & pictures - it's the next best thing to being with you three every day seeing Els discovering the world.

Els continues to grow and explore all aspects of her world from tasting new foods to tastying paper; crawling and pulling her way to the four corners of her world as she learns new details of life. We're loving reading of her travels and new discoveries.

Nice report on El's nine month checkup; sounds like she is right on schedule and you two have a good handle on what to feed her so that she continues to grow. Her verbal and grasping skills we can attest to; El's is quite the singer at this early stage in her life. I half expect her to start discoursing on world events in the very near future. Nana and I so much enjoyed the long weekend in Philadelphia at Matt & Ayasha's wedding; little Els was quite the young lady and thoroughly impressed everyone with her charm and beauty (when she wasn't engrossed in tasting orchids!).

Great seeing everyone yesterday, especially Els -watching her sit up and reach to pick up the stacky toys, etc was a delight - and she continues to work on her verbal expressions - she is quite the young lady and growing every day - enjoy your week in San Francisco at the training.