One Year Ago

Do you ever look through your digital pictures from exactly a year ago? I do sometimes to see what we were doing on that day a year, two years, three years ago (my digital pictures only go back to 2006). I was recently looking through them to find a picture I had taken of my father-in-law and Ella when he was here last year to compare to one I took of them together when he was here a few weeks ago. What a difference a little more than a year makes, huh?

Ella and Grandpa G - April 2008

Ella and Grandpa G - June 2009
She was too busy playing to want to take a picture -
about a second after this she was running around again.

And, a couple pictures of her from exactly a year ago (at least exactly a year from the day I started writing this post about a week ago). She was just about rolling over and was all chubby cheeks and chubby legs. Now she's all over the place and into everything and (sadly) losing her baby chubbiness (if that's even a word).

Link Love

I think I may post a collection of links every now and then that have been inspiring me, challenging me or that have just made me laugh. Here goes…

• Back to the Basics series starting on Simple Mom (first post in the series here)– I have a post that I’ve been ruminating on (sorry, my Animal Science background bubbles up into my speech every now & then) that sort of addresses this in my own life and talks about some changes I’ve been making ‘round these parts.
  
• Heroe’s salute – I have a sister in the Army, a brother-in-law in the Marines and a good friend who served a term in the Air National Guard. All three have been deployed at least once in the past eight or so years. I also have a grandfather who served in World War II and both Anthony’s father & paternal grandfather served in the military. Needless to say, we are mindful of the sacrifices our military make/have made for our freedom & our protection. But, the video that Karen Russell links to in this post is still a good reminder that “freedom don’t come free.” Her post is also worthy of your time to read it – her husband has a very good point (no disrespect to Michael Jackson or his family).
  
• On a lighter note (unless you’re talking about caloric weight), I happened upon an older recipe post on Pioneer Woman’s blog for blackberry cobbler that I will be making very soon. I rarely see recipes online where I think, “I have to make this NOW!” but this is one of those. I love, love, love my mom’s blackberry cobbler, but bless her heart, she’s just not good at handing down recipes. It would probably go something like this…
  Her: Well, you need a good bit of blackberries
  Me: How much is a good bit?
  Her: Oh, about two cups, I think. Then, you’ll need some flour and sugar.
  Me: Um, how much?
  Her: Hmm… Maybe a cup of flour and ¾ cup of sugar. I don’t really know. I just put more in the bowl until it looks like enough.
  Me: Well, okay then.
  
• Could you put all the states in the right place on a U.S. map? Here’s a neat little game where you can test your knowledge of U.S. Geography. The best I could do was 96% right & an average of 5 miles off. It’s also a good way to goof off when you’re procrastinating at doing something (I won’t tell you how many times I played it before I got that score). If you play it, come back & tell me your top score (unless you stomp mine & then, well, spare me the humiliation).

And, a picture just because I've been posting too much lately without one...

She was 'helping' plant some flowers.

In Case You Need a Baby Fix

One of the blogs I follow is Grimsaburger. Her baby girl, Nuala, is 6 weeks old and completely adorable. She posted a video today of her 'talking' during a diaper change. If you need a baby fix, you should definitely watch the video. If you are dead set on not having any more children, you should stay far, far away. I'm serious, folks. This video could potentially change your mind & make you want to have a baby right now. Or.... maybe it just has that affect on me.

Either way, click here to see it.