So, we've been busy this last month(s) remodeling a small studio apt. in our house. It has consumed the family - especially since we had to learn it all along the way. Our beautiful eight month-old didn't want to be a spectator (and we didn't want her to be) so that tended to lengthen the amount of time necessary to get much [work] accomplished. Now, our summer is coming to an end. We are both anxious as we are heading back to full time work. Little E-ster is an awesome kid and we are not looking forward to being apart for so many hours during the day. She has grown tremendously these last couple of months - rolling over is a cakewalk, sitting up is a cinch, waving to people in greeting and saying "bye bye" is old news, scooting around the room is no problem... and crawling will come soon. She enjoys sitting by herself in big peoples' chairs, sipping from a normal cup, and walking (assisted) around the house. She has four teeth starting to come in on top now (two already on the bottom), and is a great baby. Its going to be a difficult adjustment and we hope that the three of us can find and embrace all the positive aspects of the coming months.
This is my newest common facial expression. It is usually accompanied by the ever popular vibrating bv-bv-bv-bv sound, which makes my lips feel funny. 
Crawling is hard work! I can't figure out how to get my belly off the ground and move my arms at the same time. It sure makes a lot more sense to walk on my feet than my knees, but that makes it even harder to move my arms!
Getting my feet wet.
Laila came to visit this weekend all the way from Chicago. Mom and Dad wanted to take her to Casa Que Pasa for lunch, but they have been shut down because they owe $44,000 in taxes. We went to Bandito's Burritos instead and I highly recommend sitting in the Mexican kids' chairs there. Check out that muscle in Mom's arm.
Elsa is so fun to interact with. When she is not sleeping, she is always active and learning. She seems to make the most of every situation. If a book we are reading is not very interesting she wants to hear the sound of a page ripping. If she loses interest in our explainations of mathematics and counting while reading her fish counting book, she pulls one out and chews on it to assess its texture and material content.
Me at the controls on Grandma and Grandpa's boat. I hope they have insurance.
Happy 80th Great Grandma!
