Ella was a bit on the cranky side today. She napped early and went to bed early, so perhaps she just needed more sleep. Hopefully a full night's rest will take care of the baby grumps. She's been busy with so many things over the past week or two. She's hit another developmental plateau that requires lots of extra attention, much like when she first discovered how to climb up on chairs. Her love of opening the refrigerator, of playing with water in the sink, of standing up on chairs to reach as many things off of counters as she can have been very time consuming for me as well since they seem to come with extra messes of all sorts. She's also expanding verbally, and her current favorite is to declare all things that are hot. She'll let me know if her carseat is hot, if my coffee is hot (not to worry, Ella only samples my iced coffee), if her food is hot, and so on. She's also enjoying taking part in conversations, even if she isn't always understandable in her replies.

It's been a fun weekend around here. Our dryer broke down Thursday, so I've spent a lot more time dealing with hanging out clothes and diapers. It's not so bad, and the weather has definitely cooperated for drying clothes. I suppose I'll call a repairman tomorrow, though, since hanging out clothes by the end of September may not be an option.

We went swimming yesterday at the rec center, too. Cory and I were going to suggest to the kids that we go to the beach, but Accalia beat us to the punch. It was actually nicer, I think, to be indoors swimming and avoid the heat, humidity and sand. Yesterday was a pretty uncomfortable day.

Neil Gaiman is one of Cory's favorite authors, but I have yet to read any of his adult books. Accalia, Cole and I have been enjoying some of his children's works, though, including this one.

We'll be busy this week with dance rehearsals for Accalia's Riverboat Days performance. Tomorrow is her dress rehearsal, so that means I'll be attempting another bun in her hair. Her hair's a little longer than it was in May, so that may make it a tad bit easier.

After the majority of Riverboat Days activities are down on Sunday, the kids and I are heading to Mankato for a few days. My friend Heather is scheduled to have baby #2 on Monday, and I want to be there as soon as possible!

Okay, going to get ready for bed now.