The Tiny Artist, The Harvest and The Pool Princess

The Tiny Artist: Matt is an exceptional artist. He draws and paints very well. This is one of many things that impressed as well as surprised me about him when we first met. You certainly wouldn't have guessed this about him by simply looking at him...narrow-minded, I know. Anyway, he has lately resumed this hobby. Most recently when he drew something for his mother for Mother's Day. Watching him has obviously inspired Ella to do the same. She loves to draw and color on her notepad (tables and walls much less frequently, but not excluded-sometimes she just gets excited!) I am currently most thankful for Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser! Anyway, she has such a serious disposition while she is participating in this activity. She knows exactly what she's doing. This is mostly how she occupies herself while I am cleaning or cooking. Though she loves to color with Matt as well. She tells him what to draw (usually a dog or crawfish-ever since the crawfish boil we went to last month) and then it is amazing to watch her so resolutely trying to copy what he did. I hope this is a talent that she will possess. Clearly, it is something she acquired from her father seeing as how her mother can't draw stick people.

The Harvest: Since gas prices seem to be soaring at a steady and unsettling rate we decided to try to grow our own food. Well, in all seriousness Matt has always wanted a garden of his own and now he has it. This was our first "harvest" of the year. Squash (it's apparently supposed to be round and that small), cucumbers (which if I say so myself were divine) and peppers. We also planted several types of tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, and banana peppers. None of which were ripe at this point in the venture. There is something quite liberating about growing and preparing your own food. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I sauteed the squash with butter, basil and sugar and it was quite a hit. Apparently, Matt doesn't even like squash, but he seemed to enjoy the creation!

The Pool Princess: Sunday afternoon Matt went to Wal-Mart and bought Ella a baby pool. Now she can be outside while he works in the yard or basically whenever she wants without melting in the unbearable heat. Here are some pictures from her play day in her own personal pool:

She played with the styrofoam bowl and plastic cup for almost an hour. She said she was using it to, "cooks chick chick".

Sharing her "chick chick" with mama. P.S-She has "real" pool toys...they were in the house.

Posing for the camera...She did this all by herself! Please meet the next Tyra!

Just a little more serious!