Oh Joy!

Last night Chad, Cole, Ella and I went Potato Gleaning. If you are a city girl like me and have no clue what this is here is a lame definition. When it is time to harvest potatoes the farmer first runs a tiller like machine that uproots potatoes and puts them in a near by row and then this harvester machine goes along with a huge semi with a open tuck bed and all the good potatoes go up a conveyer into the truck. The truck when full drives to the sorting place. It then goes on another conveyer sorting into bakers and reg potatoes. (gotta love the definitions) When Cole and Daddy went to check out the sorting system they were AMAZED at the crazy amount of potatoes in the Barn. Filled to the rafters. So a Gleaner flows the empty truck to the field that is being worked on and goes behind the truck/harvester and picked up rejected potatoes. They range from small to super mutated large.
(glean  /glin/
–verb (used with object)
1. to gather slowly and laboriously, bit by bit.
2. to gather what is left by reapers. )
Cole was loving it! He was running around shouting "I am happy! I am SOOOO Happy! I am pickin' tatos" We were in the field with a beautiful red sunset was behind us. Imagine Gone With The Wind. Sorry no pictures , I got of work after 5 pm and we were racing the darkness.
Today we had a doctor's appointment for Ella and her one year check up. She is now 30 inches long and weighs in at 22 1/2 pounds. She is growing into her body. Weight is now in the 60% and her height is 85%. Ella is one tall baby. Ella is walking. She took her first steps a week before her first birthday. She is toddling around but still relies on crawling when she want to get there fast. She enjoyed the potato gleaning because she was in the backpack and loved pulling on Daddy's ears and hair. We went outside on the porch to play in the sand box and the kitchen. Ella learned that sand is a delicacy that was missing from her diet. I remember Cole eating sand when he was younger and told him so and he laughed and said " When I was a baby like Ella? oh sand is yummy!" Ewww gross. Abulita was outside with us and shared her thoughts on sand eating, "gross and dirty" She also marveled at the way Cole and Ella played to together. She said it reminded her of when my sister and I played together. It is more like parallel play. They are not playing together but Cole has stopped pretty much taking things away from her all the time. He is know to say " Ella don't touch my bike" He did not say that today as she explored his tricycle. My mom and I pretty much sat there watching them play.