Ahh…nothing like a cool down in Gainesville. It was rainy and cool in the morning, but later in the day it was 75 degrees and the humidity was very comfortable. The weather in the afternoon reminded us of Southern California’s near perfect weather. This was not a day to stay inside, so we ventured out a couple times.

In the morning, before it warmed up, we strolled around our neighborhood. Ella was dressed up in her Bun-ny outfit to keep her warm. She did great the whole time and really didn’t fuss at all.

In the afternoon, we hopped in the car, grabbed a couple sandwiches from Jimmy John’s, and headed over to the Haile area of town to have an “in car” picnic.

On the way, Tina was feeding Ella some pears. Man, it blows my mind to see how much she’s taken to these. She’ll just open her mouth wide for Tina to feed her more. Yeah…that’s MY girl.

We found a nice shady spot to stop that overlooked the Haile Plantation Golf Course. After parking the car, Ella started getting fussy. Tina was trying to feed her but the Bun’s mood was starting to disintegrate. I decided to start driving through the neighborhood. No sooner did the wheels start turning and Ella’s emotional state improved. I have heard how kids are comforted when driving in the car, I just hadn’t seen this contrast with Ella until now.

We spent about 20 minutes doing 10mph on residential streets until Ella got all her food down. She fell asleep so we figured we could go park in the spot we found before and have some lunch ourselves. No such luck. Once the engine was turned off, Ella’s engine turned on. She started fussing again.

Instead we found a bistro table outside where we could sit. Once we gave Ella what she wanted, out of that car seat, she calmed down and really enjoyed looking around. In fact, she started talking and cooing more that we had ever heard. So neat to see her express herself!

After lunch, we strolled around the The Village at Haile and Ella loved it. She was smiling a bunch, listening to the birds, and looking at the squirrels.

What a beautiful day to enjoy as a family. I continue to be in awe of how far she’s come. I don’t ever want to take any day with her for granted. We are so blessed to be her parents.