Ella's Movie Adventures

Today was finally Ella's day to give being in the movie "The Help" a try. After anxiously waiting a phone call to head to base camp since Thursday, we showed up ready to go at 8 am on Monday. She was in very good spirits and I wasn't too nervous. I know that this movie thing means absolutely nothing, but I just really wanted her to give it a good try. While waiting at base camp (St. John's parking lot) for a while and after changing into her boy costume, we met Bryce Dallas Howard, Ahna o'Reilly, Corey Sorenson, Viola Davis, and other important people involved in the movie making process. All of them commented on how cute and sweet Ella was. They especially loved her blue eyes. Bryce talked to Ella about the scene and for her not to worry when Aibeleen raises her voice because she'll protect her. She also mentioned she has a 3 year old son. Ahna held her a little before she had to go. We were next shuttled to the set (Linda perkin's house on Poplar). We were escorted into the house which was transformed to the 60s, and into the nursery which was filled with old toys, books, crib, changing table, among the actresses chairs. We were in this room most of the 3 hours we were on set. The actresses were in and out, including Emma Stone (who agreed with me that it is "Totally hard to keep a baby quiet") and little Emma who plays Mae Mobley, along with her twin sister Ella! Didn't meet Ella. During the time they filmed the scene with Ella, she didn't fuss, but did do a fair amount of babbling and grabbed Bryce's clip on earring out of her ear. I don't think she could have done any better. I was extremely happy at how she did, especially since they tried to swaddle her in a hot room. They shot the scene twice with her in it, then decided to use a "swaddle pack" for this particular scene since she would not have been seen in it anyways. I don't think I'll ever understand what all was going on during the filming, but it was really, really neat to watch Hilly and Aibeleen confront each other so close to the action. Elizabeth (Ahna) held Ella most of the time in the scene until close to the end where Aibeleen tries to take her, but Hilly grabs her instead. That was pretty much it for the day, and I thought for Ella filming, but I got a call about 7 this evening that they want her at 3 tomorrow! Not her best time of day, but we'll see how it goes. Fun, fun, fun! Maybe I'll get some pictures of the actresses. (Need to mention that Ella and I also met Ashley Johnson during her fitting. She was extremely nice and talked to Ella a lot.)

Beary on Vacation

Grammy, Chloe, Ella, and I took a weekend trip to Tuscaloosa to visit my cousin Crechale and her family (Kevin, Andrew, and Conner). It was a very easy going three days. On the way down we saw a rainbow that looked like it started right in front on us un the road. In the picture I took it looked like the truck was driving right through it. Kevin cooked some wonderful suppers, and Crechale (and Andrew) prepared some great breakfasts. We visited the local children's museum, which was pretty neat. We also went to their neighborhood party which had inflatables and other fun things to do. We accidentally left Beary at their house. Chloe didn't even ask about him until the second night of being home. I told her he was sleeping with Andrew and Conner, but he is coming home soon. (Crechale mailed him.) Chloe was completely fine with my answer. She has been sleeping with "Donald", a duck that was given to her by my cousin Amy when Chloe was 1. He was just recently named. =)

Chloe and the Turtle

Last week on Wednesday, Ben brought home a cute little turtle that he found at work. Chloe had no problem befriending this little guy. She picked him up with one hand and carried him around until he touched her hand with his foot. She squealed and dropped him, but picked him right up again. He was a really fast turtle, and not shy at all. He was out of his shell the whole time we played with him. We put him in a spot he might like, hoping he would stick around, but when we checked later he was gone.

Ella's milestones

Ella has changed a good bit in the past couple of weeks. Teeth number 5 and 6 are in now. She is trying to eat puffs. She has gone from rocking on all fours to lunging herself forward and now she is crawling as of today. She can get to anywhere she wants to go. She is also trying to pull up. She can get on her knees and look over the bumper pad of her crib. So cute!

(It is now a week after I posted this of Ella. She is pulling up on everything to stand! She weighs 17.5 lbs and is 28.5 inches long. She can say Mama, Dada, and bye bye. She's growing up fast!)