June

Ella's Baby blessing

Ella's first ice axe

I went to REI to pick up a UV water purifier as part of our emergency preparedness kit. You can only imagine my surprise and delight to see Ella snatch an ice axe right off the rack as we casually strolled by the mountaineering section. I informed her that we'd need crampons to match, and then asked the nearest associate about smaller size crampons as Ella began to practice her self-arrest technique that I've demonstrated to her (when mommy's sleeping) many times.

When the associate understood that I was trying to equip my not-yet-3-month-old daughter she looked at me as if I had a mental illness, stopped herself, and then smiled and told me I'd need to wait at least five or six years. Ella was now exhausted from all her practicing, but had she been awake, I'm sure she would have frowned in disappointment.