Graduations and Grass

After 8 LONG, HARD months of basic training, Dave walked across the stage on Tuesday night and graduated from the Price George's County Police Academy.  It was really neat watching him accomplish something so great!  I was so nervous about the whole thing because of bringing Ellie and her being up WAY past bed time, but she was a trooper!  She played, ate, stared at the lights, and made not one unhappy peep the entire evening.  She stayed up just long enough to watch her daddy walk across the stage and then conked out. 

Scrolling through class pictures before the ceremony...

Ellie "reading" the program during the ceremony...

Walking across the stage...

Great job, Dave!

Shaking hands...

With his diploma...

Dave and his mom...

Mingling with the "uppers"...

So proud of Daddy!

The other night after work and daycare, we decided to have a nice relaxing evening sitting outside.  Ellie discovered the wonders of grass and dirt, and boy did she love them!  She needed some extra hard scrubs under the fingernails that night! 

Hmmm...not so sure about this...

Should I touch it?

Bubbles!

I do like it!

Mommy and Ellie in the grass :)

This one is entirely random, but too cute not to post :)

In other news, we started sleep training about two weeks ago.  Basically, this consists of letting Ellie learn to put herself to sleep rather than being nursed, rocked, or bounced to sleep each night.  It's a tough process, probably more tough on Dave and I than on Ellie.  The first few nights involved about 40 minutes or so of torturous crying, the next few nights about 20 minutes of crying, and since then, it's been taking Ellie about 15-20 minutes to fall asleep, but with barely any crying at all!  Dave and I now have so much time in the evenings.  On top of the added time, she is sleeping so much better and her naps have even improved.  Go Ellie! 

We also started back up on solid foods this morning.  I think she is ready for them now.  She gobbled down a bowl of cereal this morning like a pro and even drank a half ounce of water out of her sippy cup!  What a big girl! 

Dave starts midnight shift tonight, so I'm sure it will be an adjustment!  He's super excited though :)