Great Summer Days

Life around the Van Hamme household has been very busy the past month. I know many of you check to see how we're doing and you probably thought we fell off the face of the earth. We didn't and we're back better than ever. I'll catch you up as quick as I can:

• My surgery sites are healing great and I am so happy with the end result. My plastic surgeon is a miracle worker. My infusions are still going well. I really don't like the Tamoxifen but I'm just dealing with it. The side effects are rough (especially the weight gain). My hair is growing so fast (as you'll see in the pics) and I love it. I think I might turn out to be a short hair girl after this.
• Grandpa Herb (Joel's grandpa) came for a visit at the beginning of the month. He took a train to see us, so Ella loved that. Now every time she sees a picture of a train she says "Papa." We had a wonderful visit and are so grateful to have such amazing grandparents. Ella really did like him a lot and we're excited that we get to see him again in just a short month.

• Joel and I celebrated our 7th anniversary on June 23rd. I surprised him with a trip to Atlanta to see the Seattle Mariners play the Atlanta Braves. The Mariners only play the Braves every 4 years and it just happened to be the weekend of our anniversary. We had great seats on the third row and proudly wore our Seattle Mariners hats. We were of course only 2 of the 4 Mariners fans there. The Braves won in the last inning but it was still a great game. We stayed at the awesome Marriott Marquis on the 41st floor. The view was amazing. Joel and I got some much needed rest and Ella had a great time spending the night with my mom and dad.

• Ella is growing so fast. She says a new word or two every day. Her favorite word is still Joel and now we are "Daddy Joel" and "Mama Joel." It's so cute. We snapped a pic of Ella in her first tool belt. I wonder who bought this toy?

• We are trying to get out of the house more now that we can, so we signed Ella up for a swim class. She did great. She kicker her feet, blew bubbles in the water, and even went under water without much fuss. Her favorite trick was to float on her back. She would just relax her head on my shoulder and almost fall asleep. We did learn that she has no fear so I know we are in for some very exciting times!

• The best thing we have done this summer is start taking Ella to the "Little Gym." She gets to play with other kids her age and learn fun things like forward rolls and walking on the balance beam. She absolutely loves it. Her favorite thing to do is dance. In fact, she starts dancing when we pull up in the parking lot. Joel recorded a little video of her dance moves. Enjoy!!!