New Shoes and a Broken Toe!

Before you gasp, the broken toe is mine, not Ella's. Yesterday, as I was getting up from the computer, I ran my pinky toe straight into Ella's tot block (playpen). Owww! Last night, it started hurting worse especially after I foolishly decided to walk around the block w/Ella and Will. I only made it part way and decided to hobble back home. It's still hurting today, but I'm surviving-not much you can do for a broken toe. Now for the new shoes....this is huge news!....Ella can wear shoes! Did you hear me? Ella's feet have apparently (and finally!) grown, so when I tried on her size 2 pink shoes today, they actually fit her. Good thing my Granny doesn't have internet access and thus can't read my blog b/c she might have a heart attack from the shock. Ella in shoes? You mean my granddaugther has finally come to her senses and realized a baby needs shoes on her feet? :-)
These are her first real shoes-they were given to me at one of my showers. We did buy her some 0-6 wk. shoes for her baby dedication when she was 4 months old but those kept falling off her then ever-so-tiny feet, so we took them back. I couple of times since then I've looked at other shoes, but Ella couldn't fit them or they weren't very practical (i.e. Tommy Hilfiger tennis shoes-on sale- but white w/red flowers?--that wouldn't look so hot w/Ella's many pink outfits).
Anywho, back to Ella's pink shoes-she truly liked them and walked around in them quite well considering she's never walked in shoes before. She first stumbled to her "chair" (boppy pillow) and sat down and began inspecting them (pulling the velcro straps off and on, etc). When I took them off after awhile to give her a break, she reached for them and tried putting them back on herself. She's done that lately w/her pants too-while standing she'll lift up her feet/legs so I can get them on. Smart girl. In fact, yesterday at a playdate with John Michael at Cil's house, she found one of JM's socks on the floor and lifted her foot and tried putting it on. Actually I have Cil to thank for trying Ella in some shoes again. While at her house, I noticed JM's feet and commented that they looked so much bigger than Ella's (even though he's 5 months younger). She said she thought he could wear size 2 shoes. Well, before I left, I decided to compare their feet, and lo and behold they were actually about the same size. So, the next day is when I decided to see about those pink shoes. Glad I did.
And Ella's walking so much more now-in fact, I do believe she's walking more than she is crawling now (quite the accomplishment)! The only time she crawls now is if I'm chasing her and she needs to make a fast getaway! :-)