Mom and Dad's visit

Just when I thought Ella couldn't have any more fun than to receive Sarah's dedicated attention for 30 hours a week, my parents arrived. From the moment they appeared on the scene, Ella was in her glory, literally falling on the floor with joy. She didn't let them out of her sight for a moment, and loved showing off her new skills. This is one of the rare photos of me holding Ella on the weekend. Mostly, I was in the background while she cuddled and played with my folks. It was a great time.

On Saturday, we visited Vulcan -- the world's largest cast-iron statue, in the shape of the Roman god of fire and forge. Vulcan was created for the 1904 World's Fair and represents Birmingham's iron and steel roots. Vulcan's elevator wasn't working so we climbed the stairs, which was much more rewarding and prepared us for the chilly wind on the observation deck.

From the tower, we could see the sprawling UAB campus, one of the country's great medical complexes with building after building dedicated to research and clinical practice. Afterward, we toured downtown Birmingham and walked around Five Points South, home to some very nice restaurants that we won't be sampling (alas, it's not vacation), and a children's fountain with iron animals.

Iron statues turn up unexpectedly all around town. On Sunday, we went to Aldridge Botanical Gardens, about 2 miles from our apartment. Ella sat on this turtle with my dad and we took this photo just before sunset. We were the only people in the park, and we hiked around the 7-acre lake in peace and quiet except for Ella reminding us that there was water available and she would like to be throwing in some stones. At the end of the hike she did throw stones, and pinecones, and magnolia pods, and pine needles. I could watch her do this all day, picking up objects very naturally with her left hand, manipulating them, throwing them. It was quite a sight for my parents, who hadn't seen the daily progress over the last two weeks and were suddenly presented with Ella, doing things with her left hand that would have been impossible during our last visit on Thanksgiving.

My parents were still thawing out from conditions in Pennsylvania, so we took advantage of the weather on Sunday with a long hike at Moss Rock Preserve. Dad relieved me of the backpack halfway through, and Ella promptly fell asleep, slumping over to one side and creating a nice uneven weight that I'll bet he's feeling today. Mom shared her love of nature and botanical knowledge with us, pointing out ferns, nuts and berries that I'd overlooked on previous visits, and adding a nice new dimension to a place I've come to love. The Preserve is stunning, and it's fun to show it off to our visitors.

The only misadventures of the weekend involved peanuts. On Saturday, we tried to visit the Peanut Depot, a destination for tourists as well as locals, where peanuts are cooked on premise with old-fashioned equipment. The Depot was mysteriously closed and all we were able to do was peer in and see scales and roasters that looked like they could produce some very tasty peanuts. We felt a little better when a local man was equally perplexed at the closure. Determined to have a southern experience, we bought a couple pounds of raw, in-shell peanuts sold at the grocery store. We boiled half the batch, and roasted the other half as an experiment with recipes we'd found. It was all pretty much a disaster with strange purple-ish, spongy nuts that seemed to be daring us to try them. Even Ella was doubtful, but she does pronounce "peanuts" perfectly now.

That was our weekend. It was a wonderful departure from the weekday routine, a memorable time for us, and a therapy in itself. Ella and I are rejuvenated for the week. The apartment smells vaguely of peanuts. We're eager to get home to Greg, our friends and our house, but as long as we're here, we're enjoying every part of it we can.