We are in Israel now, and despite the tense political situation here, everything is going fine and we are having a great time. Ella seems to enjoy being with us all the time. She had some trouble adjusting to the time change and she apparently had a pretty bad stomach ache right after we arrived. We can’t be sure it was a stomach problem but for one of the first and only times in her life she cried and was completely unconsolable. Eventually she had some prune juice and fell asleep quite late that night. Otherwise two days ago Ella made a break through in speech. She actually started pronouncing consonants. She does her screeching thing which has become much more refined. Gaul says “She sings opera”; but now she has been saying “Naw, Naw, Naw”! So if she keeps this up we feel she’s off to a great start. We are going to Eilat in a few days with a long drive down south. Hopefully she’ll be okay with that. So far, she’s been a real trouper, staying up late at night and dragging around as we visit all our friends and relatives. She keeps a smile on her face much of the time.