18 months!

Ellie turned a year and a half on Sunday! And she is seriously a full fledged toddler now. Today when I asked her to pose for the camera, this is what she did. She loves to pose lately and loves to say "cheese" and give me a full smile of all 800 of her teeth. How does she have so many darn teeth?
I cannot believe that we have known this little girl for only 18 months. I don't know what life was like before her-- wait, I faintly remember.. Ellie is the funniest little girl I know and is so full of energy. She never ever sits down and is constantly on the move. She is busy! Here is the lowdown..

Height/Weight. Okay, so I don't remember her height, I will update when I get to her sheet tonight, but she is in the 25th percentile. Weight is 20 lbs 4 oz. Still in the 5th percentile, which does not surprise me. Again, she never ever stops moving!

Diapers: Wearing size 2 swaddlers. Yes, still.

Clothes: Mostly in size 12 month. Some things 18 month. Sadly a couple of 3-6 monthers. Hey, we get a lot of use out of her clothes and I am so excited that most all of her summer stuff (especially all of her good dresses) will fit this season!

Favorite foods: What doesn't she like would probably be a better question. Ellie LOVES to eat, but especially LOVES to snack. Bananas, yogurt, mac and cheese, spaghetti, most vegetables, and some fruit. She doesn't really love fruit other than bananas or blueberries, but we will try again. Ellie is such a good eater!

Drinks: As of Monday, Ellie beloved baba or "dada" is no longer. I can't believe I don't have to clean all those parts for a few months! She hasn't even batted an eye or asked for it. I need to sneak the remaining ones laying around our house into storage so she doesn't see them! She is drinking about 2 sippies of milk a day and loves juice boxes and anything with a straw. (sidenote- the binkie that I vowed would be gone by 18 months is still with us. The doctor recommended the weaning off the binkie AFTER the baby is here, since the baby will most likely have one. This was music to Ellie's ears and you can almost see her gloat everytime she puts the darn thing in her mouth)

Favorite activites: Reading- anything Spot. She LOVES that dog! I recently was able to find some old You Tube episodes of a Spot show that must have run on some British channel, and she is obsessed. We watch like two a night. Other than that, no interest in TV. She will occassionally stop in mid-run for a quick "I love you" song w/ Barney, but that is the extent of it. She loves loves LOVES her Bitty Baby and all of the accessories. She spends countless hours taking her Bitty Baby in and out of her high chair, checking her heart and temperature, feeding her a bottle, giving her a bink, ect. Puzzles. Really anything that requires putting something in it's place. She likes to take apart her bottles and put all the parts back exactly where they go. Puzzles are the same way. She could spend hours just taking the puzzle apart and then putting it back together. Baths. Baths are like her most favorite thing ever. She loves water. Cannot wait for the pool to open this summer, she will be able to do so much more! Chris gets so annoyed with me and says I let her do whatever she wants, but her latest fave game is filling up her cup with water from the fridge and stirring it with whatever she can find. Yes, this means there is water all over the house, but whatever, it is water! She loves it and she has fun! So whatever. M&M's- how on earth did she discover she loves M&M's?? Someone tell me please. Talking on the phone/facetime/skype anything that involves technology and seeing herself. Outside. Anything and everything outside. Thank the lord that the weather is getting nicer, so I don't have to see that pitiful face pressed up against the door with Ellie crying "side, side!" Oh and last but not least, babies. The addition of 2 babies at her school have put Ellie over the edge and I think she has the fever more than me. She loves all things baby. I am hoping this lasts another 4 weeks!

Words: Ellie is starting to be a talker, and much like her dad- once she starts, she doesn't stop (fine, more like much like her mom/grandma, but who's counting?). Favorites include: NO! and all other forms of the word no! mommy, daddy, Bau!, yes, no WAY!, banana, baba, neenie (binkie), and our newest favorite, ELLIE! She understands everything we say, like everything, so we (me) really need to watch our mouths lately. She is funny, super shy in certain situations and is a total quiet, mute.. but the second you get in the car with her or home, she doesn't stop talking/laughing/singing, ect.

Ellie is super independent and my mom says she shows strong signs of being the oldest child already (I am very happy w/ my middle child status and am not so much independent, so this is all new to me :) She likes things just so, and loses her patience if anything is out of place. She likes to have her rocking chair pushed up to the coffee table when she is having a snack, and if you turn it in a different direction, she loses it. Ellie is starting to like to do things herself, trying to get dressed, getting up and down off chairs/tables/couches. Makes me so sad that my baby doesn't want/need my help anymore :( I am taking full advantage of this independence and bought a potty for Ellie to start working on. Now, yes, she is only 18 months, and no I have relented from my early ideas of potty training. But she watches her pal Gretchen on it daily and is super interested whenever we need to use one, so I got it to start working on it. We have made huge strides in the first couple days- she is no longer using it as a hat, and realizes that she is supposed to sit on it! I think I am going to just start at bathtime and see how things go! Wish me luck.


Ellie is such a fun, happy, silly, pretty little girl and we are so lucky she is ours! I wake up so excited to see her each morning and she makes everything going on in our lives better. She is her grandpa's and gommy's inspiration to keep kicking cancer's butt! You seriously would never know my dad is even sick when he is around her, they are always up and dancing and singing. We love you our sweet Bee and cannot believe you are such a big girl now. You are going to be the best big sissy ever!!!