Wow! It's been a while! Things have been pretty hectic around here lately! Let me sum up the last few weeks...SICK SICK SICK! It all started when the stomach flu ransacked our house the week before Christmas. Then, Ellie came down with "the cold." It's been neverending. A small, seemingly harmless cold, turned into the worst cough I have ever heard. Poor Ellie would cough so hard she would throw up...constantly. Three weeks, many loads of laundry, TWO antibiotics, and some Benadryl later, I think we're seeing the light at the end of a VERY long and congested tunnel.
I feel like I haven't done an "Ellie" update in a really long time. The 13th of January marked the end of her 14th month of life. I cannot believe how old she is already! Time really does fly when you have children.
Motor/Cognitive Skills-Ellie's gross and fine motor skills never cease to amaze me. At the moment, she's running all over the place! She loves to climb-the couch is her latest conquest. Dancing is her absolute favorite pasttime. The girl wakes up pointing at the radio in her room. She loves to move! We joined the local kiddie gym to help her get some of her energy out! I can't wait for it to get warm again. She loves playing outside, but it's just too cold to spend any length of time out there. She's really starting to put things together, too-she knows that the remote controls the TV, that the phone is to talk into, that the bottle is to feed her babydoll with, and so on... She's even starting to understand thigs we say to her and small directions we give her. Today I asked her to go and get her cup (which was across the room on the windowsill), and to my surprise, she looked around the room, and went to get it.
How's this for motor skills? She bent over, walked backwards, and pressed her naked little butt up against the mirror. Look closely for the reflection..haha..
Language-We are surely on the verge of some serious language development! At the moment, Ellie's words include dada, mama, ooo ooo (for dog and monkey), this, that, hiya (hi), theyago (there you go), na na (snack), bath, wow, and more! I'm sure I'm missing some! She's really getting good at showing us what she wants by pointing and trying to use her language skills to tell us. Luckily, she hasn't learned the dreaded "no" word. I'm sure she'll learn it today since I wrote that ;)
Ellie attempting to mock Dave...too funny!
Food-We certainly have one good eater on our hands! Ellie will eat just about any vegetable or fruit you put in front of her-green beans, peas, bananas, and avocados still top the list of favorites. Cheese and yogurt are favorites too-we do coconut milk/soy yogurt still since we're still suspecting a possible mild allergy to milk. Meat is still not something that Ellie likes. Eggs are on that list too, although I tried hard-boiled eggs instead of scrambled and she ate them right up. She gets two cups of milk a day, plus water, and sometimes juice (every few days). We're down to one bottle a day now, at bedtime, which I'm sure she would easily give up. I feel like I am inadvertantly holding on to it as her last sign of babyhood :(
She even tries to eat the plastic stuff!
Games/Interests- I would have to say that Ellie's second favorite pasttime right now (next to dancing) is "reading" books. She LOVES them. If I would let her, that's all she'd do all day long! I hope that she stays this interested in books as she grows up! She still loves peek-a-boo, and any toy that has buttons. She loves rough-housing with her daddy and snuggling up with her mommy! We can't forget about Kirby. These two are going to be lifelong friends! They are so cute together!
Sleep Habits- Ellie is still taking two hour and a half or so naps a day, and sleeps about 11-12 hours straight overnight (usually about 7-6:30). I'm so glad that all of our hardwork (aka my anal retentiveness) with her sleep has paid off-we have one good sleeper on our hands!
Dave and I couldn't ask for a better daughter. She is the light of our lives! Ellie, I hope you read this one day and realize how truly blessed Daddy and I are to have you in our lives.
