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Little Miss Luella is 18 months today!! I can't believe it!!!!

scarf, pants, moccs, bow, sweater from Ireland.

It's incredible how much out little nuggets change each month!  Life seriously cannot get much better with our little love in it!

Here is what Ellie has been up to this month:

• she started nodding her head "yes" and it's the cutest thing. 

• her vocabulary has increased so much:  baa, moo, woof, hiss, neigh, meh, caw, bawk are her go to animal noises and then she just makes up sounds for other animals that have nothing to do with their name or sound. 

Mama, Dada, Nana, Papa, Gaga, Sata (Santa), ah (all done), huhuh (yes), Tuka (tucker), Appah (apple), cah (car) kaka (and points to our dogs), bo (bowl), ba (ball), and bah (bath). 

And then lots of toddler rambling. 

• she is becoming pretty opinionated in her food choices but is doing well with keeping her plate on the tray, using utensils is getting better, and is a pretty clean eater (thank God!!). Some favorite foods are: cheese, puffs, crackers, apples, hamburgers, fries, pasta (mac'n'cheese), bread, corn flakes, Cheerios, fishies, rice and broccoli. 

• Lu has been pretty rock star in her napping.  She sleeps well in the pack'n'plays at work and still does pretty good at home too. Nighttime sleep is another story. She is on about a 3 hour cycle. I finally have weaned her middle of the night feeding and we are working really hard at making her stay in her crib/room until at least 5am (sometimes that means I am crawling into her crib to sleep/cuddle with her).  It's a struggle but bad habits die hard!!!

• some of her favorite things to do: climb anything is at the top of her list (especially those that are off limits), reading books (looking for sheep on every page!),  dancing, running, pushing her baby stroller, and trying to pet the dogs. 

turning a cardboard box into a slide

• tantrums: we have kinda entered this territory. She is not too bad just has the occasional scream/cry/throw herself on the floor for 1/2 a second and then gets over it. I also tell her that that type of behavior is not necessary and she better get it together. These outbursts usually happen when I tell her that she cannot do something or take something away from her. Such is the life with toddlers I understand. 

headwrap, top 

• some of my favorite things this month: Lu pointing to things when I ask her where they are, her helping to clean up her toys and messes, her enjoyment of independent time, and her excitement of seeing her Daddy come home from work. 

This is by far the most fun age and I am so grateful that I get to spend everyday with her! I wouldn't change my decision to leave teaching for anything!!

♥ Ashley 

see all her Monthdate's HERE