{monthdate} 20 months!!

I can't believe that my sweet babe is already 20 months!! I have no idea how that happened. But I am love every minute I have with this sweet sweet girl!

Seriously I feel like this is the best month yet. Ellie's little personality is really starting to shine and I can tell that she is going to be a compassionate little girl. 

So here are some of tr high points of life with Ellie this month:

• Vocabulary is blossoming and is picking up new words daily (though many of them sound the same). Some new ones are okay, bus, cockas (socks), bux (blocks), coors (colors aka crayons), taka taka (thank you) pees (please) pahyee (potty), nigh nigh (nite nite), cockacocka (for a clock/alarm going off), and bye. One of my favorite things is that after I tell her to do something (or not do something) she always responds with okay.  She is also picking up names and calls herself baby. 

• Ellie is quite the little social butterfly - which probably has something to do with her coming to work with me everyday.  She goes up to other kids and says hi (when prompted), says and waves bye and blows kisses. She is doing well with sharing and will give a toy back when I tell her she needs to share. Se gets concerned when babies cry and loves to gently pat them on the back and blow a kiss to help them feel better. We have a couple infants at church that she especially loves to help cheer up. I am so happy that she is getting all this social interaction because I really am not sure if or when she will get a sibling.  One of my biggest fears of her being an only child is that she could be selfish, not good with sharing with others. So far this doesn't seem to be an issue. #praisethelord

• As far as her eating habits it's kind of hit or miss. Some days she eats a lot and other days not so much. Wednesday and Friday we tend to have the same lunch week after week (thanks to a toddler who requests the same thing every day I watch him!!) Mac'n'cheese, fruit (Apple/grapes/blueberries), cheese, crackers, and just recently hot dogs have been added in for some protein.  Ellie loves her Cheerios in the morning and sharing my yogurt with me. Using utensils is a work in process but she mostly just likes to hold the fork in one hand while eating with her other hand. One of the funniest things she does is she signs "milk" every time she wants to drink it (even when it's in her hand) and waits until I nod my head or say okay. Not sure where that came from but it's hilarious. I am slowly trying to teach her how to drink out of a cup and she thinks it's pretty fun. So far I only allow water since she prefers to take a sip and then spit it all out down her front!

She's all about the veggies

• Girlfriend is climbing on anything and everything. She likes her anywhere chair okay but prefers to sit in big people chairs or couches. Her time in the high chair is limited since she got her table and chairs for Christmas. She usual gets breakfast in it but the. Most other meals at home are at the small table (which means that Thomas and I have to get low!). I only really let Ellie watch PBS kids and Daniel Tiger is her favorite. She will say "Dan Dan" and point to the tv. The other two shows I let her watch are Clifford and Arthur. Though I'm going to have to let her watch a few Disney Jr. shows since we are heading to Disneyland next month. 

• There are so many other things that Ellie is saying and doing that it's constantly something new every day it's hard to keep up!  She makes the funniest face when I tell her to smile for a picture. She can point to her eyes (aye), nose, hair, ears and belly button (and lift your shirt to search for yours too!) She also know where her toes are and is all about the shoes and socks.  She has also started to have an opinion on what she wears and is into shaking her head no when she doesn't want to do something or doesn't want what we are offering her. She loves to laugh and giggle and has the best comedic timing. She kind of understands the concept of hugs...when I tell her to give her friend a hug she will walk over to them and lean her head towards them - no arms, so we are working on it. 

Playing with my scarf

Thr outfit she picked out for herself - pattern on pattern!!

Ballerina in the making

• It's not all fun and games on the farm. Ellie has her fair share of "tantrums" and will throw herself down on the floor when we tell her no or that she has to wait for something. Thankfully they are quick lived and she is over it in 10 seconds and this has only happened at home. She does cry out about similar things and we just tell her that she needs to stop and that is not proper behavior, she responds with an okay. Sometimes she will cry for no reason and when we ask why she just mumbles a bunch of syllables. Also when we tell her no she will sometimes scream out. She also "hits" us sometimes and when we tell her "hey! We do not hit!" She will then give us a kiss - doesn't make up for the bad behavior but I do love her kisses!

My dear sweet Ellie Faith you light up my world and I love hearing your laugh, when you say mama after you wake up from your nap and I come in to get you, how you run down the hall to see daddy, and how much you love the puppies. I am loving this stage so much and am experiencing what parenthood is all about and I love it!!

♥ Ashley

Click here to see all of Ellie's monthdates. 

To see where I'm linking up click here.