16 Months Old!

Another month gone by!!! Today for Ellison's little mini-birthday, we spent a fun morning together. We went to our usual Mother Goose library group, then we did some shopping at The Friendly Center. A bit chilly, but Ellison wasn't fazed since she was chowin' on Cheerios. We mostly just browsed, but it was hard - there are SOOO many adorable little clothes that her mama wanted to buy! We managed to get away with just one outfit. Ellison got to get out of her stroller and explore so many fun stores that are kid-friendly (after demanding, "Out!" in every one we went in to). Then to top it off, we went to Barnes & Noble - a kid hotspot here. She could hang out there forever with the train set, stuffed animals, books, and stage. It was a lovely morning for us both. :)
At 16 months, you all know by now Ellison's love of accessories (as mentioned several times). Her other favorites right now: Daddy (yeah, this one's ongoing), drawing, being let free in stores, bubbles, Collie Teddy (her Build-A-Bear) - this however does NOT replace her Teddy twins & La-La. She loves being outside just to explore, climbing on objects, her 'Once Upon a Potty' book, books in general, and using her voice. :) She's got such a great sense of humor, too. It's funny - when she turned 1 there were SO many changes that happened all at the same time, then it plateaus somewhat for a little while. Well now she seems to be going through another stage of changes. She's expanding her vocabulary & REALLY getting talkative. Her grandma said she takes after her daddy more now. ;) It's the best sound in the morning to wake up to her talking to herself & Teddy. It always used to be a monotone noise coming from her, now it's high pitches and inflections, with some "Teddy!" and "Uh-oh!" thrown in, usually followed by, "Daddy!". She's very in-tune to the letter "E" and the letter "O". Whenever she sees print and recognizes these letters, she proudly exclaims them. She loves writing the letter "O", too - she knows to make it a circular motion as opposed to scribble. Right now we're starting to practice more Spanish - she needs to be able to talk to her Abuela & Abuelo. :) She's got her English body parts down pat, but we're trying to teach them to her in Spanish now. We've been slacking in that department, unfortunately. We're working on colors, too. She still loves to say "Lellow" (yellow). For foods, she can be hit-or-miss when it comes to favorites now. Cheerios & bananas are still up there, along with those maraschino cherries that come in those little fruit cups. This past month marked the big transition from two naps a day down to one nap a day. That was tough trying to figure out, but we're all good now - just in time for the time change! Argh! Anyway, these are just some of the things going on in Ellison's world right now. Jonathan & I were just looking at some of her baby pics last night - for any of you who haven't been through it yet, SUCK UP EVERY SECOND! My heart is just broken knowing we'll never have those times back again with her at certain ages. I'm not sure God wants us to feel quite that way, as the future holds so much promise, but it just slips away from you before you know it. But we do love the fun and wonder of each new stage, too. Stay tuned!