One and a Half

Sweet Ella,
You are a spunky toddler full of life. We love how curious you are and how you get excited about the smallest things. Your vocabulary has expanded so much this month and you are talking in phrases. You amaze us everyday with new words and sounds. It has been a joy to watch! You received a developmental "report card" at school and it showed that you are exceeding expectations in all areas, especially in the verbal area! Haha! That doesn't surprise us! Your teachers are amazed that you know every child's name and call them by their name. We have also been told that you apparently have your own "fan club" at school where other kids follow you around.

Our FAVORITE thing you say is "I gonna getchu." You say this when you want us to chase you and it is hilarious listening to you repeat this phrase over and over again.

Your favorite foods are: rice, green beans, peas, corn, and vanilla yogurt.


You are now taking your naps on a cot at school. This is a transition they use to get you ready for the next classroom. They have told us that you are doing wonderful and are staying on the cot for naptime. In fact, you are actually taking longer naps right now!

One challenge we are facing right now is teaching you NOT to hit. You will hit us when you don't get your way and sometimes just to be funny. We are hoping that consistent discipline will help break this bad behavior.

Some of your favorite activities are: playing outside, bubbles, books, and rolling around on beds.

18 Months STATS:
Weight: 24.10 pounds (50th percentile)
Length: 31 1/4 inches (60th percentile)
Head Circumference: 17 3/4 inches (10th percentile)

17 Months

Not much has changed this month...

~You got one more tooth: your bottom left lateral incisor.

~You are very squirmy when we change your diaper. In fact, it's getting pretty annoying and difficult to actually keep you still. We have started giving you a sticker to play with while we change you and that has helped a lot.

~Your vocabulary is growing faster each day. You are constantly surprising us with new words and small phrases.

~You are learning so much at school. You can point to different body parts on command. You loooooove singing although we don't always know what you are singing! :) You will do different hand and body gestures with the songs and they are so cute. Every once in awhile you will break out into "Itsy Bitsy Spider."

~Your favorite book is still Eight Silly Monkeys.

~You have been using a spoon or fork everyday, which makes for messy meals!

~You love going to the park. The weather has been beautiful this month, so we have enjoyed playing outside many afternoons.

Ella, you are a joy to be around and make us smile (and laugh) everyday. There are days we go to bed exhausted because you keep us on the go, but it is worth it.

Our Ladybug is 16 Months Old

Actually sitting still long enough for me to snap a picture.

Walking in the backyard before heading to church. Thanks, Grandma, for my outfit!

Love her ponytail!!

On the move...as usual. She looks like a big girl in this picture.

Daddy and Ella listening to music on the laptop.

This has been one of the healthiest months you have had in a long time. We are hoping your immune system has built itself up and that you will get sick less often!

Because you have been feeling much better, we have weaned you completely off the bottle and you are sleeping through the night! YAY! We were thinking it would take a few days (or a week) to change your routine, but it only took one night. It was an answer to our prayers. Mommy did lots of research and talked to other mommies before deciding on the best step to help you sleep through the night. The following is what we did:

- When you woke up in the middle of the night, we let you cry for 5 minutes. Then mommy went into your bedroom, gave you a kiss, and told you night-night.
- We let you cry for 10 minutes this time and then went into your room and did the same thing by giving you a kiss and telling you night-night.
- Same thing after 15 minutes.
- Then, during your 20 minute interval, you fell asleep until the morning.

We thought we would have to do several nights of this, but we never had to do it again. For the next few nights you would wake up once, cry and whimper, and then put yourself back to sleep. You are sleeping about 11 hours a night and it is WONDERFUL. Mommy has much more energy!

You are doing a great job eating. In fact, sometimes it feels like you are always wanting to eat. We have introduced many new foods and you are beginning to broaden your "favorites." Two of your favorite things right now are blueberry muffins and honey teddy grahams.

You are following commands (and sometimes deliberately NOT following them):
- Come here.
- Bring me your shoes (and other items).
- Go get your milk/juice.
- Give mommy (or daddy) a hug.

Your school has been teaching you sign language. Your two favorite signs are "more" and "please." You do a great job using them!

You FINALLY give us kisses back. It's so cute how you lean and give wet, slobbery kisses.

It has been fun putting your hair up in ponytails...although you yank it out lots of times!!

You went on your very first carousel ride at the mall this month. Once the music started and the horse started moving you got scared and wanted me to hold you. Once you were in my arms you were okay, but I could tell you were nervous because you were holding on tight to me!

Your vocabulary continues to expand. In fact, everyday you are saying new words and phrases. I can't keep up with all your new words. Here are some I can actually remember right now: up, more, ball, okay, stop, okey dokey.

We have noticed you are giving less tamper tantrums these days. It may be related to the fact you can communicate.

You are a joy! People are always commenting on your sweet demeanor and love for life. You are an easy going toddler who will play with ANYONE and let anyone hold you. Your daycare workers say you are very expressive, verbal, and a little "momma" to the other kids in your class. They say you are very protective of the smaller children and that you stand up for yourself (and others). We love that you are already showing signs of being a leader. Our prayer is that you will grow up to be a God-fearing young lady. You already make us proud!

Ella-15 months

Ella-belle, you are a bundle of joy! You are at the age now where you make us laugh so much. You can be a little comedian and you get a thrill out of making people smile. This month, we feel like you entered the toddler world. Here are some highlights from this past month:

~ Some of your favorite foods are ground beef (with taco seasoning), guacamole, and bananas.
~ You cut all 4 of your first year molars this month, along with your bottom right lateral incisor. (Yeah I had to look up the name for that one!!)
~ You are completely off the bottle, except for the middle of the night. You use the sippy cup for milk and juice.
~ Because you have been sick pretty much nonstop, you still wake up once a night. After speaking to the pediatrician, we have concluded that you may be waking up in the middle of the night for various reasons: not feeling good; pain; or out of habit. So, we are catering to your needs and putting you right back to sleep.
~ You have done a good job falling asleep on your own and without props! YAY! We can put you in your crib at bedtime or nap and you will fall asleep on your own.
~ You are soooooo silly! You like to mimic people's faces, sounds, and words.
~ You love to dance. At school you are learning different dances like the chicken dance and the macarena. It is so funny watching you dance the moves to these dances.
~ You like shrugging your shoulders for no apparent reason. You will walk around and randomly shrug your shoulders and then wait for us to laugh.
~ We had a White Christmas with a little bit of snow. You enjoyed playing in it. Ever since that event, you beg to go outside. We can't wait for the weather to warm up so we can let you play outside.
~ It was warm one day so we took you to the park and you loved it. You were so interested in walking on the bark, climbing through the tunnels, climbing the stairs, sliding, and watching the big kids. You used to enjoy the swing, but this time you didn't. Now that you are mobile, I guess you are more interested in moving around.
~ A boy at your school bit you. Your teachers said you were a trooper by walking away from the boy. A few days later he tried to bite you again and you ran away before he could get you. Then when he was in his chair eating snack you walked up to him and "blessed him out." Your teachers were shocked to see you talking very sternly to the little boy. Maybe he will leave you alone now...
~ You are a STRONG-WILLED child. You test our patience everyday. You have temper tantrums on a daily basis.
~ Many of your tantrums have to do with wanting to go "bye-bye" and us not leaving immediately. You love to go out anywhere, even if it's to Walgreens down the street. You will stand by the garage door, bang on it, and say bye-bye.
~ You say "m" for milk. You also can say: good girl, this, that, baby, school.
~ You talk ALL THE TIME and say "hi" to random people. You are communicating even better this month by showing us what you want or need. You point to what you want. You also walk to the frig when you want your milk and juice. Also, you walk over to your highchair and say "eat" when you are hungry.

15 Month Doctor STATS
Weight: 23.2 pounds (50th percentile)
Height: 31 inches (75 percentile)
Head Circumference: 17 1/2 inches (10th percentile)


Crying because we told her not to touch the Christmas ornaments.
More interested in the box than the actual gift.
Christmas Eve Service
Excited about her new rocker!
Her face cracks me up here!
Walking outside in her new snow suit.
Sitting in the snow...

Videos of Ella on Youtube

Here are a couple of new videos on Youtube. There are a couple of Ella walking!

http://www.youtube.com/user/EsElDingo

14 Months!!

Here's what Ella has been up to this past month:

~ Cabinet locks have been placed in our master bathroom so you can't get into anything.
~ You had hand, foot, mouth disease AGAIN. This time it was much worse because the sores were on your tongue instead of in your throat. We had to give you Pedialyte to keep you hydrated.
~ Some new words that you can now say: "go" "Nana" "Papa" "night-night" "eat"
~ You are officially walking.
~ We are giving you formula for toddlers for your night bottle, just to make sure you are getting enough nutrients.
~ You are finally eating more!
~ You like sucking on lemons and limes.
~ You love your da-da and get so excited when he comes home from work. You like to hug him and crawl all over him.
~ We elevated your crib because you are very conjested. This has helped you sleep better although you are still waking up once every night.
~ Still only taking a 30-45 minute naps at daycare so you come home EXHAUSTED.
~ On the weekends you catch up on sleeping by taking a 2 hour nap during the day.
~ When you get someone's cell phone you put it up to your ear and say "hi" or "hey." Sometimes you also put other things to your ear that you think are phones and do the same thing :)
~ You like to throw things like balls and food.
~ You LOVE your eyelashes and play with them often, especially when you are tired or falling asleep in your crib.
~ You like to dance when you hear music.

13 Months Old (written 3 weeks late)

Mommy did a BAD job this month and didn't write anything down. So, I'm writing this "from memory."

~ Daycare is kicking our butts right now because you are constantly sick.
~ When you are sick, you are still sweet and mostly content. We are really blessed at how well you act even when you aren't feeling well.
~ You are a social butterfly. You LOVE going out in public and can't wait to interact with people (and animals.)
~ You never meet a stranger and will let anyone hold you.
~ You can take around 5 steps on your own. You are apprehensive to try much farther. You would rather hang on to objects while "coasting" along.
~ You are slowly trying more and more finger foods.
~ You LOVE your milk. We have to be careful not to give you too much so you will eat your food.
~ We have noticed that you are getting a little more affectionate by giving hugs and cuddling. Sometimes you want a hug and then you are quickly moving along to the next activity.
~ You love swinging at the park and enjoy crawling on the bridge and other climbing things.
~ We transitioned you to your "big girl" car seat a few days after your birthday. You have done a GREAT job and seem to like facing forward.
~ Nana and Papa bought you a DVD player for the car, so that has entertained you really well :)
~ You love being outside. In fact, if you are fussy or not feeling well, we will walk outside. You will immediately stop crying and focus on your surroundings. In fact, while you were sick, there were many nights you would fall sleep outside while being rocked on the deck chair.
~ You love to explore. If you seem bored, we take you into another room and you love the change of "scenery" and have a blast exploring the new room. So far, it is still easy to entertain you!
~ You love your little wooden rocker. We have to watch you closely because sometimes you would rather stand on it instead of sit and rock.
~ You love your ball pit. Aunt Dee bought you bunches of balls to put inside the pit.

12 Month Stats:
Length- 30 inches (90th percentile)
Weight- 20.11 pounds (60th percentile)
Head Circumference- 17 1/2 inches (25th percentile)