My Girl

Ella has hit the 18 month old mark! She is making the transition from baby to toddler. Here are some things she has been up to:

*She has really been into singing songs. This morning at church I was holding her while we sang hymns and she started to sing along with me! Tonight I sang twinkle twinkle little star and she began singing along with me again. She even said the word high. What a smart cookie!

*Speaking of music, she likes to bob her head when the radio comes on in the car. Ella also enjoys dancing to any kind of music. Her specialty is twirling. Mike and I have just started watching old episodes of The Office. For some reason, both of the kids spring into action when they hear the theme song and start to boogie. It's pretty cute.

*She can make a perfect "C" with her body when she is in the right mood. Just this morning she arched her back, flailed her arms backwards and curled her legs towards those flailing arms. Can you picture it? It was awesome, especially since it happened in a breakfast cafe as I was in line paying for our meal. The flailing also comes along with a side of screaming. Ella has taught me much patience and I still have a ways to go. :) I'm proud to say that I handled that particular episode well. After I buckled the kids into their car seats I gave them each high fives and congratulated us on surviving breakfast! Thank God for coffee.

*She's really into jackets. I guess that makes sense since she is my daughter. In case you don't know I love jackets. The difference between Ella and me is that she loves puffy coats. She has two of them and throws a fit if I try to remove them before she is ready. You should see me trying to get her in the car seat. Motherhood is really a physical job.

*I took the kids swimming Friday night. They had those little floatie things that you put on the kids arms and I used some on Ella. She was ready to take off by herself. I let her float around a little on her own and she did great. It was neat to see her floating on her back and holding herself up. She also enjoyed jumping off the side and didn't mind going under the water.

*Ella loves her big brother. Will is the one who can really get her laughing. They get especially loopy on long car rides. Will turns on the silliness and you can just hear belly laughs from the backseat.

*She can't get enough of her books. I've had to hide a few that I just couldn't read for the millionth time! I love how she hands me a book and then curls right up in my lap. We've started reading Goodnight Moon as the last book before I rock her to sleep. A while back I saw her with the book during the daytime and she was waving goodnight as she turned the pages, which is what we do. I love catching moments like that.


I'm sure there's tons more to report, but that's an update and my blog definitely needed that!