I just realized that I haven't posted anything specific on Ellison since her 1st birthday. I need to do alittle updating on my girl!
She just turned 14 months old a few days ago. She is oh, so delightful! She is full of personality, and it "oozes" from her pores. She loves to make people laugh, and she will do whatever she can to get you to smile, and then she will start laughing because the person is laughing. If laughter truly is the best medicine, then none of us should ever be sick because of this girl! I know I have said this a thousand times, but it's true - she reminds us all so much of Elliot. Elliot's job as a child, and even into adulthood, was to make me laugh - and she was very good at her job. Ellison is doing the same thing....., she is intentional about it. She is also so much like Jay in this area too - he loves to make people laugh and can immediately put someone at ease. She is fearless - nothing phases her. She is a climber - and is getting more and more daring every day, and is also hearing "no climbing" alot more lately. She is opinionated, curious, persistent, and knows 100% what she wants and what she doesn't want. She has shown us a few of her first tantrums when she didn't get her way :) She is a lover - lover of people, food, animals, car rides, new places, adventures, music, bike rides, baths, books, life. She truly loves books, more so than I remember Elijah loving them. Numerous times a day, she will bring a book to me holding it with both hands, and throw it in my lap. She will then turn around and plop herself down in my lap so that I can read to her. She loves to have books in her crib in the morning when she wakes up and sometimes she will sit there for 30 minutes looking at books, which buys me a few more minutes in my own bed! Elijah Brooks never did that - he was up and moving at the first sound of a bird in the wee hours of the morning! She is alittle slower moving in the morning, but as soon as her feet hit the floor, the race is on. She cracks us up all the time with her new way of coming to us when called. If I am sitting on the floor and call her to come to me, no matter where she is in the room, she will turn around and walk
backwards to me and sit down in my lap! It is hysterical! She has been known to walk more than halfway across the room backwards!!! And as usual, the more I laugh, the more she laughs about it. I have never know a child to walk backwards. She has turned into a great sleeper, still taking 2 naps a day and sleeping 11-12 hours a night. When she is tired, she will walk to her bedroom, grab her 2 blankies and a paci for each hand and walk back out to us. She will tell each member of the family goodnight by walking over to them and laying her head on their shoulder - so precious. She is not as verbal as EB was when he was this age, but she understands 100% of what I tell her. She is talking though, and saying all of the "normal" things for her age. She continues to love to "give love" when asked by leaning her head onto someone's shoulder. She adores the cats - and everything about the cats - including eating their food and splashing in their water! (both of which are no no's)! She is the easiest baby to be put down for their nap and bedtime. She LOVES her bed, and would rather be in her bed than sitting down rocking. EB is my "rocker" child, she is my "put me in my bed" child. Now, she does like to put her head on our shoulder when the lights go out and I will dance with her in the room for a few minutes and she loves to snuggle. I soak up those moments when she will let me just love on her. When she is hungry, she taps on the refrigerator or the panty door and makes the sign for "eat"..., although, she makes that sign all day long, so honestly I don't know when she is truly hungry! She loves taking a bath - loves the water, and will stay in the tub for awhile before trying to climb out. She loves food - all food - and is getting more and more insistent on feeding herself. She is thrilled when she gets to play outside. She is already trying to climb up the ladder on the swingset, which is not surprising. Although, she does not like to swing very much! I could hardly get EB out of the swing when he was her age, and she doesn't want to get in. She would rather be climbing the ladder or eating rocks. In the yard, she runs and squeals and is just so happy - she loves to ride on the motorized tractor with EB holding her. They are precious on it together, and he is so good about holding onto her tightly. She has the biggest smile on her face when she gets to ride with brother. She enjoys riding in the car, listening to music, and looking out the window. She is always quite content in the car. She's come a long way from not liking the car when she was an infant. She has 8 teeth and is currently cutting 2 more, which have been misery for her and me! She has already had 2 pretty big illnesses in her short life - RSV and FLU. She loves to "dance" and will dance on her tip-toes around the room. She loves to spin around in circles too. She will spin round and round, and then stop and get the most puzzled look on her face as she watches the room spin! Once the room has stopped spinning, she will start spinning in circles again - so funny. She loves shoes, and knows when she has them on she is about to get to go outside to play and runs to the door. Oh, and she refuses to wear a bow!
I guess that's a pretty good overview of where she is at this sweet little stage of life. Now, enjoy some pictures!
