Dear "Little Stink",
Sorry baby, that's your nickname of the moment the days! Mostly I call you it when you do something like what's in the picture below :) But don't worry it's said in love! I also realize I should probably stop calling you baby as much as I do, I am sure you're not even going to know your name is Ellie at this rate!! We seem to call you anything other than that most of the time :)
I decided to go against my "rule" of not having photos in your monthly letter posts, seriously why I worry about them all "looking the same" is beyond me! It doesn't matter and these photos I chose really capture your last 2 months of life and where we are at now. Girl, you are BUSY!! And very inquisitive these days, also independent, and keen on figuring out how things work! Also, it doesn't take much to keep you entertained and we've been having fun "makin' do" (see below for the proof! Tupperware+water+sunshine+turkey baster=FUN!)
A few things about you these days:
-You love to be outside! you have mastered the slide at the park and could care less about the swings anymore!
-I've learned not to ask you if you wan't to go bye-bye unless we are ready to walk out the door! (If shoes aren't on, bag isn't grabbed, etc. etc. I've just teased you and you think it won't happen in the 3 more minutes between saying it and actually leaving! *cue crying!)
-That said, you LOVE to go bye-bye!! :)
-We've been putting lots of "ponies" in your hair to contain the mullet and too long, not really bang pieces, that I will NOT cut yet!
-At story time you always crack me up and I love to watch you because you never just sit there with me and do the songs or listen to the book, instead you wander ALL over the room, getting all up in the other parents space, face, laps, using them as a stairwell to hang on to up and down the stairs, etc. etc. You charm them all though silly girl!! You are quite the adventurer!
-You might be developing a "lovey"? You've been sleeping with one of your soft baby dolls that you go for your birthday and it's so cute to see you curl your little arm around her and tuck her under your chin when I lay you down for bed.
-If we tell you to throw something away, you walk over to garbage, wait for us to open it and then will throw it in and clap for yourself! Also, you help put the dishes away from the dishwasher (the tupperware ones!) and if we tell you to wipe you nose, you go get a burprag and will wipe it! It's so funny to see you do all these things!
-You are obsessed with the bathroom and being in the bathroom and if I can't find something like a sippy cup, I can usually find it in the tub, along with a ball, some random tupperware, etc!
-You say "bye-bye, banana, "nuh" (nose), mama, dada, and a bunch of other babbly stuff, I am pretty sure you are trying really hard to say "sock" and I can tell when you are, and you also have a word for when you want milk but I can't even try to spell it the way you say it, but I know what you mean! It's sooo neat to be able to understand your little baby language!
-You sign please, thank you, all done, more, eat, and milk. When I tell you to say "I love you" you blow kisses/sign thank you but I know that is your way of saying it!
-You still LOVE to give kisses to me, even when I don't even ask for them! This is the best thing!
-We've been working on animal sounds and the one you have nailed is definitely the cow! lots of "mmmmmmmmm" going on around our house
-You are really into books and sitting on our lap to have them read to you right now.
-You know where your ears, nose, belly button, hair, teeth/mouth, and eyes are! I think eyes are my favorite because instead of pointing to them your squinch them shut and make the cutest face! Then you poke me in mine to show me where mine are! ha!
-You are still eating most everything and sleeping good too! New favorite foods include green beans (but only the canned ones?), tomatoes, strawberries and scrambles eggs are high on the list! You also blow on all your food a lot even if it's not hot food! so cute!
-Still nursing at 16 months and I don't know/don't care when you will stop, I know you'll let me know when the time is right. I'm trusting our instincts on it and not anyone else's opinions there.
-Hmmm, what else! I need to start writing things down on paper in between these letters so I don't leave anything out.....
-Oh yes, tantrums have arrived, (i think that's what I'd call them!) Sometimes when you don't get your way or we won't let you do something, etc, etc you for sure let us know you are not happy about it. You're dad and I have been talking quite a lot about how we want to handle this kind of behavior and we are still figuring it out. So far we are ignoring it, walking a few steps away, or trying to redirect you with what your options ARE, instead of what we don't want you to do.....Seriously waking up in the middle of the night with a newborn was EASY compared to this part of parenting for me. I constantly second guess myself in what is best for you when it comes to discipline but one thing I will say is we are not afraid to be firm and follow through even if it's hard in the moment. We really do in fact do it because we love you! (Wow, our own parents were right when they said the same things to us!!)
On Father's day I put you in the outfit shown above, I have been waiting so long for you to wear that shirt from your Auntie Noel! Love it! It is so neat to watch your dad be your daddy!! It makes me fall in love with him all over again all the time seeing how he is with you! You are the highlight of his day when he walks through the door in the evening. Sometimes lately he has come home after you have gone to bed and it makes him sad that he doesn't get to spend that little bit of time with you. He loves you sooooo much sweet girl! We both do!
You bring such a joy and sweetness into my life Ellie girl!! I am so thankful for my cheerio spillin' & cheerio eatin' litttle babe! I love you with all my heart!love,
mama
