14 months!

I've been told lately that with an increase in serious political posts, my loyal reader(s) are missing the cuteness. Consider this post a remedy. :)

Miss Eleanor is now 14 months old! How in the world has this happened? She's developing quite the personality, and every day seems to bring something new out in her. Here's her the rundown...

Eating: Ellie is apparently a typical toddler in her appetite. Some days she seems to be fine with nothing but crackers and the air she breathes, other days she's famished and eats enough to feed a teenage boy. When she's in the mood she'll eat anything - lentils and smoked salmon are new favorites (not necessarily together). She's still enthusiastically nursing, and while I don't expect this to change anytime soon, I do see that some days she's more into it than others. My plan right now is to let her wean whenever she wants to and is ready (yes, I realize that could mean several more years of this!), so I'm pretty curious how this'll play out.

Sleeping: hahaha. She gives us the runaround on this one. Some nights she's great decent, others she's not so decent. Usually she'll give us a couple of great night sleeps before she comes down with something, so if we wake up fully rested, it's a pretty sure sign that she's about to spike a fever. I'm thinking that it's high time we do some sort of sleep training, but I just don't wanna. So, my laziness means that we're avoiding fixing the problem, which is kind of the lowest form of parenting. Still taking two naps a day, but on days when she wakes up late, we're starting to transition to one nap. We'll see how this goes. I'll miss the second nap, but I'm hopeful that this will help bedtime. I'm sure it'll backfire on me somehow though.

Playing: All the time! Loves outside, loves parks, loves "swimming" (I use the term loosely, of course). Turns out, she loves the zoo, as well! (no surprises, as she generally goes bonkers over doggies and kitties...). Loves her grandma and her daddy, her friends and, of course, her Monty, who generally loves/tolerates her back. She's into grabbing our fingers lately and pulling us to where she wants to go (almost always this is outside). It's so sweet though that she tends to get her way.

Size: Ellie's still a big girl! Size 2T, size 5 shoes and diapers. My arms are looking stronger and leaner than they have in years, so I'm thankful for her 25+ pounds which like me to lift her up frequently. :)

What else? She's generally hilarious. Loves to make faces at us and is starting to really get when things are funny. She joins in on the laughter when appropriate, and is always happiest when surrounded by "her people." She's learning to talk, slowly but surely, and is collecting a handful of words (not that she likes to use them unless prompted however. Why talk when you can always get your way by gesturing and pointing?). Words include: mama, dad-dad, dog-dog, night-night (she likes to scream this in my face as a diversionary technique while I'm trying to actually get her to go night-night) "mmmm" when food is tasty, no (of course), balloon and her latest "Gabey" (although she says it "day-day" which is pretty cute).

All in all, still the light of our lives!