25 Months!

At the beginning of the month we joined Daddy on a small business trip about an hour away. It was such a happy getaway. We met up with an old coworker of mine, shopped and went to a small animal sanctuary. We had the best time! Sometimes you just need a change of scenery!

A quick post-nap shot before we lost these amazing fall colors!

 Shopping with your cutie friend, L before we made it to the trampoline park. Love that place!

 A fun day at the Sacramento zoo! You loved all the animals and of course the little choo choo train

Weight: ?
Height:   ?
Head:    
Diaper size-  Size 5
Clothing Size: Mostly 3t tops and 2t bottoms

Milestones: 

 We are still amazed at the leaps and bounds you have made in your speech. You repeat what we say a lot more than you were previously and pick up a handful of new words everyday. You now say your name and your friends' names as well. You love to say "Shooon" (daddy's bff, Sean) and Lily and Summer. A lot of what you say is still hard to understand. You go on huge rambles where we can't get a word in edgewise, particularly when we call Grandma and Grandpa. But now I can pick up on more of what you say and it seems you like to recount your entire day, like telling them where we've gone and that Lily was screaming while we ate lunch or that it was raining and cold outside. 

You still love to belt out "Let it go!" from Frozen, but this month your jam was Taylor Swift's, "Shake it off". You insisted on about 4 dance parties a day. I would access the video on youtube on the TV and you would make Dad and I shake it until we couldn't shake it anymore. You even choreographed your own dance and call it the "mmmHmmm" song. "Dance! Dance!" you say. You even found the Taylor display at target and put the CD in our cart. Totally obsessed. 

You are now able to jump with two feet and say "hop!" as you do so. 

You are counting a lot and know the first several letters to the ABC song but then trail off and just hum the tune. In books you can recognize a very random assortment of letters like B and Y.  You are recognizing yellow, green, blue, red, purple, pink, black and white. Working on orange! We love to read the books with photographs in them so you can point and tell me what's there. It's amazing what you know. You always surprise me. 

You absolutely LOVE "school" (as you call it) and readily say "bye mom" as soon as I drop you off. We've been going two days a week and it's such a great balance for us both. 

Eating-  I made the mistake of buying fruit snacks and you demand them often calling them "yums". While you still eat a great lunch and dinner, you seem less hungry in the mornings. I have to keep a variety of foods for you, but overall you remain a great eater. Daycare confirms the same. 

We don't seem to miss nursing a bit! It's really helped you mature, in my opinion and I'm glad we quit when we did. 

Sleep: you have been sleeping better than ever. After a late Halloween night, you slept in past 9am. The next night the time changed and you've been sleeping til 8am ever since. You are going to bed about 9pm, now though. I would like to get on an 830pm to 730am schedule, but I'm not complaining! Daddy really enjoys the extra time at night with you. 

Favorite Toys: We got you a play kitchen for your birthday and it keeps you occupied for a long while. Nana got you an art easel and supplies and that is also a big time favorite! I've set them both up in a little play area for you and you just have a blast. You also spend time mothering your babies, reading to them and tucking them into makeshift beds. I love when you play so nicely on your own!

Ellie, you continue to bring so much happiness to all of our lives.  You are always my answer to a hard day. Always dancing, singing -you've always been such a sweet girl. I just love your little personality.