Ella's Thursday 13

Hopefully you won't be bored, but I wanted to dedicate this weeks 13 to, things Ella is doing at 20 months of age.

1. Eats with spoon, fork & hands. This child loves to eat & makes a pretty good mess while eating. She will use utensils, until she is slowed down, that is where the hands come in. You can shovel food with your hands much faster.


2. She loves to dance to music. Sometime she dances & we don't hear any music....but SHE sure does.


3. Ella names and/or points to atleast 15 body parts. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? what a Genius


4. She takes her clothes & diaper off. She's got some great large motor skills.


5. Ella loves to laugh. Especially when others laugh first. Then she mocks the laughter while slapping her hand on her leg. I think she has seen Jody do this, when someone comes to the dealership & offers a ridiculous amount for a car.


6. The other night she was on my mom's steps, looked around the corner at Jody & said, "Daddy, on steps!" which meant Daddy, I'm on the steps & we both know I'm not supposed to be here.


7. Ella says no for no and no for yes. You have to watch for body language to translate.


8. She follows directions. She had gotten some tights out of Emily's dresser & left them in my bedroom floor. So, I said, "Ella, get the tights (I didn't point at them) & go put them in Emily's dresser where you got them & come back." She did it in less than 5 seconds. What a good listener!!


9. Ella loves to watch the movie Cars w/Alex. She races around with him when the cars race. Alex really loves her doing this. She will also watch Hannah Montana w/Emily. She dances to the music in the show & if you know Emily you know she loves to dance too.


10. She loves nap & bedtime and never fusses. She goes to bed with a silky (which her head lays on) a cloth diaper (that she holds) a pacifier and gloworm (it plays music & glows). In the am & after nap she stands up in her crib, starts gloworm's music & dances, then when it's over she looks at it & says "bye bye".


11. Ella LOVES her family. She calls my mom & dad, Nanny & Poppy. And since she loves babies, she's very interested in baby Landon & loves to hug him. She really enjoys Lindsey & Hope playing with her at the pool.


12. She will sit on the potty 2-3 times a day. She gets a little toilet paper, wipes, puts it in the potty, flushes & says "bye bye". She doesn't actually Go Potty, but it's a start.


13. Ella loves to pout. She is the most pouty toddler I've ever seen. (remember I worked with toddlers for 3 years at a daycare) She also likes to pitch fits, but is ever so careful not to hurt herself when she throws herself to the floor. Most of the time I ignore this behavior, but sometimes I have to use distraction to move it along.

All in all Ella is a sweet, sweet girl & we love her so much. She can have a little temper, but overall she is very manageable and understands most of what we talk to her about. She is such a blessing to our family and I can't wait to see more exciting developments in the next few months.

Happy Thursday!