Ellis at 14-Months

14-months. Wow. This is a fun age. Ellis is doing so many new things every day. She is definitely a toddler now, preferring walking to crawling these days. She likes to stack blocks, and can stack 8 of them without help. She loves Mardi Gras beads, which she calls by name, spending a lot of time putting them on herself and taking them off.

Ellis loves to read. She can say "book," though she pronounces it with a long vowel sound and no end consonant. She doesn't do any end consonants, really. We read 3-4 books before bed and 1-2 when she wakes up. We read books during diaper changes, sometimes during dinner, waiting for the train, riding in the car...books are big.

She really enjoys Baby Signing Time videos. We have to entertain her while getting ready in the morning and at least this way she is learning something while watching TV. All parents should teach their kids signing. It reduces fussing, and Ellis gets really excited about being understood. I am also convinced that it has encouraged her to talk faster. Signs Ellis can do: more (her first sign), dog, ball, baby, hat, banana, fish, eat, milk, cat, wind, bird, balloon and rain. Some she does regularly and others just from time-to-time.

Ellis has a bunch of words too. Mostly words that begin with "b." She said baby first (after Mama and Dada). She also says "dog" and "ball" over and over and over and over. She points out the window and says "dog" all the time -- we have many dogs in the neighborhood, on both sides of us and across the back alley. Other words: cat, more, beads, bear, balloon (which sounds more like brrrroom), bell, book, kitty, hat, duck, down and car. She also can tell you that a cow says "moo" and sheep say "baa." Sometimes she will even say "ruff" for a dog and "meow" for a cat. But the meow sounds more like a screech.

She is a good eater too.
Here is a picture of her with beans all over her face and in her hair. Beans apparently make an excellent mousse. She loooooves beans -- black beans, red beans, beans, beans, beans. Gobbles them down as fast as you can put them in front of her. She actually likes lots of food: bananas, Boca burgers, edamame, crackers, cabbage, hummus, Cheerios, apple and pear sauce, yogurt, mac and cheese, waffles, potatoes, hard boiled eggs, toast, sausage, pizza crust, cheese, and probably other foods we can't think of now. She finds foods you are eating particularly interesting.

My guess is that she would eat even more kinds of foods if she had more teeth. She is up to 7, after 2 came in last weekend. I tell you, it is tough to chew food when you only have front teeth. Try it. It is frustrating.

She also likes to drink milk, juice and water. She can suck a bottle dry in no time, but is getting into the sippy cup now. She also likes to try to drink from a regular cup, sticking her tongue down into the cup. Mike and I often drink fizzy water and every time she tries it, she makes a face...then immediately wants to try again.

Sleeping: she goes to bed around 8:15pm and sleeps until 6:30 or 7:00am. But she usually needs to get up once for some water, around 4:30 or 5:00am. Interestingly, I am the same way. She drinks a few ounces and goes back to sleep within 5 minutes. Napping: she is a champ. At daycare, she takes 2-3 hour naps. They are better at wearing her out than we are. On weekends, she waits longer to take nap and sleeps for 60-90 minutes. But now that it is warming up and she is walking, we think it will be easier to wear her out at home too. One thing that I find entertaining is that Ellis does a 360 in her crib at night but hardly moves an inch on her mat during naptime.

Random things about Ellis:

• She really enjoys the bath and gets frustrated when it is over unless you drain the tub first.
  
• She loves to dive into pillows and to be covered with a blanket or rolled up in a comforter.
  
• The refrigerator is fascinating -- any time it is open, Ellis runs straight for it.
  
• The stairs can also be fun, but she prefers to hold your hands and climb them like a grown-up.
  
• She likes to pet the cats, but can be a little rough sometimes.
  
• All electronics are cool. She likes to try to type on our blackberries and to hold the phone to her ear.
  
• Sometimes she just busts out with a laugh. Almost like she is trying to lighten the mood or something.
  
• Balloons are fun, fun, fun. She likes it when you bat one her way and let her try to catch it. Then she hugs it, and it is a miracle that they don't pop. She also likes to throw a ball, seeming to prefer to throw with her left arm.
• She makes a fish face when she wants a kiss, likes to nuzzle and knocks her forehead against yours to show love. Sometimes, when you pick her up, she will pat your back, whih is too cute. And she loves it when I (Beth) shower her with kisses.
• She thinks it is funny when she is thrown in the air or tossed on the bed.
  

So those are the highlights. Ellis is a joy. We are really lucky to have her and can't wait to see what she does tomorrow.