End of 2009

It has been a great year. 2009 was better than 2008. As this year comes to a close, I wanted to write down some of the things Ellis has been up to lately.

But first, I must say that I developed a much greater appreciation for the patience, organization, creativity and self-motivation to take care of a child all day long. Those that have these skills are generally completely oblivious to the fact that their talents are anything special and not common. This past weekend, Ellis and I got trapped indoors alone due to the fact that Mike had to work (stupid terrorists), the weather was crappy and NO ONE was in town. It was us and the cats. I learned that I am not creative enough to come up with a sufficient amount of fun, educational bonding activities to fill 2 days. Neither Ellis nor I were happy. Lucky for me she is a low-maintenance and tolerant child.

Now let's focus on how adorable Ellis is...

New phrases:

• "I don't know."
• "Mommy doing?" for What is Mommy doing?
• "Want to watch Misageera" for I want to watch Bagheera (in Jungle Book).
• "Yeah," which is a big change from "No" and sometimes "OK," which dominated her speech until recently.

New accomplishments:

• Saying her ABCs, usually without "E" and "L"; however, she can recognize those letters along with "R." She also recognizes all the signs for letters and can do about 1/3 of them.
  
• Counting to 10.
• Using a spoon well enough to eat yogurt and not make a huge mess.
• Putting together a simple puzzle.

Favorite foods: hummus, olives, pizza and empanadas.

Next up: potty training. Wish us luck.