14 Months Old!

Hard to believe, but Ellen is 14 months old! She is still as sweet as ever and growing by the day. At 14 months, Ellen is:

• a super speedy walker
• very friendly (she says "hi"/waves/blows kisses to everyone she sees)
• continuing to add words to her vocabulary ... the latest additions include "Santa," "ball," "cracker" and "pretty," among others and she is starting to put two words together (e.g., "Hi, baby")
• still taking two two-hour naps during the day and sleeping for about 11 hours at night
• sporting a five-tooth smile
• wearing size 3 and size 4 diapers (we're working through our last pack of size 3)
• wearing 12-18 month-size clothes and size 4 shoes
• starting to feed herself with a fork
• self-consious when it comes time to do her "business"
• a lover of bath time
• a fan of sitting underneath blankets (not sure why)
• very expressive with her hands during conversation
• attempting to put her clothes/socks on and change her own diaper
• turning into a fashionista ... she especially loves to accessorize with bracelets and watches (note the green sparkler on her wrist in the picture below)

Our little peanut is getting so big!

Christmas #2

Ellen had a wonderful second Christmas! She celebrated by attending a number of family gatherings, eating yummy treats, giving and receiving many nice presents, and staying up way past her bedtime on several occasions. Christmas is the best!

About a week and a half before the big day, Ellen visited Santa at the mall. She was very excited to meet the big guy and as we waited in line kept saying, "Tanta!" and "woof" to Santa's reindeer; however, when it came time to sit on Santa's lap, EVB was anything but excited.

After church on Christmas Eve, we headed to Omma and Boppa's where Ellen had a great time playing with her cousins, Gavin and Sophia.

Gavin and Ellen loved Omma's nesting Santas ...

and Boppa gave Ellen a tour of tree.

Then it was time for presents!

Ellen loved everything, but was especially proud of her new froggy hat ...

and her awesome tunnel!

On Christmas morning, Ellen awoke to discover that Santa had delivered many special presents while she was sleeping, including an Ellen-size chair! EVB was beside herself with excitement!

Now Ellen has her very own spot to sit!

EVB was also thrilled that Santa left some puffs in her stocking.

Later Christmas Day, Ellen went to Grandma and Grandpa B.'s where she played with her cousins, Madelyn and Scarlett, and opened more presents!

Ellen got many fun things of her own ...

but was most impressed with Scarlett's cool tent. In fact, she spent most of the afternoon sitting inside it and squealing with delight.

It was a very Merry Christmas!