11 Months Old!

This past week, Ella turned 11 months old. Only one more month to go until her first birthday!  This year has truly flown by. One moment we are holding a calm little bundle of joy and the next we are dealing with a hyperactive, social, chatter box of a nearly toddler.

Ella has become even more social, vocal, and more of a spazz this past month. She is constantly "talking" and never lets you get a word in! It is cute to have her lecture us and I love hearing her voice as we go about our day. She has around 18 recognizable words and a couple ones that we she says consistently, but that we can't comprehend. Definitely will be dealing with some communication frustration soon! Her favorite words at the moment are "guy" (used for any non-animal creature), "cat" (used for animals except for duck, cow, and dog), and "mum" (She really likes yelling for me when she is frustrated or needs help). The boys that I nanny for have taken pride in teaching Ella to talk. I blame them for her non-stop chatter :)

Over this past month, Ella has become more loving and cuddly. She will often come up to me or Tim and lay her head in our laps or on our chests. So glad little miss independent finally discovered her affectionate side! She has also become a bit more of a spazz. Climbing and jumping around. Her favorite activity is to play on the couch and roll around and through herself backwards and forwards. It is terrifying when she is near the edge!

Another exciting (and messy) skill that Ella has begun to master, is the ability to eat with a spoon. Since she feeds herself, I have been giving her a spoon to practice with at meals during which a spoon would be appropriate. And after a couple of months of practicing and occasionally succeeding, she has finally figured out how to scoop and eat with a spoon. She still uses her hand 60% of the time, but it is fun to watch her try!

This month, we are looking forward to the holiday season. It will be Ella's first Thanksgiving and we are excited to see how she reacts to all of the food. She is a big foodie and it should be a blast watching her enjoy her first Thanksgiving feast. We have been pondering traditions that we would like to start with Ella this coming Thanksgiving and Christmas. Traditions are such a fun part of the holidays!

Raising Ella has been a blessing and a challenge. We are looking forward to the months and years ahead of us. There will be lots of stress, chaos, love, laughter, tears, cheers, pain, and joy. Every day I am thankful that God decided to add Ella to our little family. It is a tremendous gift and responsibility.

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