10 Months-Old!

Today Ella is 10 months-old. This year has flown by and my little baby is rapidly becoming a toddler. This last month has brought a lot of change in Ella. She has become an independent, inquisitive, and loving little girl. It has been one of my favorite months and has made me a little bit more ready to leave behind the lovable newborn/infant stage. Although I am nervous of toddlerhood at times, seeing Ella become her own person has made me excited to teach her and watch her grow into a little girl.

Ella's biggest changes this month have been verbal ones. Ella first said "mama" and "dada" at 8.5 months, but this past month her verbal skills have blossomed. Instead of opening and closing her hand as a wave, she now enthusiastically waves her whole arm back and forth and says "bye!" It is funny to watch her as she cruises around waving and saying "bye" to no one in particular. When someone leaves and says "bye," 50% of the time Ella's response occurs after they have already left. It cracks me up :)

As my little tomboy, Ella loves balls and has started to say "ba-all" whenever she sees a ball or anything that resembles a ball. She is also a budding bookworm and started saying "booh" for book. "Book" is not as popular as "ball" and "bye" but, as a book lover I am working on making it her favorite word. Ella's beginning to talk has made me realize that one day this little girl will grow up and be able to share stories, tell me her feelings, and have meaningful conversations. Talking, above anything else, has made me excited to have Ella enter the toddler stage.

Over the last month, Ella's personality has developed a little bit more. She has shown us that she has a loving side and will now let daddy give her kisses (before she would smile and turn away!). During infancy, Ella wasn't extremely cuddly, but now she will come up and lay her head on you and give you an Ella hug. It is precious and I am glad to see that my monster isn't all high energy and mischief.

Ella seems to be adopting a lovey in a stuffed horse that her Aunt Becca gave her. She doesn't cuddle it to go to sleep, but likes having it with her when she wakes up or when she is crawling around during the day. Ella and Henry (the 15 month-old that I nanny) will fight over the horse and Ella has shown her selfish side.

Her love for music has become obvious this past month. We visited a music class with Henry and Ella loved clapping, waving her arms, crawling around, shaking instruments, and "singing" (yelling) along. During the library story hours, she spends the entire time shaking egg maracas and clapping. Give Ella a drum or maraca and she will be set for life! Maybe God has blessed her with the Dwyer musical genes and not my tone deafness ;)

To sum up 10 month-old Ella, she is a bundle of energy. She has mastered cruising and crawling and is now able to get into EVERYTHING. Getting her to sit still is a near impossible task that is usually accomplished at meal times and during story time. She is mischievous, loving, silly, and curious. We love our little girl and are excited to see what is in store for us in the coming months.

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