18 Months & Unstoppable

Miss Ellie Bellie is now 18 months old! Oh, how the time has flown. And speaking of flying, so is Ellie. She has almost mastered the skill of walking and is using that prowess to get into anything and everything imaginable.

She continues to be happy go lucky most of the time, exploring the world without much hesitation. her personality seems to be much different than her big sisters. Where Adly is shy and demure, Ellie busts into things without much thought. With her newfound ability to get anywhere she pleases has come her insatiable appetite for danger. Nothing seems to stop her when it comes to curiosity and well, being an outright stinker. She is famous for giving a little side eye, mixed with a grin as she reaches for anything and everything she is not supposed to have. Whereas Adly spent her time happily playing within the parameters we set around our house; Ellie looks for any place imaginable that hasn't been baby proofed (or has) and dives for it.

Ellie is talking more and more, but is definitely way less verbal than Adly was at this point. However it is so much more exciting having a big sister to cheer her on whenever she does come up with a new word to repeat. She acknowledged me as "mama" for the first time a few weeks ago which was amazing. She calls our nanny Colleen "Leeny". She will also make attempts at most words you ask her to say. One of her favorite things this past month has been saying "beeeyey!!" which is "belly" while invading your personal space and lifting up your shirt. She will do this to anyone and everyone, no matter your stomach situation.

Her slower language development is already starting to lead to glimpses of meltdowns. She has never done anything in public thus far, but her favorite reactions seem to be throwing herself on the floor, banging her head on the couch, or biting the crap out of any inanimate object she can find quickly. She is most frustrated by her sister stealing things from her or me not understanding what she is trying to say. It is so hard to try to communicate when they are so close...but just can't yet.

Speaking of her sister, Adly and Ellie continue to grow and find ways to play together which is awesome. They will often run off and play together, however the language barrier still plagues their ability to actually "play". Most of their time together consists of Adly creating games around Ellie that Ellie has no idea of whats going on so she just runs back and forth yelling and giggling. Ellie still adores Adly and completely looks up to her, calling ,"Sissy! Siiiisssy!!" all day, every day. Adly, ever the opportunist, has seen this as a way to at times torment this little being that cuts her attention in half. Last week, I was cleaning the kitchen as I heard Adly yelling about a gorilla that was after her. I came into the living room a few minutes later as Adly tells me, "The gorilla is locked away. Don't worry, we're safe!" Turns out the "gorilla" was her sister who she'd locked in her pitch black closet. I of course ran and opened the door, only to find little Ellie happily playing in the dark with a toy, completely content. Someday, Adly...you'll get yours. 

Ellie also seems to be super tough. She incurred her first elbow and knee scrapes during our random bouts of warm weather. Having her bare skin exposed while running around the treacherous driveway resulted in quite a few spills. Both times, she was cut and bleeding and I didn't know until much later. She never cried or made any indication she was hurt from a fall. I was sure cleaning the wounds would illicit wails, but no. She happily played with her toy while I cleaned and placed band-aids. I hope she's always this tough!

Speaking of tough, she is also pretty rough and tumble, compared to her big sister. She tends to be the one doing the damage when it comes to them fighting. She is also a hitter and a biter (only with our immediate family), which is new to us as well. So far, this seems to be her favorite way to "express" herself. Hopefully it is a quick phase that fades with more communication skills.

The engineer in her continues to blossom as she focuses in on something and repeatedly attempts to figure out what it is and how it works. She still picks up the smallest items and investigates them carefully. As she's grown, it has become more of an effort to see how things work together and fit into each other. I love this so much about her, and can't wait to be able to talk through her thinking when she is bigger.

Her progress with her legs has been up and down. We are switching therapists for her physical therapy in the coming weeks to get a new set of eyes on her. She'll also be seeing an orthopedic surgeon to be evaluated. While she's made great strides as a walker (and even runner), her ankles are still very loose and leaning in without the support of shoes. It has been a frustrating process to not have direct answers. We are hopeful that these next steps are just the beginning of a short road to finding the best solutions to help her as much as possible.

Ellie, you continue to brighten our days with your never ending smiles and happy outlook on life. We love you for always keeping us on our toes!!