14 months

My sweet Ella,

What a joy you are to be around.  You adore your big brother and follow him like a little puppy dog.  He enjoys his “baby sista, Ella” the majority of the time, but sometimes closes the door in his room so he can play with his trains without interruption.  On the days that Aleck goes to Mother’s Day Out, you miss him and want me to play with you all day long.

You can say “Ma” and “Da”, for Mommy and Daddy.  When I’m holding you and I say, “Ella, love Mommy” you lay your head in the crook of my neck and coo.  It is absolutely adorable.  You also do this with your favorite toy, your baby doll.

Over the last month, you have been weaning from breastfeeding.  You now only nurse first thing in the morning.  You love your bottles and don’t really seem to be upset by the transition.  Overall, you are a good eater, but not as good as Aleck was at this age.  At this age, Aleck ate everything I put on his plate.  Like Aleck, you love all fruits, a few vegetables and most breads and meats.  You don’t care much for breakfast so I just give you a good mid-morning snack.

You are sleeping through the night again, hallelujah!  Dr. Sakseena said you would probably start sleeping better when you weaned and I think she was right.

You wear 12 month clothes, size 4 diaper, and size four shoes.  You have 8 teeth, with your most recent being the lower left back molar.

You love to climb on everything, and jump on the bed.  You climbed to the top of Aunt Glenda’s staircase back in June.  You can go up and down a 4 inch step without holding onto anything.

You continue to love bath time.  You will throw yourself backwards and float on your back with a smile on your face.

You love music.  Aunt Glenda gave Aleck an electronic drum machine and you like to play with it as much as Aleck does.  After we got the drum machine home, I realized the reason Aunt Glenda was so happy to get the toy out of her house.  When Daddy is practicing drums in the garage, you run to the door in the kitchen and dance and bounce around.  You love it when Daddy practices drums!

You surprise me with how well you mind and follow instructions.  You haven’t really started exhibiting an independent will, yet.

You love books, especially books that have a texture on the page.

I am sad that you are too interested in the world around you to spend much time snuggling these days.  You will let me rock you when you drink your bedtime bottle, but most other times you are too busy to sit still for very long.

You are so curious about everything!  I love seeing the world through the curious eyes of a toddler.

I am so thankful for you, my sweet Ella Bella.