15 months

Now that Elle's already almost half-way through her 15th month, I figured I should get this post finished. I hate playing catch-up. Sorry about all the similar pictures- I haven't gotten my camera out much, so all the pics below were taken on two different days.

I guess the biggest thing that started in Elle's 14th month was. . . temper tantrums!!! Totally didn't know what to do about them either since Madi never threw a real one until after 2 years old. But now I've become a pro with recognizing them- remembering that it's just a tantrum and not that she's tired or hungry. It's funny how quickly she throws the trantrum, and how quickly she recovers from them- like nothing ever happened. It's usually about not getting something she wants. And actually after Elle turned 15 months they were less frequent.

Like most little kids, Elle LOVES animals. I still can't decide if she has a favorite. She's always pointing out the birds to me, loves her ducks in the bathtub and visiting them at the pond, gets ecstatic when she sees pictures of elephants- immediately making the elephant sound, can't live without her giraffe blankie, loves visiting and petting the cats at Pet Smart, and squeals anytime she sees a dog (but then gets nervous when up close). So for now I guess it's just a universal love of the animals. Maybe she'll be like Spencer (when he was little) and want to be a vet when she grows up!

Elle loves her books. She "reads" more than she plays with anything else (even her baby). The video below is not interesting at all, but it's where I find Elle anytime we're upstairs. The books are usually spread all over the floor by the time she's done- which drives me crazy, but it's totally worth the hours of entertainment they provide.

Other things about Elle:

-She eats with her hands most of the time, a fork a lot of the time, and a spoon some of the time (still hasn't figured out how to use the spoon correctly though).

-When I tell Elle something's hot, she'll blow like crazy- cracks me up every time!

-Loves going on walks and actually gets excited to get into her stroller.

-She's a tough a little girl, but also has a very sensitive side (like getting scared super easily).

-She doesn't go crazy when out past her bedtime- much more adaptable than Madi.

-She gives the sweetest kisses- most of them go to Madi (like 30-40 a day), and a few to Spencer and I.

-Naps at noon- sleeps for 2 hours (sometimes less, but never more)

-Bed at 7pm (or as soon as we get home from the Metro). Picking up Spencer has pushed the girls bedtime back a bit (7:15, 7:30, sometimes 7:45) which has seemed to throw it all off (can hardly wait to get a second car). Luckily they both sleep in. Elle's pretty consistent with sleeping exactly 12 hours from when she was layed down. And if she's not sleeping she'll just play quietly in her bed.

My favorite things about Elle's 14th month (and start of 15th month):

-Her mobility and self sufficiency. I love being able to get Elle out of her car seat and tell her to go into the house. It's so nice when they're old enough to not have to be carried everywhere.

-Her obedience. When I tell her to do something, she'll do it for the most part. It's only when she's acting silly that she likes to ignore me.

-Her love of being read to. As much as Elle loves her books and "reading" on her own, I'm so glad that she still lets me read to her. My absolute favorite is when she brings me a book and then turns around and sits down into my lap (she'd do this all day long if we'd let her).

-Her friendly personality. Elle's always waving and saying hi and bye to people. I love checking out at the store and seeing Elle give the cashier a cute smile with her adorable wave and a quiet, "bye bye". I took her to the doctor last week (first check-up since 9 months old) and when the doctor turned to leave she gave an unprompted "bye bye" and wave.

-Her wave. This one gets a video by itself. Elle's got the best wave- it's got a Miss America twist to the wrist that makes me laugh every time.

The week after turning 15 months, Elle's vocabulary exploded. It's still not as clear as Madi's was at this age, but I'm just glad to have her finally communicating with us more.

Words she says on a regular basis:

duck

quack, quack

truck

hi

bye (usually always put with dad, since he's who we're always saying bye to)

guys (she likes to say "bye bye guys" to friends that she meets- my favorite was when she was getting out of the bath. She turned to her toys, waved, and said, "bye bye guys")

done

dad

I love you (something like "I ov ew"- and was said only to Spencer- what's up with that?!)

mom (doesn't say mommy or mama, and doesn't even call me mom very often)

book

We've also been working on letters. So far Elle knows that M says, "mmmmm" (she won't tell me it's a M, she just says, "mmmmm"), B says, "bop", and O just says "O".

I gave Elle another haircut the 1st of November. I was really tired of her long, bushy hair and how it always hung in her face if not pulled back in pig tails. But after cutting it, I got all emotional looking at what I'd done. This was only part of what I cut off:

I'm not sure how well I like the cut, but I can actually do regular pigtails again.

I just can't get enough of my little Elle Bell. Having alone time with her while Madi's at preschool has been so much fun for me. It makes me feel guilty for not having made more alone time with her before this. I love you to pieces baby girl.