Elle and a whole lot of pictures

Crusty nose, dirty face, messy hair, mismatched clothes, and a little busy body (which equal blurred photos)- I've got a hundred reasons why I don't take (or rather post) as many pictures of Elle these days. The cold weather created a little red rash/dry skin above her lip. With a couple weeks of runny noses, constant wiping, and the wonderful freezing temps- I just hope it isn't a permanent scar or something. It makes Elle look likes she's got a miserable cold- I guess just another reason I don't take more pictures. But then after a comment from Aunt Joci, mentioning how she barely recognized Elle in a picture, I felt guilty- like I don't document Elle as I should. So this post is partly for you Joc! :)

Elle turned 19 months last week, so here's some pics from her 18th month to document my silly, crazy little girl. Ya, they might not be all in focus, and some might be a little blurry, but I think they're hilarious. And they're my favorite type of pictures- the "in the moment ones"- all taken after walking into the room, laughing at what she's doing, then running to get my camera. Or some simply taken in a moment of love and adoration for her cuteness and charm. They're all Elle through and through!!

Not only does Elle love having a baby in the house, but she loves all the baby toys around!

After watching Beauty and the Beast, I walked into the room to see Elle attempting to ride "Philipe"!

What I usually get as a picture of Elle- her dodging the camera. This was while I was trying to get a group photo with 4 other girls all in tutus. Oh, and this was also on a day when Elle refused to let me get her dressed.

Just loved walking into the room and seeing her in this apron.

During a fun painting project with my girls. Elle actually stayed interested for the entire project- a miracle!

I asked Elle to help me empty the silverware. I turn around and found an even better helper!

I've been contemplating whether or not to cut Elle's hair- I'm not a big fan of it when it's down, but I just love that I can braid it!

While trying to capture her cute hair, Elle turned to flash me a smile!! She loves drawing on the white board!

And she loves wearing all the necklaces that she can get her hands on.

So much in fact that after taking all the above pics, she walked over to the mirror to admire herself.

And obviously loved what she saw!!

And a couple of other things to document:

1) She'll now throw her binky back into her bed after naps and when she gets up in the morning. Finally! I'd been working on no binky outside of the crib for awhile. Elle wouldn't want to give it up in the morning, so I'd usually just wait until breakfast. Once she'd take it out to eat, I'd hide it in the silverware drawer. But, if she hears the word binky, or she sees a picture with a binky in her mouth, she'll begin the crying and whining for one. She sat on my lap as I was looking through pictures from the past month. She about lost it when she saw these ones:

2) She finally says, "sorry" after her time-outs. It was usually just a big hug and kiss, but now she can very clearly say "sorry" along with one or two words to apologize for what she did- like: "Sorry. . . hit Madi" or "Sorry. . . bite. . . hurt"

3) She said "thank you" for the first time today. I've been working on this one for a long time and for some reason, either cause she's stubborn or just cause she couldn't, she'd never say it. Then tonight during dinner, as clear as day, Elle says, "Thank you Mom." I had to check with Madi to make sure I wasn't just hearing things. I tried to get Elle to say it again, just to be sure, but she refused. What a stubborn little girl!

4) Elle loves Dora (and has for quite awhile)- a little too much if you ask me. Madi didn't get into Dora/ Diego until she turned 3, but that was right around when Elle was learning to talk. It's pretty sad when your kid's first words are "map" and "backpack". While Madi's already starting to faze out of it, Elle's still going strong. She can tell you all the characters by name and answers right along with all their questions. Elle's first stop on our library trips is the "Dora section". And in the mornings she says, "wiggle, wiggle, wiggle" to let me know she wants to watch a Dora episode. Aside from allowing one episode a day, Spencer and I do nothing to encourage this obsession. I'm sure it will fade with time.

Man I love this little girl!!!