Almost One!

It is bizarre to think about what I was doing this time last year. I was one day past my due date and Scott and I went out for our "last supper" before the big event. We cut the festivities short after dinner, even though we planned on seeing The Proposal. Instead we watched a Tigers game in the peace and quiet of our home while I fussed over itty bitty baby contractions that seemed painful at the time. I slept maybe 2 hours that night, and another two the following night when I was actually in labor after receiving the blissful epidural. And now, a whole year has passed and sometimes it feels like we've known her forever and other times it was just a blink...At (almost) 12 months, Ellie says momma, dadda, ut-oh, and bye-bye while waving. Bye-bye actually comes out "bye-bitessss" which is equally as adorable. She is a very happy girl and enjoys cruising, "reading" books, dancing, singing, swimming, playing "where's Ellie, there she is!" ice cream, Cheerios, puppies, playing in general, getting tossed all around, and stalking Odie. She also loves playing with things she shouldn't, like the wobbly bakers rack, nasty trash can, and not so safe stove. She keeps momma busy chasing her! She loves it when I shuffle across the floor in all directions and then run at her and tickle her. She's always full of expression and loves to laugh, make surprised faces, and clap. She's staring to show a bit more shyness now, especially around large groups, but usually warms up after a few minutes. She just needs to bury her face in her mom's chest for awhile!

I started part time at work, which I LOVE! I'm only working 20 hours and feel a little slackerish, but hey, maybe more time for blogging? Ellie also started a new daycare and now goes to a center. I was a little worried how she was going to transition at this age, but so far so good. She seems to like it and her first report of the day was "Ellie had lots of smiles and hugs for her new friends. She especially liked playing with her books and toy doggies." I knew they weren't making things up when they said toy doggies! Lately she doesn't like to see me leave a room, so it is harder on days when I have to drop her off, because she'll cry for awhile. She doesn't seem to mind when Daddy drops her off though!

Ellie really changed her eating habits lately! She used to love her baby food but decided one day that she was done. Normally this would be fine, but she doesn't eat table food all that well. Even though she has a mouth full of teeth (Now including molars), she just doesn't chew and swallow all that well. Thankfully, she is learning fast! When she first started refusing baby food, she only ate bananas and cheerios for a few days. I kept trying all sorts of new foods, but she just wouldn't eat it or would gag on it. Then one night I gave her some of my take out enchilada, and I guess that sparked some adventurous eating. She still doesn't eat all that great, but she's adding more and more variety. She'll eat any type of bread, pasta (with cheese or marina sauce), rice, grilled cheese, mozzarella cheese cubes, egg yolks, peas, sweet potato cubes, grapes, baked apple cubes, and baked pear cubes.

Wow, that was a lot to catch up on. If you're still reading, you get a prize! Leave a comment and I'll randomly select someone to babysit! All you can eat Cheerios!