Twenty-one Months

Since last month I tried to make Ellie 21 months old and she wasn't, I suppose I've got it right this month.

Apparently Ellie has had a growth spurt because all of a sudden her clothes are all too small. She's shot right through her 12 month clothes with barely a wear. I spent the morning taking out all the clothes that are too small for her now and several things she never got to wear. I suppose that will make for good consignment merchandise, but it makes me sad that she's growing so fast.

Of course, she's still a little peanut, but I'm noticing (as are others) that it's getting harder to hold her for long periods of time and that carrying her takes more energy these days. She's certainly gotten taller because it seems like all her pants are capri style now. In summer that would be fine -- not so much in the dead of winter. We have officially moved up to 18 months which are a little too big, but most of the 12 months are too small. I think this means she is doing her "catch-up" growth. Yay, Ellie!!

Developmentally, we are seeing a lot more words popping out at random. She tries to repeat everything we say -- unless she doesn't want to at which point she vehemently shakes her head, NO!! We continue working on her sign language and have pretty much mastered (I think) Baby Signing Time Volumes 1 and 2. We ordered 3 and 4 for Christmas and she's begun to watch those a lot. She randomly uses a sign or the word for something. The funniest thing she's just started doing is coming up to me and patting me on the leg while over and over (and over) going, "Mama, mama, mama". When I finally acknowledge her she either wants picked up or to pull my finger and lead me somewhere. Sweet!!! Love to hear her say, "Mama!"

She loves to color and paint. She likes to dance. She smiles and giggles most all the time. The Kyrgyz hissies have subsided a bit, but they still pop their head up now and again. She has started to take her clothes off and put them on. She has started taking her baby doll's clothes off, but can't seem to get them back on. She loves everything to do with her brother and I jokingly tell people she'd rather have a car to play with than a doll -- thing is, I'm not so sure it's a joke.

Dee'anna tells me that she and Addie are playing more together than just alongside one another. I took a slide over and she tells me they love to slide.

She's sleeping so much better than when she came home. Usually she's asleep between 8-9 and sleeps until around 7. She naps between 1/2 hour - two hours in the afternoon.

She's eating very well and hasn't gotten too picky yet. Her favorites are still bananas, broccoli and pasta. She's not hugely fond of meat, but will eat some.

Her favorite thing in the world right now is Dora -- all things Dora. She still likes "Belmo (Elmo)" and Mickey Mouse. She went to her first movie theatre movie on Christmas Day. We all went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. Other than wanting to go back and forth between Kevin and I quite a few times, she was very good and watched a lot of the movie. She never made a noise during the movie, so we were pretty pleased that she was able to sit through it.

We just passed the three year mark on our dossier log in date in China and have been told by our agency that due to our paperwork expiring it is time to "make a decision." I feel certain we will pull our dossier, but we have to make it official. In a way I'm sad, but the reality is that we got what we started out for -- another child/a daughter -- so it doesn't seem to matter now so much about the dossier sitting in China. I think we are complete.

Pictures soon. The Princess awaits her nap -- and so do I!!