16 Months Old!

Our baby girl turned 16 months old today and she is sure growing up!  Ron and I really have noticed some changes this past month in Ella.  She is starting to make that transition from baby to toddler.  First off, she is sooooo busy!  I cannot emphasize this enough.  I have never had a baby so busy.  She is everywhere and gets into everything.  Since she has been my most physically advanced and active baby for months now, she continues to amaze us with her coordination and lack of fear.  This past month, she learned how to climb up the huge ladder AND the slide to the platform of our play structure which is several feet up in the air.  The first time Ron and I looked out the kitchen window and saw her on the third rung of the ladder, we nearly had a heart attack.  Needless to say, an adult now has to be with her in the backyard at all times to make sure that she is supervised when climbing on the play area.  Ella has also gotten really good at running and enjoys running away from us when we want to take something from her that she knows she shouldn't have.  She continues to giggle and laugh at many things and loves being in the middle of the action and chaos of her older brother and sister.  She has started getting cups out of the cupboard and walking over to the refrigerator and pointing to the water dispenser whenever she is thirsty.  She will also walk to her high chair whenever she knows that it is meal time.  Ella also has begun to pat our back when we give her hugs which is just the cutest thing!  She also has the hugest appetite and eats way more than her older brother.  She will eat an entire meal and then want to sit on our laps and eat our meal after we get her out of the high chair.  This is just hilarious to us because she is still such a little thing.  She has also picked up a few new words this past month.  In addition to saying uh oh, mama, and papa, Ella will now wave and say "bye bye"--especially after I ask her to put her pacifier back after I get her out of the crib.  She also says "wow" and "no" and she just learned "thank you" from Lola who is visiting right right now.  It is the cutest thing as she says the "you" with such emphasis.  Ella is still taking two naps a day although it often times takes her over an hour to fall asleep for her afternoon nap.  I just need to start pushing back her morning nap until after lunch in order to combine the two, but I will wait until after school starts to do that.  Ella is sleeping great at night and I barely ever have to do a pacifier run anymore which is just fabulous.  She is such a cute, happy, and busy baby.  She keeps us laughing or shaking our head in awe most of the time.  We love you, Ella!