Too Long!

Okay, so it's been so so so long since I last posted. Every time I think about posting I get overwhelmed with all I should include, so I am just going to pretend that I am up to date and start with what's new with Elli right now.

She's pretty much awesome, but with a lot of sass. I thought we had skipped the stranger danger phase but Elli hit it just a bit later than a lot of kids. For the last several weeks she has been a serious mama's girl. She gets terribly upset when I leave her in the nursery on Sunday mornings (which is so interesting to me since it's been the same routine on Sunday mornings since she was born). Elli also gets upset when I leave her in the morning and lay her down for bed. At night she gets this crazy arm wrestlers grip around my neck and I have to struggle to get her legs high enough to swing her in to the crib. Ehrin, my sister and Elli's amazing babysitter, does such a great job of distracting every morning. I have to say it's the hardest part of my day to leave her, but my sister makes it way easier than what it otherwise could be. Ehrin and the church nursery workers have told me that Elli settles down quickly after I leave but boy do I struggle when I walk out the door and can hear her crying. The funny thing is that Elli doesn't want to leave Ehrin's when Greg comes to get her after work.

Elli's current loves:

• SOCKS - this girl is obsessed with socks! If I don't have socks on she points to my feet and repeats "socks" over and over. I have to explain to her that whichever pair of shoes I have on don't look particularly good with socks.
• SHOES - I got out Elli's brown boots out for church on Sunday and when she saw them on the floor she clapped and started talking about shoes. This is truly my little girl...shoe obsessions must be in the DNA.
• WEASLEY - Elli has a particular fondness for our dog, Weasley. In the last couple of weeks, I've caught her snuggling on him several times. She's also been caught giving kisses and trying to brush his teeth with my toothbrush. :) She seems to like Potter, our other dog as well. But, it's more in the sense of telling her 'NO! NO!'. Potter gets in trouble a lot at our house.
• BARNEY - Holy cow does this girl love Barney! I've found that I pretty much have a Barney song in my head 24/7 now. Truth be told, I actually don't mind this infatuation. They all have a really good lesson behind them and I love to see Elli imitate the kid actors' choreography.
• SINGING - She's started singing recently. Especially Barney's I Love You song, but also any time she hears music she'll 'sing' along. I've found that she doesn't usually like for me to sing along with her. She just likes to hear herself sing. :)
• SPAGHETTI & CHEESE - No change here.
• GOING BYE-BYE - She often asks to go bye-bye when we are home.
• PUZZLES - This girl can put together a mean puzzle in no time flat! It's amazing how much she does and understands now.
• FIST BUMP - Our family handshake is definitely a fist bump. She really likes to give Greg and I fist bumps when offered. We are still working on the 'blow it up' aspect, but it will come with time!
• HER GRANDPARENTS - Again, no real change here. This girl is lucky to have such awesome grandparents. She's crazy about them!
• OUTSIDE - Welcome spring! We are all a bit stir crazy from the winter and cold. We have been spending as much time as possible outside and Elli has loved it! I definitely think she is going to be a soccer player - man, she can kick that ball (drop kicks included).

Current Dislikes:

• Going to bed at night
• When mama leaves
• Getting her diaper changed
• Baths
• Going bye-bey - Apparently she only likes to leave when it's on her timing. She's started throwing some serious fits when we try to put her in the car seat.

I will post some pictures soon. While I missed posting about Christmas I have also missed two other very special holidays. Elli's big cousins - Addie and Owen - both turned two recently! It's hard to believe that Elli is not that far behind. I'm already thinking about themes for her party! :)

Elli is learning so fast and is such a joy to watch! The three of us love playing together...from blocks to puzzles to dance parties to Goodnight Moon...we've had a ton of fun over these last couple of months.

As a side note, Elli weighs 23 pounds and I am pretty sure my arms are more toned than they have ever been thanks to toting those 23 pounds around! :)