Ellie Update

I never think that there's enough Ellie updates, although I'm sure anyone who reads my blog feels quite differently. My baby girl (I guess she's considered a toddler now) is fourteen months old today. Fourteen months! Sometimes I still feel like she's the youngest person in the world.

I remember riding the elevator at Macy's when she was about three weeks old when an older woman looked at me and said, "don't worry, it gets much easier." This was a relief to hear in my sleep-deprived, emotionally fragile state. I was so grateful and appreciative of her very honest statement. It's true, every stage gets easier in so many aspects. Of course, there are new challenges as well. Those dog leashes people put on their toddlers (you know the kind?) that I always used to make fun of suddenly have their appeal.

A few things I love about 14 months:

*A new word seems to pop into Ellie's vocabulary every day. She is suddenly like a sponge in all the new knowledge she soaks up.
*She loves to dance. This offers us hours of endless entertainment. We are still hoping she hasn't inherited my sense of rhythm (although I still don't see anything wrong with it).
*She is a very happy and easily entertained child. Dirt and random items found around the house are an endless source of entertainment.
*You can give her most anything to eat. Her favorites are mac&cheese, corn, tomatoes, scrambled eggs, and anything sweet. I'm pretty sure she eats half of all my frozen yogurt and ice cream, therefore I should probably start giving myself bigger servings. Don't you agree?
*She is obsessed with animals, especially dogs.
*She loves books and sits patiently on my lap while I read to her and she turns all the pages.
*Although she sometimes goes back and forth, lately she has been a total Mommy's girl. I find this flattering.

A few challenges (the nice way of putting it) at 14 months:

*Ellie is not good at running errands. I run a lot of errands, so this is sometimes a problem. She doesn't like to be restrained in a stroller or cart.
*She runs away and tends to tune me out when I ask her to come back. I think I say it in my most stern and serious voice, but I'm pretty sure she thinks it's some sort of game. She only runs away faster. This may not seem like a huge deal, but unfortunately the world can be a scary and dangerous place. When will she understand that I am only trying to protect her? Come to think of it, this is probably a dilemma for parents with children of any age.
*Having a toddler is very messy. There is currently a lot of smashed up foods, dirt, and disarray in my life right now. Every time I clean something up, I turn around to another mess. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother.

There you have it: a very brief, compact description of life with my little fourteen month old. We have our moments, but it's really quite wonderful.