she stands on her head, and does other things too.

haven't given you an Ellie update in a while....
so here's a picture to give you one:

they say a picture is worth a thousand words...and this one truly is.
you see, these days, Ellie loves to stand on her head.

she loves to smile and laugh.

she loves her stuffed animals...and somehow, more and more of them are ending up in her crib. i don't know how she even has room to sleep with all of those animals invading her space.

she has the cutest toes in the whole world. and i hate feet, so that's saying a lot.

she knows her toes are cute and kisses them regularly.

and she gives kisses to just about everything (hence her toes) including her baby, the tv when something cute comes on tv (she'll kiss it and say, "cute Tink," or "cute Princess."), her food when she's delighted with it (which is becoming very rare these days), her Gammy, Pops, Grandma & Grandpa, and Mama and Dada...but that's just cuz we're around to solicit them regularly. if she knew you, she'd kiss you gladly too.

she also likes to adorn her cute feet with my heels, her pretend heels, daddy's work shoes, mama's running shoes, and any other shoes than the ones she really should be wearing.

and, even though these next facts have nothing to do with the picture, while i'm on a roll, i'll just keep going.

she's that kid in nursery. the one who cries the whole time. in fact, after 3 weeks in a row (in our new ward) of having the leader finally come and get us after an hour of inconsolable crying, we've resorted to M staying with her in there until she knows people a little better. she's too dang smart and aware that she's in a room full of strangers. and she knows it's coming too- as soon as the closing prayer in Sacrament Meeting happens, she starts crying and saying "Mama hold you" (which really means, Mama, hold me...she has her pronouns (is that what they're called? oh man, i've been out of school too long) a little twisted)...and then she goes ballistic as soon as M takes her out. it's pretty embarrassing. and most of the time, i just want to melt away under the pews.

she's a jabber-box (not to be confused with jabber-wocky...those things are creepy. but that movie was awesome. loved it.). she's putting together sentences now. such as "ellie nap today," "more treat please?," "oh silly mama. silly funny mama," and "mmm, de-yish-ush (delicious) hot dog!" it's pretty cute. but beware- she likes for you to acknowledge what she's saying...and she'll say whatever she's saying over and over and over again until you do. (ie, if she wants a jamba, "jamba? jamba? jamba? thirsty? thirsty? hungry? jamba? jamba? jamba? JAMBA!!!!!!!"). yeah, it can make you go nuts. especially in quiet sacrament meeting (let's not go there again).

she's the pickiest human ever to roam the earth. she wants to eat yogurt all day long. that and chocolate. which, let's be honest, is ridiculous (but smart). i try to shove things like potatoes, carrots, rice, ham, and cheese down her throat all day every day...but she just gets mad and pops me in the face. pasta is a favorite, but i mean, can we eat pasta every lunch and dinner? my prego senses say "I DON'T THINK SO." ugh. i need help in this area. bad.

she's OBSESSED with my makeup. no matter where it is hidden, she finds it. just today, she found my mascara (in a zipped pocket of my purse) and a very magenta-ish lip-gloss...in a jacket pocket. i mean, COME ON! don't you worry, she knew exactly what to do with them both (though i think she confused the lip-gloss for mascara at first, as some ended up on her eye).....and made a nice globby mess for me to clean up. where was i, you ask? as any mom knows, you leave the room for 10 seconds to make a PB&J for them for lunch, and BAM. mascara everywhere.

{not the most flattering of Ellie pic's...but she was NOT pleased that i was taking a picture of her at this moment. sometimes, superstars get sick of the paparazzi, i suppose.}

she loves to color and loves to read books (and we're still learning that coloring does not happen at the same time as reading books). her favorite book right now is "The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear." she asks for it ALL. THE. TIME. and she can even recite the end with me. it's pretty cute. i love reading to her. it makes me sad to think that not all kids get the wonderful opportunity to be exposed books at a young age. i just think it's so wonderful, and so important.

she's now starting to want to dress herself. which is often a nightmare....like when this morning, she wanted to put pants on...but already had some on. i tried explaining that she wouldn't be able to get them on top of her other ones. she freaked. she knows best, i guess. the good thing is, she looks pretty dang cute in anything. so-- if she wants to choose what she wants to wear, so be it.

{this is a picture of her in her Easter dress that Grandma Lynne made for her. you heard me right- she made it. isn't it adorable?? i soooo wish i could sew (pun intended :)}

really though, when i think about it, Ellie just is so easy to please. she really is. she loves walks- and notices every leaf, flower, rock, flag, car, bird, squirrel, bug, dog bark, and everything else you can imagine.

she loves the zoo- we have a season pass, and we go often. her favorite part is seeing the little frogs. seriously. THE FROGS. not the monkeys, not the tigers. not the lions. not even the big huge elephants or giraffes. THE FROGS. the tiny orange ones in the tiny glass cage. silly girl.

she loves the park- especially the slide.

 {taken today...my cute lil happy slidin' machine}

she loves Mary Poppins (and sings along..it makes me so proud), The Princess and the Frog, Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure, any Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episode (which i scarcely allow to be watched because all of the songs get stuck in my head...at like 3 am. it's terrible), Snow White, and remains loyal to her one true love, Elmo (and Sesame Street in general). i know i shouldn't let her watch so many movies/tv...but it's so cute to me how much she loves it..and plus, i feel i've accomplished much by getting out of my bed and out of my PJ's these days...so watching a movie here and there is a fun part of our day. i'm just not a freak about it...maybe i should be.

and i guess, when all is said and done, it's so hard to really put into words how you feel about your own little children. i don't think words really cut it anymore. they just don't. but since words are what i have to try to express to you how i feel...i'll tell you this- just the other night, as i awoke little Ellie from her nap (because she would just sleep until like 6 pm if i let her...seriously), i held her in my arms and began to cry. i thought to myself, "i won't be able to rock you and hold you like this forever, my sweet Ellie. please, please, please stop growing up."

but then i thought, "i love you more than yesterday...so if you must grow up, you must. and then i promise to love you more tomorrow than i do today.
just please promise me one thing in return, let me keep you, and be your mama forever."

and that's my little update on my little Ellie.
how i love her.

xoxo