Odds and ends

Back on Ellie's birthday, we created a list of some of her "accomplishments." It is in that spirit that we present some of what's been going on that, for whatever reason, we've neglected to post about until now:

• Ellie performs magic in the tub. Ask her where her hand is and she hides it in a cup, pauses dramatically and then pulls it out to proudly display it. And, by the way, she now enjoys taking baths.
• She is giving more hugs and kisses.
• Ellie is following more commands; for example, "sit in your chair" (she walks to, and stands by, her highchair when it's time to eat) and "let's change your diaper" (as long as we're in the house, she'll walk to the changing table in her room).
• She stomps her feet when asked and dances.
• Ellie once loved wearing shoes. Now she just about pitches a fit when we put them on her. We can distract her a bit and she'll walk around in the shoes like everything is just fine; but, once she has more time to reflect on it, she again expresses her displeasure with the shoes.
• Two big falls have resulted in a busted lip (the blood was really gushing on this one with a frantic phone call to mom at work) and a very bruised cheek, respectively. Poor baby, but I'm sure there will be more to come.
• Ellie has "mastered" the following animal noises - elephant, monkey, cow, kitty cat, doggie, sheep, horse, chicken, duck and pig.
• When asked what a dog does when hot, she responds by panting.
• Ellie says bubba (another name we have for Q, her white doggie), nanny, pa, mama, dada and nanner (banana).
• She's become a very good sleeper.
• Ellie is no longer drinking from a bottle even though she still hasn't mastered the sippy-cup. For some reason unbeknownst to us, she apparently enjoys letting her drink dribble from her mouth resulting in many wet shirts and puddles on the floor.
• When asked how old she is, Ellie raises her index finger.

And I'm sure there are others we're forgetting, but you get the idea - she's coming along just fine!