20 Months

A word that can sum up Ellie this month is "helper." I love how her personality is shining through and we are learning more and more about who she is and will become. Ellie truly has a servant personality and seeks to please. She LOVES to help bake, tidy up, sort things, "fold" clothes, get things for you, etc. In fact, that is a wonderful distractor when she is frustrated about something: ask her to get something or do something for you - and she immediately cheers up. (I'd be lying if I said I didn't love it!) The other day we had a long grocery shopping trip that went exactly how you'd expect with a tired, sick, and hungry toddler (UGH!!!). By the end of the trip, Ellie and I were both at our wits end and the way I was able to save both of our sanity (as well as everyone around us) was asking Ellie to help me put the groceries on the conveyer belt. Genius! She was immediately entertained and happy.

Another emerging aspect of Ellie's personality is how she acts in new or busy situations. Suddenly our rambunctious, talkative toddler turns very quiet and almost cautious. (sounds exactly like Justin and I) I love watching her in these situations, because you can see her observe the other kids and learn from them. If the kids are very familiar to her, you will soon see Ellie imitating their behavior. At the moment it is cute, but I know this may lead into problems in the future. :)

Justin and I have done a lot of work outside lately and Ellie has been AWESOME. She loves to explore the different areas of the yard and does a great job of obeying instructions when we tell her not to do something. (Again, the "helping" aspect has come in very handy) We were able to spend a majority of the Memorial Day weekend outside working as a little family. It was so wonderful!

Ellie's vocabulary is growing daily and it is wonderful to see how she is communicating with us. She knows far more words than she says (which is common for this age), but says additional words each day. We are definitely in the "monkey" stage now as she will try to mimic most words you say if you begin the phrase with, "Ellie, can you say ______." Now, whether the word sounds anything like it is supposed to is a completely different story... In addition, the guessing game is starting to become easier as Ellie is now able to tell us when something is hot, what type of drink she wants, answer "yes" or "no" fairly accurately, tell us when she wants more or is all done, and convey her likes or dislikes better. She is such a little person! :)

Finally, one last aspect of Ellie's personality that is definitely emerging is how particular she is. She knows exactly how things should be and she'll let you know if you're doing them wrong (just ask Justin!). She pays close attention to detail and is very meticulous. It actually amazes me that a 20-month old can be so particular and be interested in how things work. I think she gets this from her daddy. :) My mom thinks Ellie will be an engineer someday. I'm curious to see where it goes from here.

Here are some fun pictures of Ellie baking with me and helping Justin with the deck.