10-11-12

{10 months}

{11 months}

{12 months}

Ack, I've done it again...waited TOO long to post about this little princess (that's what I call her when I go get her from her crib "hi Princess")- and now the "new" Elliot has taken over all my memory space...and boy is the "new" Elliot changing and growing and seeming more and more like a toddler...but pre-1st-birthday-Elliot was pretty great too.

She took her first steps on Sept. 21st...and without much warning..in fact, I think I just noticed it out of the corner of my eye and then Jeff arrived home so I showed him and we all three got to witness her first real steps and Jeff was quite proud to have captured it on video.  Little sister was a bit different in the walking department though, besides the walking before 11 months thing (Wes was 14.5) she also didn't "go for it"..it was a full month before it was her preferred method...Wes transitioned much more quickly.

In October we went to SoCal for a wedding in Malibu, a monumental trip to Disneyland (1st time for Wes and Elliot) and relaxation (and my birthday) in San Diego.  I was pretty thankful Elliot was generally fine with being in her stroller for the Disney portion (what a trooper!) but when we returned home her walking picked up and I think she was like, "never again!" She's quite vocal about her dislikes...which include, to my chagrin, the car- she's a screamer and not much for falling asleep on longer rides until we are about 15 min. from our destination. Awesome.

We celebrated her birthday with friends and family at a community center...with coloring, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, the itsy bitsy spider (her favorite song, she's great with the hand motions). I had originally wanted to keep it small given that Autumn is one of the busiest seasons for our family, but when I thought about it more I felt like it would be more honoring to God to celebrate this precious gift that was hoped for and prayed for by us and by so many loved ones.

Mommy and Daddy got her "something you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read" (our family tradition) and I'm blanking on all of them right now but she did get her first baby doll and a "People in my family on my first birthday" book which is a photo book of Elliot with family members...I made one for Wes too and love that both kids have this and it's so much fun to see how much our family has grown- older and in number.  Elliot also especially loved her stroller from Grandma and seeing our little one year old embrace her inner little mommy has been a total delight.

Oh, and I'm pretty sure she started blowing kisses on her birthday too...now it's her go to gesture...hello, goodbye, goodnight, love you...a kiss says it all!

I'll have a more current post soon-ish.  I seriously love this girl and love seeing her personality unfold- she amazes me.  Her brother's not too bad either ;)

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