Falling Leaves

Eliana loves to walk now, on her own. So we find ourselves walking around the block lately, walking around the Magnolia Village or walking in short bursts. Last week after her nap, we walked down Crockett to see the construction site (of a huge condo complex) around the corner and we were pleasantly stopped by this beautiful tree losing its leaves. I started collecting piles of the fallen leaves and dropping them from up high, and Eliana giggled as they would land on her face, her head and her hair. We ended up being out there for a while, me picking up the leaves and dropping them over and over. It was so precious to watch her smile and hear her laugh at one of nature's purely simple yet beautiful surprises, the falling of the leaves. Magical memory for me.

1.6666 (20 months)

It's hard to believe Eliana is closer now to 2 than to 1 year old. I love this age; she is such a little person now and such a happy, fun, energetic little girl. We love you so much, Elle Belle, and are so lucky to have you. You are a ray of sunshine.

Here's a few Elle Belle stats from her 18-month check up:
Height: 32" (57% tile)
Weight: 26 lbs. 6 oz (76% tile) and at a current visit when we were in Paris at about 20 months, she was at 28 lbs!
Head circumference: 48 cm (85% tile)

And a few tid bits:
*Her talking has exploded in the last two months and I can't keep up with the words that surprise me every day, but some of our favorites are "pun'in brey" (pumpkin bread), "Unkuh Matt" (Uncle Matt), "edmame" (edamame), "Katya" (Katherine, a good friend of hers), "Mih beh" (Mr Bear). Tonight, she just tried to say aquarium; took us a while to figure it out, but now I get it. It's amazing to watch the speech development.

*She loves to sing and can sing the tunes to all the songs we sing. In fact, her new favorite is "Slippery Fish" and sings her "Goodnight Song" to everyone she knows. We'll hear her singing, "Goodnight mama, goodnight Dada, goodnight [input name]...". Her latest trick is to ask us to sing and she does that by saying, "Mama mama mama." I say, "What would you like?" Her saying "mama" repeatedly means she wants me to sing. I list all the songs we can sing and she says, "Yeah" or "no." When we start singing one and she doesn't like it, she says, "No no no."

*Her favorite "friend" is still Mr. Bear and he goes everywhere with her; to school, to the park (although we try to limit this as a two-handed tire swing becomes tricky with Mr. Bear in tow), in the car, on walks, etc. She loves him and it is so sweet to hear her say his name.

*She is definitely not a vegetarian. I think broccoli is still a favorite vegetable, but tonight she ate two chicken sausages!! She loves fish; any kind, including sushi and will eat all kinds of meat and pork. She loves carrots and edamame and will scarf down goldfish (who doesn't at this age?), but remains a very big fan of meat and broccoli. We are blessed with a great eater and can take her to any ethnic food and she will chow.

*Her favorite outdoor activity remains the park. She still loves to swing. I think she somehow takes a "second nap" in there. When Grandma was taking care of her, they would swing for 30-45 minutes. She loves it. She loves the park, in general, but LOVES the swing. When asked yesterday if she wanted to go to the zoo or the park, she said, "Pak."

*Her favorite indoor activity is reading. She will read with us for a couple hours a day (spread out) and it is wonderful. For about a week, she went through a phase where she only wanted to read on her own and by herself; but luckily, she's come back to sit in our laps. I love this activity; it is so fun to see her delight in books and such a treat to snuggle.

*She has some tantrums, but they're mostly around leaving the park or getting too hungry without telling us.

*Elle Belle is now really into coloring, stickers and play dough. It's so fun to have another activity to watch her explore shapes, textures and senses.

*And, she is still really great at playing by herself. I can get a quick dinner done or a load of laundry done and come back to see her reading her books.


*Eliana can now use a fork and spoon pretty much by herself. She'll ask for help from time-to-time, but is definitely able to eat on her own.

*Pictures below are from 18-20 months

18 months; loving all swings

Wreaking havoc at the doctor's office

Beach time at Discovery

Reading her "Child's atlas" from Tia Ana Rosa

"Muh Bah" (aka Mr Bear)

Another favorite activity is to transfer things; stuffed animals, clothes, cups, etc. Here she had handed me every one of her animals from her toy box....until I was stuffed animal camouflaged.

Big girl barrette

Time to tame the curly mullet

"Organizing" clothes

19 months

Tackling Mr Bear, Sally and Otto

Pig tails!

Thanks, Auntie Amy for my new rain boots!

About to pass out in the swing

Napping Record...

I have to write this down before I forget, but Elle Belle for the first time, surpassed the 2 hour mark on a nap! I don't think this is a trend, but I'm so happy our cat napper could rest longer than 1 hour :)

Pre-Halloween Cousin Weekend

Dear Beckett,

I had such a great time visiting you last weekend! Thank you for making my Halloween complete with a trip to the Portland State farmer's market, the pumpkin patch, Rock Creek Tavern, and lots of crazy shenanigans with our parents. I can finally say your name now and your parents! I also loved seeing your Halloween costume; you are the perfect Bat Man. Next time, let's try to not wait 5 months before seeing each other again - you've grown so much and we just have too much fun together.

Love, Eliana
Making our way to the farmer's market

Mr. Bear goes everywhere we go!

Exploring the farmer's market

Looking sleepy, little cuz'

Elle Belle and Uncle Matt

Playing at Uncle Matt and Aunt Lindsey's house

Rollon Farms Pumpkin Patch

Uncle Matt, Beckett and Aunt Lindsey

Nate's head cut off, but we have all 3 of us looking at the camera!

The light and background were perfect to take pictures; some of the best we've got lately...

Snack time!

A special thank you to Sean and Jasmyn for letting us stay at their house. We unfortunately, can't stay with Matt and Lindsey because I am allergic to their cats. But, having this place to stay less than a mile from their house was perfect. And, what a beautiful house they have! Thanks, Maddens! We really appreciate it.

Sunday morning we spent playing in the Madden's basement; so much space and brand new carpet made for lots of fun games including: "run away" where Eliana would chase Nate and Beckett would chase Eliana, blanket rides, horsey rides, hammock swing in the blanket and last but not least, Elle Belle tackling Beckett. What fun!!

Uncle Nate is sometimes fun, but sometimes scary! Help, Daddy!

Blanket ride

Hammock ride with both Becks and Elle Belle inside...

Quick dress up for a Sykpe with Nonna and Grandpa

Fast asleep on the way home to Seattle