the valentine nest: Eloise at 16 months

My little sugar bug is 16 months old & is as delightful as she has ever been. Our home has been full of much laughter in the last couple months as we have a front row seat to Elo learning to talk & pick on her sister. She is precious & hilarious. I keep reminding myself of how it felt to have Charlotte at this age & thinking "it just doesn't get any better than this stage" followed by the shock of it getting sweeter & funnier with each passing month. Of course not every moment of every day is filled with utter delight & me sitting with my cup of tea laughing as my girls dance around in tutu's but right now (meaning today) there are more moments like that than me feeling frustrated. So today, I am thankful for that & for this adorable growing girl.....

Eloise went from taking a few steps to running around the cul de sac. Seriously, it took about 2 days for her to go from walking to full speed running & crashing to the ground or into glass windows ; ) She is speedy & easily worn out if we spend a good thirty minutes before nap outside running laps while sissy rides her scooter.

What Elo Baby is up to other than running:

Says- Mama, Dada, Sissy, Doggy, Duck, Bird, Ball, Block, Milk, More, God, Please, All Done, Isaac, Gigi, G.Gran, Gaga, Ga for Grammy, Bus, Yes, No & lots more that I can't think of at the moment : )
cutting teeth like a maniac- 4 molars are coming in as we speak
follows her sister everywhere and tries to take EVERYTHING she has
loves to color & stick stickers on herself
loves to look at books especially when Charlotte is looking at them
splashes like she is in the ocean while taking a bath..sometimes it is better to just remove your pants while bathing her to avoid having to put them in the dryer when done
likes to put things in containers
is a pro at finding coins to put in her mouth
swipes silverware from the dishwasher while I am loading it. She tucks it under her arm like a football & runs full speed as far away as she can get
opens the doors
loves to go in the bathroom & close herself in & then cry until we let her out
gets locked in her room or put in the closet by her big sister frequently
is getting pretty good at hide & seek
loves when you say "Elo, can you sing The Itsy Bitsy Spider?" She hums some random little tune while trying to do the motions which include a big spreading out of her hand with a "whoosh" sound
has turned into a SNUGGLER letting you rock her for so long....I am loving this!
thinks she is such a big girl now that she can climb onto the couch herself & sit by Char eating a snack & watching a show
spends a bit of time each day walking backwards
spends a LOT of time each day spinning in circles
likes to dress up in ballerina clothes
wants to wear sunglasses any time she sees them...sometimes during meals & while having her teeth brushed : )
patted my belly the other day & said "Bobby" before giving it a kiss
is compassionate towards me when I am feeling nauseated. She follows closely behind & rubs my back while I am throwing up.....sooooo sweet!
knows the answer to "Eloise, who made you?" - GOD! or DON as she says...kinda confusing since Don is one of the other husbands in our life group ; )
is very affectionate coming up to us frequently to give us some pats on the back (not very gentle) & lots of kisses
is very motherly making sure her dolls are well fed with their bottles/sippy cups
attempts to say anything you ask her to- if it is a single word she does pretty well but if it is a phrase it sounds like she translates it to some unknown language

Her little tongue still spends a lot of time outside her mouth...

Hungry Hippo: Most days this girl puts away more food than her big sister. She eats her three meals plus a couple snacks. Her current favorites are: pears, chicken, broccoli, crackers, turkey, cheese, pancakes, blueberries & muffins. She can down a sippy cup of milk in 2 seconds flat & then holds it out towards you & says "Mah mah!" She also loves orange juice. Some days she eats a ton & then the next day she just picks at her food. She is growing like a weed & has plenty of chub on those yummy thighs so I am never concerned.

Sleepiness: It must be all the growing wearing this little girl out. It seems that since I have been pregnant, she is loving me by taking long naps & sleeping well at night. She is a 7:30-7 nighttime girl & then LOVES her morning nap. It is usually from 9-10 or 10:30. I usually wake her up so she will sleep well in the afternoon. We eat our lunch, play outside for a bit & then she crashes without any complaint for anywhere from 2.5- 3.5 hours. I have been napping well too thanks to a quiet house & snuggly dogs.

Her height & weight aren't the only things changing daily. Her hair is longer & wavier every time I turn around. She tolerates a clippie pretty well & rocks the pigtails too : )

She is very affectionate towards the four legged members of our family making sure they get plenty of hugs and kisses. Not too long ago she fell backwards & somehow ended up straddling Bella who was laying on the ground. She (Eloise) was quite amused....Bella to say the least was not. She looked like a statue, a terrified statue. It made us laugh.

I love this picture of Eloise & Ol Benny. She had just gotten a lick across the face & thought it was pretty funny to keep going back for more. I think Bennett enjoyed it.