Eloise at 21 months

This little lady is 21 months old & full of spunk! She could still be nick named "Mellow Elo" when we are talking about her being able to simply go with the flow but she can be quite the rascal! She keeps us on our toes as will the whole crew in the coming year but for now...even if for just one more week, Elo Pancakes is the baby of the family & we love her dearly! 

I have not been to the park at all since my mom arrived nearly 7 weeks ago but this pregnancy coming to a close, I have had sudden bursts of energy & this morning was one of them.  We went to a nearby park & let the girls run free. I found myself a sunny spot & enjoyed watching them climb, yell & giggle as they played.  My favorite spot was at the bottom of the slide where I could see Eloise's little face with a huge grin all 30 times she came down. I wish you could hear the giggle that comes with it! 

She then did some trick moves down the slide turning about or going on her tummy. She was slightly stunned when she arrived at the end of the tunnel this time.....

21 things about Eloise at 21 months:

1. Elo is pretty much fearless on the playground or at home keeping up with the big kids. Her favorite place to climb on at home is the back of the couch which is a little to close to the tile if you ask me! She gets to the top, throws her hands in the air & says "da!" which is "ta-da!"
2. She has just begun attempting to dress herself although is usually found putting shirts on her legs & shorts on her head.  I got her up from a nap a couple weeks ago & she still had the same stretchy shorts on her noggin haha!
3. Eloise is telling us when she wants to go potty sometimes & if you are quick enough to get her on she will go! If I weren't gigantically pregnant I think I could potty train her very easily over the course of a few days.  That is on the to do list for May along with making the switch to a big girl bed. 
4. Precious little girl loves to lay down on her tummy with her tush up in the air when it's time to go to bed. She says "pat, pat, pat" meaning she wants her bottom patted. If I stop & walk to Charlotte's bed Eloise will pat her own bottom till I return....& you bet I set her up to do that as much as possible ; ) 
5. She loves to color & draws all over the page then points at her squiggles & says
   "sake" meaning "snake." That's pretty much her favorite thing to draw. 
6. Speaking of "sakes," Elo thinks any worm as small as a dime is a "sake." She pretty much had a complete breakdown on the back porch with Rob the other day because she saw a "sake!" which was no larger than the typed word "sake." She was really scared though & was thankful for her daddy's protection!
7. I have no doubt that Eloise will forever be a dog lover! She & Bella spend a lot of time together. She LOVES to pet anyone & everyone's dogs. If they are little, she squeezes their necks so hard we are afraid she will break them.  The hilarious part is that once we are back home talking about the dogs we met that day, anytime we mention the name of the dog she grabs her wrist & says "bite." I say "That doggie didn't bite you Elo" & she grins & says "noooooo."  Her favorite dogs right now outside our house are Chestnut & Holly. 
8. She continues to be really into books & loves to snuggle up for a good read. Her favorite series of books by far are the "Carl" books about a lovable Rottweiler who is often put in charge of babysitting while the mommy is away.  There are very few words in the book so we get to make up the story as we look at the pictures. Very cute books!
9. Her favorite shows to watch right now are Babar & Curious George. When she requests Babar she says "I wah Baby Babar" meaning the episode where Babar takes his first step.
10. She also frequently requests to see a video of Frosty the Snowman on my mom's ipad. She gets SO excited & says "Fos-tee! Fos-tee!"
11. She continues to build her vocabulary at a rapid pace surprising us each day with new words & phrases. She is super polite saying: yes please, thank you, excuse me & you're welcome with her adorable pronunciation. 
12. Eloise can hardly wait to have her brothers out of my belly. We still don't think she has any clue that there will actually be two of them but that will be a huge plus according to her. This week she walked up to me, patted my belly & said "I wah hold baby." I think I melted. 
13. She is happiest when outside running free which can thankfully happen nearly every day of the year here in Orlando. 
14. She has quite the arm & can throw the ball accurately. She has also been known to kick it a couple times in a row like a soccer player. She is working on catching but it has proven to be tricky. She threw a fork directly at my head at the dinner table one night. It flew SO fast about an inch away from my forehead. Daddy took care of that one.
15. She responds to discipline really well & has so far not required more than a handful of swats to the tush. A stern talking to sends this girl into tears requiring mommy or daddy to hold her until she calms down. 
16. She has become an INCREDIBLE eater since my mom got here. She turned into a carnivore enjoying all meat we put in front of her. She will scarf down all fruits, most veggies, pasta, etc. She is still a milk monster that would drink a couple gallons a day if I kept her sippy cup filled to the brim at all times. She is a growing girl that's for sure!
17. Elo still self soothes with a finger in her belly button & her hand over her mouth with her palm facing out. The best part is that she calls her belly "body" & when she is frustrated with a car seat strap or a tricky layered skirt you can hear her saying "body, body, body!" 
18. The mellow side of Elo still enjoys a morning nap & an afternoon nap on most days. We talk about phasing it out & on some days we skip the morning but there is something so relaxing about having that less chaotic hour in the morning. Her usual sleeping is 7-7 overnight followed by naps from 9-10 & 1:30-3:30. If she skips the morning nap she will sleep for a good 3+ hours in the afternoon.
19. She loves her sissy Charlotte & can pronounce her name very clearly. She follows her around, repeats what she says like a little parrot, swipes her toys & runs off SO fast we all struggle to catch her & is affectionate giving sissy lots of kisses & hugs whether they are welcome or not. 
20. Eloise likes to count along with us but says "five" over & over & over. She loves the songs sung at story time at the library & frequently requests them at home. We got some jingle bells so she can sing "shake'em up high, shake'em down low" that turns into a marching in a circle song.
21. She is learning new things often. She can identify a "C" & an "E," a star & a heart & thinks everything you show her is the color blue. 

So with number 21, I have had some good laughs thinking about the countless hours I spent working with Charlotte on letters, numbers, shapes & colors by the age of 21 months. Poor little Eloise's education has been on the back burner but praise the Lord, she can still learn : ) I read this book called "Juggling Twins" in preparation for my next circus act (current circus act is just acting as a side show).  I honestly don't think I would have liked this book had the twins been my first pregnancy as I was a little uptight about routine & had lofty goals, some of which were attained & some not. There is something so freeing in having a second (or third or fourth) baby. Even though it is busy & getting busier, I feel like it has made me chill out....really good for me & for the kiddos. Back to the book, I laughed out loud so many times as I read through the chapters & must share an excerpt that directly applies to number 21.

"Be forewarned that there is always one mother at the playground who will smile placidly at the baby in her stroller while announcing 'he's really an easy baby...he's already sleeping through the night," when you know for a fact that the child is so young that the woman is still wearing pants that have an elastic panel in front. Don't be alarmed. First of all, she is probably lying. If not, then what she really means by "through the night" is that they slept through the crying the other night and eventually the baby fell back asleep without eating. (my fav part) Bear in mind that she is also the mother who will later be telling you that her kid is doing phonics when yours is out-of-her-head proud when she stacks 3 blocks into a tower. If it helps, you can feel very confident that she paid big, this braggart, because the hour after the "through the night" stretch was likely a nightmare of famished, manic meltdown from which it was difficult for her baby to return."  

This made me laugh & was a good reminder that comparison is not beneficial. Eloise can for the record stack more than 3 blocks but we have lots of learning ahead as we help her understand that not everything is the color blue & there are other numbers than "five."

Here are a couple more pictures of our active little girl....

She does slow down every now & then to give her mommy's belly some attention...

21 months of joy filled days watching God reveal more about this little person in our care. We love you Elo!