Time is literally flying by as I sit here and try to think about what all has been happening around here lately. It's hard to believe it is already DECEMBER!! I blinked and Thanksgiving flew by, so now I am realizing that Christmas and Ella's birthday will be here in no time. Can you believe Ella is almost one??!! I know I can't! My baby girl is getting all grown up, and I'm not ready yet. But I guess what parent is ready?

Everyday Ella is getting closer and closer to walking on her own. She can stand without holding on to anything and take one step, but that second step gets a little tricky. On Thanksgiving she was able to take a few side steps before she fell. Apparently, walking side ways is easier than walking forward! She loves pushing her walker/car around the living room. In fact, she'll push anything that will move on the carpet.

She is slowly progressing to table food. She now enjoys eating the chunkier baby foods and finger foods like Cheerios. I guess I need to start brushing up on my cooking skills since she won't be wanting food from a jar anymore before too long. I doubt she will be content with a bowl of cereal for dinner like Gene and I do. Yikes! We are continuing to work on drinking out of the sippy cup. Right now it is more of a chew toy than anything.

Since we don't go back to the doctor until her 12 month check-up in January, I'm not sure exactly how tall and how much she weighs now. If I had to guess, she's probably closer to 20 pounds now. She is definitely outgrowing her 9 month clothes and moving on to 12 month sizes. She looks so grown up in her big girl outfits! We still have a bow to match everything. The "sprout" and bow are her trademarks! Unfortunately, she has figured out how to pull out some of the hair bows. The bow then either goes into her mouth or on the floor. Not fun having to retrace your steps at the mall to find a lost bow!

Ella loves to clap, whether it's because she's proud of something she did or just because she's happy. All you have to do is say "Yea Ella" or start singing "if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands." It is so sweet! She can also give high 5's. We are still working on blowing kisses and waving good-bye.

No real words yet other than "mama" and "dada." She is now saying "nananana", so we are trying to work on "Nana" for Gene's mom. She understands quite a bit of what you say. She knows who mama and dada and several favorite toys are. For instance, I can tell her to find Snuggle bunny, and she can go get her.

The temper tantrums are already starting and she's not even one yet! She is quickly learning what mama says she can and cannot do, much to her dissmay. She even knows she is doing something she is not supposed to because she will look back at you with a mischievious grin to see if you are paying attention. When I tell her "no," she puts her head down and starts crying.

Despite having the entire living room fenced off so that she can have plenty of room to play, she does not like to be confined. When she is tired of playing in there, she scream as soon as room step into that area. She needs time to roam freely around the house to do her own exploring. She has to be on the go almost at all times. She likes to be moving and doing as much as possible. It is fun watching her explore and learn about her surroundings.