Ellis is 10+ months!

My baby is 10 months going on about 18 months.  She has 2 new front, top teeth and working on more.  She can crawl FAST, pull-up, let go and stand by herself, cruise, climb, wave and recently she stood from all fours without holding on to anything!  She puts all her new skills to good use -she terrorizes her sister, climbs onto the dishwasher, pulls things off of shelves and puts everything in her mouth (she is especially fond of the potty and shoes).  Be all that as it may, she is still my 'easiest' kid.

I am reading a book a friend recommended called Personality Plus for Parents. I am trying to determine if Leyton's demands, mischievousness, and strong will are a product of her age or her personality.  I am sure it is a bit of both, but that girl is a handful.  She always has a very clear idea of what she would like to be doing, and you either go along with it or you deal with -at best an attitude and at worst a full-on kick-and-scream fest.  Leyton is very smart, pointing out places she's been as few as one time.  And she is in constant negotiations with those around her to try and get her way.  "One more minute," "one more bite," and "one more time" are common phrases.  She is also getting better with her sister.  If she's in a good mood, they play together nicely, which is HEAVEN.  When she's not in a good mood, she sits in time-out a lot.

After her 10 month trial period, we decided to keep her.  And get her a crib.  And her own room!

She loves it!  And thanks Grammy and Papa for the growth chart and letters.

Sooo roomy

Until recently we thought we might be moving soon.  But we found out we will be here at least a couple more years.  So we added a raised garden to the side yard.  We planted a few things, even though it's really late.  We may get a few cherry tomatoes, since it doesn't get hot here until August and September.

By no means a skinny baby, Ellis is beginning to grow into her baby fluff.

Though it kept the sun out of her eyes, she did not want to wear this hat

Had to take a few with the 10 month sticker on.

My new favorite!  'You been farmin' long?'

Strike a Pose

I don't know what I'm going to do with this one.

She wanted her picture taken and this is how she posed.

This was during one of our many daily dress-up sessions.

UGH!

Finally I told her to smile.  Note the sparkly skirt she added on top of the pretty dress she insisted on wearing that day... not the mention the shoes...  all purple, her fav color  

These kids crack me up.

Papa and Grammy visit and Boy! Do we see some characters!

It was so nice to have Grammy and Papa come visit us last week.

We took them to all our favorite hang-outs

Like the hill that Daddy and LC do log rolls down every night

Then we told them we had a special surprise...

Hmm... wonder what it could be...

Not another one of these sweet things.... 

WE'RE GOING TO DISNEYLAND!

We headed straight for the hot spots

First things first...

Ride Dumbo

Then catch a boat to see some storybook castles

Merry-go-rounds are her thing

Small world

Then we dropped by a couple of friends houses...

Like Minnie

AND MICKEY!

Leyton was so brave!  Not only did she not mind the characters, but she even wanted to ride the roller coasters!  She put her little hands up on the ascent and then said 'Weee!  Hold on tight!' on the way down!

Goofy

Then we recharged at lunch

Road a spaceship

Met Irradessa

Found this cute thing

And met Tinkerbelle, who sprinkled fairy dust in Leyton's hair and is therefore now her favorite

Then we got a prime spot for the parade

So we could see Ariel

Snow White, Rapunzel, and Aurora

Belle and Cinderella

Tiana sang and danced

And Peter Pan and Hook put on a show

After the parade, the girls piled in the car and headed south, but Ryan and Greg caught an Angels game.  Thanks for a great week Grammy and Papa!  We love you and miss you!!

Ellis is 9 months old!

Oh we are so far behind in blogging that instead of catching up, we will just skip a bunch of stuff.  So skip Father's Day.  It was nice.  And move right onto Ellis the incredible 9 month old!  She can now crawl, do 'So Big', clap and say 'yeeaaa,'  drink from a sippy, stand alone for up to 5 seconds and stand with very little assistance for as long as she wants.  She weighed in at 21 pounds 13 ounces which is the 93rd percentile, and she was 29.5 inches tall (97th percentile).  She is gloriously healthy, strong, and adorable.  Ellis is almost always in a great mood, except when she is hungry or tired or getting new top teeth -as the case may be this week.  She loves bathes with her sister, peek-a-boo, and getting her hands on her sister's Dodo.  Such a sweet baby girl!

A rare sweet moment -sharing the Kindle

Leyton 'helped' Daddy wash the car

Showing off her standing skills

On the move!

When giving Ellis her shots, the nurse commented on her 'juicy' legs

Leyton's attitude has improved.  From what I can gather from my friends with similar aged kids, 2.5 to 3 is a rough time.  Some kids don't hit it until age 3, but at some point they will just be awful for an awfully long time

She looks like the orphan from 'les miserable'

Upcoming posts... Disney, Grammy and Papa visit, fireworks...