A 12-Month-Old Life

I have a new favorite age.

I love having a 1-year-old so much!

I find myself thinking that we need to have more kids so that we can go through this 1-year-old phase again because I can't get enough of it!

We found a big Christmas present for this little girl.

A friend of ours has this bear and every time Ella sees it she goes insane with happiness, tackling it and burring her face in it's stomach while squealing and rolling all over it and laughing.

So, obviously, we had to get it for Christmas.

Plus, it was only $30 at Costco, which I decided is a steal.

I've noticed her increasingly having conversations with her stuffed lion and when I get her up from her naps I find her cuddled up with Gerard the Giraffe, sucking on his mane, so stuffed animals are a hit right now.

Oh my gosh, those eyes peeking out just under her hat!

I pulled her trike out the other day and as soon as she saw it she was all smiles and racing towards it as fast as her chubby knees would take her, ready to go on a walk.

Speaking of knees, check out those knee pads to protect her jeggings from being worn through.

They are cut up socks but sadly, they didn't work because they just rolled up below her knees.

Maybe I should try doubling up adult socks instead.

We have been grocery shopping with only one shoe on recently.

And been trying to wean off of bottles, but that girl pretty much hates her sippy cup and will only drink out of it when she's super thirsty.

Plus, she manages to somehow spill the contents of her sippy cup over everything (which is why she has soaked pink shorts three pictures down).

And I still find every excuse to make things for her.

I made her a bunch of bows to pin in her hair and a flower belt.

I love that places like toy stores and playgrounds that we used to never stop at before Ella was born have now become favorite places.
Adam and I love going up and down the aisles with her, pushing all the buttons on the toys that make noises and move and showing her what all the toys do and she thinks it is the greatest thing in the world!
She cried when we left the toy store the other day.

 And played legos for a long time.

Ella and I sometimes wander random stores just to have something to do, she likes people-watching.

Ella is so curious about the world.

She occupies herself for so long just re-exploring the house and her toys each day.

And I'm positive that she must have an imaginary world because she is ALWAYS talking to imaginary people and they obviously think she is hilarious because she is always laughing after everything she says.

And my favorite is when I put her down to sleep and I start singing You Are My Sunshine and she immediately looks me straight in the eye and just jabbers at me, as if she is telling me the most important thing in the world and she needs to tell me now before I put her to bed. 

She just keeps talking away as I lay her down and leave the room.

Remember how she sleeps in our closet?

We can hear her playing with all the hangers that are hanging within arms reach and it is not rare to find all of my skirts pulled off their hangers and in her bed with her (so then they smell like her poopy diapers-- awesome).

We can hear her talking and singing to herself instead of taking naps sometimes.

And she bounces her bum to music all the time and kicks those little feet to the beat.

She likes to do things she knows she's not supposed to, just to see how I will react and if I'll come chasing after her (she loves being chased).