Elsie is 21 Months Old!!!

Oh, this girl!  I love her so much!  She has so much personality!  I can't believe another month has gone by!  Elsie is still so much fun!  She is at such a fun age.  She is talking so much now!  I feel like we have conversations all day long.  We DO have conversations all day long.  Her part of the conversation is only 2 or 3 words, but it is still a conversation :)  "Elsie, do you want to watch a movie?"  Elsie, "Yes."  Me or Josh, "What movie do you want to watch" (the movie choice changes, but here is an example) Elsie, "Skeh-ree"  Non-stop entertainment.  Elsie can say just about any word now.  She is just starting to put 2-3 words together.  Sometimes she puts long sentences together, but I can't understand any of it :)  She says things like, "Mommy. milk." and "Mommy. Shr-ek." today she said, "Daddy. Work." Yes, she already knows Daddy is working.  She gets it.  She understands us.  She is so fun!
Elsie's Favorites:

• Movies:  Elsie still LOVES movies!  She can tell the difference between a show on tv and a movie.  She definitely prefers the movies.  There are a few tv shows she will watch - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse ("M-owse"), Mickey Mouse is her favorite tv show.  She will watch a few others, but she usually doesn't  watch the entire episode.  Her favorite movie lately is "Skeh-ree" which means Hoodwinked.  She calls it Scary.  I must have told her it might be too scary for her to watch.  That is the only thing I can think of why she calls it that.  She wants to watch this one all day long.  Before Hoodwinked, it was Shrek.  It was Shrek for a long time.  She likes Shrek 2 the best.  She now says, "Mommy.  Shrek.  Don-kee"  It is pretty funny.  I love the way she says donkey.  She raises her voice as she says the "-kee" part.  So cute.  She still loves all the princess movies too.  She doesn't ask for them, but if I put one on she loves it.
• Music:  We have a musical child on our hands!  Elsie loves music!  She does a really good job at remembering words to songs (for her age).  I don't know that she has a favorite song to sing, she just loves to sing and loves to hear music and singing.  If I ask her what song she wants to sing, she usually says "pa-korn" for Popcorn Popping or "Mun-kee" for 5 little Monkeys (I will ask her if she wants to sing monkeys on the bed or monkeys in the tree - she usually says tree.  She likes to sing monkeys on the bed with her dad).  I have been trying to sing the songs we sing in nursery with her more.  She loves the action ones (of course).  So sometimes when I ask her what she wants to sing, she will say "Show-der" for Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes.  It's pretty cute.  Or she will say "Smil" for either the "Frowny-face-song" (I have no idea what the real title is) or "If You're Happy & You Know It".  My favorite is when she helps me sing Disney songs.  She knows "Part of your World" best.  She catches the end of about every-other line.  It is so cute!  She also loves the song "Belle" from Beauty and the Beast.  She is smart.  Is she smart only because I think she is smart?  Maybe.  But I am her mom, so I get to brag about how smart she is :)  She is very smart :)
• The Kitchen:  She loves to be in the kitchen.  All day long.  If I start making anything in the kitchen, she immediately comes in, reaches for the counter and says, "Tab-ol" for "table" and wants to stand on the counter so she can help me cook (or so she can play in the cupboard with all the cups in it).  If she isn't standing on the counter, she is standing on a chair, helping.  She is very helpful.  And just like every kid, she loves to be told what a great job she is doing.  It makes her smile even more to know she is a big girl and is helping us in the kitchen.  
• Hiding:  Most days I watch her run and hide from us, and I realize that someday, when she truly understands the game of "Hide-and-seek" - she will be REALLY good at it!  There are times, I don't know where she is hiding, until I say, "Elsie, where is Elsie?" and then I can hear her giggle.  She loves to run into the bathroom (if we left the door open) and shut the door (even if the light is off) and hide by the toilet (gross, I know).  She will squat down and will be giggling when I come to find her.  She loves to go into rooms and shut the door behind her.  When we come into the room, she is usually standing by the door waiting for us to come scare her :)  It is so cute.  She has started to hide under blankets.  She will climb onto the bed, get under the blankets and lay still until we come in and let her know we can't find her.  Then she giggles.  I love it!  I am surprised she holds still as well as she does while she is hiding.  She loves it when she is hiding under a blanket or pillow and we lay on her and pretend our pillow is moving.  She loves it!  She is so fun.  All day long we play these games.
• Being Scared:  Elsie loves it when we hide around corners and scare her!  She giggles every time!  She also loves it when we chase after her and "growl" at her.  She LOVES to be chased!  If we go outside, she loves to run from us, then when we start to run after her, she gets to laughing so hard, she can hardly run anymore, so she is pretty easy to catch.  It's only a fun game still because her laugh is so cute and  because she isn't faster than us.  I am sure someday, this game won't be fun anymore :)
• Pasta: "Pas-a" When Elsie wakes up in the morning, her first words are either, "Mommy, pas-a, or Mommy, Shrek"  seriously.  It makes me laugh every time!  The girl loves pasta!  She doesn't love spaghetti as much because it is harder to get a lot in her mouth, but she loves the elbow maccaroni.  I have a simple pasta dish she loves, it is just the elbow maccaroni with cream of chicken soup, sour cream and cheese.  She loves it and eats a lot of it every time I make it.  She is funny.  Elsie's other favorite foods are tomatoes "ma-do" Treats.  ALL TREATS!!!  She will even sometimes say, "Mommy, shu-gar" so funny.  She likes treats just like her mom!  I need to get rid of all the treats we have (thank you to Halloween left-overs!)  Elsie is really good at throwing a fit if we tell her she can't have a treat.  Elsie also still loves eggs and toast.  If her first request in the morning (by first request, I mean, the second her eyes are open she is requesting food) is pasta, I will usually say, "Let's have eggs for breakfast" and she will say "Tost" Then I say, "Yes, lets have eggs and toast for breakfast"  so cute.  Fruit.  She calls any fruit that is round an  apple "App-o" she loves to be able to dip whatever she is eating.  The dip usually doesn't matter, she loves the concept of dipping.  Usually whatever she is eating is just the way to transport the dip into her mouth, she doesn't eat what she is eating, just the dip :)  Elsie is pretty good at eating whatever.  Spicy, sour, she doesn't care.  She loves salsa.  The other day, our neighbor girl had some of that sour spray candy and Elsie wanted it and was sucking on the bottle, so I took it and sprayed some in her mouth.  I felt like a bad mom for doing it, but I wanted to see what she would do...she LOVED it!  I sprayed it in her mouth like 3 more times.  It was pretty funny. 
• Friends/People: Elsie loves people!  She is so social.  She says hi to everyone.  It isn't the annoying hi, it is the cute, innocent hi that makes anyone looking at her smile.  It melts my heart to see her bring smiles to complete strangers' faces, just by being her.  I want her to stay cute and innocent forever.  Elsie loves kids.  She loves to play with kids.  She would rather be the youngest, than the oldest.  She plays well with older kids.  She doesn't like it, however, when they pick her up or try to "make" her do something she doesn't want to do.  Elsie loves Macy "May-shee".  All day long, "May-shee" she loves to play with her!  They get along so well too.  They play together for awhile, then they both play their separate things in the same room.  It is pretty funny.
• Slides:  Yes, she still loves slides.  Any and all slides!
• Dancing and "Gymnastics" with mom:  She loves to dance around the living room.  She also loves to do flips, and jumps, any kind of "rough-housing" with mom.  Josh will sometimes do it with her, but he gets more scared than I do.  She giggles every time!  She also loves to hand upside down!  She could do it all day long!  Spinning.  She also loves to spin.  Actually, when she dances, she pretty much spins in circles, it is pretty cute.

Really, Elsie is happy almost all the time!  She does get sad or mad, but it isn't very often.  She does throw a good fit, but they never last long because we either try to distract her or we just ignore her.  If she is throwing a fit and we leave her alone, the fit is usually really short.  If she is throwing a fit and we try to talk to her or "reason" with her, the fit is much longer.  Most days she throws a fit if we tell her "no" to anything.  She does not accept that word very well.  The biggest fits come from us telling her she can't get on the counter, or she can't have a treat.  She has a rough life.  She is super busy.  It is hard to take her places where she isn't confined.  She still loves to go shopping!  She does a lot better if she can be in a cart.  She does ok in her stroller, but she gets very impatient every time I stop.  In the cart, she does good if we are moving or if we are stopped.  Taking her to friends houses isn't very fun because she is so busy.  If they have kids, it is a lot easier.  I love Elsie and I love that she is so happy all the time!  Josh and I know we are lucky!  Elsie is the light of our lives.  We don't know what we would do without her.  Thank you Amanda for blessing our lives!   

I LOVE HER!!!!!

Crazy girl :)  I love this grin!!

She kept throwing the bear on the floor, she thought she was so funny! 
It was funny every time!!

I thought I would try her monthly "photo shoot" outside :)



"Re-lla"
Elsie wants to wear these Cinderella jammies EVERY NIGHT!!!
As I get her out of the tub, she says, "Re-lla." 
"No Elsie, your Cinderella jammies are dirty" - every night!



I will NEVER get enough of her smile!!!

I love everything about her!!!

She loves to sit here and help me cook. 

Elsie LOVES ketchup!
She usually eats ketchup with a side of whatever she is eating :)

She's fearless! 
A trip to the ER waiting to happen...

Just not cut-out for life in the shopping cart...

Shopping is a lot of work!

Playing with Mr. Potato Head
She didn't play too long because she kept getting frustrated that the glasses wouldn't stay on.  I haven't gotten this toy back out since this time. :)

Priceless.

I can never get enough of her perfect grin!

She LOVES to giggle!!

Talking to Daddy on the phone.

I LOVE her!!!!

Did I mention that she's crazy?

Elsie and her black beans...

She's so funny :)

We went up to our friends' cabin in Pine Valley.  This is the first time Elsie saw snow this year.  She wasn't very happy with how cold it was :)

She was mad that it wouldn't come off her boots :)

Standing at the door.  She is such a princess :)
I love the scenery in the background.

Eating Oreos.
Josh showed her how to break them apart and only eat the cream in the center.

Elsie played with all 3 of these stuffed animals for about an hour.

This picture is kind of blurry, but it is the best one I have of her trying to carry around these 3 large stuffed animals.  It was pretty funny!

Hiding.
Crazy girl :)

Cup.
Elsie LOVES to eat treats from a cup.

What would I do without a DVD player in the car??

Elsie LOVES her daddy!!!!!

Cuddle-time with dad is a must!!

Naptime with Dad is even better!!

Who needs toys, when you have a box?

I did nothing to these pictures but put them into a collage. 
She really is this perfect.

Stir. (the "_ir" has a growl with it)
Elsie LOVES to help us stir!

Or she likes getting into all the cups!

Already a Master Chef :)

Frosting a Mickey Mouse cookie :)

Sugar cookies, a bowl of frosting and a BFF.
Life is perfect!

I walked into Elsie's bedroom and this is where I found her :)

One of Elsie's favorite places to play :)
She loves to jump onto her bed from here and play with the magnents on her board.

She still loves to play at the park :)

We celebrated National Adoption Day at the park with others that have been touched by adoption.

My favorite part of this picture is the french fry in her hand :)

Elsie's 2 favorite men :)

Don't judge us.
She sleeps with us.
I went to bed and Elsie was laying like this.
The best part...this is normal.




I LOVE this picture!
Blake was nice enough to share his drink with Elsie :)



I was looking for her so she could talk to Grandma :)

Crazy girl :)

Who knew a cut of fabric would be so entertaining?...

Elsie playing with her cousin Ella.
She was pretty excited to have a baby to entertain :)