On the move

Ellie decided that this would be the week for walking. After dinner on Wednesday she stood up and took 10+ steps. She was so excited though, she kept falling. After walking in the kitchen for awhile, she then went on a tour of the house. Josh said she looked like she wanted to see how everything looked from her new height. She has continued to walk the majority of the time since then. She stumbles and falls but doesn't let it stop her; she stands right back up and keeps going. At playgroup on Thursday one of the moms asked how long she had been walking to which I replied "oh, since last night." She was a little surprised because Ellie was doing so well. Harrison loves that Ellie can walk and dance with him now. He takes her hands and together they spin around. I have to remind him to take it slow because Ellie is still learning. Ellie is quite impressed with her new skills and cheers for herself often.

Every once in awhile the kids remind me why we wanted to have them close in age. Below are two pictures that captured that feeling:


I managed to put Ellie's hair in pigtails today. She was too cute!

Nothing else too exciting to report. Ellie continues to add new words to her vocabulary but everything in a cup is still "juice" and she still asks for cookies anytime we go in the kitchen. My new favorite word she says is "pizza". I really think this child must be part Italian based on her love of pizza and pasta. But no pepperoni for this girl--she picks it off. She can climb onto our bed by herself which is pretty amazing considering how high it sits off the ground.

I have been trying to teach Harrison the value of money this week. We have been talking about coins and I am also preparing him for chores and earned income. He likes the part about putting the money in his bank but is less interested in learning about the faces on the coins, how much they're worth, and the minting process (just kidding about the minting process, I didn't go THAT far). I warned him that mom will no longer be buying him treats at CVS; he will have to use his own money. He didn't take too kindly to that idea.

Harrison has started to play his parents. Earlier this week he came and asked me if he could watch a Sesame Street movie. I told him to go ask dad and he said "dad said no". So that's his new game; if one parent says "no" to something, he asks the other one. The process has worked in his favor a couple of times and so I think we will be seeing a lot more of it in the future.

I am working on uploading a video of Ellie walking. Should be done by tonight.