Ella is 21 Months Old!

If her nickname last month was Chatty Cathy, her nickname this month should be Smarty Pants. Our 21-month-old is now reciting the alphabet, counting to 10 in English and Spanish, and has mastered her colors.  She is such a little sponge, and you can see her just soaking up everything we say and do.  

Ella's favorite person to watch lately is Gracie. When we're driving in the car, Grace sings along with our Kindermusik and Precious Moments CDs (this one is full of all the kids' praise music I grew up with), and Ella literally stares at her the whole time.  She focuses on Gracie's mouth, and she's now singing along, too.  Their current favorite is "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." Hearing "1-2-3 strikes you're out at the old baaaaaaall gaaaaaaame" makes their daddy so proud!  

Ella is still a great eater.  She and Grace are both eating a lot of foods I never touched as a kid, including sweet peas, snap peas, tomatoes, olives, broccoli and artichokes.  They are absolutely loving okra, and not just fried variety.  They like it sauteed with olive oil and red onions.  Who would have thought?  Ella now weighs a whopping 20 pounds :)

Travis and I are so proud of how well she's adjusted to being a big sister.  Even though she's not the baby of the family, we try to remember that she is still a baby.  She's not even 2 yet! Sometimes, she likes to "borrow" Sutton's pacis and blankets and wants to be held and cuddled. She also likes to get pretend baths in his little tub. She's really interested in pretend play, and one of her favorite activities is cooking in her kitchen. She also pretends to take little bites of everything, like pictures in books or things she sees on t.v.  It's really cute!

My absolute favorite thing she's doing right now is saying, "hold you?" when she wants to be picked up.  I swear she says, "Mommy, mommy, hold you?" all day.  If I can't, she'll ask someone else. And, when she talks to my parents on iChat, she always says, "Poppy.  Dory. Hold you?" as soon as she sees them.  

Ella is such a joy, and we're continuing to savor each moment with her!  Here are some pics of what she's been up to lately.

Drinking from the hose

Getting ready to start her Little Gym class

Playing "ready, set, go" in the front yard

Looking guilty after taking dirt out of the pot at a restaurant and putting it in her hair!