Eleri Cate is.....1 year old!

Today Eleri has turned ONE!!! Of course the time has flown, and I can not believe that she is already one. Eleri is still so full of life. She is really starting to become her own little girl. She is acting and looking even more different. (We've noticed that her face has gotten a little chubbier too in the recent week!) I still LOVE those chubby cheeks. Eleri is doing great. She is still waking at night, sometimes multiple times, but I'm not going to get her. I've started to wean her and that is going fairly well. She loves her milk sippy cups much more than Mali ever did. I'm so thankful that she has nursed for a year and it has been a special time. We are both ready for this season to end, but it is sad, especially with how hard you have to persevere to begin with. Eleri loves to eat. Her favorite foods are cheese, bread, Fruit Loops, green beans, any kind of meat, drinking Daddy's tea. Eleri just loves food, she is willing to try anything and everything food wise, especially if it is in someone else's hand. Eleri loves bath time. I can say "are you ready for your bath" or sign "bath" or even turn on water, and she is walking to her bath. The other day, I ran the water and then was watching the news, I heard a thud/splash and looked and Eleri was IN the bath WITH her clothes on, and she didn't even seem to mind. Eleri loves her big sister and will squat down and peek at Mali. Eleri is very attentive to Mali when Mali is crying. Eleri just may be our more sensitive, caring child. However, Eleri does hit Mali and holds her own. We have entered a stage of tons of sister fighting. Poor Eleri has had more head injuries than we ever wanted for our sweet baby. God HAS protected her though and she has not sustained anything too serious, as heart breaking as any bump or bruise is. Eleri likes to laugh and cracks up laughing when Mali laughs. Eleri loves to position herself in the bottom of our bookcase or crawl underneath her bed. She does seem to show a more adventurous side. Eleri loves to play with balls or to put object into other objects. Eleri enjoys books, but mainly taking them off the shelf and bringing them to me. Eleri can say mama, dada, may (for Mali), mi mi (seems to be directed towards her pacifier), uh uh (uh oh), baby, pup, yes. On occasion, she has said a few more words that surprise me. Her vocabulary is really taking off! Eleri can also sign all done, more and milk. We are working on bath, help, please, thank you, and sorry. Eleri is taking 1-2 naps a day and I'm still rocking her to sleep if she doesn't fall asleep in the car on the way home from taking Mali to preschool. When we drop Mali off at preschool, Eleri fusses to get down and wants to be right in the middle of the rest of the preschoolers. Eleri also saw Sesame street yesterday for the first time and was enthralled with it! We love her to death! She is so sweet, loving and funny! She just has the perfect personality, and I'm doing it no justice with this blog. So, I'll leave you with some pictures of our sweet girl. One of her in the bath in her clothes, beautiful portraits that my good friend Naomi Jones took of her at the Arboreteum, and her birthday invitation.