Elin, 18 Months

Sis, here, is 18 months old as of Monday & look at that little GIRL in the picture.  Elin is changing so quickly and growing more independent every day; although she has displayed a strong, determined character for quite sometime now.

So lets see, what has she been up to lately?  Well she is pretty much constant motion; however, if I think back to Jake at this age, he definitely wins in that area.  Nevertheless,  she seems to move with complete determination, appearing to always be on a mission.  She doesn't really run all that much, but she  definitely  marches.  When she does run though (usually trying to catch up with Jake), her whole torso twists with excitement.  Love that toddler run.  

I can't even really keep up with all the new vocabulary she is gaining, but a couple of my favorites are "Jesus" and "amen" (may-men).  So precious!  She also has begun to call me "Becca" occasionally.  From down stairs, when I was upstairs, she called, "Becca?...Where are you?" Craziness, I tell you.  I so love language acquisition and I find the differences between children so fun and somewhat amazing really.  So to all my pedi SLP friends (I have no I idea if they read this), what do you think? Is it boy vs. girl, birth order, personality or what?? Another funny thing she does while communicating is, she tucks her chin down into her neck and it makes her voice a little deep and gruff...this is her serious voice and for some reason it is usually reserved for Keith.  Ha!

She still has her foot/ shoe fetish, loving to try on her shoes over and over again.  Nearly every morning the first thing she will say after I get her out of her crib is, "fwops! fwops!" requesting her flip-flops.  She also likes bringing every one's shoes to them in the morning.  Frequently she points out my toenail polish & nods her head saying, "yeah, yeah,"

 Elin is loving her books and reading times with mom or dad at nap time and bed time.  She is becoming more interactive during reading, making animal sounds, pointing particular objects out when asked and completing motions (like in Eric Carle's, I Can Do It.)  Her favorite song is still Itsy  Bitsy Spider.

Her favorite play mate...well Jake of course.  Like any younger sibling, she watches him, follows him, & tries to do all things he does like sitting on the couch like him, blowing bubbles  in the bath or pool, or initiating a game of "catch me" etc.   So far, he welcomes this & is so proud when he is able to teach her something new or help take care of her.  When we were talking about what it means to be a friend one day, I asked him who he thought was a great friend.  I was fully expecting him to say me (just being honest) or maybe Keith.  He said, "Mom, Elin is my best friend."  

We love love love this little child so much, she brings so much laughter, love, & a little extra quirkiness  to our family.  Thank you, God, for entrusting Elin Kate to us.  Love you "E."