Let Her Be Little

I don't know what it is. Elliana just seems to be so grown up lately. Caleb and I have both made this comment recently.

It could be that her physical appearance is looking a lot more like a little girl and a lot less like a toddler. It could be her extensive vocabulary and the way that she communicates so effortlessly these days. Or maybe it's the fact that she's enjoying being more and more a part of our daily activities.

I just wanted to share some photos and funny stories about Elliana to give you a glimpse of what our day to day life is like with her these days.

Here is Ellie "helping" me bake chocolate chip cookies a few weekends ago. Did I mention how much I LOVE my new kitchen aid?! I think Caleb and Ellie are enjoying it too. :)


Here's Elliana and Caleb giving the new bike carrier (we don't know what else to call it) a try. This was a Christmas gift from Caleb's parents and I just know Caleb and Ellie are going to be spending a lot of time together on bike rides this spring and summer.


This is one of my new favorite pictures of her.


Elliana's hair is long enough now that we can pull all of it up in a ponytail. Caleb and I both love it, but we also think it makes her look so much more grown up. :(



Ellie is such a funny little girl! Caleb and I were laughing almost the whole way home from being out last night.



We were driving home and a smile crept across Ellie's face. She suddenly burst out with "Mommy! Daddy!"
Caleb and I: "Yes, Elliana?"
Ellie:"How about... fruit snacks!"

Then just a few minutes later from the backseat we heard "It's NOT night-night time!"
Caleb and I: "Yes Elliana, yes it is. You're going to bed when we get home."
Ellie: "No, it's not night-night time for... 3 hours."
Where does she get these things?

Her new favorite thing to do while eating a meal is to pick up anything (her cup, her utensils, or her food), raise it in the air and exclaim "Cheers"! Then she waits for us to say cheers back and raise our food or utensils too. :)

She loves to speak to inanimate objects. Just today at lunch she started talking to her bowl. This may not be word for word what she said, but it's close; "Hi bowl. I'm eating macaroni and cheese bowl. Then it's night-night time bowl. Now I'm drinking my water bowl". Ha! I'm giggling to myself even as I write this.

All I know is, every time I listen to this song and think about our Elliana, I can't help but be sad. It's true what they say, they grow up so fast! With how much fun we're having with Ellie lately, I don't want her to grow up. I know she has to though. It's like my mom always tells me, "Enjoy each stage because you'll want the time back when they've grown up".

Here's a little warning, this song will probably make you cry. It makes me cry every time.



On a completely unrelated note, I just noticed that this is my 100th post. Go me!