Ella is a Big Girl now...

My little girl thinks she is all grown up. No more little kid bowls or plates. I'd better not try to give her little kid forks or spoons. And forget that soupy applesauce she used to love - it needs to be thick and chunky.

What worries me is that she is only 17 months old. Just in the last week, I've had to really put the discipline down. She is testing everything. I'm trying so hard to teach her how to act in certain situations, usually resulting in classic toddler tantrums - but isn't this supposed to wait until 2 years old?

But with the tantrums comes all new fun, too. Ella now initiates hugs with me. She just runs up to me and gives me a huge hug. I'm still trying to show her how to give kisses - which she has not initiated yet - but give her time.

We can now count to 6 on our fingers, too. I know my Aunt Diane would be proud. The goal is up to 10 in the next 2 weeks. She understands the concept, but can't always pronounce all the words. However, her vocabulary is remarkable for her age. Last night she kept repeating a sentence over and over until we got it... "I see green beans" - sounded like "I see nee nee" at first so it took us a while to understand, but once we figured it out, she was so excited - we had chicken pot pie last night with green beans in it and she was pointing out the green beans (her favorite vegetable).

We are still working on her motor skills. She was a late crawler and a late walker, but now she is just running everywhere. Her biggest thing to master is the stairs now. She insists on holding my hand and trying to go up and down them over and over. Luckily, we don't have any stairs in our house - they are just out on the deck and in the garage.

And that's the Ella update this week.