21 Months

Eliza is a little girl now. She continues to be sassy, determined, and adorable. Over the past month, she has developed a love for letters. She loves pointing to letters (wherever she may see them) and shouting random letter sounds . She is usually wrong, but she does know "S" and "I" pretty well. She enjoys saying the alphabet with Nathan and me, repeating each letter after us. It's pretty cute.

She is also speaking more these days. She says "please" and "thank you" and knows a ton of new words. I am constantly amazed when she says something I've never heard her say before. For instance, I came home from work yesterday and she was suddenly saying "knees" and "arm." Nathan has been teaching her body parts, and she's learning so quickly!

Eliza also has a sense of humor and will mimic certain noises she finds funny. Nathan said "argh!" one day, and Eliza repeated in a few times with the same inflection. I think she knew she was being funny because she kept looking over at me to make sure I wasn't missing her performance. She has knack for funny faces too :)

I mentioned earlier that Eliza is determined. By this, I mean she knows what she wants. 90% of the day, she wants to go outside and walk around. Unfortunately, I am low on energy these days and our walks together aren't very long. She is also smart enough to know I have to push her in the stroller, as I need something to lean on while walking. So, when I'm around, she'll run and get into her stroller (or try to push it herself) as if to say: "Get a clue, mom!"

With Nathan, it's a different story. Eliza knows he will walk and walk with her. Recently, she has decided to walk for blocks in one direction, refusing to turn at all. Nathan says she is exploring because she is tired of seeing the same things in our immediate neighborhood. After walking 7 blocks west on Monday, Eliza finally gave up and made Nathan carry her the rest of the way home (as she was just too tired). Once she is home again, she always wants to run away on another walk. Luckily, she doesn't get too far before Nathan catches her :)

In addition to walking adventures, Eliza enjoys cuddling on the couch with all of her blankets,

doing puzzles, and trying on "big" shoes.

 

 We love our little lady! Her antics always make us laugh, and we're so happy she is part of our family.