The Matta's: 18 months old, 3 years Married, and a Happy Birthday

I've been meaning to blog since Halloween and somehow it's already the middle of November - CRAZY, I don't know where the time has gone (good thing I've still been taking pictures). Anyway a lot has happened. Ellison turned 18 months and had her 18 month well-check, Jonathan and I celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary and my mom had a birthday! Here are pictures to illustrate all of these wonderful events!

Elle showing off her band-aids

(shots were not bad this time around since we told her she would get band-aids, she barely made a peep because she was so excited to get fun band-aids)

What a silly girl

She has finally got the cowgirl thing down! Giddy-up!

Here she is at 11 months on her horsey

Ellison wanted to work on the computer just like her daddy

Here she is trying to fill his shoes

...speaking of shoes

don't mind the wild hair

she recently started making this funny face, so I told her I wanted a picture...she was happy to make it again for me. (now whenever she sees this picture she says "funny face" and makes the face - then we laugh!)

This is a daily thing, Jonathan puts Elle on his shoulders and they do laps around the kitchen island. This time, Elle made things a little more interesting by blindfolding him.

look who got into mommy's purse (notice she is on the phone too)

this is one of those pictures you take "just because" she was looking sooo cute (plus I was really happy she was keeping her hat on for once).

She WAS singing the ABC's almost perfectly (in Ellison world), then I told her to do it again since I wanted it on video. So this is Ellison singing the ABC's for the second time, it wasn't as good as she usually does it, but you get the idea.

The info. on Little Miss Ellison at 18 months:

weight: 21 lbs 8 oz. - 15th percentile
height: 30 1/2 inches - 15th percentile
head circumference: 47 cm (18 1/2 in) - 55th percentile
wears size 12-18 month clothes and size 4 shoes
has 10 teeth last time I checked (including 3 new molars)
goes #2 on her potty chair 2-3 times a week, it's still a struggle, I have to catch her right before she goes and I run her to the toilet and tell her she will get a treat.
she wants to pick out and put on her own clothes all by herself - she tells us "Ellison do it." she usually picks out dresses, then says throughout the day "pretty dress."
she will break out in song anytime, anywhere - it's usually the ABC's and she usually sings/yells it out for everyone to hear!
her favorite places: the library (for story time), gymnastics, parks, pools, and any store with a seasonal display (Halloween was a big hit, she would say "spooky things," but we recently had to tell her Halloween is "bye bye" and now it's time for Christmas. Then she says "ho ho" and then goes on to sing "frosty the snowman"!
her favorite tv stars/shows are: Mickey Mouse, Dora, Handy Manny, and Elmo (any Sesame Street movie will do).
Communicates very well - almost too good at times. She can and will say ANYTHING we say, so we really have to watch it. Nothing gets past her...we have to spell out many words and she even picks up certain things from our conversations even when we didn't think she was listening. Some of her phrases include: "nice to meet you," "Ellison do it too," "yes, I do," "more please," "Grammy and Grampy's house," "Gramma Marce," "Silly Ellison," "Da Bears," and "hoochie mama," (Jonathan is in BIG trouble for the last one...it was funny once, but now she won't stop saying it). She has one mystery word that we still cannot understand. When she asks for her milk, she follows it with a word that sounds like "ali" (like the boxer). She will say "milt ali," clear as day, and we have no idea what that means.
She is a little obsessed with belly buttons lately. When I tell her it's time to change her diaper, she says "belly button" (and points to hers). When I say let's get your pj's on, she says "belly button." Any situation that involves getting undressed, dressed, or if Jonathan or I are getting dressed/undressed, she says..."belly button!"
She really has been a star at story time lately. She participates in every song with great enthusiasm (even if she doesn't know the words or the moves). She will hold hands with her friend Danielle and walk up to watch the puppet shows and has also done it all by herself! She also goes up to get her hand stamped at the end of story time all by her self. She is really growing up!
Sleep. We have our good nights and we have our bad nights. She probably sleeps through the night 1-2 times a week. Other nights she may wake up 1-4 times depending on the night and depending on her teething situation. Her bed time is from 8:30pm and wakes up for the day around 6:30am. Napping, on the other hand is a little better. She will nap usually an hour on average, but has gone as long as 2 1/2 hours. She usually naps around 1pm.
Eating. Ellison is a pretty good eater. She will eat all fruits, loves/requests fruit smoothies, and eats almost any meat/fish we eat (except for chicken - which I don't understand). She dislikes all veggies including potatoes - we've even tried giving her french fries and she refuses them. She continues to be a very BIG milk drinker (still drinks whole milk).
In her spare time, she loves to dance, sing, and read.

...I could go on and on, but I need to finish this post so I can go to bed!

We were in Wausau this past weekend to celebrate a couple of things. My parents were happy to watch Elle for us so we could go on a little anniversary date.

We took a couple quick pictures before we went out, it isn't often I get dressed up. Elle had to get in the picture too! (Ellison couldn't stop talking about "mommy's pretty dress" and "Ellison's pretty dress")

(Elle was on the floor pulling at my hand to be picked up - how dare we leave her out!)

Jonathan made reservations at "City Grill/Jefferson Street Inn" (for our date) which was the restaurant/hotel we got married at 3 Amazing years ago (yes, amazing). Anyway, he was so thoughtful to have ordered an exact replica of my bridal bouquet and had it pre-arranged with the florist and restaurant to have it as a center piece at our table. I couldn't believe it, actually I could - he always does things like that for me. Here is our beautiful daughter with my beautiful flowers (birds of paradise, fuchsia orchids,and blue mountain thistle).

a family dance
(Jonathan was singing to us along with Michael Buble')

Last, but not least, we celebrated my mom's (aka Grammy) birthday.
(pictured: my mom, Laurie, Elle, and my dad, Jerry (aka Grampy)

The Fam at dinner

(pictured: Jonathan, Me, Ellison, Brooke, Erik, Jerry, and Birthday Girl Laurie)

I had to add this picture in. Elle loves pushing Grammy and Grampy's laundry cart around. This time she was giving her friends a ride (she usually gets in and is pushed around.)