17 Months

My little baby has become quite the little girl. She has so many teeth (I believe 12-13 with molars in the back :) She talks everywhere we go and loves saying "mommy, daddy, car, truck, juice, ba-ba, mimi (my mom), cookie, me, yah, shoe, up, happy, etc" and can identify many animals and their sounds. If you ask her any question she responds with an enthusiastic "yah!". If she doesn't want something she indignantly shakes her head. If she decides she needs something immediately she just says "mommy, mommy, mommy" which is, quite possibly, the cutest thing in the world. She loves it when we ask her where her body parts are and just recently began saying "nose". I love it when she wakes up in the morning and yells my name from her crib until I go and get her :) Her favorite thing to do is to run up to Luke and I and stick her head between our legs. It's really funny and sometimes awkward, but I wouldn't change it for the world. At night she will always help us lotion her up and is obsessed with shampooing her own hair.
I love that she is happy to go to daycare now and has so many friends her age. They tell me how social she is with the other kids and how enthusiastic she is to learn. Nothing could make me happier. When I pick her up she runs to me so fast that she often falls or trips and it takes everything I have not to smile. Her naps have changed because of my work schedule and we are still trying to get into a groove that works. She sleeps at daycare at from 1-2pm but I know she still needs a morning nap because she often falls to sleep on the way to daycare at 9:30am. During the ride home, Ella has become super difficult in the car. She has to be watching Disney Junior on my iPhone or eating or drinking something. Otherwise it's not going to be pretty (or peaceful!). I try to keep her up to see Luke before she goes to bed and her reaction to hearing the door open is absolutely priceless. She screams with the highest pitch you could possibly imagine and gets so excited she often doesn't even know how to control herself. She will repeat his name until he starts chasing her around the house. Daddy-daughter relationships are pretty amazing :)
She has the funniest eating habits and insists on feeding herself with a fork regardless of what's in front of her. She's really good about trying new things and enjoys healthy foods, especially fruit!
I love telling her to dance or shake her booty because she responds immediately and has the funniest dance moves and silliest laugh one could possibly imagine :) I'm desperately trying to cherish every single moment with her because I can't even imagine how fast she is growing and changing. Every month I say to myself, this is my favorite phase :)