Almost One Whole Year Old

My baby girl is almost one. I just nursed her to sleep and tried to grasp the fact that she will be One tomorrow. Oh - just writing it makes me weepy. What is kindergarten going to do to me, or college???
I can't believe how fulfilled we are. There is so much love in our home and I feel like the luckiest Mom in the world. Sometimes Tate and I hug with Ellie smushed between us and we call it an Ellie Sandwich. It feels silly, snuggly, giggly, and cozy. That feeling pretty much sums up life right now!

On the eve of her first Birthday a day in the life of Elliette Rose goes something like this . . .
Wake up in bed with Mama and Dada around 7-7:30am and start jabbering
Dismount from the bed and start walking and crawling around the room
Sort toys, moving them from one area to another, then back, over and over again
Breakfast, sometimes I eat a lot, sometimes almost nothing
More play
Nurse to sleep for morning nap around 9:30-10am
Wake up after 45min-1hr30min (most often 45 minutes)and eat lunch
Swim or some other fun activity like shopping
Afternoon nap (most often 45 minutes)
Play and get dinner ready
Dinner (often my best meal)
Bath, books, diaper, and baby Motrin
Nurse to sleep around 7:30-8pm
Wake up every 2-5 hours until morning!

Some fun facts about Ellie
She has 10 teeth: 4 top front teeth, 2 bottom front teeth, and all four molars (the bottom 2 are just now poking through, the top 2 arrived around 10.5 months)
She can say: Mama, Mom, Dada, Nana, Ga (for agua), Ball, Baba (for bubbles), Duck, Dog, ka (for book), nananana (for night-night) and lots more. She repeats many of the words we tell her, she doesn't use them most of the time, but I know they are getting lodged into her mind somewhere! She can communicate just about anything. For example, she will point to a closet where she knows toys are hiding, then she can point to the specific area where she last saw you place her favorite toys. She also vocalizes her wishes with grunts and squeels and protests and head nods until you figure out what she wants. It is really pretty amazing to get to watch!
She loves her grandparents, prefering them over her boring ole parents often!
She really loves other kids and tries to communicate with them! In fact at her birthday party this weekend she wandered over to the play scape and was adamant that she follow the big kids to the top and play just like them. She really loves her big cousins too, and they adore her right back.
She loves balls - especially the big beach ball variety. This can get quite out of hand at the store when we see a display of them. She starts squacking, kicking her legs, flapping her arms, and causing a ruckus. This is typical of anything she sees at the store that she wants, like rubber ducks, stuffed animals, strawberries, etc, but she is the most passionate about balls.
At her last Dr.'s appointment (3 weeks before her first birthday) she weighed 18lbs 11oz. She was in the 10th percentile for height.
Her eyes are a greyish blue with a inner circle of gold/hazel.
We get comments all the time on how beautiful she is, how she looks just like a gerber baby, and how her eyes are just amazing. I have a hard time politely saying 'Thank You' instead of 'I know, isn't she the most stunning creature you have ever seen!'
She is hardly ever scared of anything, but when she is she just kind of cuddles in tight and never cries or gets upset.
She loves books, but mostly prefers to flip the pages. Sometimes she barely even looks at the pictures. She does, however, really like lift-the-flap books. She also enjoys flipper through all of her Daddy's scholarly books.
She is full-fledged walking, but still prefers to stay in her Ergo while out and about.
She is totally crazy about nature, and would spend all day outside if we let her. Her favorites are flowers, wildlife, trees blowing in the wind, and gravel at the park.
She is so happy to be in Texas around her extended family! In fact, we made it just in time for the arrival of her twin cousins! Madison Anne and Morgan Beth were born on June 9th at 5lbs3oz and 5lbs6oz, 4 weeks early, but healthy as can be!

We're settling in to our house in Richardson, although unpacking is slow-going with Ellie running around unpacking and re-packing in her own unique way. It sure makes the tedious process more fun though.
In short, living in Texas with our little angel makes me want to pinch myself I'm so happy.
We're looking forward to year #2 as Ellie's parents!