I know it’s been a long time since either of us have blogged here. Life has been a little crazy as Chris was unemployed for a few months last summer culminating in a job offer in July and a move to Texas in August. Chris left Tennessee on August 9 and started his new job on the 11th. He returned to Franklin on September 24, we put all of our stuff in a huge U-haul truck, and then arrived at our new home in north Fort Worth on Saturday September 27. Phew!

It has definitely been an adjustment but four months later I feel like I’m finally finding my footing. Ellie, however, seemed to adjust just fine. She was definitely very happy to have daddy around again. She eventually started calling him “dada” regularly and now says “daddy” most of the time. In fact, when Chris gets home from work, she tends to exclaim “Daddy!” excitedly or even “Daddy’s here!” She absolutely loves to play outdoors and gets the chance to do so more often due to the more mild temperatures in this area. We’ve explored many playgrounds and parks and also spend a good bit of time in our own backyard or just taking a walk in our neighborhood. She loves to walk! She will hold my hand (or if both of us are there, she’ll hold my hand on one side and Chris’s hand on the other) and just walk, walk, walk. In fact, she’s started to request “walk” when we get to a store and she wants to walk instead of ride in the cart. She’s gotten really good at stepping up and stepping down and running as well. At the playground, she enjoys swinging but really likes to go down the slide.

Tuesday October 7 was her first day at “school” – it’s a Mother’s Day Out program at a Baptist church located near Chris’s office. He takes her in on his way to work Tuesdays and Thursdays, then I pick her up in the afternoon. This has been a huge blessing for all of us – she enjoys it and it gives me more time to work. She is really good with being there or at a church nursery or in childcare at the gym or with a babysitter. I am so thankful for this! I appreciate my time with her even more since I have some opportunities to be away from her. As much as it has been challenging at times to navigate motherhood as a mix between a stay-at-home mom and a working mom, mostly I am so glad that I get to do both.

We of course continue to take lots and lots of photos and videos of her. For Halloween, I found a Raggedy Ann costume for her and that provided many adorable photo and video opps. She had sugar in the form of candy for the first time that night and was a big ball of energy! She often sits down with a book, turning each page carefully, and “reads” out loud. No real words, just gibberish with the right amount of inflection in her voice. So I have a bunch of videos of that.

She knows SO MANY words now!! When we first got here, I think “shoe” was the first word she learned and she said it incessantly. A couple of weeks ago she picked up “sock” too. She also says “jacket” and “hat” and “pants” and “brush.” A few days ago she started saying “silly” – which replaced “shoe” as the cutest word she says. When it comes to eating and drinking, she says “cup” and “apple” and “cheese” and “cracker” and just recently “grits.” She learned to say “Pepe” and “Gran” while we were visiting Chris’s folks over Thanksgiving, then “Papa” and “Bita” and “puppy” when my parents were here over Christmas. Her favorite toy is bubbles so she says that a lot, along with “book” and “watch” and “couch” and “sit” and “snack.” Really too many to keep track of at this point 🙂 Especially since she has fully arrived at “parrot” stage where she repeats what we say whether we want her to or not.

She’s eating pretty well, a decent variety, and can usually be convinced to try something new. Broccoli remains her favorite veggie and blueberries her favorite fruit. She also loves cheese, grits, avocado and yogurt. She recently chowed down on spaghetti one night and chili another (she likes sausage and beans a lot) … both very messy meals! Luckily she also enjoys bathtime which follows shortly after dinner.

A few adjectives that describe our toddler girl: happy, energetic, loving, curious … and helpful! She loves to help! She helps me unload the dishwasher (yes we’ve lost a couple of plates and glasses) … it started with just the silverware and now she helps with everything. She can put away the silverware, measuring cups and spoons, cutting boards and her plasticware with little help from me. She hands me the plates and I try to get all the glass out before she can get to it. She also helps me with the laundry – pushing wet clothes into the dryer and dry clothes into the basket. If only I could teach her to fold, haha!

She can definitely be a handful too especially in the evening before dinner. She cries when she doesn’t get her way and we’re having lots of opportunity to teach her ‘no hitting’ and ‘be gentle.’ But most of these happen at home while in public she’s sweet and quiet, since she takes a good 10-15 minutes to warm up to new surroundings. She does often say “hi” and “buh-bye” to people when we’re out, which is precious!

In general, Chris and I are both loving this age. Getting to communicate with her and play with her … watch as she discovers more and more about the world around her. We’re so thrilled to be her parents!