Mommy's Birthday!

What a beautiful day for a birthday!  Thank you for all the Birthday Calls and Cards!  Unfortunately, most of the calls were in the morning, when Grandma, Ellie and I went to a Discovery Toy Marketing Scheme Party, or in the evening, when I was getting Ellie into the bath and then to bed, but the brief chats and messages are very well received.  I let Ellie listen to the messages as we finalized our bedtime routine, she was very excited to hear all the voices! 

Ellie is now saying, "Hi" and "Hey".  She seems to know that they mean hello, as she will say them to the horses when we go to the barn to feed them, to the dogs when she sees them first thing in the morning, to Daddy after a nap, to her reflection in the mirror (with a wave) after her bath and to her stuffed sheep conversationally in the car. 
She babbles to the dogs, toys and to herself in the tub and sometimes you think you hear certain words... I thought I heard doggy, daddy and apple; Daddy heard reciprocity,inter-dental fricatives and stratosphere.

Grandma has been playing a game in the car with Ellie to keep her entertained and full... Grandma will put a Cheerio in her palm and close her fingers around it, loosely.  Ellie will pry Grandma's fingers apart and grab the Cheerio and push the hand away for more.  This actually entertains both of them!

Looking up at Daddy!

Last cute thing - After bath time, we spend a few minutes every night reading books or playing with toys on the floor in Ellie's room.  She has a giraffe that sits on a little music box with a pull string that plays the song, "Toyland".  Daddy always pulls the toy toward himself and then pushes it away again, slowly to get the tune just right.  This evening, Daddy was downstairs entertaining our guests, so Ellie pulls the toy toward herself with the string and then uses the other hand to push it away again.  She did this several times. Adorable, it just seems like such a big-kid thing to do.