Eleven Months

At four weeks away from being one year old, Ellisyn continued to make us smile with every little thing she did. She was still our adorably petite little girl that spread joy wherever she went. Ellisyn finally decided to explore the world around her, but, true to her nature, she had to do it differently than the average baby. Instead of crawling on her hands and knees to get where she wanted to go, Ellisyn preferred the most inefficient mode of transportation. She used the "butt-scoot method" by sitting on her bottom and using her legs, not her hands, to propel herself forward. It is completely entertaining and often attracts an audience. It has become quite the conversation piece wherever we go. I actually enjoyed my eleven months without a mobile baby, but I was beginning to get worried that Ellisyn wasn't reaching such a common milestone like the other babies around. Despite popular opinion, I was thrilled to finally have E cruising around on her own, even if it was by scooting!

Ellisyn has always loved to babble and hear her own voice, but lately she's actually started saying understandable words! She says mama, dada, more, and thank you. It's so exciting to see her starting to express herself through language.

It's been very apparent since E was a little baby that she loves any kind of animal. She is totally fearless with them and her dad and I are constantly wonder what we're going to do with an animal lover since neither of us are the biggest animal fans. Thankfully many of her aunts and uncles fill Ellisyn's need for furry friends. Uncle Ryan and Aunt Brandi got their own puppy, Lilly, and Ellisyn couldn't have been more thrilled to have a new puppy cousin. 

Labor Day is always exciting, especially when you're husband works for a bank. Daniel and I had the weekend off, so we decided to head down to an annual Labor Day barbecue at my mom's cousin's house in American Fork. This also gave us to opportunity to stop and see my grandma's, Ellisyn's namesake, headstone. I hope that E will always know how special my grandma was to me and so many others, and Ellisyn is already reflecting so many of the special qualities found in my grandma. 

I usually associate September with scone nuggets and petting zoos. This would have to be because of the Eastern Idaho State Fair that my family faithfully attended each year. I was so excited to share this tradition with my Ellisyn! She loved the animals, of course, and she was a pretty big fan of all the bits of food she got to taste as well. 

I started another fun year teaching preschool at The Treehouse Daycare and Preschool. Ellisyn tags along with my every morning. She goes to her classroom, along with the other under one year olds, while I teach the preschoolers for a couple hours. Ellisyn loves being around the other kids, and she is constantly making the grown ups laugh with her scooting. 

We supported Ellisyn's love for animals by taking her to the zoo for the first time. It was really rainy and cold, but E loved looking at all the animals. It is so fun the do new things with her, and I know it will continue to get more and more fun. It's hard to believe that we're parents of such a perfect baby girl. We love her so much!