Pigtails

This morning, I had a glorious start to the day by waking up naturally (on a school day!) without an alarm. How nice it is to have the days getting longer and more sunlight out. Because of my getting up earlier than usual this morning, I was able to try out a new hair style on Ellie and manage to take pictures before heading off to school.

Every morning when the door is open, Ellie likes to look outside for cars (and trucks!), birds, and other random items. I'll be honest, there is not much going on that is super exciting usually, but I love that she is getting older and developing these little kinds of routines and awareness of her surroundings.

Outside these days, Ellie wants to be A-C-T-I-V-E!  She is up, she's down, she is in, she is out.  She walks down the sidewalk and runs (kind of runs...) back.

Among her other charms, Ellie has been learning how to "spit" lately (mostly it ends up as an enthusiastic drool).  Mainly, we taught her this in an effort to spit out her toothpaste and not just swallow it as she would prefer to do.  Lucky for  us, she now goes in spurts outside of the bathroom wanting to practice this skill.  (Notice her chin in the picture below...)

Lately, our dearie has been slightly obsessed with her belly and revealing it to the world as she roams around.  This action makes me want to give her constant raspberries, which I have to control myself from doing  at times.

So, needless to say, Ellie is up to new tricks these days, and she keeps us on our toes most of the time.  How fun it is to watch her continue to change and develop into her own little person more and more each day.  What a love!