18 Months

A year and a half old and Elena continues to keep us on our toes.  She's quite the busy gal and in June started to talk, a lot.  Some of the words she says are,

Mama, Daddy, Joel, Kezia, Asha, Hadley, Grandma, Grandpa, Liam, Randy, baby, puppy, up, out, mine, hi, bye (this she always screams), apple, more, no, please, thank you, night night, owie, hot, hat, back, and
agua, ojo (pokes her finger into the closest eye), nariz, boca, dientes, no hay (of course accompanied by her jazz hands), otra, leche, más, bebé, vamos, gracias, por favor, bien, si, hola, chau, colchita, Papi, Mamá, besos.  Sometimes she continues to sign with the word she is saying.  Elena understands us in either language and bobs her head no or yes, depending on the question.  It's great that she can express herself.

Elena is quite the climber and is forever up on furniture and tables.   Her other favourite thing to do is find something in a basket, on the floor, or on a shelf, pick it up and take it about 10 feet then drop it in some unknown place.  She does this constantly throughout the day and we are always on the hunt for our stuff.  She's definitely got a mind of her own and we're finding that when we try and re-direct her, she isn't easily deterred.   "No, no, dámelo Elena," or "Déjala Elena!".  She stops, contemplates her next move and then continues what she's not supposed to do.  When we repeat ourselves, she bursts into tears and flops on the ground. Then in 30 seconds she's up and happily doing something else.  So let's just say that she is a spirited child.

But with that, she is such a happy child and is very affectionate.  It doesn't take long for Elena to warm up to people to give them hugs and a kiss.  Out in public, she freely gives out smiles and a big Hi!  Her big brown eyes melt your heart and you can't help but smile right back at her.

She loves water and playing in the pool, lake or pond, and now is quite comfortable in a big bath tub.  Elena also loves to chase the hose when we water the garden and get sopping wet.  It seems she's quite the water baby.

Oh how we love this little gal. She has a mind of her own, she's smart and curious, loves to be with people and but also enjoys sitting quietly and looking at her books in her room or rocking her babies on a stool.  We can hardly believe how much she is growing and changing.