end of July? no way....

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Can it really be nearing the end of July? Tomorrow my BABY will be 17 months old! I am having such a hard time figuring out how exactly time can go by so quickly. I clearly remember last summer when Ella slept most of the day and we went for walks, stores, and hung out in the shade. This summer is different in LOTS of ways. We still try to go for walks but Ella stays awake for them and points and laughs at things. We sometimes go to stores - but that isnt nearly as easy (except Target...we LOVE shopping at Target) and there isn't much shade to hang out in. We have had a month and a half of 90 plus degree weather and HIGH humidity. I feel like we rarely even GO outside. But when we do, Ella loves the water, hose, her sandbox, watering plants, pushing her babies in the stroller, spotting birdies, flags, airplanes and balls!

We have been to the beach, the Brandywine Zoo, Longwood Gardens, Gymboree classes, Beaver Run, playgrounds, and we are packing to get ready for our roadtrip to visit Aunt Robin and Uncle Biggie (and friends) in Middleboro, Mass! We will see how our 17 month old does for 6 plus hours in the car!

Ella is really becoming easy to communicate with not only with words but also sign language. She says, "hi momma" or "hi dada" when you go to get her in the morning or from her nap. She refers to herself as "baby" and says hello to herself often too!

She says, "baby, momma, dada, up, down, help, hot, please, no, more, thank you, bop, uh oh, banana, i don't know, car, grandma, grandpa, pop pop, nonna, yummy, keys, ice, hat, me, eye, knee, ball, etc and the sounds for so many animals(monkey, dog, sheep, cow, snake, duck, horse, etc.)

Every morning I look at the calendar and know that these days are such a gift to me. I also am very aware of the month of August (namely the end of August) when my summer comes to an end and Ella and Mommy days are back to weekends and holidays along with our favorite daddy. Ella will go back to being with Grandmommy every day, I will have a new class to charm me...and I know I will look back at June, July and August with such memories and a warm heart!