All Things Ellie!

I feel like these days are just flying by. Ellie's growing up. I want to just capture her in these moments because I know they will be gone so soon. She is a total sponge! Anything we say or do, she imitates. It is so darn cute! She loves to talk! Yesterday she mastered the art of spinning around, or twirling. Adorable! Anyway, here are some fun Ellie facts.

She loves animals. She can make the sounds of a puppy, cow, lion, bear, duck, owl, horse, elephant, parrot, kitty, bunny (for this she just pats the floor with her hand like my dad does when he's playing with their pet bunny), plus she can sound like a car and an airplane. She says "Mama", "Dada", "Ellie", "I love you", "water", "shoes", "baby", "yum", "diaper", "uh-oh", "bye-bye" and she makes cute kissing noises when you ask her for a kiss. She loves reading books. Sometimes, I'll peak into her room and she has one book in her hands while the rest are around her. Although, she also uses this time to wreak havoc on her room and pull down all her clothes, diapers, headbands, washcloths, but we won't focus on that.

She loves food! Her favorites include pasta with any sauce (as long as pasta's involved, she's good), peanut butter & honey sandwiches, quesadillas, grilled cheese, broccoli, peas, olives, cauliflower, applesauce, strawberries, grapes, oranges, pineapple, tomatoes, yogurt, crackers of all kinds, Raisin Bran Crunch, granola bars, fruit snacks, and recently Danny got her addicted to popcorn. Guess it runs in the family. Obviously, she loves going to Costco for samples.

She's not so much into toys anymore. She has a couple favorites, but gone are the days of her sitting down by her toy box and amusing herself for hours. Lately, her favorites are her baby, Minnie Mouse, blankets, anything with buttons on it (i.e. breadmaker, remote, phones, Ipad), bowls, anything she can with a handle/strap that she can carry around. She also loves shoes! Go figure. I have to hide them sometimes or she'll carry them around all day. She loves to be outside, and with the weather finally warm, it's fun for me, too. She loves songs, especially ones with actions. Isty Bitsy Spider, Wheels on the Bus, Popcorn Popping, and If You're Happy and You Know It are definite favorites. I love watching her throw her arms up for "Shout Hooray!"

She knows where her nose, hair, eyes, tongue, fingers, toes, ears, and tummy are and she's not afraid to point them out on other people either. She also loves to tickle your toes. Silly girl! She likes to pat her belly after a good meal. Mmmm!

Growth wise, I think she's always going to be tall and skinny. For her 15 month check-up, she was in the 12th percentile for weight, but high 80s for height. Also, she has a big head. Welcome to the family, girly. Her head has always been in the 90th percentile. But she's definitely growing! And always eating. I'm guessing Danny and I passed on our amazing metabolism. Slightly joking, slightly serious.

Well, I think that's good for an Ellie update. I'm loving this stage! It's so much fun to be with her all day, watching her learn new things. I feel like we're just singing and dancing all day, which is fine with me. Love her!

Rice!

With her friend, the Breadmaker.

Dancing with Daddy's credit card...

Work that updo!

That's a sneeze face, not a "I'm so miserable! You guys are horrible parents!" face.

Lunch on the hike.

Caution: Babies in dishwasher.

It's just so funny!

We love this silly, loving, sweet girl!

So...It's April

Hello. I hate doing those corny, "We've been so busy, I haven't had time to blog!" intros, so I'll just start somewhere. We are doing great! We had a wonderful holiday season (oh, gee that's embarrassing), made it through all our birthdays, and we're excited about life in general. I think I'll just do a quick recap of everything.

Halloween
Ellie- super cute elephant. Enjoyed all the candy.
Melinda & Danny- loved showing off the cute little elephant. Danny became the Elders Quorum president about this time. Busy busy busy!

Thanksgiving
Ellie- had so much fun driving to California (bit of sarcasm here). Was able to meet some aunts, uncles, and great-grandparents and enjoyed all the food and attention.
Danny & Melinda- excited to go somewhere for Thanksgiving for the first time since we got married! Loved seeing family and being together. Happy the car worked perfectly!

Christmas
Ellie- another successful car trip. Thank goodness she loves her new car seat and falls asleep in it as soon as her bum touches that "infant seat cushion." Loved seeing family and playing with Mr. Floppy. Received lots of new toys and books and clothes and food and... well, you get the idea. Worked on her walking, but didn't  quite work up the courage to let go and do it on her own.
Danny & Melinda- decided we might be crazy. After 15+ hours in the car, we made it to wonderful Wolfforth. Many thanks to my sweet grandma for getting us a hotel room somewhere in New Mexico to spend the night. We loved being with family for the Christmas festivities. It was also fun to get together with some high school friends. Had lots of fun, frequented Rosa's, ate too much Blue Bell, and enjoyed every second of that special time of year.

Ellie's Birthday
Ellie- took her first nose dive in the snow while sledding with Daddy. Had yummy Pasta Salad, fruit, crackers and cheese, and cake and ice cream. She dove in to that cake like there was no tomorrow. Absolutely loved it! Got some fun toys and loved being the center of attention. Thanks Jaymes and Lauren, Laurel and Randall, and Kyle and Kelsey!!
Danny & Melinda- can't believe our sweet girl turned 1! She has been such a blessing and we love her so much! It is so much fun to see her learn and grow. She has the cutest personality and loves to entertain. Such a joy!

Danny's Birthday
Ellie- cute as usual. Gave Daddy kisses. Started walking a couple days later. Woohoo!!
Danny & Melinda- Danny turned 26. Holy cow! That's old. We went to Olive Garden for his birthday. Delicious!

Easter
Ellie- had fun finding eggs filled with Goldfish and Marshmallow Mateys. She loved her Easter basket and got some cute pj's, bubbles, books, and a puzzle.
Danny & Melinda- had fun being the Easter bunny. Had the traditional meal of Fried Chicken. Played games with friends. What a joyous time to remember the sacrifice and resurrection of our Savior! We are so thankful for this blessing and all that is possible because of Jesus Christ.

Spring Break

Ellie- had fun at Bear Lake. Loved the hotel room and all the new places to explore. Still a fan of swimming. Had a blast at Baby Animal Days in Logan where she got to hold/pet/see a chick, duckling, bunny (favorite), quail, goats, a donkey, horses and foals, sheep and lambs, pigs, and cows (another favorite). They were adorable! The whole time she was petting the cow, she kept mooing. I guess the calf felt at home when she was around. Loved getting Aggie Ice Cream at USU. Became best friends with Laurel and Randall. It was a fun week.
Danny & Melinda- we really, really enjoyed getting away. It was such a fun vacation! Danny went fishing a couple times, we went swimming, ate yummy food, did some cheese taste-testing to get free ice cream, and had fun with Laurel and Randall who were able to come up for a couple days. Although the lake was frozen, it was still beautiful.

Melinda's Birthday
Ellie- loved the yummy 4 Layer Dessert Daddy made. Enjoyed getting some new books at Ladies' Night at Deseret Book. Sweet girl.
Danny & Melinda- yes, I turned 25. Yes, I am a quarter of a century. And yes, I am proud of my first 25 years. We went to Goodwood to celebrate after the Priesthood session of Conference. Danny was his sweet self and spoiled me again. Love him. It was a great day!

General Conference
Ellie- stayed busy throughout every session. Good thing she likes books! Maybe next Conference, she'll be in to coloring. Oh boy!
Danny & Melinda- loved hearing the words of the Prophet and others who serve the Lord. We felt so blessed! Our prayers were answered and promptings were felt. Perfect Conference!

Well, I think that is about all the big happenings in the lives of the Crane family. We love you all!

Sweet, Sweet September

We've made it to September! Ellie turned 8 months old on the 12th. Photo shoot time!

Such a big girl!

Yeah!

Love these toes.

Ellie's favorite books. And yes, that is "Where's Ellie?"

We're hoping she doesn't think she's an elephant.

Favorite toys. Notice the bracelet on her foot. Stylish.

Building towers.

Sneaky face.

She's a pro at drinking out of Camelbak's now.

 Pretty much, she's the cutest thing ever! Here are some Ellie stats:
-she is an eating machine. She's had zucchini, olives, tomatoes, cantaloupe, grapes, kiwi, strawberries, blueberries, mango, avocado, chicken, hamburger, lots of different breads, green beans, squash, sweet potatoes, pears, cherries, and more. She loves food!
-She loves to drink out of the Camel bak, as you can see. It's her favorite sippy cup.
-She is all over the place! We've had to find new places for a few things in our apartment.
-She's in 12 month clothing now. They fit her tummy, but the pants are still kind of long.
-Whenever you say "Good job, Ellie!" she always claps her hands.
 -She has one little tooth! I'm thinking more are on the way soon. We've started brushing her tooth. She loves to suck on her toothbrush.
-We finally got a crib! After the hassle we had with the crib before Ellie was born, we were a little wary of which one we would get, but this one has been great! Plus, Ellie now regularly sleeps through the night! Woohoo!!
-She loves to read, play with toys, be tickled, sing, go on rides, dance to Michael Buble, and look in the fridge. She is a silly girl and we're so grateful for her!

Some other things we've been up to...

Stuck under the couch.

First BYU game!

Ridin' in style

New crib!

 I've been trying a lot of new recipes. Hopefully, those will make it on here. They've been delicious! Well, diaper duty calls!