18 months!

Wow! I realize the last time I posted about Ellie's age and what she can do was at least eight months ago; therefore, this post will probably be pretty long. I have to get my bragging in from that long ago to now. We go to the doctor Thursday, so I'll post her stats later. Here is what Ellie can do:

Sign language she knows- milk, please, thank you, cookie, drink, baby, fish, more, and down.
Words she can say- mamma, dadda, dog dog, juice, thank you, hi, bye bye, grandma (sounds like maa mah), grandpa (also similar to grandma), shoe, toe, eyes, ears, NO (definitely hear it a lot), uh oh, tickle tickle, boo, baby, and today she said "sheesh" after I said it.
Things that melt our hearts- kisses and hugs, blowing kisses, and snuggling.
Things that make us laugh- when she sneaks up on someone she tip toes and crouches at the same time, when she smells her baby's bum then crinkles up her nose and wants a diaper and wipes to change her, she takes off her socks to check her toes for toe jam (she actually sweeps her finger in between each of her toes), she also takes off other peoples' socks to check them for toe jam, she pretends like she is leaving by getting her purse and keys then giving us hugs and kisses before saying "bye-bye" and walking to the back door, when she lifts up her arms so we will tickle her, she organizes things in our "shoe cubbies" by the front door.
Things that frustrate us- she loves to climb on everything, she takes her shoes and sometimes socks off in the car every time we go somewhere, she says "no" like it's the only thing she can say, she wants to do everything herself, she makes huge messes wherever she goes,
Things that amaze us- One day, Ellie saw a can of olives. She brought it to us and we told her it wasn't opened and she couldn't have any yet. She then brought us a can opener from the drawer and the can. We don't even use that can opener. We use a different colored one that is up on the counter.
She understands everything we say. When we ask her to she can put her bottles in the sink, throw things away, turn off the TV, put toys away in her toy box, get an article of clothing from her dresser, get matching shoes, close doors, put her clothes in the dirty clothes hamper, turn off/on lights that she can climb to, and much more. When we are talking to each other in the car, she will repeat words we have said. Just a reminder to us that she is always listening. A couple of days ago, she slid off the bed to get down and it sounded like she hit her leg. I said, "I bet she hit her shin," and she said "No." Then she touched her chin.
She can cover her mouth when she coughs and sneezes. My third grade class doesn't even do that! She also practices when you ask her to by fake coughing or sneezing into her arm.
Body parts she knows-head, hair, ears, eyes, eyebrows, eyelashes, nose, teeth, tongue, lips, mouth, cheeks, chin, neck, elbow, armpit, arm, hands, fingernails, fingers, tummy, legs, knees, toes, bum, and feet.
Things she loves to do- wrestle with daddy, listen to stories (sometimes she has fits when it's time for bed and we can't read any more books), watch Mickey Mouse clubhouse, do the "hot dog" dance, play hide and seek, go on walks, pretend to talk on the phone, twirl around, play with other kids (mostly because they have better/different toys than us), carry the dog's dish full of food out to feed him, zip her zippers and dress herself (on top of her existing clothes sometimes).
Potty training- At the end of September, Ellie kept grabbing her diaper and wanting to use the "big girl potty." She was afraid of the toilet because it was so big and she thought she might fall in. We decided to get a little potty and she used it successfully. I couldn't believe she was only 16 months old and wanted to potty train. Well, since then Ellie still asks to go on her potty, but it's pretty rare. Most of the time she grabs her diaper after she's already gone. I guess it's the first step that she recognizes she needs to go and she needs a diaper change. We're still working on it, but I'm not going to push her.

There are so many other things Ellie does that we can't think of right now. She continues to amaze us every day. I can't believe how much their vocabulary explodes and their minds grow from 12 to 18 months. Today will be the first official day she can go to nursery. I brought her a couple of weeks ago for half of the time and sat with her. If she does well today, I may leave her. Sort of nervous, but excited at the same time.