The Cook Family Adventure Blog: 16 months!

Mom and Dad, welcome to having a toddler! It's official she is not a little girl anymore! Running, dancing, screaming, playing...you name it, Elliot has turned into a fireball! She has strong opinions about the world and isn't afraid to strike out on her own, only periodically checking to make sure that Mom and Dad are watching. She is very invested in making sure that EVERYONE gets a friendly hello and a wave. If someone is sitting near us in a public place and doesn't say hi to her, she will often go up to then and say "hi" and wave until they breakdown and respond to all of her cuteness - the girl is a ham.

Now that she is comfortable walking and going up stairs, the next challenge is walking while carrying bags / purses / grandpas fanny pack / a tiny bird house / anything at all. She is also working out going down steps which is easy if you go backwards but, come on, that isn't any fun. Far more enjoyable to try and hang onto the railing and step / topple down (this gives parents some palpitations).

She has picked up a new word which is said in several different ways (NO!, nononononononononono, nooooooooooooooo etc.) and has really mastered her sign language. She frequently makes the signs for "more....food" and has figured out that if you put a book in dad's lap and then frantically make the "please" sign - that buys you 3-5 more minutes before bedtime (dad is a softy). She also isn't shy about telling us she is all done, at dinner, at the play ground and once at the pool (during a particularly cold swimming lesson). Perhaps in most endearing fashion, our new nanny (more on that soon) taught Elliot to shrug her shoulders in an "I don't know" sign during dramatic readings of The Runaway Bunny. This has translated into everyday sign language and it is ADORABLE to ask Elliot questions "Eliot, how does a plane work" and then make the "I Don't Know" sign with her - this will never get old.

She started pre-preschool this week (our baby is all grown up) - at a cooperative preschool in Seattle. Run by a dedicated preschool teacher with a strong parent education component and parental involvement - we think that Elliot is going to have a blast with the new environment and all the new kids. Mom and Dad attended the parents orientation meeting and found out, first hand, that maybe some people have a little too much time on their hands and need real problems with their life because, honestly, deciding if the kids pictures will be on facebook or google+ does NOT require a ten minute conversation.

We have a new nanny since moving to Seattle, Amanda, and she often brings her dog, Red, over with her. Amanda is a blessing for Elliot and they are out and about most days on new adventures. Red is amazing friendly and patient and, best of all, is about 8 pounds. This means he is the PERFECT size for Elliot to walk and a new favorite game is walking around holding onto Red's leash. While Cooper and Madison remain significant in her heart, one wonders if Red is making a play for most - loved dog.

There is a wading pool in the Green Lake park, which is only about a mile from our house. Elliot and Mom / Amanda like to travel down there as it is the perfect depth for a fun loving toddler. The splash, run around and Elliot is actually starting to play with other children - amazing! The Maple Leaf park and the Green Lake play ground remain popular destinations and although the slides remain intimidating, we continue to work up our courage to go down them. Mom bought, and Grandpa Cook put together, a small jungle gym for the backyard and that has really helped her courage going down slides. Soon she will be all over it!

She also LOVES books - which warms the cockles of her parents hearts. It is actually becoming a somewhat common event that she will walk off to her play area, pull out a book and sit in the chair Grandma Weis got her to read for 10-15 minutes by herself.. She is happy to sit in her room with Mom or Dad either reading on their laps (her own book of course - while Mom or Dad reads another to her) or even laying on the ground next to them flipping through pictures while someone reads "Giraffes Can't Dance" for the 700th time. Hopefully all that early childhood reading has paid off - she really seems to like books right now.

We had lots of visitors out in Seattle - Grandma Cook and Grandpa Cook each took a trip out and Uncle Eric was out for several days! Elliot just loves going on adventures and whenever someone comes and can take her someplace new (the glass art museum, the zoo, the EMP museum, the aquarium) she just loves it!

These last few weeks were full of adventures outside of Seattle too. After the trip back to Wisconsin to see all the Weis family, we took Elliot on her first backpacking trip. This was an overnight trip in the North Cascade mountains outside of Seattle. Elliot was a trooper! Mom carried her and her stuff in the backpack carrier while Dad and the dogs carried the remainder of the gear. The highlight of the trip was getting caught above treeline as a thunderstorm was coming in. Elliot was pretty cool about it, but Mom and Dad were running down the trail and feeling somewhat like bad parents. We also rented a house in Stevens pass for a weekend and had a great time day hiking, playing in the river, hot tubing etc. The next big adventure was out to Lake George, NY for Mac's cousin's wedding. Grandma and Grandpa Cook rented a big house and Elliot got to play with all of her aunts and uncles as well as meet her Greatgrandmother Rehfuss (Mac's maternal Grandma). Despite a somewhat trying trip home, it was a worthwhile trip and we are really glad that we made it out there to see everyone.

Elliot likes:
    Dogs
    Reading books
    Putting things in bags and carrying them around
    Running around
    Saying hi to people
    Wading in the wading pool
    SWINGS
    the Zoo
    Chicken
    Watermelon
    Really pretty much any food

Elliot is not a fan of:
    Getting carried (I CAN DO IT MYSELF)
    Naps
    Dirty hands (no kidding, she hates things on her hands)
    Sleeping on airplanes