Things you can't very well take pictures of

• Ellie seems to need time by herself. It seems like she needs more of it on days when Elizabeth and I are both home. This morning she went to her room saying "night, night." I followed her in and asked if she needed to go to bed. She said, "No, bye." I headed out of the room and closed the door a bit. She ran over and closed it the rest of the way. About an hour later she knocked on the door to let us know she was ready to get out.
• Last Friday night when I when I got home from work, Ellie and I were playing in the living room. Elizabeth came over and hugged me from behind. Ellie got quite jealous. Often times when Elizabeth and I hug or snuggle, Ellie comes over, joins in, and sighs happily. Not this time. She whined profusely apparently trying to tell Elizabeth that it was her time with daddy. To emphasize the point, she pushed Elizabeth away saying, "Bye."
  
• Eliana's learned a few new words of note: tiger, empty, clouds, stars, earth, planet, sun, moon, pizza, and Merry Christmas. She seems to understand and apply the concept of empty well, which is entirely useful when it comes to milk. She's not quite so clear on stars. On a cloudy night she'll often call street lights stars. She's more accurate on a clear night. She doesn't actually eat pizza; crust perhaps.
  
• Last night I was reading books to Ellie before bed. Each time we finished a book, I'd tell her to put the book away and go get another one. After the fourth book, she refused my imperative, saying "No. Night, night." She went to bed and to sleep without a fuss. Although she may appear angelic on the blog, she historically didn't go to sleep quite so easily. Lately, though, she has rather been more pleasant to put to bed. Once she's said "night, night," she'll usually go down fairly easily.
• As previously noted, Eric gave Ellie a stuffed kitty for Christmas. While it's not displaced starduck as her favorite bedtime stuffed animal, it is her favorite during the day. Stereotypically, she totes it about by the arm. The cat is definitely preferred to the baby doll Elizabeth and I gave her for Christmas and is much more likely to go in her new toy stroller.
• As previously noted, Ellie surreptitiously picked the peas out of the pasta Elizabeth gave her. A few nights ago, Elizabeth and I were eating chicken with a side of peas. I gave Ellie some chicken. She wouldn't eat it, but she readily sucked down all the peas I would give her.
  
• Yesterday we took Ellie to the clinic to get the second part of her flu shot. The anticipation was much worse than the actual stick, which was not the case for the first shot back in October. The lollipop was a more than adequate salve. She was even willing to say thank you for it despite the pain in her leg. The girl likes her sweets.
• Ellie's phone conversation skills are a bit lacking. Her end of the call consists of "Hello...Yeah...Yeah...Bye."
• Cheesy scrambled eggs remain a favorite food.