All About Ella!

Ella just had her 15 month check-up. She's 18.5 lbs (because she had a tummy bug a couple weeks ago and is still gaining her weight back) and 28.5 inches tall. Her head is slightly bigger for her body in the percentile charts, but the Dr. jokes that's just because she has a bigger brain. She's a petite little miss, but the Dr. isn't worried about it, he says she's just meant to be a smaller person. She's healthy and happy and thriving, that's what matters most.She has such a big, cute, silly personality. She loves jabbering (I've been told by a few people that she 'talks' more than most babies they've known), dancing, walking/running around, 'helping' with the laundry, getting into her dishes, cuddling her toys and blankies, hugging (and patting your back when she does it), blowing kisses, squealing, and I think singing. She hums along with songs sometimes, it's so cute. She keeps us pretty entertained and busy these days.
She has 2 molars coming in, so she's been a little whiney lately, but pretty good considering how uncomfortable they must be, and then 8 teeth in the front of her mouth.
She loves it when people come to visit, she loves being around people in general (as long as she's not being closed in on by a lot of them). In sharing time for Primary, she wanders the aisle in front of us and will go to random kids we don't really know. She loves the kids in there, and they all seem to really like her (even the boys)! She loves being with females (especially her older cousins), but is VERY wary of strange men, and men in hats (including her dad). If a man comes around wearing a hat, she flips out and buries her head in my shoulder or scrambles to be picked up - even if it's Jer in the hat. She loves getting into my shoes and makeup, which I like to say makes her a girly girl, but Jer just thinks she does it because she's a baby/toddler. I think it's both, I'm pretty sure if she were a he, he wouldn't be as excited by the opportunity to hold my lip-gloss!
I love her so much, I can't believe how big she's getting! It's an incredible thing to watch a baby grow up, I know I'm blessed to have her in my life.

(This is before they started working on the yard, I'll do a post on the progress once it's finished)

As for our yard.... well it was 'supposed' to be finished by the end of May, but because of the lame rain it got pushed back, but now I don't know what the hold up is and we're worried it won't be finished until sometime in July (and we have parties/BBQs planned already, eek). Here's to hoping it gets finished in time!

Issues

Ever have one of those days where you go over in your head the conversations that you had throughout the day and wonder if you were the dreaded 'me-monster'? Did I talk too much about myself, did I make everything about me? Did I sound so stupid? Am I over-reacting? (probably yes to that last one)
Well, I've had one of those weeks. Maybe it's my social anxiety that makes me stress over my interactions with other people, thinking that they must judge/hate me because I'm so weird or annoying or say all the wrong things or focus too much on myself (in reality I don't know if that's true or not). Sadly, past experiences of things people said about me to my face have made me more paranoid than I should be, on top of my anxiety disorder (I've been told that I'm annoying, not wanted around, weird, etc.).
So how do you tell the difference? How do you know if people genuinely care and want to talk to you? This seems to be an issue I've had my whole life, trying to figure out who's fake and who's genuine. What's the secret to knowing?
I guess I could try to not care, but I think we all know that's not gonna happen.


In other news, Ella walks! It's all she does anymore, it's so crazy to watch her. She falls (a lot) and I figure she'll crawl since she's already down, but she pushes herself back up and keeps walking around looking drunk! We had to put a gate up at the stairs too, I knew the day would come, but she's been so disinterested in them for so long I was sorta thinking we'd never need a gate. I was wrong.

Our yard was supposed to be started a couple of weeks ago and finished by the end of May, but because of the rain nothing's happened yet. Hopefully they'll get started on Monday. I'll be sure to post before and after pictures (our weeds are actually quite impressive from all the rain, but I don't see in any point of pulling them because there are SO MANY and the landscapers will be taking care of them anyway). We'll be getting sprinklers put in, then top-soil, then grass and plants and rocks. I'm REALLY wanting lilacs (they're my favorite flower)

and a dwarf weeping cherry tree (because they're so cute and pretty).
I'm excited for it to be finished so Ella and I can have picnics in the grass instead of on the driveway!