EL, at fourteen months.

one of the best perks of my job, and the fact that it's my only job, is that i'm always available whenever they need someone to watch EL on short notice. a few weeks ago on a tuesday afternoon, my boss popped in the office and said, "oh, we're going to need you to watch EL tomorrow." UM, OKAY. you don't have to ask me twice.

and so, i got to spend an entire wednesday with that sweet girl, who is now fourteen months old and full of personality and so much fun, and (despite my lack of photographical evidence)

walking

.

she's very into climbing up and down the stairs, and on top of anything she gets the idea to climb on. she's quite curious, so she's always on a mission. and when you tell her she can't climb on the coffee table, or pull on the blinds, or take out every last content of your purse, she scowls at you in a way that lets you know without speaking, she doesn't like that answer.

she'll shake her head "no" when you ask her for something she doesn't want to do, and she'll put her hands up, palms out, and either push away whatever you're trying to give her, or she'll wave her hands around to make sure you know she doesn't want it.

also i'm pretty sure i taught her how to moo. granted, it sounds like just the "mmm" without the "ooo," but she'll make that sound when you ask her what a cow says. i discovered this shortly after an attempt to read

mr. brown can moo, can you?

 to her, except i didn't get past the first couple pages before she decided she wanted to hold the book and turn the pages herself. i pretended to keep reading, though all i knew was the part about mooing, so i basically just repeated myself over and over again until i realized she was making that sound back to me.

she would also imitate me and this jaw-dropped, shocked face i make. i've been told i make it a lot in general, but you know that face comes out when you say YAY after babies do something amazing. which she is, so i guess i was making that face a lot but i didn't notice until she walked over to me, put her hand in my pocket to touch my phone, and she made the face back to me. like a LOOK WHAT I FOUND face. and she'd make it whenever she did something she was proud of herself for.

she also makes a face when you say something she thinks isn't funny. like she already knows when you're being ridiculous and that face is her fourteen month old version of an eye roll. it's adorable and hilarious and occasionally i would act dramatically just to get that reaction.

i don't get to see her that often, but i'm so grateful for the time i do get to spend with her.