And we're back!

So now that we are done with this:

(Which was AWESOME, by the way!)

Life is starting to settle down - somewhat. :) So, I am back on the blogging train and you can expect posts a little more regularly. Probably a little more regularly after this weekend - because I was asked to help interpret for some deaf members of our stake at our upcoming stake conference this weekend - YIKES!!! Heavenly Father must have a sense of humor or else is punishing me for not keeping up on my sign language as well as I should. So, needless to say, I have been studying and practicing A LOT this week and its pretty much taking up all of my free time. So, anyways, after this weekend, I should have a little more time to attend to blogging. (Famous last words - says Eric)

But for now, here is a post in honor of Elena's 11 month birthday today!




Elena has changed so much over the last few months! It has been incredible. I can't believe that she is going to turn 1 next month!! It has flown by! We love our little girl!!

Some of her favorite things at 11 months are:

- Playing in the fridge - this is seriously a daily or several times a day event. (if you want to be her best friend, let her play in your fridge)

-Swimming

-Rifling through anything and everything she can get her hands on. She LOVES to "undo" things.

-"Helping" me load the dishwasher

-Walking. This last week, she has just exploded. She's been walking for a while, but finally figured out how to move fast, turn, take lots of steps in a row, and (kind of) run.

-"Helping" me with the laundry - it is SO cute! She always follows me into the laundry room and picks up clothes and "sorts" through them. She even picks up clothes and brings them to me. Its pretty dang adorable!

-Stuffed Animals! Especially her little purple lamb. You should see the hugs and smiles she gives them!

-Exploring - now that has walking down, she just runs back and forth and all over the house looking, touching, and trying to eat everything. She has really gotten inquisitive and spends a lot of time examining things. This video gives you a little bit of an example. I was trying to take a video of her and she just wanted to examine the camera and see what I was watching. (When she disapears from the screen, its because she is peeking around the camera to the back to try and watch.)

-Clapping and saying new words like, "Whoa!" (thanks Jo!), "Wowww!", "Yay!", "Dad", etc.

So, to sum up - she is a mad cutie.

But, now here comes the part where I need your advice. Along with all of this ridiculous cuteness, though, have come a couple of not so thrilling developments. Elena has learned how to throw a tantrum and has gotten just a hint of a sassy streak (like we used to be able to call to her and say "Elena, come over here" and she would come, now she justs looks at us for a second and grins and runs away.) With the tantrums - they just started yesterday and are pretty rare - she is still an amazingly patient and happy little girl - but they make me sad and a little worried. Like I am being a bad parent or ruining her. They only happen occasionally when I take away something that she really wants. She gets really mad and looks at me and cries and then throws herself back on the floor. Then she is mad at me for a little bit and seems to ignore me for a few minutes.

How do I deal with them?

I've always heard that the best way to deal with them is not to acknowledge the bad behavior and to wait until they are calmed down. Also, I've thought that I need to be a little more consistent and not let her play with something she shouldn't just to get a few minutes to myself. If something is off limits, I need to be clear and consistent about it, so that she knows and I'm not confusing and frustrating her by giving it to her one minute and then telling her its off limits the next.

Any more suggestions or advice? I just don't feel like I am handling the situation very well or teaching very well and I really want to do this right... so HELP! :)