And just like that.....

Ellie can say "Mary."

Ellie loves Mary. The first word she consistently said was "me" which meant Mary. It was clear she was not talking about herself. Once she could call herself something, she called herself "my." I loved it. I think that a lot of toddlers call themselves me. Mary did. But Ellie already needed the word "me" for Mary.

I've noticed lately she's started saying "I" instead of "my" when talking about herself. It made me sort of sad. The end of her baby talk in some ways. Now she says it almost all of the time. Good-bye "my." You made for some great sentences.

Then late last week, Ellie and I were playing. She found a pair of dolls. One is the mom and the other is a toddler. She asked me what their names were.

"Who this name?"
"Mommy."
"Oh, who this?"
"Mary."
"Why this Mary?'
"You little stinker, you can say Mary!"
"Why this Mary?"
"Ellie, what's your sister's name?"
"Me Wizabeth"
"And what's this doll's name?"
"Mary"
"And aren't those the same name?"

blank stare from Ellie.

I asked her later, and she told me that her sister was indeed Mary.

Today, she said Mary probably 9 times out of 10. It freaked Mary out. She kept thinking I was talking to her. It freaked me out too!

Overall, Ellie's still pretty hard to understand. But two of my favorite words of hers are gone.

My baby is growing up.

Tomorrow her mattress and box springs will arrive, and she will sleep in her own room for the first time in her life.

Deep breaths. She's still my baby.