A month already?

Okay, so here I am getting behind in my posts, again. I honestly did not realize I'm a month behind, so I'll try and catch ya'll up.
Let's see, I guess I'll start with Elly. She is almost a year old! She is still crawling like crazy but seems more and more interested in walking. She walks along furniture and enjoys walking while we hang on to her. She will stand by herself for short periods of time, but her confidence with that seems to be growing each time. She has yet to speak anything other than gibberish, but what she is saying, she says a lot. She is still in love with her taggie and pacifier, but doesn't prefer any of her toys over another. She is really taking a liking to reading, and especially enjoys doing so by herself. She is growing like crazy, now wearing 18 month clothes. Her 12 month well baby appointment is on the 27th, so I wont have any exact measurements until then. Elly is a great eater, and will literally eat any food out in front of her. We are weaning her from her bottle, and she is down to one a day, at night. We have one can of formula left, and that's it.
I don't know where to start with Ivie. She's finally getting into her "terrible 2's". Honestly, in the scheme of things, we're not dealing with major things. But since she's been relatively easy to handle, her incidents have seemed monumental to us. She is getting a little sassy (wonder where she gets that), very independent and very creative in her bad behaviours. She has tried to redecorate her bedroom with her dirty pull-up four times (yes, you did read that correctly), she pulls off her pull-up all the time, clean or dirty,she has played in the fish tank with her "Littlest Pet Shops", thrown her CD player on the floor so she could sit on tip of her dresser, empties her dresser drawers so she can climb in them.... So, we've been busy trying to keep her under control. She's still a sweetheart, don't get me wrong, but she's really pushing us to see what she can get away with. Her love of reading is continuing to grow. She now "reads" to us, and seems to memorize stories. She has her first "computer"- a "My First Leap pad" and enjoys using that. She enjoys her "Littlest Pet Shops", her dollhouse, all books, drawing and her animals. She still enjoys watching her shows, and the Nick Jr lineup is her favorite: Dora, Diego, and Max and Ruby being her favorites. She also loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. We've been letting her watch movies more frequently and LOVES Finding Nemo. She's asked for a cowgirl movie, but I really cannot think of one for her to see (any suggestions). We still try to limit her TV viewing, but on the hotter days we've had, she's preferred to lounge around and watch shows. She loves playing outside, but still has progress to make with her bike riding. She still prefers for us to push her rather than peddling. I don't really notice her growing too much lately, but she is wearing 3T's (mostly for height). Her appetite depends on her mood; some days she'll eat anything, others she is picky or not interested in eating at all.
Mike just returned to work from his 16 day block leave, and things are already back to normal. We accomplished a lot during his leave since we didn't return to MI. We worked on mostly small projects inside and out and also made sure we enjoyed a lot of time as a family. We played in a couple city fountains, enjoyed play time at the park and around the house. It was a great break for Mike, for us all. Mike has a full schedule ahead of him at work, but tomorrow the company is taking some time away from the craziness and will be white water rafting. A whole different sort of craziness, right?! I'm glad Mike's going and hope he'll have a fun time.
As for me, can't say a whole lot is new, other than what I already talked about. Ivie's behaviour is really challenging me as a mother to keep on top of things and not let her behaviour spiral out of control. I've been struggling a lot wondering what I am doing wrong to cause Ivie to act out. I also wonder if I am doing enough for Elly. Max the cat is growing well and we've also adopted a beautiful & month old puppy named Lola. She is a boxer and had a rough start, but we have her enrolled in puppy classes and are working on growing her confidence and good dog behaviour. She really is a good dog and great size for me. Her last visit to the vet she was 40 pounds, and she should only gain a few more. She probably won't grow much taller either; she stands to the middle of my thigh. Ivie loves Lola and enjoys working on her training with us. Mostly Ivie enjoys giving Lola treats!
I think that's about it for us. I've added some more pictures to our website, and still have more on the camera. We'll continue to be busy with upcoming visits from family and more projects around the house, so keep checkin' in and I'll keep updating!