- When you ask Ella if she's a baby or a big girl, she'll immediately reply, "big girl". That pretty much sums it up right now - she wants to be a big girl and be so independent doing everything on her own. Yet, she gets frustrated when she can't always do everything by herself or when or how she wants it done. So that leads to lots of "whiney" moments. Oh the joys of being a toddler. We constantly hear little miss sassy say, "Ella do it" or "I do it" and points to herself when she wants to do something all by herself. She's certainly not lacking self-confidence as we often hear her exclaim, "I did it!" and applaud herself.
- Love my girl's pigtails and love that she often requests "piggies" in the morning. I know eventually her hair will get too long and there will be a day when she will no longer want piggies, but for now, I am enjoying them as much as I can. Her hair is actually super long - like down to her shoulder blades long - when it's wet in the bath. It looks a lot shorter because of her tight curls!
- After Ella goes to sleep, Cody and I often tell each other we wish we could go wake up her up just to play with her a little more. She really is that much fun and I find myself missing her when she's not awake or I'm not around her.
- Is obsessed with her Grandma Howell. As in, when Grandma is in the room, pretty much nobody else exists, including mom and dad. I love, love, love the special relationship that my daughter and mom have, but I have to admit we all get a little jealous of grandma being the favorite at times ;). I'm so glad Ella loves spending every Friday at Grandma's house (and that Grandma loves it too!), plus lots of weekend dates and get-togethers in between.
- She is like a sponge these days and learns at least a few new words every day. She always surprises us when she'll repeat a word she's heard and use it in the correct context. She loves identifying and pointing out colors and counting from 1-10. She loves singing her version of the ABC song and loves reading along with books she's familiar with.
- Is a ball of energy running, jumping, rolling, climbing (she's mastered getting on and off the couch on her own) and walking up and down the stairs on her own.
- Is very literal with everything we say - like when I ask her not to touch something she's not supposed to be touching, I tell her to "look with her eyes only". So she usually proceeds to put her eye directly on whatever she's not supposed to be touching.
- Is very in tune with others' emotions lately. She will often fixate in a concerned way on babies, people, or animals in books that are sad. I think she is very sensitive and sympathetic and wants everyone to be happy. There was one day not too long ago that I was venting about something to Cody and ended up crying (it was one of those overly emotional days) while Ella was eating dinner in her highchair. She kept repeating, "Mama crying? Mama crying?" and before we knew it her sweet little eyes welled up with tears and she started sobbing herself. Poor thing...I think she hadn't seen me crying/upset like that before and was worried. After giving me a big hug, she made sure I was happy by checking in for awhile with, "Mama happy? Mama happy?" Love this sweet, sensitive girl.
- Is stringing thoughts and short sentences together. I love trying to understand how her sponge like brain is working these days and having conversations with her.
- Is assertive and knows what she wants as she has been since the day she was born! As soon as we sit down at a restaurant, she tells the waiter she would like apple juice and macaroni and cheese. It makes us laugh because we've never prompted her to do so!
She loves holding Lily's leash when we go for a walk. Right after we got home from a walk, we heard "uh-oh" and saw this tangled girl...
Hanging out with mama
And daddy
First s'mores experience at my end-of-year class BBQ - no surprise she was a fan
"Hiding" amongst the stuffed animals in her room after bathtime
Making the most of our "June gloom" days
Trying to catch Lily to give her "big hugs"
Walking her baby
Lovin' on Elmo - he's still a favorite around our house
First s'mores experience at my end-of-year class BBQ - no surprise she was a fan
A little video of Ella counting...
