Ellie at Two and a Half

Last month, Ellie officially reached two-and-a-half. 

Today, when she woke up, I told her that she was going to go to school and that there would be a Valentines Day Party. 

"A Balemtimes pah-ty?! For ME?!"

"Well, it's for everyone. It's for Ellie and all your friends."

Naturally, she walked into her classrom, arms extended, and loudly exclaimed "HAPPY BIRFDAY, EBBY-BODY!"

That little Ellie girl. 

She's still so, so tiny. She's a little munchkin but she makes up for it with her big, BIG personality. She has many opinions and demands. I do my best to make sure she says please. I do my best to make sure she doesn't always get her way. She has a lot of drama and she is not very patient. 

We're starting to get into some of the testing of the boundaries and trying to charm her way out of situations. The other day, she hit me. I shot her the "did-you-just-do-that" look, and she immediately cowered, then I saw the light in her eyes and the eyebrows shot up and she gave me a HUGE smile and said "I so funny! ELLIE FUNNY!" and then did her Woody Woodpecker laugh. Not funny, Ellie Paige. Not. Funny. 

We are seeing more and more of our own personalities come out in her. She hates messes and that is straight up from her daddy. A drop of water on a table? "GET A MAPKIN!" A crumb of food? "OH NO, Mommy, OH NO! MESSY COUCH! MESSY MESSY!" Eating pancakes? We're 2 bites in and she's all "I too sticky, I too sticky! Washa-hands, peez Mommy?" Her grandmother tells me that when Grant was little he was exactly the same way. He did not like wrinkles in his sheets. Oh my mercy.

And from me? Well from me she gets her creative songwriting abilities. She takes a song that she knows the words to and changes the lyrics to fit her current situation. "Shake it Off" is one of her favorite songs to do this with.

Ellie needs socks, socks, socks, socks, socks

Mommy get socks, socks, socks, socks, socks

Get the pink socks, socks, socks, socks, socks,

Get my socks! Get my socks!

This makes me laugh as this is probably one of my more annoying qualities, turning everything into a song. In my defense, I get it from my mom. She used to sing the macaroni song to me to the tune of Happy Birthday.

Maca-roo-roo to you!
Maca-roo-roo to you!
Maca-roo-roo to Jennifer....
Maca-roo-ro to you!

The most beautiful song I've ever heard. 

She's easily bribed with food and treats. Sometimes I will tell her "if you eat 2 more bites, you get a special surprise!" 

"A special surprise? For ME?! Oh, GOOD IDEA!"

There are 2 outcomes to this bribe: 

1. She doesn't eat her food and I do nothing

2. She eats her food and I have to come up with something that constitutes as a special surprise. Thankfully, she is 2 so sometimes that surprise is taking one of daddy's golf balls into the bathtub or maybe even standing on the back porch for 15 seconds and pointing at a squirrel. 

She still sleeps well. She's always been my little sleep champion. She still eats horribly but that is something that I am choosing to move forward from and not dwell on because of all the anxiety and tears it brought me. 

She doesn't like to play independently at home. She'll walk into the kitchen, take me by the hand and say "Mommy, come on. Come sit." 

"Mommy, come snuggle on da couch."

"NO, Mommy. SIT. DOWN."

Yesterday, she wandered into Grant's office while I was putting away some laundry. I quickly ran in and explained to her that daddy needed to work. 

"No. Ellie not leave. I have to work. Ellie have to work."

Grant pulled her into his lap and she rested her head on his shoulders and pointed at the computer screen. "See, Mommy? I work."

She loves to take baths. She hates taking medicine. She still loves the Bubble Guppies and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, but she has also expanded her horizons to Paw Patrol and Frozen. She sings along to all the songs and she does so loudly. Very, very, loudly. 

She remembers EVERYTHING. If you saw her 6 months ago and gave her a cracker, if she sees you again today she will immediately ask you for a cracker. And she probably won't do it politely. She'll just walk up to you and say, "My cracker?"

She is endlessly entertaining. Often exhausting. Always magical. She still asks to rock in the rocking chair with me a few times a week. The times she falls asleep are the sweetest. I smell her hair and scratch her back and hold her hands. Sometimes she doesn't like all the petting. "Leeb me alode, Mommy."

She is potty trained. She handled all of that quite well and normally has 1-3 accidents per week. She loves to wash her hands. If she sees me go potty she says "YAY, MOMMY! Mommy get candy!" 

Don't mind if I do....

She wakes up most mornings and asks to come to my bed. She plays a game on my iPad with Grant while I get up and take a shower. She brings bunny and blanket with her. I love that she's such a big girl but still such a baby girl all at the same time. 

She is my sunshine.