Last night I was standing at the sink doing dishes and Ella was standing next to me, opening and closing two of the kitchen drawers.  She loves to pull the drawers or cabinets open, and then push them shut as she says, “pull – push” or “open – close.”  I was just humming to myself and then realized that I had been singing out loud.  I was singing, “Oh, what heights we’ll hit…” - you know the theme song to The Bugs Bunny show – “Overture.”  I must have trailed off because all of the sudden I hear Ella chime in – clear as a bell – “on wifth da show, dis is it!”  I could not believe my ears!!  Of course Erik was in the garage and missed it, so I just stood there and looked at her with tears in my eyes.  Erik and I sing that song sometimes because it reminds us of a classic Seinfeld episode where Jerry sings it to Elaine right before they go into the theatre to see the opera Pagliacci.  Ella must have just picked it up and stored it in her little brain somewhere.  I got her to sing it again for Erik when he came inside so I totally have a witness.  He loved it just as much as I did!

Ella is turning 2 on Monday and I have been working with her on learning that she is two years old so she can answer people when they ask how old she is.  Which almost everyone we come into contact with does at some point!  So, Ella and I are at the Party store yesterday, getting some supplies for her birthday bash this weekend.  We are in the checkout line and Ella is starting to get a little loud as she is ready to get out of the cart and move around.  (Were we really there that long?!) I tell her that it will be just a few more minutes and then I will put her back in her carseat so we can head home.  “IN THE CAR!” she yells at the top of her lungs, smiling away and obviously very proud to be a little loud mouth two year old.  The clerk said to Ella, “I assume it is your birthday coming up soon…” and Ella yells, “I’M TWO!!!!!”  It was so cute.  I am not entirely sure yet why she feels the need to yell some of her words, but we are working on learning the difference between an “outside voice” and an “inside voice” – which she seems to want nothing to do with right now!

Last week Ella and I stayed a few nights up at my parents house while Erik was out of town and it was extremely beautiful out, so we filled up Grandma’s new blow up pool on the back porch.  Ella loves the water and we have had her in swimming lessons since she was 6 months old.  I plunked her down in the little pool with some measuring cups to play with and sat back to catch some rays myself.  In her sweet Ella voice that just melts my heart, she yells, “THIS IS FUN!” as she splashed both hands in the water and got herself totally drenched.  I had never heard her say “fun” before and it has been so rewarding to see how appropriately she uses her words & phrases lately.  She is a girl who knows what she wants, exactly when she wants to do it, with whom and for how long.  She likes to think that she is running the show – and sometimes I humor her because she is so darn irresistible! 

Here are a few more things that Ella does right now that make our day J

-          She will run her fingers through my hair and comb it when I ask her to.  Mommy loves this!!

-          She will sing songs to herself a lot, but also sing two on request.  Baa Baa Black Sheep and This Old Man.  She knows all the words and she does not like to be interrupted while singing.  Let a girl finish!!

-          She is walking everywhere inside of our house.  She trails the walls and is really mapping out her surroundings.  You can almost see her little brain at work.  It is amazing to watch her go from one room to the next, or up the stairs, or across a wide open doorway or archway.  She moves really FAST and we have had to put up gates near the stairs already!

-          She is one of the most loving little children that I know.  Grandma taught her to wrap both of her arms around your neck to give you a big hug and she will do this when you ask for it.  (I ask for it a lot!)  She will also give big kisses, but not all the time – only on her own schedule.  And there is no rhyme or reason to this schedule.  And if you are not paying attention when she tries to lean in and you miss her attempt to kiss you, well, good luck trying to get another one.  Forget it.  (Angie experienced this!)

-          We are talking A LOT about her baby brother lately and she will sign “baby” with her hands together, rocking her arms back and forth.  I ask her if she is going to love him when he comes and if she will give him big kisses and hugs.  She leans in every time with her mouth puckered up.  I am convinced that she will be an amazing big sister.  I am aware that it will take time for her to get used to his noises, his cries, his presence in general.  Once she realizes that he is not leaving at the end of the day, I am hoping she just accepts him as part of the family and does not try to smack him upside the head too much.  (I have a brother, so I know the urge and desire is always there!)

-          She has been sleeping for 10-12 hours at night.  Yippee!  Ella has not been the easiest child when it comes to “bedtime” and it has taken us all two years of her life to get her on a somewhat regular sleep schedule.  She used to just fight sleep so hard and get so upset at night time.  There was a lot of crying, both on her part and on ours.  Now we seem to be in a great place, and she really understands her bedtime routine and does not fight it so much anymore.  Bath - PJ’s on – nighttime bottle – brush teeth - maybe a story or a night time song – a prayer – then to sleep!  What a difference a good night’s sleep makes for Mommy and Daddy J

-          Her language has taken off in a way I could only dream about.  Everyone – friends, therapists, etc – told me that when she started walking more, her speech would probably follow suit.  Boy, were they ever right!  Not only does she love to repeat things that you say, or that she hears on TV, she also uses words in phrases.  She asks for what she wants (sometimes she needs to be reminded to ask “nicely!’”), she tells you how she feels either in signs or with words (ex:  hungry, thirsty, all done, more, etc.) and she talks about all of the people that she loves.  Some of her favorite things to say are:

- "Hubba Bubba Dada!"

- "RIGHT NOW!"

- "Upstairs Dada (or mama), Ella's room"

- "I know!"

- "Oh my goodness!"

- "Voom, Boom, Zoom"

- Currently she is a bona fide Daddy’s girl.  She goes absolutely nuts when he gets home from work.  She will hear the back door open and will whisper, “Dada’s home” with her little toothy grin.  She always wants Erik to hold her when he is around and she will climb on him and snuggle into him in ways she won’t do with anyone else.  I adore watching them together.  It is hard to put it into adequate words that would do it justice.  It is very special.

-          Since I am the one who gets her out of bed most days of the week, she has started saying, “good morning mama!” when she is up and ready for me to pick her up out of her crib.  Usually she needs a good five or ten minutes after she wakes up to just roll around in her crib and chatter to herself before she wants anyone to touch her.  Exhibit A – her wild bed head in the crazy hair gallery.  I have never seen anything like it in my life.  You almost have to see it in person to get the full effect.

Ella lives her little two year old life to the fullest.  She is the happiest person I know and wakes up each and every day with a huge smile on her face, ready to take on the world.  She is the most passionate kid I’ve ever met.  She loves hard, laughs loud, cries strong and lives big.  She is basically your typical two year old that throws tantrums for no apparent reason, gets into everything and acts like she is 6 years old.  To us, even though she has her differences, she is no different then any of our friends’ children.  She might walk a little slower, but she will walk right by your side.  She might not always push the ball straight back to you when playing catch, but she will want to be playing.  She might not read the same as other kids, but she loves to read books in her own way right now, always turning them upside down when she is done and “reading” them backwards.  She might not be able to connect with you through eye contact, but when she reaches out to touch you or talks to you, you feel a much deeper connection.  It has been said that “the eyes are the windows to the soul.”   I beg to differ.  You do not need eyes for people to be able to see the beauty that lies within a person.  Ella wears hers right on her sleeve.  Spend some time with her, and you can’t deny the essence of her sweet spirit.  She is a blessing in our lives and we are so thankful that two precious years ago, she arrived on the scene, as G.Pa says, “not yet 5 pounds and a whimper.”  She has grown not only physically, but mentally, emotionally and spiritually as well.  We are so proud of the little loud mouth two year old she has become!!  Check back next week for pictures of her big birthday bash…