2 Years Old!

Our 2 year old Miss Ellie is quite the little spitfire these days. She is full of energy, talking up a storm, and more and more often exerting her independence. Here's what Ellie's been up to at 2 years old...

Talking...non-stop and very well. We've never really had the communication frustrations you hear about with toddlers with Ellie...she talks in sentences and makes herself very clear. She loves to talk on the phone and with her cousins on Skype. Her teachers tell us that she uses her words very well when in conflict. While some of her friends push or bite, Ellie very clearly says - "WALK AWAY"! She pulls this out on everyone - even Mama and Daddy. Some of Ellie's other favorite phrases are...

"I do it"
"Where'd Mama go?" - or anyone else. She's very concerned when people leave.
"What's Daddy doing?" - likes to know what's going on!
"I listen to music"
"Stop it Daddy" - or Mama, Grandma, or anyone else - she uses this like 'walk away'.
"Hey Mama, Hey Mommy" - repeat, repeat, repeat...if Ellie wants your attention, she will keep saying 'hey'
"Ummmmm...milk" - we've been trying to work on making choices - most often, milk or water? (not juice). Ellie will say 'ummm' like she's thinking real hard before answering.
"Where'd my blankie (Brobee, Foofa, Plex, nummy) go?" - her most favorite things...
"I like that"
"My Emmit, my baby brother" - she frequently reminds her friends at daycare of this.
"More music", "More stories"
"Emmit sleeping", "Emmit awake", "Emmit spit" - whatever Emmit is doing.
"No"
"Pretties" - barrettes, headbands, pig tails

Ellie's favorite things are most definitely her blankie and nummy (nuk) still. She also has 3 Gabba dolls (Brobee, Foofa, and Plex) that she carries around all the time. Ellie LOVES to dance and listen to music. When she's listening to music with Daddy - she often asks for Bob Marley, sometime Bob Seger or CCR - Daddy's a little old school. With Mama or Auntie Steph - it's Beyonce, Lady Gaga, or the Black Eyes Peas! =) Her favorite show is still by far YoGabbaGabba. She tends to like the non-cartoon kids shows - Imagination Movers and Fresh Beat Band. Dora is the one exception - she suddenly LOVES Dora. She still likes Mickey Mouse too. She loves to read, and has tons of books. Some of her books, we've read so many times - she knows the words. She likes to color and play with stickers. She also likes to chase and be chased (usually by Daddy). Ellie likes to sing and will sing us some of favorite songs (Happy Birthday, Old McDonald, Twinkle Twinkle, Ring Around the Rosie, and ABCs). Ellie likes to look at pictures and name everyone in them. Ellie also REALLY likes playing with her friends and talks about them a lot.

I mentioned above, but Ellie is suddenly wanting to do EVERYTHING herself - mainly putting on her clothes and shoes. Well, of course she needs some help (which she usually asks for after getting frustrated), but it now takes twice as long to get ready in the morning. She's like a 30 pound bucking bronco at times trying to get her shoes on.

Ellie's also continuing to show interest in the potty. This really started about 6 months ago, but it has evolved from wanting to just flush the toilet, to going on the potty occasionally, to going on the potty more often. Just last week she had a first - she was in the bathtub and suddenly stood up and said "Mama, I poop", so I took her out of the tub, put her on the toilet and she went! That was the first time she actually told us she needed to go, BEFORE she went. Usually, she tells us after she's already gone. She's also recently discovered some Pull-Ups I bought a while back - she calls them her Tinkerbell diapers and wants to wear them all the time now.

Ellie had her 2 year wellness check at the Dr. last week. She's 31 lbs, 8 oz. and 36 inches tall - in the 95th percentile for both height and weight. Her head is 48 cm which is 75th percentile. To sum up this long, detailed post - we sure LOVE Ellie and couldn't imagine (really can't remember) life without her now!

Dancing...with Max at Christmas



With Daddy on the couch...



And in Auntie Stephi's room...this video is so funny. Ellie has a new love for Lady Gaga since Auntie Stephi has been around more =)



Playing at the Children's Museum



I thought this picture of her drawing was cute...I wrote her name - she's smart, but not that smart!



Sleeping...Ellie is still up at the CRACK of dawn every day. I guess I can't even use that phrase now in the winter...she's up BEFORE dawn - usually around 6:00 am. She's also started to have some fits at naptime. Some days are great...other days...like this one...well she wouldn't stay in her room, but instead thought it would be more comfortable to curl up on the floor outside her bedroom...she slept like this for 2 hours!



And, this is from Christmas...but totally wiped out after a long day of playing...I usually go into her room a couple times each night to straighten her out and cover her back up - she's a wild sleeper!



And laying with Emmit. Ellie is so protective of little brother now - she's always concerned with what he's doing.



Looking cute with her piggy tails



Here's a video of Ellie talking to my Dad on the phone. This conversation went on for a long time, but we only caught a bit of it on the phone.