Ella Turns TWO!
Oh my goodness, the Little Nugget is TWO! We continue to enjoy Ella and her budding personality more and more! The only thing that makes me sad is that because Ella is still very shy, not many people get to see how curious, aware, happy, and silly she is! Her smile and laugh are simply the best!
Ells started her third year of life weighing in at 22 1/4 pounds, standing 30 inches tall, and with a 19.5 inch round head on top! So what has this sweet face been up to the last six months? Ella continues to dote on her brother, who is no longer “Brather” but now, “Bro Bro.” Whenever she hears Miles cries, she promptly brings him a toy or blanket to try to comfort him. She also says, “Miles” with the cutest lisp. Speaking of what Ella says, her vocabulary has exploded the last few weeks; before she would say a single word, now she is able to string together three word sentences. Ella’s favorite colors are still green and blue, which she pronounces, “Geen and boo.” Hearing her say things like, “Thanks Mom,” or “Yes please,” without prompting just melts my ‘want my kid to have good manners and be kind’ heart.
It’s not all manners around here though. Ella is learning often that she just can’t take things from her brother. It’s like an immediate reaction; as soon as I give Miles a toy, Ella wants it. She is learning through her tears that she has to share…and wait…waiting is hard for a two year old.
What else does two-year old Ella enjoy? Ella loves doing puzzles, drawing (with markers, window crayons, chalk, you name it, she wants to draw with it), building with lego blocks, being outside playing with rocks or bubbles. Whereas Ella used to sit still for longer periods of time, she is becoming a very busy toddler going from activity to activity and our house would be a disaster if we didn’t pick up regularly. The only thing that really slows her down is a phone. She loves watching Daniel Tiger on PBS kids while munching on a bowl of cereal to wind down before bed.
Ella also loves being tickled, climbing on anything she can get her little legs up on, and chasing after Topo and giving her treats. Ella even gives Topo her breakfast and dinner all by herself. Ella knows her colors, letters, and numbers to ten. Although her pronunciation of her words isn’t the greatest, she can count to ten somewhat consistently. She refers to letter ‘M’ as ‘Mom,’ the letter ‘D’ as ‘Dad,’ and the letter ‘B’ as ‘Bro.’ How sweet is that? She loves to carry around these magnet letters, along with an ‘E’ and ‘T’ for Ella and Topo.
The Nugget continues to be an awesome eater. Because her favorite color is green, it is easy to get this kid to eat vegetables. She regularly eats peas, edamame beans, broccoli and green cauliflower. Honey and vanilla Greek yogurt has become a favorite along with Cheese Its. I’m grateful for her healthy eating habits and hope her brother watches her closely.
Her sleeping habits are as good as her eating habits. She still sleeps 10-11 hrs a night and takes a 2-3 hr nap. Most of the time she sleeps in her new toddler bed! It has been so fun to watch her look at books and fall asleep in her bed. Although she often cries when we leave the room, and sometimes even sleeps by the door with her blankets, she sleeps solid throughout the night!
Everyday Ella seems to grow up a little. We are grateful that she still has her baby belly and expresses her love so sweetly. We look forward to her becoming more independent, including the dreaded potty training. Watching her tender heart grow the last six months has been such a joy!