Two Years

Miss Ellie is TWO today! 

Pretty sure I blinked and she went from this...

...to this:

So much changes in two years! It makes my heart just a tiny bit sad to look through her newborn pictures. Gone is my snuggly, momma's-girl baby, replaced instead by a silly, stubborn, wonderful toddler. Two is such an awesome age. Most the time, I just can't get enough of her and all her crazy ways. (And then there are the moments where she exhibits every single characteristic of a Terrible Two Toddler and I just want to shut her in a room by herself for an entire day.)

I think what I love most about the "twos" is the talking. Those hesitant, half-babbled, but sometimes-so-grown-up-sounding words that come spilling out of her mouth just constantly make me want to squeeze her. Whether it's a happy "bye, see ya" as she's leaving a person or a room or an irritated "MINE, Deedee" as she yanks a toy away from her sister or a commanding, "mommy, eat cereal!" the second she wakes up in the morning, I'm always waiting to see what funny thing is going to come out of her mouth next. Some of my other favorite words:

Heavy is pronounced "webby" and she says it every time something is difficult to do. Picking up an awkwardly large but not heavy at all blanket? "Ugh...webby!"

I also love that she pronounces "owie" as "wowie" with a very sad and concerned face. And then the next word out of her mouth is a hopeful "ban?" (translation: bandaid)

When someone tells her to do something, she says "aw wight" (all right). And not in a happy, cheerful way. She says it with this resigned air, like someone's asked her to stick her feet in a cow pie. Which makes it that much more funny, of course.

Let's see...what else?

Like I said, she's 100% over cuddling. Which makes me sad, because she was the most cuddly baby ever. Instead, she's transferred her affections totally over to her bear. Bear takes priority over mommy. Bear is the BFF. Tragedy would ensure if we were to ever lose bear. She also loves her baby dolls and takes care of them with a devotion worthy of any mother-of-the-year award.  

She's a grandpa's girl. Every time we get in the car to visit grandparents, she spends the entire times asking "papa? papa? papa?!" She wasn't even scared of my grandpa Allen, who is pretty big and intimidating to most little kids. She loved him from the second she saw him.

Like most two-year olds, she's a pretty picky eater. One day she'll absolutely love something and the next day will refuse to touch it. She does consistently love fruits, though, especially strawberries and melons of any kind. She loves breakfast food and thinks it's the most exciting thing ever when Kevin fixes us crepes on his day off. Actually, we all think that's pretty fun! 

Her favorite song is "Happy Family" because she can insert the family member's name ("I love mommy she loves me, we love daddy yessiree) and she loves screaming out "FAMILY" at the end. A close second is "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" because she loves to jump and say sunbeam! 

She's not nearly as social as Sadie was at this age. I think she plays pretty well in nursery when they're all close to the same age and confined in a room, but when we're outside with friends she tends to wander around by herself. I think part of that is because most of her little friends her age can way out-climb and out-run her. She's not the least bit interested in that stuff. (Which I'm very grateful for, actually - I plan on keeping her in her crib for many, many months to come!)


Yep. We love her. She totally completes our family and we'd be lost without her.

Happy Birthday, Ellie!