A "JOYE"FUL LIFE: "My baby / big girl".....

Ellison is 2 1/2 years old now, and is at that stage of life where she is transitioning from "baby" to "big girl". She definitely did not stay a baby very long. I feel like her brother held on to his "babyish" self alittle longer than she did....., but when you walk at 8 months, it's kind of hard to stay a baby! She has been "on the move" since then and seems to grow up alittle more every day. She continues to amaze and delight us daily with her bubbly personality. Her facial expressions are "personality filled" through and through. She has a "twinkle" in her eye that always lets us know that she is up to something, and it's usually something hysterical. She gets such a thrill out of making us laugh. She is becoming the resident "jokester" of the house and is always telling some joke that she has either made up herself or heard someone else say. I still do not understand nor believe half the time, the things that she comes up with to say or do. I am learning to just "go with it", pick my battles, laugh more, allow myself to love and be loved by this amazing child of mine, and discern the delicate balance of setting firm and clear boundaries for her while at the same time, not "clipping her wings" so to speak. I can already tell that Ellison is a bird that does not want to be, or need to be "caged in". She needs room to fly, but needs to fly within the safety of clearly marked boundaries. All children do, but I think some children just have alittle bit more of a "need to fly".

Ellison's tender/sensitive side is also coming into full bloom. She is a lover. She is so full of affection for her family that it makes my heart just about burst open. She wants to hug someone constantly, loves to smother my cheeks with kisses, loves to hold hands, and always wants "one more hug". Now, with her brother, when she is not hitting him, biting him, or snatching something from him, she is hugging him too!! She absolutely adores her big brother and thinks he hung the moon, but she is certainly trying to assert her dominance and get the upper hand with him. I never once had to tell Elijah not to hit someone - it just never came up and didn't cross his mind - and now I am having to teach him how to defend himself against his little sister!! One day, they will laugh reading this.

She continues to be just as independent as ever. There is nothing that she will not at least attempt to do, or figure out how to do, on her own. I have found that if I let her at least try first, it saves us both from the frustration of throwing, and witnessing, a tantrum. If she tries and succeeds, then she is so proud of herself. If she tries and cannot figure out what to do, she has learned to ask for help.

She is in full-blown "make believe" world these days. She wants to play all kinds of imaginary games, and is usually found to be wearing a costume of some sort. Her favorite thing to play with right now is her little kitchen and all of the food items/kitchen accessory things that go along with it. She plays every single day with it and spends alot of time sorting and organizing it just the way she wants it. She has very clear and specific ideas about how she wants it to look and how she wants to play, so we just go along with it. She asks us every day to "come play my kitchen", and that is the very first thing she now says when she wakes up in the morning. Sometimes she doesn't want anyone to play with her and she goes in there and plays quietly and contentedly by herself. She loves to stack cups and line up paper plates across the floor. She has amazed us recently with the patterns that she comes up with and the way that she is processing it all. If she is stacking, she is counting. If she is sorting, she is counting. If she is lining things up, she is counting. My living room floor has been known to have had 20+ paper plates across the floor, with a paper bowl in the middle of each one, and a muffin liner in each bowl...., all neatly arranged in some pattern. She is beginning to show interest in baby dolls now - this is new. But, she is very gentle and tender with them and likes to "mother" them. She also is already interested in reading and wants to know what every word on a page says. She wants me to hold her finger and underline words for her and will say, "what that says Mommy"? She continues to love to dance and sing, and is beginning to discern various tempo's and will move her body accordingly. She told me the other day when I was sitting at the piano playing, to "play the C chord Mommy so I can dance"! On another occasion, she told me to "play it in E minor while I sing", and then just yesterday she said, "play Jesus Loves Me in 2/4 while I sing"! She is not eating very much these days..., not because she isn't hungry, but because she is much more interested in the world around her to slow down and eat. Sitting still for a meal is a waste of time for her! She would rather put her energies into something else. Clearly, she's not starving since she's off the charts for her height and weight at her age! She still loves her naptime/bedtime routines, and enjoys being rocked. Although, she is getting so big, she has pretty much decided that she is much more comfortable just getting into her bed rather than rocking very long. When I lie down with her she always says, "my heart is happy now, let's snuggle". Her brother on the other hand is going to go to college with his rocking chair attached to his backside! That big ole' boy of mine will still stretch himself out across me and that rocking chair and rock EVERY NIGHT! His feet may be hanging out of his window, but by golly, he is going to rock!

She loves the "unlovliest" of creatures and will stomp on, or pick up, just about any bug she sees. She does not exhibit fear over things that I wish she would be fearful of - like deep water, animals that we do not know, the street, or strangers. She is going through alittle bit of "separation anxiety" right now when I leave her in the church nursery (which is pretty much the only place I leave her unless she is with a sitter which is rare). She wants alot of reassurance, multiple hugs/kisses, and will say, "Mommy always comes back, right"? She comes running, squealing with pure delight when I return.

She is doing a wonderful job of using her manners. I love when she says, "sis u" (thank you), and "wur wehcom" (you're welcome), or "peez may I have......". She loves to ask "why". When she apologizes, she says, "oh, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry".

She can get worked up pretty quickly and can throw a lovely tantrum at times, but she responds very well to being taken to a quiet room. I tell her to sit quietly alone for a few minutes and then I return to her. I tell her to take a few deep breaths, we talk about whatever the situation was, she responds well, and regains her control and composure. This doesn't always work, but recently, she has calmed down and has been able to finish whatever I asked her to do in the first place that caused such a tantrum. She quickly recognizes her behavior and will always tell me she is sorry. The tumultuous, swinging moods of a 2 year old are truly something to behold! It must be so hard to be 2.

She is growing more and more content playing at the house. For awhile, she was simply into mischief if we were here at home. But as of late, she is really enjoying being here at the house playing or helping me do various tasks. She is playing independently better than she has been, but she still really loves for me to sit down with her and play.

Ellison continues to thrive on adventure too! She still asks to go "higher, faster, and further" with most of what she does. She recently went "tubing" on the lake for the first time. Never in a million years would I have ever dreamed I would watch my 2 year old daughter being pulled behind a boat, on a tube, on an open lake...., but her hair was flying in the wind and her smile was as wide as I have ever seen it. That's my girl!

Ellison sees the world in technicolor, and lives it that way too. She is one amazing little girl that is going to take this world by storm, and I pray she will bring Jesus Christ the glory due His name in the process!

We all love you so much "El-Bell"!