Happy Birthday Ella

We had a great weekend celebrating Ella's 2nd birthday in both Tucson with the Johnsons and Phoenix with G-ma and Papa. Two cakes for 2 years!

Ella at 2:
-Loves the moon, searches for it every morning
-Loves dogs and cats
-Repeats pretty much everything we say ("Mommy, my diaper is kind of soggy" at 1am)
-Runs around saying, "I happy"
-Also notes when people/figures/characters in books are sad
-Joins us in bed every morning for a love-fest: "I love Mommy, Mommy loves you so much, hug Mommy, love Mommy..."
-Learning to play independently, especially outside, where she is most content
-Plays soccer in the grass: dribbling, kicking, and toe taps (kind of)
-Obcessed with Elmo and a fan of Sesame Street in general
-Knows weekend mornings are for making waffles and coffee with Dad (she cracks the eggs, holds the measuring spoons, stirs, grinds the beans, and pushes the start button)
-Has a very loud voice, often speaks with high pitched inflection
-Knows her name is Ella (Ellie) Franklin, and Mom and Dad's names
-Loves having dance parites with Dad in the kitchen
-Beginning "do it by myself" phase
-Gives hugs and kisses to Baby Sister

Happy Birthday, Big Girl!

More pictures HERE

Park

Mom was the photographer and Dad had all the fun with Ella showing off her big-girl park accomplishments. Other big-girl goings on at our house:
-Paci only for sleeping
-No more high chair
-Twin bed with rail (& peaceful sleeping)
-Climbing into car/carseat by herself
-3 days out of diapers! 2 days accident free!!! (diapers for sleeping)

Mac'd

Gavin and Peighton were in town this week visiting family and we were lucky enough to meet up with them at the RR Park. Gavin is 10 days younger than Ella, and they have not seen each other since they were 5 months old...well, he picked up right where they left off, taking her by the hand and leading her to the playground. What a charmer!

Be My Valentine

Ella and her garden bunny

Trying to get a smile

Kind of goofy...

"I feed you a rock, Bunny."

An early gift

Ella's sweet friend Vera sent us a birthday present this weekend. Ella's very own sling! And handmade, to boot. I got out my old hotsling to remind Ella exactly what she was looking at, and she was then happy to try it out with Old Baby. I think she'll be even more into it once Baby Sister gets here.
*You must click on a photo to see the adorable fabrics up close! So cute...

All by herself

Ella and her dog

Chatter

We have a constant running commentary, mixed with quotes from books and song singing going on these days. Here are a few clips of the little voice that keeps me company (and then some):


On Ella's farm there are EGGS that get CRACKED here, and here, and here...


An old favorite, monkeys jumping on the bed


Accurate counting! She has been counting in sequence for a long time, but just recently has started to pick up actually counting. She is starting to recognize letters (R, F, U, O and B so far) and can sing the alphabet song, but never on command. She also knows the basic colors (except yellow for some reason) and loves watching the traffic lights turning "orange" then red then green again, with extra excitement for the left turn arrows.

*Disclaimer: I'm listing these things for my memory as her baby book stopped at 12 months, and this is the most convenient place to document her development. Feel free to skip right over the captions if you're not a grandparent!

An Art Study

In the past few weeks, Ella's creative expression (stop laughing, Dad) has changed pretty dramatically. See for yourself:


OLD WORKS

Plate 1: straight line scribbles (Greg did the hand outlines and other obvious parent doodling)

Plate 2: more straight line scribbles, one orange parent assisted circle on left, three independent orange circle attempts at top, and parent doodles in yellow

NEW WORKS

Plate 3: Lots of colors, lots of circles, even a parrot (red scribbles in middle of page), a "bird" and a "mouse" "on the table looking for food." She also signed her name in purple above the big blob, next to the green star.

Plate 4: Even more circles, "letters" (at the bottom in red) and a "mouse."

"Simple Gifts"

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come round right.

Listening to YoYoMa, Itzhak Pearlman and the other musicians perform the arrangement of this Shaker hymn was so touching/moving for me this morning. Ella was dancing around the room, clapping when the camera showed people celebrating, waving her arms when they showed the crowd waving flags, and saying, "Where'd Obama go?" when they panned away from his face. What a gift to live in America and witness this historical day. I am feeling hopeful for our children's future and that they will all "come round right."