Ellie is as she has always been -- an unrestrained bundle of energy who loves to pull tails, throw her head back and bellow with laughter, and use her outdoor voice! She is in constant motion. But there have been many new developments, too: for one, the language explosion is underway. She constantly calls after Zoe ("doh doh"), she is recognizing some letters (she calls many of them "G," having learned that letter early, and perhaps mistaking it for the generic term for all letters), and she is beginning to understand counting, though she usually does not "count" in order. Her receptive language skills are, of course, ahead of her expressive skills -- for a while now, if someone says Sesame Street, she'll run irk the living room and sit in front of the television expectantly. If you ask if she would like a pouch, she will lead you the pantry to retrieve it.
Her words are many, and perhaps reveal her priorities -- more, dog, puddle, Zozo, milk, please, water (wawa), hiiiiii, byyyyyyye, and many more. She really loves to give kisses -- she will kiss Nitin and me, of course, on our knees or cheeks or whatever is most convenient to her, and is particularly affectionate when she wakes up. But she will also kiss Zoe, her stuffed animals, animals in books, the Elmo on a toilet seat that Shobha bought and now plans not to use for its intended purpose. She also loves to play a game where she announces she is leaving ("byyyyyyye"), run/stumbles out of a room, and then comes hurtling back, landing in a big hug in our arms. The sweetest. She is so comfortably affectionate. But that does not mean she always has time or patience for cuddles. She can also be a girl in a mission, and sometimes she needs her own space.
We can already see that Ellie means to give us a run for our money. She often wears a tremendously impish expression -- "Who, me?" No dinner passes without Ellie trying to put her feet on the table, spraying her last bite of food all over the table, or rubbing messy food in a circle on her bare belly. What to do, what to do. A stern no is often meet with gleeful laughter -- after all, this is my predictable role in the game. If it did not cause trouble, it would not be any fun! So I usually settle for telling her that is not good behavior, and it looks like dinner time has ended. There is only so much you can do with a nineteen month old week delights in her own mischief. As she gets older, perhaps we will try sticker charts, withholding dessert, and other tactics that require some semblance of higher order reasoning. But it remains a distinct possibility that she'll always be one step ahead of me!
I see a lot of my childhood self in Ellie. She has such an enormous capacity for joy, for silliness, for jokes she has made just for herself. She is not afraid of much. She runs headlong toward her next adventure. She feels her other feelings strongly, too -- especially as bedtime approaches, Abad toothbrushing night can make her so sad, wailing in despair. But the feelings cycle quickly. She has a hearty appetite and will eat most things we give her, though some foods are more popular than others. She loves to eat shredded cheese -- cheese was another early word. But she enjoys variety -- feed her any food too often, and she will temporarily sour on it. These days, she is very enthusiastic about puddles, and wants to wear the (too big) rainboots we got her even when it is not raining.
I cannot believe how quickly time is moving. I still call Ellie my baby, and I will always think of her that way. That is another word she has learned to say lately -- baby. She will often repeat the word "mama," and I will say the word "baby," back to her, and then she will reply "baby" back to me. We also often call her "booboo," and that has become a word she repeats so often that I wonder if she thinks it is her name...
Meanwhile, quite a bit is happening in the world that swirls around our little family. Nitin has left DOJ for a position at a nonprofit that was formed to bring suits against the government. I am still in my position at ED but it has been a very difficult time to work in my office. There are days when we discuss a different type of life in a quieter, slower pace place, where family could feel more like the true centerpiece of our lives. Ellie is at the very heart of my heart, always -- I sometimes just wish for more slow mornings or lazy afternoons with her. And then there is the prospect of the brother of sister we hope that she will have someday...
But for now, a summer of enjoying our family of three humans and one delightful labradoodle, and trying to get to a strong, solid place where it feels right to welcome another family member...
