We have been on hiatus for a few months, and much has happened. We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Joyces, Shobha, Yama, and Shantanu and family. The next day, we had a family birthday party to celebrate Ellie's second birthday. The theme was Sesame Street, and there were enormous helium balloons and a pin the party hat on the Sesame Street character game. Ellie received many, many gifts, including a red wagon that she immediately took a shining to. She was just on the cusp of enjoying the ritual of unwrapping the gifts -- at her party, she was much more interested in the noisemakers, but by Christmas, she wanted to unwrap everyone's presents!
As expected, her language skills have grown by leaps and bounds! She is speaking in sentences and frequently raises topics we did not realize were on her mind. Her catchphrase these days is, "Oh no, What happened?" It sometimes means that something took her by surprise, but is often also her way of announcing that she has spiked a drink, ripped a page out of a book, etc. She is full of funny phrases. When we put her to bed, we ask her to let us know if she needs anything before we leave, and Ellie has started answering, "I need anything!"
She has a wide range of interests these days, from Thomas the Train, Pete the Cat, and our old standby, Sesame Street, to riding her balance bike, reading books, and drawing with crayons. She LOVES crayons, but it can be very hard to take a bag of crayons or any other colorful object from her -- she will often hysterically shriek, "hold it!!! Hold it!!!" We try not to die on every mountain, and like parents of toddlers everywhere, wonder how often and when to give in, and when to impose boundaries. It can be tricky, and enforcing rules related to being gentle--something that we are still working on--seem more important.
Ellie is showing a real affinity for music, and surprises is by singing all the words to songs we know, like Skinamarink, Twinkle Twinkle, and Rain Go Away, as well as songs, in English and Spanish, that she has learned in school! She also enjoys dancing, and we are thinking this may be the year to sign her up for a movement or sports class. It has been fun to see her make new friends and begin to play more interactively with them -- children from school, the neighborhood, and church.
Our spirited girl has lots of energy and abundant curiosity -- tripping or bumping her head rarely shows her down, and she loves to explore and spend time outside. We are not sure how much she is thinking about one of her next great adventures -- becoming a big sister -- but we have been discussing it at home and at school. Like many toddlers, she has many, and often strong, feelings -- and she may have many different reactions to her new brother! But I have a feeling she will grow into being a wonderful, loving and protective big sister. Ellie does delight in some mischief, but she also loves to be a helper, to give big hugs and has been a great help in cleaning up her toys recently. We feel so lucky to hear her beautiful voice, to enjoy her wonderful goggles when the tickle monster visits, and to experience her infectious joy. What a special gift to us she has been.
