Ellie...
Ellie turned three two weeks ago, but she has seemed three for a while. She speaks in complex paragraphs, is in the 99th percentile for height, and usually looks like she is concentrating. We celebrated with a birthday party at the Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department, with chocolate ice cream cake and sprinkles and more than fifty people. It was chaotic and there was a firefighter demonstration and freeze dance and a stop, drop and roll beanbag game that did not go at all as planned. She was pretty chill about the whole thing and she milled around easily with friends throughout the party.
She continues to maintain her passion for leaf collecting and she has really grown into being a great helper around the house. She loves art projects, at home or at school and she has recently begun following in my footsteps with her hypothetical questions: Grandma, would you still love me if...
Her teachers report that she is "the sweetest one" in her class and loves to play with her friends at school. They also mentioned her sensitivity -- she hates to see anyone upset, and will jump in to try to comfort a friend who is crying out someone who is not feeling well. One teacher said, she is so soft, it is not in her nature to hurt anyone. Her teachers have also noticed her love of art, music, books and baby dolls. She is also an unusually attentive listener for a child her age and loves to participate in circle tint at school.
At home, she is often uproarious and excited, but we have never seen her angry. She loves to be with us and has a hard time being alone in her room before bedtime, so Zoe has been spending the night with her. She loves to dance around to music, talk to herself or Baa in the bathtub, and eat all kinds of food,but especially Daddy's special cheese with noodles, mushrooms and tomatoes. She is so discerning! And so observant.
I could write forever about this dear, increasingly complex child. I adore her. It is such a joy to spend time with her, singing, reading, chatting in the car, cuddling in bed, making a gingerbread house. I tell her when I pick her up that I missed her all day, and it is true! We all sing this Daniel tiger song -- I like you, I like you, I like you just the way you are. It is absolutely true. We could not be luckier to have such a sweet, kind hearted, smart and funny girl in our midst..
Other memorable quotes, from the mischievous side of Ellie...
B: Why did you kick me in the head?
E: Because my body said let's kick mommy in the head.
B: Are you going to do it again?
E: Yes. No.
Favorite mispronounced words: chocowit, eh-wee, other words with the letter L
Myles...
Still waters run deep. This eight month old guy is growing so quickly! He weighs nineteen pounds and is wearing twelve month clothes. He is sitting, crawling and pulling himself up to a stand. He is eating baby oatmeal, mashed banana and avocados, and every tiny scrap of paper he can get his hands on!
Myles likes to move! He is a very avid crawler and he recently discovered his jumparoo. He is so excited about jumping that Nitin's mom said she worried that he jumps excessively! His quick feet and hands are also adept at kicking over bowls of food and splashing in the bathtub.
The most salient thing about Myles is still his incredible sweetness. When he smiles at you, you feel like the only person in the world. He also giggles so sweetly, especially when you mimic his cooing sounds.
I worry that we are not able to be as hyper focused on Myles's development as we were with Ellie. He receives a lot of love, and we squeeze his chunky thighs plenty, but I wonder if he is read to as much, etc. But he does have the advantage of a stimulating big sister, and learning to entertain himself a bit more.
I do notice that he is sensitive to large noise and big groups of people. He is happiest in familiar environs with familiar people. I can relate.
He loves to cuddle and is such an affectionate guy. Such a good boy with such a sweet, kind nature. I am totally smitten.
Before he was born, I spent an en evening in the Princeton ER, because I was having trouble breathing. I texted my parents and we came up with names for each letter of the alphabet. I knew then how much I wanted to name him Myles, but I could not have known that some of the sweet, gentle nature of his namesake was already a part of our baby boy.
