We are very aware of the fact that we are living with a two year old right now. So far we think 2 just gets a bad rep, we are having so much fun. I have heard that 2 1/2 is more of a challenge so we'll see how it goes. Eleanor is a sweet sweet girl full of spunk. I just can't believe how much she knows and understands. She is a little person now. She understands pretty much everything, she makes connections that I never in my life thought a 2 year old could, and she really cares about people. Here are some things that I've been wanting to make sure I get written down...the things that come out of this child's mouth are amazing. We joke that in the last couple months she has gone from pointing out items to full blown chatter box.
Eleanor still loves her baby sister and we are so grateful for that. She is so into her role as a big sister and just eats up every moment. She is very gentle and really very helpful. She fetches diapers, wipes, toys, and pacifiers. She is constantly reassuring Ruby if she cries "It okay Ruby, don't cry!" She knows exactly what Ruby needs "Ruby want milk!!!" and is an all around great sister. I think it is hilarious when she looks at Ruby and does the "ahhh, Ruby so cute" and almost physically cannot keep her hands off of her adorable chubby cheeks. Lately Elle has been remembering the first time she saw Ruby. She talks about it a lot. Sometimes daily. She goes through the whole thing..."Sue pick me up, we go hospital, Ruby come out your belly mama!, I eat donuts, my hands yucky, I wash hands, I hold Ruby, Ruby buggy (I'm sure I blogged about the bug-meconium-poopy diaper situation at the hospital), Mama change Ruby diaper" It really seems like she remembers that. It is cool, I want her to remember meeting her sister forever...but I don't know, when are the actual first memories. I guess if we talk about it she will "remember" it. So then we started talking about how she was also born in that exact same hospital, actually in the same room that Ruby was and she thinks that is pretty cool. Yesterday I asked her "When did you grow up?" she replies "in the hop-i-tal mommy!" Oh yes...how could I forget!!
As far as toys go the highlights of this month have been cooking in her kitchen and her baby dolls. She also has real conversations on her toy phone now. Today she was calling all sorts of people and at one point she called Tom and he didn't even answer! Can you believe the nerve he had :) She makes up elaborate phone calls and thinks about where people are and what they are doing. She has also been reading her books a lot still enjoying coloring, painting and play-doh.
Eleanor has been playing with the neighbor boys lately. They are much older (8 and 11) and are sweet to help me entertain her with bubbles and balls and such. Eleanor is delighted by these new found friendships and loves playing with "the boys" Last week she threw a fit when she had to come in for dinner. Poor Jason offered to play with her and she said "no dada I wanna play with boys!" When she finally calmed down she brought 4 of her Little People to the dinner table and set them beside her plate. She then exclaimed "boys eat with me!" I noticed that one of them was clearly a girl and was curious if she had any idea about gender differences so I asked her which one was the girl. She didn't hesitate and pointed to the girl. So then I asked if she was a girl or a boy and she replied as serious as she could be "I a boy mama, I a boy!" Not a big surprise that after dinner she wanted nothing more then to go back outside with the big boys.
A couple mornings ago Eleanor was in our bed after waking up in the middle of the night and we were both laying in bed awake. She threw her arms up in the air and shouted "Hoo-ray!" Not sure what that was all about but I strive to start my days by shouting Hooray :)
"Sun Eyes!!!" Ellie apparently has sensitive eyes or she thinks she does or something because she can't stand having the sun in her eyes. She screams "sun eyes!" every time it happens and most mornings when we open the door she says " Ohhh! Sunny Day!" For this reason sunglasses are a regular part of her attire. I think they work well on her. Lately she has especially been loving the upside down style.
And of course the ever popular "I do it myself mama!" Everything is a production right now, and usually Ellie has to do everything by herself. I try to remind myself that this is how she gains independence and that hurrying her probably has the opposite effect. It has hard to be patient though...The worst is getting into the car seat. Elle wants to climb in, get situated, and buckle it by herself but often detours in the middle seat for a little chat with her sister, or decides the straps are too tight, and almost always yells "close door" it can be quite trying when you are running out the door late :)Our southern belle has some pretty hilarious twang going on. The most obvious is "I wanna go bay-ed" which for you non-NorthCarolinians is bed.
Ellie is pretty expressive about her feelings and needs (we've been discussing the difference between want and need-ha!) right now. "I sooo tired" "I love you sooooo much" "I missed you dada" and "I so mad" "I neeeeeed milk!" are among the most common that we hear. She is constantly asking "whatcha doin?" and "where we goin?" and now is often asking "what that?" or "who that?"
We've been spending alot of time outside. My best purchase during maternity leave was a little battery operated bubble blower that she can do all by herself. It is great. Bubble wands suck. They are messy and drippy and kids can't blow for a really long time. So this is great. It empowers her to blow bubbles all day long if she so desires. And so far bubbles don't get old...
Along with bubbles we have been frequenting all the local parks within about 5 miles. It is fun to find new parks, and there are a surprising number. It is cool to see how her confidence changes. One day she'll do the rock climbing wall with no problem and then won't be able or doesn't think she is able to do it for weeks. Some days she will cling to the bars as she walks on the bouncy bridge. Some days she is confident and bold with other kids and some days she is more reserved. It is really interesting. In general I'd say she is a fairly cautious kid. She takes her time and thinks about what she is doing. On days that it was nasty out during my maternity leave we often went to the open gym time at one of the local community centers. It is actually pretty cool- they bring out a bunch of toys and mats and just let you come play. Sometimes it is a major overload of toddlers but it seems to work out just fine and Ellie loves it.
It is fun times...
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