Oh Elle Bell... I am more grateful now then ever that we've been writing monthly. I couldn't possibly recap this past year in one blog post. There has been huge growth for you as a person and for us as parents (and as people) too. I see Aunt Amber's picture above and I am so in love and struggle to remember all the days I'm soooo frustrated. And there have been many...especially when Daddy's traveling.
You have maintained your super sized self. You are still off the charts in height at 37ins (we're moving into 4T shirts and 3T pants). Weight is up in the percentiles too, coming in at 32lbs. Ever since the ear tubes went in earlier this year, you have been a generally happy, healthly human. Don't get me wrong, we have had numerous colds, viral pink eye, fevers that lasted 5 days and fevers that reached 104.5 degrees. But all run-of-the-mill, toddler touches everything and gets sick kind of bugs. Nothing that's required special medicines. So we are very, very blessed and grateful.
Your personality has grown into that larger than normal size. You are much bolder and determined than we expected. Given your layed back first year, I don't know if we were expecting your obstinance and determination to be as strong as it's been this second year. It's not easy to move you off something once you're set on it. Things have a certain order and you are very vocal and almost pushy if someone doesn't follow this order. You give me a much harder time about things as compared to Daddy. He says I'm too soft and you know it. I would have to agree. There's a certain crying pitch that you can hit and it makes my insides so uncomfortable. I just want it to stop because it makes me feel so uneasy. But I'm working on building up my resistance knowing it's important. You can't always win.
I don't know if we just have a huge bias given our engineering degrees but you seem to be very mechanically minded. Others have noticed too. You are drawn towards puzzles, shape sorting and maze like games. You love your books and reading favorites over and over. We still haven't ventured past Seseame Street and Blues Clues but you are perfectly happy watching Elmo and crew over and over.
You enjoy being outside, being active. You practice jumping over and over although your feet barely leave the ground. You've just started pedaling your tricycle without assistance. You love being chased and tickled. Swimming was a big hit this summer. You can dress yourself, getting pants, shoes and shirts . You walk up and down stairs needing little assistance. You could probably get out of the crib if you wanted but you wait for us to come and get you.
You hate having your long, beautiful hair touched. I find it ironic that God would give you such unusual length and you hate having anything done to it.
Leaving your second year though I would have to say that singing has been one your major accomplishments/differentiators. It started with ABC's and continued with Twinkle, Twinkle, Patty Cake, Happy Birthday, Old McDonald, and what ever other song might come up. You even like making up your own songs which makes people smile.
People continue to comment on your natural joy and excitement. You readily smile and love to have fun. And get crabby if we don't do something that involves playing and laughing. You discovered social graces this year. You like holding hands before a meal and saying a meal prayer. You also love to clink your sippy cup and "cheers" others. Please and Thank You's are coming. Sometimes they are natural to you and sometimes, we have to strongly suggest using them.
Not much good to say on the food front. We went from a baby that cried tortuously if a meal was late, to a typical toddler that's too distracted to be bothered with food. You have your favorites and would rather not eat than try something you're not interested in. We have to sneak veggies in via crusher pouches. You like fruits. Love breads. Will eat chicken. And LOVE milk. I think milk has sustained you at times.
Sleep has been good. Not great. You still wake once a night here and there. But I am definitely appreciative for the fact that you happily go to sleep at 7-8 and sleep for 12 hrs. And appreciative that you still take 2 hr naps.
Your words have arrived and are talking more and more in sentences. You have a very heavy "accent" which makes it hard for others to understand you. But as you learn and add more words to your statements, it makes it easier to figure out what you're saying.
We are very grateful in so many ways to have you in our family. Love you always, Mommie
PS. It's perfect that Aunt Amber took pictures of you in this dress. You loved it the first time we put it on. You squealed "sparkles" and love to look at the bejeweled neckline.
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