I haven't done an update on Ellie Grace in a looooong time (or any blogging for that matter) and she is doing so many funny and cute things right now that it'd be a real shame if I don't document it.
She will be 2 and a half next month.
~She weighs approximately 28lbs.
~She is approximately 34" tall.
~She takes one nap a day. Usually 2 to 2.5 hrs.
~She goes to bed great and sleeps really good. So thankful! Still sleeping in her baby crib. Josh has extravagant plans to build her a loft bed so that Mason can have the crib. We shall see. Let me clarify that there is no doubt in my mind that he can do it and would do an awesome job, time is the issue here, not talent. My main concern with the loft bed (other than the time to build it) is that it will mess up this great thing we have going, with her being a great sleeper. I need her to sleep well especially with Mason coming!
~She has become your typical finicky toddler when it comes to eating. I wouldn't say she is a picky eater, I would say she is a moody eater. She may eat something great and the next day that same food is dead to her. It is quite frustrating. She loves fruit, which is a good thing. She also loves to eat whatever Josh & I are eating but if I had started out her meal with that same food on her plate then she would not like it, really fun.
~She still very much "needs" her paci and her lovie all throughout the day. The plan is to let the paci go when she turns 3 in April by tying it to some balloons and watching it fly away, never to return. Not sure when lovie will go away. She now seems to "need" 2 while we are at home.
~She goes to Mother's Day Out at Faith Baptist on Tuesdays and Thursdays and does really well there. I'm loving it and she seems to be loving it also.
~She is talking up a storm ALL.THE.TIME. She says the funniest things and asks why all the time. And she asks why to things that there is no answer to. For instance, we'll be shopping at the grocery and someone will pass by and she'll say, "What's her name, Mommy?" and I'll say, "I'm not sure, Ellie Grace." and she'll say, "why, momma?" and I'll say, "because I don't know everybody's name, baby" and she'll say, "why, momma?" It's so funny (and exhausting) but sometimes I just don't know what to say. She says very clear sentences and some of the things she says blow us away. Her new favorite thing to say is, "Momma, I need something." And in a very whiny voice. She says this anytime she is not entertained, especially riding in the car. Rest assured, I'm trying to teach her that she doesn't need something all the time.
~She sings a lot and knows a bunch of songs.
~She loves to watch TV or "watch a show" as she calls it. Sometimes first thing out of her mouth in the morning is, "I wanna watch a show." She likes Dora, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Blues Clues & Barney best right now. I just thought of this but we hardly ever watch Elmo anymore. Crazy! That used to be a staple in our TV diet.
~She is pretty much potty trained. We started this in early August because she was showing lots of signs of readiness and it went really well. She still sleeps in a pull up at night, of course. To potty train her we rewarded her with M&Ms and we stopped doing that this past week and she is quite sad about it but she's asking less and less about her M&Ms.
~She really seems to know that there is a baby in my belly and we talk about "Baby Mason" alot and all the things she is going to teach him and help Mommy with when he comes. Sometimes she will randomly come give my belly a hug and a kiss and say she loves him so much.
~We have been asking her what she's thankful for at night when we put her to bed and most of the time she says, "Hannah, Bella & Piper." Then we tell her to thank God for them and she will close her eyes really tight and say, "Thank you God for Hannah, Bella & Piper & Hannah Bella & Piper & Piper, Bella & Hannah. Amen." Ha, she will just say their 3 names over and over. It's so funny. Then sometimes we'll ask her what she's thankful for and she'll look around her room and just say something she sees in there.
~She loves to play outside unless there is a lawnmower within earshot or Josh is working with loud tools. She does not like loud noises!
~She loves to play with our neighbors that are much older than her. There's a 4 yr old boy, two 7 year old girls, a couple of 5 year old girls but I do not like the way she acts around them. She get so rude to me and defiant. Isn't it too early for her to be acting out in front of her "friends"? I have stayed inside on more than one occasion to avoid such occurrences. :/
~She loves to get her toenails painted and would change the color every hour if I would do it. She watches TV while I do it and does really well being still.
~She is getting an opinion about how her hair is fixed. She requests ponytails and very specific ponytails. Her current favorites are the side ponytail, the upside down ponytail (which is just a really high up ponytail), the down ponytail (which is a really low ponytail) and the crazy bun. Oh, and after you put a ponytail in she always does a test to see if it moves enough. She shakes her head from side to side and if it doesn't come around and hit her cheek, she freaks out and says, "it's not moving, it's not moving!" Real drama.
~There's so much more I could share but I can't think of it right now. She really is at a fun stage but a very challenging stage, with all the whining and disobedience that needs to be corrected. Being a parent is waaaayyaayayayy harder than anyone tells you it is. Totally worth it though when you ask her what she's thankful for today and she says, "I'm thankful for you, momma."
