Two Years Ago Today . . .

Happy 2nd Birthday Ellie!

Ellie has unbelievable amounts of personality crammed into her tiny frame. Everyone comments on her personality, charm and humor. She's a little show off, dancing and singing and jumping up and down for anyone who walks into our house -- her and Annie get quite competitive for the attention and accolades of any and all visitors. My midwife commented at our appointment this week, "I have never seen her not giggling and laughing -- she is the happiest kid I've ever met." Which, is the kinda comment that we hear often, but makes Greg and I kinda chuckle -- 'cause in the privacy of our own home with no audience besides those responsible for her very existence, she can be quite, um, opinionated. And the child wakes up from a nap like an angry, hungry bear coming out of a long hibernation. She seems absolutely pissed that we let her waste the afternoon napping, and she angrily swats at us, and cries and yells and throws fits for the first 20-30 minutes she's awake. It's not the most pleasant time of day in our house :-). She has a fiery little personality, and she does everything big -- she freaks out big, she hugs and cuddles big (nothing melts my heart quite like the several times a day she comes up and throws her arms around me and squeezes me tightly), she plays big. She dances and jumps and climbs in ways her sister wasn't even thinking about at this age. This is the one I worry about in terms of fat lips, big spills and Instacare visits.
She adores her big sister and wants to do everything Annie does. She stares out the window, crying, "Sisser, sisser!" for several minutes after Annie's disappeared into her preschool. Her biggest source of heartache seems to be that her sister is so social, and goes not only to dance and preschool, but often goes and spends her afternoons at friends' houses. It's been interesting, because at this age Annie was pretty much used to just hanging out with me 90% of the time -- Ellie on the other hand will just stare at me, and finally sigh, flop down and agree to do a puzzle with Mom, even though you can tell she's not necessarily pleased with being sister-less and hanging out only with Mommy.
I've already talked a ton about her amazing non-verbal communication skills on my blog, and they are still a constant source of amazement for us, to watch her get her point across in ingenious ways. Add to that her every growing vocabulary, and she's pretty much able to get whatever she wants now.
I can't get over how smart and funny she is -- how much fun she makes life, for herself and everyone around her. I love my girls' big personalities, watching them grow and develop into their own people is by far one of my greatest joys in life.

Here's what I was doing two years ago today . . .

Our 6 pound bundle of joy.

Here she is at one year old -- this kid has always had the most infectious smiles. Her facial expressions and grins are one of her most frequently commented on features.

Birthday spaghetti dinner.

Not the greatest picture -- but I love how the birthday card looks half her size . . .

I wouldn't think to describe Ellie as 'cuddly', until I stop and think of how often she throws herself against my chest and wants hugs, and I realize just how affectionate and cuddly she really is.

Then, this morning, we had fudge pops (in Mom's bed) for Ellie's birthday breakfast. She thought it was possibly they coolest thing ever.

Happy Birthday Boo!