Ellie turns 2

Our little Bean turned 2 last Friday.  Time flies.

I made some cupcakes and we celebrated with Garrett's family during our long weekend in Savannah.

Shirt removal is always the best option for messy foods (*edited to add: if you are under 6):

"A mess! A mess!" she says (with a smile):

We sure love our little Ellie Bean:

And it's hard to believe she was once this tiny:

 Actually, I kid.  I remember it well.  Ellie struggled a great deal with gaining weight during her first few weeks of life.... probably because I wasn't feeding her (unbeknownst to me).  Nursing is hard!  I don't think I'll ever forget that time.

Some things about Ellie:
-She is a screamer.  Oh. my. goodness. this girl can scream.  Like, ear-piercing, ringing-in-your-ears afterwards, unbelievable screaming.  Sometimes she lets out these little screams/squeals randomly while she's playing and having a good time, but the worst screaming comes when she's angry.  And she has quite a little temper.  She knows what she wants (and pretty much the whole neighborhood probably knows when she ain't getting what she wants.).

-I love her white blond hair.  I don't think my hair was ever that blond, but Garrett's was, and my sister Emma's was too.  I'm just obsessed with it, I love it.

-Whenever something is dirty (the floor, table, her hands, etc), she says, "A mess! A mess!!"

-Ellie is drink-obsessed.  We try hard not to let our kids grow dependent on things (objects), but Ellie sure likes her drinks.  She must have a drink with her whenever she goes to bed or has a nap.  She cradles it in her arm as she falls asleep.  It's adorable, of course, but annoying at the same time (like, if we do manage to get her to go to bed without one, and she wakes up at 2:30 a.m. and needs one at that very moment and must have one (remember, she screams).  And then sometimes we can't find one so it lasts for 10-15 minutes and the whole house is awake and we're all frazzled looking for her cup. (Okay, I admit: this only happens to me. If Garrett gets up, he somehow manages to tell her she doesn't *need* the drink and she goes back to sleep. I, however, get the screaming.)


-Sometimes she gets into this frenzy where she just gets really hyper/excited and starts licking everything in sight (the floor, her toy, your pants).  It's gross.  And hilarious.

-Her speech has been getting much better over the last couple of weeks.  Still not any coherent sentences or anything, but still an improvement from before.

-Nicknames: Ellie Bean, Bean, the Bean, Bean dip (we obviously haven't strayed from "bean")

-We didn't set up her crib here in Gainesville, because we were planning to get a trundle bed (or have Garrett make one) for the girls' room (Ellie would sleep on the lower mattress).  It hasn't happened yet, but hopefully will in the next few months.  Right now she's just sleeping in a pack and play which, as of last week, she can climb out of.  She doesn't do it often but she does when she's angry (when the screaming stops, it usually means she's climbing).  Anyway, switching her to a real bed successfully is going to be a huge feat. She'll be all over the place (crawling out of bed, playing, wandering, etc).  Should be fun!

-Still doesn't have all her front teeth, which I don't think is normal for a kid her age!!  She's pretty darn cute, though.

-She is pretty pale, which I generally attribute to the Woodbury side.

-She is our little daredevil.  She does things Abby never dreamed of doing at her age (Abby is also more timid by nature).  She climbs, falls, jumps, etc... makes me nervous sometimes.

-Loves to look at books, color, dress up, play outside on swings, and go swimming (and wear her "soop" (suit)).

Happy Second Birthday, Ellie bean!  We love you!!