Journaling for Mommy

Some of this may have been mentioned in previous entries (I think I've mentioned before how much my memory stinks), but here are some of Ellison's little tidbits that have been going on...

She absolutely loves helping me organize. I was cleaning out the linen closet a few weeks ago, and asked her if she would like to help. She squealed, wrinkled her nose, got a big grin, and jumped around and said, "Oooh, organizing! So excited!!!".

She has a new laundry responsibility. She took it upon herself, people. She folds all of the washcloths and neatly puts them in a pile, and does a darn good job if I do say so. I hope I never forget the way she says "washcloths", 'cause I think it is so darn cute. She says something along the lines of "clopf-clopfs". :) She wants to hang up her own clothes in her closet, too.

When she sees a commercial on TV for some cool kids' toy, she says, "Want to buy that (insert whatever the object is)". The one she says regularly is "Want to buy that Dora & 3 Little Piggies" (a DVD).

No idea why this is, but she is always putting socks - whether mine or hers - (or slippers) on her hands, and then actually plays like that for a while. I guess it goes without saying that she loves mittens, too.

EVERYTHING is "by myself". She wants to put on her own clothes, pick out her own clothes or shoes, take off her own clothes, etc. She becomes easily frustrated sometimes and whines or kicks her legs, but if I offer to help, I still get, "By myself!". Once again, my mother quickly giggles and says it brings back memories. Surely she's speaking of my sister...

We go through about 10 diapers a day. OK, not on her, but on her babies and animals. Every single day she changes some diapers. I must say, she actually gets them on perfectly. As soon as it's on, she then says, "Oh, poopied!", opens up the diaper, lifts their legs, and either wipes them and starts over, or she'll say, "No poopy" and gently replace the diaper.

Several times throughout the day, Ellison can be found hiding out in the pantry. Usually it involves some form of sneaking a snack, but she does all kinds of things in there. As soon as we open the door to spot her, she gets a silly look on her face, and quickly shuts us out.

She loves watching her Veggie Tales (thanks, Lindsay!) "DVDVD". (That's what she calls them). Still Curious George, The Wiggles, Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends, Max & Ruby, Wow Wow Wubbzy, and Toot & Puddle (sounds like a big accident if you ask me). Interestingly, if I happen to have on the adult shows, "A Baby Story" or anything similar, she's totally glued to the screen. If I try to change the station to a kid show, she asks me to turn it back to the babies.

Ellison still does her "ballet dance" throughout every day, and is ever the singer, talker, and whisperer. She thinks it's funny if we have a whispering conversation. Still loves doing dishes, helping cook, and just about any other "chore".

She still colors and draws up a storm ("happy faces" are still her specialty), which is difficult for her sentimental Mama. She started tearing out the colored pages in her colorbook to present her creativity to me, and I can't bring myself to throw any away! She's really into Play-Doh, too.

On the potty-training front, we're still not going to try real hard again for a little while, but Ellison's been great with going on the potty here and there, without us even asking.

This week our MOPS class and my Bible study class both start back up, so Ellison's back into the nursery 2-3 days a week. This is good for us - we just signed Ellison up for pre-school in the fall, which is exciting yet scarey at the same time. I just can't believe our little baby girl is at an age where we're discussing pre-schools! It's one of those things that feels like it's so far down the road when they're born, yet here it is... I get a little twinge in my heart, too, since Ellison started once-in-a-while calling me "Mom". Not Mama or Mommy (though I still get those), but "Mom". What -- did she turn 10 overnight?! For the love of Mike, at this rate, I expect her to start rummaging through my closet next week for something to wear and asking to borrow the car.