Andrey's been in Manila and is coming home this morning. I told Ella we will go to the airport to pick Daddy up and she said while grunting, "'imup! imup!"and motioned as if she is picking up something really heavy. Cuteness.
Ella played the best I've ever seen with the older girls on one of our weekly play dates. Instead of being content to do her own thing while the other girls played together, she really participated! It brought me so much joy. She was really expressive and funny and made the other girls laugh. They played knock-knock at the door, and hotel in Ella's bedroom and appeared to be having a great time. Ella gave a big smile and waved when they left. The next day she asked me, "friends?"
Ella started saying thank you without me soliciting it from her. What a nice thing to hear after I give her something! She's done it many times since and surprises me every time. I guess all that modeling does eventually pay off. Oh and she also started saying, "Excuse me."
Ella and I did a lot of cooking together. She loves to put her apron on and stand on a chair at the counter to do some "cooking" alongside mommy. We made bread this week and Ella loved playing with her own dough. I also have a large bin full of dried beans that she plays with with lots of containers and scoops and other kitchen utensils.
Ella discovered a new favorite song. Since then she has requested it over and over and over again. The other day I put on a new (to me) Chris Tomlin album. The first song is called Our God and goes, Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other..." I heard her singing along (in the sweetest little voice ever) using the last word of each line. I guess she knows the words from when we sing this at church. ...Greater... stronger... When I turned around to watch her (her back was to me as she was busy with her dough, flour was everywhere) I saw her moving her little body to the music, doing her little half-squat hip-sway. Then she put her hand in the air and when she saw that I was looking she commanded me to raise my hand. "Hands! Mmmee!" I turned up the music and she got down from the chair and discovered her reflection in the oven window, which made her dance even more. She clearly enjoyed checking herself out as she tried out some new moves. Oh my goodness, could she be any more fun and adorable?
Ella is really focused on learning new phrases. She practices saying certain words together now and will repeat them over and over till she feels she's gotten it. She doesn't seem to get frustrated, just focused and determined, just like she's taught herself to swim. She's been able to say several two word phrases for some time (a fave lately is "Bye friends!") but putting adjectives with nouns is new and that's what she seems to be practicing the most these days. Tonight she practiced saying brown bear. She was really thinking about it and said it over and over again while clearly concentrating. After about 5 tries she got it. And she's speaking lots of new short sentences like "Mommy, sit here." When i asked this morning, "Ella do you want your pink shorts?" She replied "No, brown shorts!" I am so proud of her!
I've picked up the potty training attempts again. A friend of mine, in response to my complaints about getting tired of cleaning huge toddler poops out of cloth diapers in the toilet with a spray gun while trying not to touch any poop (impossible!) suggested I get a little potty (as opposed to the toddler seat I have in our bathroom) and put it in the main area during the day so she can see it. Well, I went out Friday and Ella picked out her own little potty. It's a gaudy little thing but she sure is excited about it. It even plays music. I never would have guessed I'd ever buy such a thing but since we brought it home at 5 pm on Friday, she's hasn't gone pee anywhere else except in that potty during her waking hours at home! My other friend encouraged me to just give it a go again and just be prepared to clean up lots of accidents for a while and know it will eventually get better. (Thanks E and S for the ideas and encouragement! I'm so thankful to have you experienced mommas around!) I'm just wondering... Why haven't I done this sooner? Oh wait, it's because I have NO idea what I'm doing... right.
And the last little item from this week that I'd like to share is that I've decided to make Ella her very own play kitchen for her birthday, which is coming up next month. I've made a plan and am ready to figure out how the heck to do it without any power tools and no Home Depot. I was super excited to get started today until Andrey and I took a trip to the best hardware store we know of. Let's just say I had some unrealistic expectations. I left feeling deflated. (I know my Dad and Dad-in-law know this feeling after they set out to complete home improvement projects during visits to Cebu!) It won't be as easy as I thought but I have decided to rally and get creative. Anyone have any ideas how to cut a small hole in a piece of wood without a power saw? ha ha ha this is going to be fun.
Have a great weekend!
Ella played the best I've ever seen with the older girls on one of our weekly play dates. Instead of being content to do her own thing while the other girls played together, she really participated! It brought me so much joy. She was really expressive and funny and made the other girls laugh. They played knock-knock at the door, and hotel in Ella's bedroom and appeared to be having a great time. Ella gave a big smile and waved when they left. The next day she asked me, "friends?"
Ella started saying thank you without me soliciting it from her. What a nice thing to hear after I give her something! She's done it many times since and surprises me every time. I guess all that modeling does eventually pay off. Oh and she also started saying, "Excuse me."
Ella and I did a lot of cooking together. She loves to put her apron on and stand on a chair at the counter to do some "cooking" alongside mommy. We made bread this week and Ella loved playing with her own dough. I also have a large bin full of dried beans that she plays with with lots of containers and scoops and other kitchen utensils.
Ella discovered a new favorite song. Since then she has requested it over and over and over again. The other day I put on a new (to me) Chris Tomlin album. The first song is called Our God and goes, Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other..." I heard her singing along (in the sweetest little voice ever) using the last word of each line. I guess she knows the words from when we sing this at church. ...Greater... stronger... When I turned around to watch her (her back was to me as she was busy with her dough, flour was everywhere) I saw her moving her little body to the music, doing her little half-squat hip-sway. Then she put her hand in the air and when she saw that I was looking she commanded me to raise my hand. "Hands! Mmmee!" I turned up the music and she got down from the chair and discovered her reflection in the oven window, which made her dance even more. She clearly enjoyed checking herself out as she tried out some new moves. Oh my goodness, could she be any more fun and adorable?
Ella is really focused on learning new phrases. She practices saying certain words together now and will repeat them over and over till she feels she's gotten it. She doesn't seem to get frustrated, just focused and determined, just like she's taught herself to swim. She's been able to say several two word phrases for some time (a fave lately is "Bye friends!") but putting adjectives with nouns is new and that's what she seems to be practicing the most these days. Tonight she practiced saying brown bear. She was really thinking about it and said it over and over again while clearly concentrating. After about 5 tries she got it. And she's speaking lots of new short sentences like "Mommy, sit here." When i asked this morning, "Ella do you want your pink shorts?" She replied "No, brown shorts!" I am so proud of her!
I've picked up the potty training attempts again. A friend of mine, in response to my complaints about getting tired of cleaning huge toddler poops out of cloth diapers in the toilet with a spray gun while trying not to touch any poop (impossible!) suggested I get a little potty (as opposed to the toddler seat I have in our bathroom) and put it in the main area during the day so she can see it. Well, I went out Friday and Ella picked out her own little potty. It's a gaudy little thing but she sure is excited about it. It even plays music. I never would have guessed I'd ever buy such a thing but since we brought it home at 5 pm on Friday, she's hasn't gone pee anywhere else except in that potty during her waking hours at home! My other friend encouraged me to just give it a go again and just be prepared to clean up lots of accidents for a while and know it will eventually get better. (Thanks E and S for the ideas and encouragement! I'm so thankful to have you experienced mommas around!) I'm just wondering... Why haven't I done this sooner? Oh wait, it's because I have NO idea what I'm doing... right.
And the last little item from this week that I'd like to share is that I've decided to make Ella her very own play kitchen for her birthday, which is coming up next month. I've made a plan and am ready to figure out how the heck to do it without any power tools and no Home Depot. I was super excited to get started today until Andrey and I took a trip to the best hardware store we know of. Let's just say I had some unrealistic expectations. I left feeling deflated. (I know my Dad and Dad-in-law know this feeling after they set out to complete home improvement projects during visits to Cebu!) It won't be as easy as I thought but I have decided to rally and get creative. Anyone have any ideas how to cut a small hole in a piece of wood without a power saw? ha ha ha this is going to be fun.
Have a great weekend!
3 comments:
Mothering is such an adventure. Thanks so much for the "peek" into your week with Ella. So precious.
xo. youre awesome, i miss you guys! i love reading about ella bella. <3 no great ideas re: woodwork without tools, but wanted to say i'm here and loving every minute of your blogging =)
What a wonderful post! I always love to hear all about the progress that Ella is making and it sounds like she is doing fantastic!!!! It really makes you feel so good to watch all the gains your child is making. Gotta love being a mom!!
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