Ella

A couple of weeks ago, Ella turned 2.  It's hard to believe that she is two already.  It has flown by incredibly fast.  I wish I could capture Ella's personality in a word.  But I'm not sure which word would be exactly right.  I frequently tell her that she is "something else," and a "mess."  Aidan likes to sing "you're a humdinger!" to her when she is being especially Ella-like!  Maybe "humdinger" is the right word.  She makes me laugh out loud every day.  She is either dancing or throwing a fit; there is not much in between with her.  Thankfully, most of the time she's dancing.  and smiling.  and laughing.  But, when she's not, it's ugly.  and loud.
I love that she thinks she can do anything.  If her 7 year old brother can do it, she thinks she can too.  She'll try anything.  It's exhausting at times, but I love how fearless she is, and totally lacking in insecurity!  She is very sweet.  She loves to cuddle.  She takes care of her baby dolls like they are her real babies. She feeds them, rocks them and takes them for walks in her stroller.  She can't stand to see her brother sad.  She will put her arm around him and say, "are you okay, bubba?"  She loves to hold his hand when they are walking together.  If she gets hurt, she wants a hug from Aidan.

Jumping on the trampoline is one of her favorite things to do.  She giggles uncontrollably as she jumps and falls and rolls around.
She loves to swing more than anything else.  When she wants me to push her on the swing she yells, "more power!"

Whenever she sees her daddy, she starts dancing and singing, "daddy, daddy, daddy!"  There was never a daddy that loved a little girl more than Mark loves Ella.

As soon as we all sit down to eat dinner, she grabs mine and Aidan's hands and says, "pray?"  Sometimes, she sneaks food off her plate while we're praying.  When the prayer is finished, she shouts, "Amen!"  (I think some of her Pentecostal genes are shining through!)
If she wants you to do something she repeats it relentlessly.  She says, "come on Mommy" at least 500 times a day.
She has a temper.  If something doesn't go her way, she will fall face first on the ground and cry.  Then, like someone flipped a switch, she will stand up, smile, and say, "I'm better now!"
She loves to watch Dora, Diego and Wonder Pets.  If she needs your help with something, she starts singing, "teamwork!"
She would be happy to eat only popsicles every day, but will also eat chicken, spaghetti and chicken noodle soup if you cut her off from popsicles.  I think she is going to love ice cream as much as her daddy. He's going to finally have to share his ice cream.
She sleeps with a wind up giraffe that Aidan gave her.  She calls him Raffy.  She also sleeps with a soft fleece blanket that her Aunt Alissa gave her. She will not sleep with any other blanket, and you can't trick her.  She would rather sleep with no blanket than an impostor.
 Whenever she sees me, she acts like it's the best thing that's happened to her all day.  The whole world is delightful to her.  She takes joy in the simple things, like flowers and bugs and airplanes.  I hope she never loses that quality.  My heart overflows with love and joy for Ella.
So how do I sum up Ella in one word?  She is joy and love and innocence, full of promise and potential. She is both feisty and nurturing.  Her smile lights up the room.  Her bright blue eyes dance and twinkle.  She has a whole mess of shiny blonde hair.  Her laugh is contagious.  She doesn't walk, she skips.  No, one word just won't do it.  I guess we'll just have to stick with "humdinger" for now.