At 2 1/2 years old...

Our life is going to get crazy in the next couple of weeks (that is if this baby ever arrives) but before things get too busy, I want to remember and capture everything our first born, our first baby who is not a baby anymore is doing right now.

At 2 1/2 years old, she surprises us in a good and bad ways each day. It is so amazing to see how much they change in such a short amount of time. She is learning new things and songs at school and comes home and will sing them to us. She still continues to LOVE school, running into her classroom each morning. I think she is still a little bit of a teacher's pet from the reports we get. We hear she follows directions very well and listens very closely to the teachers. I think she is also a little bit of a tattle tell. She will come home and tell me who didn't listen to who got into trouble! Her best friend from school is definitely Caroline and the teachers have many pictures of them playing together and holding hands, so sweet.

At 2 1/2, she plays this game with Daddy each night after dinner. It's not hard to learn, she runs around the kitchen and living room as fast as she can and Daddy "tries" to catch her. She would do this all night. Sometimes, they shout "freeze" and then she will count 1-2-3 very softly and then shout "go" and they are off again. The energy of this little girl is amazing, she goes nonstop all day. I guess that is why she sleeps 12+ hours at night and still naps 1.5-2 hours each day. One night while they were freezing during the running game, Daddy got Ella to "tebow" in the kitchen. Check out the picture below.

We had a birthday party for one of our best buddies last week at Monkey Joe's. While her favorite part was putting on the birthday hat, singing the happy birthday song and of course eating cake, I was amazed by how much less timid she was this time.
Sliding down the big slides all by herself.
Climbing up the big ladder all by herself. This would have never happened 6 months ago when she was too tentative or scared to go all by herself.
But she has shown a lot more independence these days, which can be good and frustrating at the same time as well.
She wants to get in and out of the carseat all by herself which is great but can also add a good 5-10 minutes when we are trying to go anywhere. Her biggest independence is when it comes to her shoes and clothes. She wants to pick out her clothes and especially shoes each day. It would normally be fine but she wants to wear the same dress everyday and the same pink shoes which are fine for inside but not suitable for playing outside. I am beginning to think that people think I only have 1 outfit for her! She is going to be quite the fashionista I fear and she is already picky about the clothes that I wear, only wanting me to wear certain things. Oh the teenage years should be interesting! At least the spring and summer are approaching since she prefers to wear a dress everyday.At 2 1/2, she loves to play with all of her friends and best buddies in the neighborhood. We had a Super Bowl party last weekend and all the kids had a blast running around together and building forts. After our walk each afternoon, we have to walk around the neighborhood and check to see if any of the other kids are out playing so we can say hi. We are so lucky to live in such a great neighborhood with so many kids to play with.
At 2 1/2, she loves all things sweet or "special treats" as she calls them. Here she is eating a marshmallow, also during the Super Bowl party. No need to toast it for her, she prefers to eat it straight out of bag and say "marshmallow" really slow while she is eating it. Her favorite treats are Oreos, m&ms, jellybeans, really anything sweet! Maybe it was the sweet tooth I had with her while I was pregnant!

At 2 1/2, she is very aware that she is a big girl now and the baby is coming soon! She tells her teachers, will ask me if the baby came yet and always referring to her new room and then the baby's room. We got down the infant car seat last weekend and she was excited to learn that the baby would ride in the car with her and watch the Ariel movie with her! Not sure she quite grasps the concept of what baby's do, which is not much when they are a newborn. I think she thinks the baby will come out walking and talking like her. I hope she continues to be excited since she will be a big sister soon.

Oh, Miss Ella James, you are sweet and stubborn and silly and all things that come along with being 2 1/2. You make your Daddy and I crack up each day with your funny stories and antics and sometimes you make us want to pull our hair out when you don't get your way and have a meltdown. The good thing is your sweetness and smile far outweigh your stubbornness and we hope it stays that way. We love you little one that is not so little anymore.