Miss Independent!

Ella is Miss Independent these days. She wants to do everything on her own...and we are loving it! This burst of self sufficiency couldn't come at a better time with her sister's arrival quickly approaching.

Her latest adventure is the stairs. My dad was visiting this weekend and was nice enough to install a hand rail that is the perfect height for Ella. Her school has little hand rails everywhere and I noticed picking her up every afternoon how happy she is to be able to walk down the stairs on her own. After talking with her PT's Jen and Linda (at great length), we decided to go for it and put up our own railing. It has been a great success! She goes up and down the stairs with a lot more confidence now. She still needs a little support by holding our hand, but it's certainly more of a security blanket at this point. In just the week that it has been up, she is noticeably stronger too. All that work on the stairs is making her skinny little legs a little more powerful!

Next up for the little girl who wants to do it all: POTTY TRAINING! We have "introduced" the potty a little here and and there (just not consistently) and she LOVES to flush the toilet (we call her the phantom flusher), I just have to get serious now about getting rid of the diapers!

Behind Bars

Ella loves to shake the gate in protest!

We are now living in a "gated community"....nope, we haven't moved to some ritzy suburban subdivision, our townhouse has been transformed into a holding tank of sorts! We have a lot of stairs (too many to count) and it was time to put up the gates to hopefully avoid a major tumble. We have a gate at the top of our stairs from the entrance way, a gate at the bottom of the stairs up to our bedrooms on the second floor...and soon a third gate will be installed at the top of that staircase. Needless to say the gates are an adjustment for everyone. Ella seems to be wondering why she can no longer freely climb the stairs. Tucker gets trapped upstairs, downstairs and in the living room. For Jason and I, it's the mechanics of the gates (they lock shut) that seem to slow us down!

Like every adjustment it will take time to get used to. Looking at the bigger picture though, we really managed to live gate free for longer than we thought. The gates are also another sign of improvement when it comes to Ella's milestones. She is a full fledged walker now and is really enjoying exploring her new territory. So as I stumble down the stairs and fumble with the gate at 3am (to get to work)...I have to remember to thank by blessings for the opportunity to even have to worry about the gates in the first place :-)

Movin' On Up....

Caught red handed climbing the stairs.



All my fun is gone...Mom and Dad were afraid I might jump out!

Our quiet, cautious little girl has become a daring little monkey in the last week. She has discovered the fine art of climbing. She climbs the stairs, she tries to climb up my leg, she climbs on poor Tucker, and this morning we caught her climbing out of her crib! She's now just one step away from the toddler bed....how did that happen?! Jason lowered her crib to #3 tonight...the lowest it can go. 



This was Ella's first day at home...so peaceful in her basket.

 It's better than hearing a thud during the next nap time, but I couldn't help but think about how fast she is growing up. I remember her sleeping so peacefully in her moses basket two summers ago. I also remember being so frustrated that she seemed content to sit and play last summer, rather than crawl and explore. It's just another reminder that we are on Ella's timeline.

 I love her new adventurous side. It keeps us on our toes, and we wouldn't have it any other way. Bring on the wild child...yes that's right, I want to spend the afternoons chasing her up the stairs, running across the playground, and moving all my picture frames, candles and vases above her little arms reach. I don't think you'll hear any complaints from Jason or me :-)

It seems like our life is moving on up as Ella grows up. Everything is slowly being put out of reach (for safety), all while Ella reaches some very important milestones. Every day is more exciting than the next. It is so fun to see the world through the eyes of a two year old..I can only imagine how I will feel when she reaches Kindergarten or college...YIKES! At least we have time for all that. For now I'll just cherish the endless trips up the stairs !