Ella: I’m going to go cry in my room.
Beth: Aw, Ella, why are you going to go cry in your room?
Ella: Because I love to go cry in my room.
We’ve had Ella in a toddler bed for a little over a month now. Although she’s able to get out of it, she’s never attempted to unless we’ve come in the room to get her out of bed. She’s even cried for things she has thrown out of bed because she hasn’t thought of getting out to get them. Well, things have begun to change…
Yesterday my mother was watching Ella, and she told us that Ella had gotten out of bed as she was on her way back to her room. Today’s story tops that: I’d just put Ella down for a nap. While I was working in my office, I heard a door open. I thought it was Beth coming from our bedroom. Imagine my surprise when I heard Ella in my doorway announcing, “I’m all done with my nap, Daddy.” I assured her that she wasn’t done, escorted her back to her room, and watched her climb back into bed.
Afterwards, I peeked in at Beth who was holding Paige for a nap. We shared looks of raised eyebrows and rolled our eyes at each other. A couple of minutes later, Ella was back up again. This time Beth reminded me to tell her that if she got up again she wouldn’t get to watch a TV show when she gets up from her nap. Hopefully that did the trick… 
Yesterday morning I had the pleasure of reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear to Paige and Ella.
NOTE TO EMAIL READERS: Please click on the title of this post to visit the blog and see the picture.
Ella: Grandmommy, tell me a “Mater” story.
Grandmommy: I don’t know any “Mater” stories.
Ella: Tell me a “Rastus*” story.
Grandmommy: Ok, what “Rastus” story would you like to hear?
Ella: “Rastus Meets a Friend”
Grandmommy: What friend did he meet?
Ella (with a sheepish grin): Mater.
The past couple of days we’ve had a very hard time getting Ella to take some antibiotics prescribed by her doctor. The first two nights we spent over an hour trying to get her to finish one teaspoon of the icky tasting stuff. Finally, today we offered her the option to take it mixed with yogurt, and she likes it. Yea! 
BTW: There’s no fooling this little girl. You’ll note that our solution included some negotiations with the patient.
With Ella a little under the weather, we stayed home this New Year’s morning rather than going to church. Fortunately we were all able to enjoy some waffles for breakfast.
Prior to the arrival of our second daughter, Beth and I tried to savor our final moments as a family of three. There were those last couple of dates where we enjoyed simple conversation and time to ourselves. We enjoyed doting on Ella, showering her with the attention she craves at two-and-a-half. We were peacefully resigned to the fact that this would all change with Paige’s arrival, so we simply tried to enjoy things as they were while we could. Read More…
Our neighbors originally put in clear panels to let their cat see outside. Now, Ella likes to take advantage of the view they afford.
Ella and I have been enjoying the rain today. We’ve already been outside twice to stand in the cascade of falling water brought in from the gulf by tropical storm Lee.
I’ve been looking for Ella. Have you seen her?