A Return From Summer Break

To no surprise, the summer is just flying by and given the last blog post, it seems like just yesterday that Ella was splish-splashing in the rain puddles! We've had an incredible summer and most of it is due to watching our extraordinary little girl grow and develop in so many ways. She certainly adds to the spontaneity and simple pleasures that this summer has offered for our family. She has been changing so much over such a short period of time that it's been hard to keep up with her developments; Erika's been attempting to document it all in her baby book but she's running out of pages and space! Luckily, there are blog postings to track everything! Ha! Just recently:

• Ella is finally expanding her vocabulary every day. If not by adding a few extra words, she's just begun putting two and three words together. Her little voice will just melt your heart, too. Just tonight, she pointed to a button on her shirt and said "button." She'll ask us to "sit" with her to play her toys, or beg for a "nak" (snack) after a swim at the pool, or invite us to dance in a circle to "ashes" ("Ring around the roses") - one of her favorite nursery tunes. Or, she might demand "mommy!" for something or will murmur "sorry" to a friend after pushing him to the ground (yes, she asserts herself quite well!). She loves "pooper" (Cooper) and plays with "baby" all the time by feeding her "milk." She'll tell us how she goes down the "slide" or plays at the "beach" with her "toys," and she'll also re-read and re-read "Brow Brow" (her favorite book Brown Bear Brown Bear) over and over and over again....mastering the animal names and sounds and describing their "feet" and "eyes." She mimics us all the time, too by saying "good girl" or "I'm gonna gettcha" (a game she and daddy play) or "I love you." She also knows her name and will combine "Ella" with words like "Ella booboo" or "Ella eat."
  
• She's so confident on her feet. Forget the stair railings. Forget mommy's hand. Erika about flipped out the first time she saw Ella walk down the stairs without holding onto a thing. Yikes! She's still encouraged (and sometimes forced!) to go down stairs on her tummy or holding onto the railing but at almost 2 years old, she's feeling increasingly more and more independent and sometimes mommy's ideas or just not that great.
• Yellow, yellow, yellow! For awhile, all things were "yellow" when asked what color they were but finally things are starting to click for her. She avoids green for some reason but can identify red, blue, purple, and of course yellow objects.
• Her ability to recount events is pretty astounding. For example, ask her about her trip to the beach and she'll immediately launch into a gargle of gibber jabber with descriptive hand movements to tell you about the waves, the toys and the sand, her ride in the bike seat, and the sand castles she made. Or, she will show you how she goes underwater at the pool by closing her eyes, sealing her lips, and dipping her head down. Most amazingly to us recently happened the morning after a night of spotting two frogs in our neighborhood. Tim showed her how the frog ate bugs with their tongue so we spent some time observing the frogs and describing to Ella the color of their skin, their body parts, and how their tongue works to help them eat. So, the next morning, we asked her about the frogs she had seen the previous evening. Sure enough, her hands went into descriptive movements and she shows us with her tongue how the frog lapped up his meal of bugs!

So the big question we get all the time is "Does Ella know she's going to be a big sister?" Hmm, that's the million dollar question. Does she actually get the fact that an actual baby is in Erika's belly? Probably not. She will however, feed the baby (imagine her placing a spoon to Erika's naval) and kiss the baby. Of course, sometimes when asked "where is the baby, Ella?" she'll pick up her own shirt and proudly flaunt her own little belly. She's improved though, when it comes to babies - Erika was once holding a neighbor's new baby and Ella proceeded to attempt to pull the baby off Erika's lap. However, just recently while holding the same baby, instead of wanting the baby off mommy's lap, Ella herself wanted to hold the baby. So....good news for Baby Carlson! He or she will be happy to know that big sister Ella will be more likely to share mommy's lap and not be forced to the floor! And, speaking of new baby, we're about 4 weeks away from our due date (which is coincidentally Labor Day, September 7th). Now, looking at the belly, you'd think the due date would be NOW; the belly is just huge. Earlier this week, a three-year old neighborhood girl came up to Erika, tugged at her shirt, and asked "Why do you have a ball under your shirt?" Well, if that doesn't just sum it up right there! It was pretty funny and my laughter only confused the poor girl since all she wanted to do was play with a ball!
Despite the huge belly, we're getting ready for our little one. The nursery is as ready as it'll get for now and Erika has fulfilled her nesting mode by organizing storage closets (don't ask), laundering newborn clothes, and starting to pack the hospital bag. Tim has learned to not ask questions and just go with the flow. . . can you really argue with a pregnant women??!?!?
So, here are just a few pictures of our lives over the past two months....!

"Sunglasses" please! Often, we can't leave the house without them. No different for pictures, too!

At Virginia Beach over Father's Day weekend

Ella gives "Pooper" some summer love....Cooper the Pooper is quite the Trooper

On a family hike in June to Maryland's Great Falls.

Some July pool time

Celebrating the 4th of July at a neighborhood fireworks display

Enjoying the clear blue water of Florida - Ella and Erika with cousins Camille and Anne-Perry

Beach bike ride with daddy

Staying busy on the beach

Go figure, she actually LIKED being buried!

Ella finally has a hat like Daddy

Catching up with the Reemsnyders at Smith Mt. Lake - last weekend of July. Here, Erika and Shea pose for their traditional pic with the babies (it first started with pregnant bellies)