Signs that a toddler lives in my house

Something I never really expected, when becoming a Mama, is that I have loved every stage of Elly's young life. At every age it seems like Sam and I look at each other and say "Isn't this the best stage yet!?" I always thought having a tiny baby would be my favorite and that I would somehow miss it as she grew up, but as Elly continues to get older I love each age better than the one before, if that's possible. She's so much fun and I'm just totally in love with our precious little girl.

Every night I try to keep a journal of things she's said or done throughout the day. At times I wish I had written something down when it happened because by the time we get to bed I've forgotten what it was. She's always coming up with something that just makes me laugh. I love seeing her personality emerge. And she's not lacking in the attitude department :)

For the last month or so she's been calling me "Misty". One morning I was on the phone with Mom and I heard her saying something from her crib. I went to the monitor and heard her calling "Misty! Misty!" as she woke up from her night's sleep. Usually, I'll call her "Grace" in return and she doesn't like it. She says "Don't say me Grace!" Lately, she's taken to calling me "Mama Cow". That's flattering...maybe I shouldn't argue with her calling me "Misty". :)

For the longest time if you asked her what a doll's name was (any of her dolls), she would say "Jew" (or joo, june...not sure which). Lately, she's learned that she is 2 1/2 years old so now she calls all of her dolls "2 1/2" as if it's their name. If someone asks what a doll's name is she'll say "2 1/2". We were on our way into town and she started naming all her stuffed animals saying "Lion's 2, Bear's 2 1/2, Lammy's 2 and Moose is Mony 2 1/2" Not sure where the "Mony" came from, but thought it was funny.

Some of the things she says are so sweet. Lately she'll say things like "Mama, does that make your heart happy?" or if she won't try a new food she'll say "Mama, does that hurt your heart?" It's so sweet.

One time, in the middle of the night, I had taken her to go potty. She was half asleep sitting on my lap as I got her jammies back on and in the sweetest little voice said "Mama, I sure do like you". THAT is what being a Mama is all about!! Those moments make it all worth while :)

We have a video monitor that we use in Elly's room. I've always used the speaker on it to tell her to lay down if she wasn't going to sleep. It's worked great. As soon as I said "Ellyanna, lay down", she would drop and not move again. I thought it was awesome...until a couple of nights ago.

We were getting ready for bed in our room and she saw the monitor and mentioned that she didn't like it when it said "lay down Elly", so I picked it up and spoke into it like I do during naptime. I was not prepared for the reaction I got from Elly. She was truely terrified. She was scrambling to get away from me, crying and screaming "No!". I reached for her, but she acted like I was a stranger and kept hitting me away. I finally got her and held her close and kept telling her it was ok. I had no idea it would scare her like that. In the last month or so I've noticed she's getting more scared of things and I think she didn't recognize the voice on the monitor as me and then when she saw me talking, but heard the gargled sound coming out of the speakers it just was too much for her. I felt so bad. She kept crying saying it scared her and I told her I would never do that again. After a few minutes she sat back and while trying to still catch her breath from crying she put her little hand on her tummy and said "That scared my heart!". Just made me want to cry :(

She continues to be scared of the monitor in her room. She doesn't like to go in there by herself anymore. I think she must have dreamed about it one day during naptime because she woke up crying and when I went in to get her she acted scared of me again and started screaming when I reached to pick her up. That is a horrible feeling. Your own child being terrified of you. I pushed it though and picked her up anyhow. After hugging her a few minutes she settled down. It really bothered me that she was scared of me :(

Anyhow, on to a happier subject. I love it when I walk through the house and see signs that Elly's been at play. Sometimes I actually think to get the camera and capture it. It's so fun to see how her little mind thinks and what she does with her toys. Anyhow, here are a few pictures I've taken in the last month or two. Just glimpses of Elly's play.