Tid-Bits XI

We recently watched Mary Poppins together, which was soon followed by Ellie joining me in merrily dancing and singing from the door, across the driveway and to the car. "Chim chim chim chim roo!" Ellie sang along with me as we spun and leaped through the night.

I love how expressive baby feet are. Excited - Addie kicks like crazy. Mad - Addie's feet stretch rigidly as far as they can. Happy - wiggly feet. Exploratory - Stretching to see what's beyond the known world around her. There is no limit to the number of emotions her feet seem to have.

I love how every night that I get to tuck Ellie into bed, we lay under our very own Northern Lights (they come from her Angel night-light). We point at the pretty patterns on the ceiling, with "oohs" and "ahhs" and talk about which colors we like the best. The light show is so pretty and it's just for the two of us.

I love how Ellie has recently started to give items and words affectionate nicknames. "Can I sit on your lappy please-y?" or "Where is my Bun-Bun-y?" or "Dis is my baby sister Add-a-line-y."

I love how Ellie likes to comb my hair. I may never cut my hair again if it means she likes to practice making Mommy look pretty. And practice she needs because so far the results are far from perfect.

When holding open a heavy door, Ellie proudly said "I'm a big girl be-kuz I have ree-a ree-a strong missiles!"

I love to see which "big person" songs Ellie likes to listen to. Whether it be a song that repeats "I know one thing, that I love you. I love you. I love you." ("Say Hey" by Michael Franti), or "She calls you baby, baby baby" ("Kandi" by One Eskimo), or "I've got shoes" ("I got chills" from Grease), or "Shrek song... I bee-la. I bee-la" ("I'm a believer" by The Monkees). It's neat to see what words she clings to.

I love how Ellie asks what a song is about and that they can often be boiled down to a prince loving his princess (or visa versa).

I love how Ellie still helps with changing Addie's diaper. She'll pick out the best diaper from the pile (usually the one with Big Bird on it) and claim that it's Addie's Fave-o-rit.

I always knew that the day would come when Addie would just adore her big sister and want nothing more than to just watch her. I knew that Ellie would be able to make Addie smile but I didn't consider the reverse. I LOVE how much Addie makes Ellie smile and act a little more goofy than her normal self. LOVE IT.

I love it when Ellie says "I had no ask-a-nicks today!" after picking her up from school. Two reasons: 1. No bags of soiled clothes to attend to and 2. It's such a cute pronunciation!

I love how Ellie's obsessed about the color green. It's like she has defined herself as "the girl who loves green." Green candles on her cake. Green dress for her birthday. Green balloon. Green books. Green PJs. If green is an option, it's the only option. It's neat to see that our suspicion on her favorite color when she was a baby was correct. That's pretty cool.

I love how according to Ellie, sitting crossed-legged is called being "criss-cross apple sauce."

I think it's adorable how the majority of Addie's smiles are very rectangular.

I love to listen to the giggles that have started to emerge from the backseat. Baby giggles and preschool giggles, both entertaining the other. Again, I love to see how Addie makes Ellie be more silly than she normally is.

I love listening to Ellie's voice on the phone. I can't describe it. I wish I could. It's just so sweet and innocent and a tad shy. But it's so clear and distinct... and excited. I wish I could do something to guarantee the sound wouldn't fade from my memory. It's perfect.