Kid Update #2

Ellie Belly Libby Lu!

Our sweet Ellie girl turns 4 in April! She's officially exiting the "toddler" years and growing into a big preschooler. Ellie has also grown a lot over the past months. Pants and jeans that fit her just a couple months ago are now too short! Her hair is growing too, and she prefers to wear it in a ponytail most days. She also has a lot of opinions about her clothes these days. The past week she insists on "a shirt without sleeves touching my arms" and "capwees" (ie capri pants). She wants to wear the same outfit multiple days in a row, so I have to use my creative juices to keep her in clean clothing!

Ellie is a big helper. She almost always gets things for me the first time I ask, and also likes to help her brother and sister when they need something. She was especially generous during the weeks of Mary Clare's knee surgery recovery, being patient and helping out, with great sensitivity towards her sister. She's learning her letters, sounds, and numbers and wants to do schoolwork just like her big sister. She loves to draw, and you might just find her artwork lining the kitchen wall, the sofa table, the pantry, and the door mouldings! She likes to hoard gum and candy, so we also find "ABC" (already been chewed) gum in various places around the house and car. She's quite the chocoholic, and is currently enjoying my special purchase of "magic shell" chocolate syrup on her ice cream! She's a bit of a picky eater...there's not one vegetable she will eat! On a recent trip to Sweet Tomatoes salad bar restaurant, she exclaimed with joy, "My favorite things are crutons, ranch, shredded cheese, and pizza! And the ice cream!"

Ellie loves going to ballet class and is a very talented little dancer. She concentrates very hard on each step, and has been acting a tad silly with her classmates. She loves to climb and I often find her on kitchen counters, and most recently she's been found sitting up on the top shelf of the pantry "hanging out", much to our dismay. But her sweet apologies and hugs after making mischief are enough to melt your heart!

She likes to dress up; in the picture above she's wearing a life jacket and that's all! Purple is her favorite color, and the American Girl doll Elizabeth is her favorite doll. She still takes her pink blankey with her many places. Recently she took the blankey to a restaurant and we got to the car without "ray-ray". I went back in with my sister-in-law and with some persuasion by her, we found out that the bus boy had thrown it in the trash! It looks so raggetty! We had to take it home and wash it; thankfully we still have two of them. I've just realized that I don't have a whole lot of pictures of Ellie by herself. She's hard to keep still and get a picture of, and even harder to get a nice smile. But we love her silly smiles and her silly self. Ellie is a true joy every day!

Ellie, Mommy is so happy to watch you grow and can't wait to celebrate Easter and your birthday next month! You are fun to be around and are always making us laugh. Recently you've been a little bit mischeivious, but I think with all the hoopla going on in our family, you just need a little more attention. I'm excited about teaching you to read and learning with you as we start homeschooling in the next couple years. You are so eager to learn; I know it's going to be a fun adventure! Mommy always loves you!