Ellie is rapidly approaching 3-years-old. Something tells me the threes are going to be much more wild and fun than the twos!
Here are some updates on Ellie at 2 3/4 years:
- Ellie is all about being a big sister. Some of her favorite activities revolve around selecting diapers for her brothers, determining which outfits to dress them in each day, and preparing for and giving them baths. These tasks have become so much a part of her routine that she wakes up and immediately asks me if she can pick out the brothers’ clothes.
- Ellie identifies particular things that are her favorites (i.e favorite outfit, favorite brother, favorite snack, favorite plate, favorite spoon, etc.). Though we don’t see the logic behind why these are her favorite things, her classifying them as such often guides her decision-making process.
- She has recently taken a liking to Legos, particularly the Thomas the Train set. She is skilled at replicating the pictures of buildings and objects to construct as well as erecting her own designs.
- She continues to be a child focused on organization and order. Although this may be as much a developmental stage as it is an indication of her long-term personality, it is alarming to see a child imitate some of her parents’ own quirks. For example, she will unwrap an entire package of diapers, proceed to sort them by Sesame Street character, and then place each set of character diapers into its own Ziploc bag and put them back into the closet. She finds this quite amusing and becomes easily upset if we interrupt her or do not permit her to do this. Additionally, she has a particular order of doing things from which she refuses to deviate. For instance, she likes to climb into her booster seat, buckle in BEFORE putting on her bib, and to put on her bib BEFORE she scoots in to the table. I have become so accustomed to observing and following the established protocol that I do it automatically to avoid conflict or tantrums. However, this makes it difficult when Wes tries to take part in our routine as he is not as accustomed to her preferences and she becomes hysterical if the order of things is not just so. This has been an interesting development to watch and I wonder how it will evolve, or if we need to intervene.
- Ellie slept in a “big girl bed” in the mountains and then came home and looked around to see if her crib had been replaced by a bed. Mom and Dad need to get it together and outfit her with a “big girl” room. Our biggest challenge will be implementing and enforcing the “no pacifier in the big bed” rule.
We look forward to Christmas and all of the fanfare that Ellie will truly get to be involved in this year. It is an exciting time as we develop our own traditions, but also a bit of a challenging time as we balance the demands of the babies with our desire to provide a special holiday for Ellie. Nonetheless, it is quite enjoyable to see things through the eyes of a child, for whom all of this is observed and celebrated for the first time. We’re incredibly thankful for the joy and laughter our precious daughter brings us. She is a true gift to our family.
The Barry Patch 