the ELLA echo

thing #10

even though ella doesn't say "please" as often as society will expect her to, she is VERY conscientious about expressing her appreciation for everything.  this makes me SO HAPPY.  i want her to have a heart full of gratitude, a heart that feels blessed in even the smallest of things--because, let's face it, that is mostly what life is made of.

ella says "thank you" without prodding, and at the most unexpected things--she thanks me for milt-site in the middle of the night--she thanks our kittie lewis for purring her each morning--she thanks anyone who does something for her or gives something to her.

sometimes the thanx are ordinary--"thank you for my treat, mama".  sometimes they are profuse, and exuberant, like when rudi made an ironing board for her: "oh, thank you, dada!  thank you, thank you, thank you!  i wuv it!"

but one of my favorites (which she says every time) was the one i first heard her say to rudi very early one morning, while i was still in bed and he was changing her diaper:

"thank you for wiping my poops, dada."

thing #9

when ella asks for something, we've been encouraging her to use the word "please", even if she asks in such a way that it is clear she is requesting and not demanding.  however, i DETEST that form of parenting that turns every single exchange into a "teaching moment", and i dislike making my child guess what i want her to do.  thus, in our family the following counts as "good manners":

ella:  mama, can i have some milt-side?

me:  ella, say the magic word, please.

ella:  magic word, please!

i love this so much, it is something i will never correct--she'll just have to learn the truth about it on the street.

thing #8, part 2

after every meal at the eating store, ella ALWAYS plays "9, 10", which is her version of hide and seek. usually she tells us where to hide, but sometimes it is just a run-around game that gives us all a chance to squeal with delight. and the funniest thing is, she plays "9, 10" at ALL chinese restaurants, but ONLY at chinese restaurants.

thing #8, part 1

this is the blue sky buffet, our favorite chinese/japanese restaurant.  ella calls this "the eating store".  we discovered here that if we just go ahead and let her have her ice cream first, she'll eat it and then she'll pay attention to the rest of her meal.  the things she likes to eat best are melon, woodles (noodles), rice, bock-a-bock (chicken) on a stick, and hibachi chicken from my plate, speared on a chopstick.

thing #7

ella sometimes carries around her friends--usually it's pablo, max, or ziggy.  she cups her hands with her fingertips touching, very gently lifts them off the ground, and no matter where she puts them she ALWAYS knows where she left them.  when she's done carrying them around, she sends them off to play with a cheery, "see you sooned!"

thing #6

evolution of a word:  milk

• birth till 6 months:  rooting with mouth, looking for breast
• 6 months till 1 year:  ASL sign for milk (opening and closing fist)
• 1 year till 20 months:  "meh", or "maa"
• 20 months till 22 months:  mote, moke
• around 22 months:  mote-sie (i finally figured out this meant "milk side")
• one full day in july (22 months):  mee-ilk, maalk, and other variations on the word "milk"
• 22 months till 30 months:  moke-tide, moke-side
• 30 months till present:  milt-site, milt-side

she still uses the ALS sign when asking for something important, usually something she needs help getting.  she will reach for the thing while making the sign with both hands.  i'm so glad the sign is still there, asking to nurse was one of the first things she learned to communicate to me, and even in her sleep she will still ask to nurse by using the sign.

bonus thing--game of the day

and i do mean ALL DAY LONG.

today in the shop, ella came to me around 9:30am and said, "ghost!".  i wasn't sure what she wanted, so as i do many times when i'm not sure, i said, "really?  where?".  almost always, the response is, "i showz you!", but this time, she said, "ruby:  ghost!".  that was my clue--she was playing out a story from max and ruby.

so--using my best ruby sing-song voice, i said the script as closely as i could remember it:  "ok, max!  climb in bed.  i'll tuck you in.  here's your elephant.  good night, max!".  while doing this, ella would climb into her little fold-out bed under the cutting table, i tucked her blanket/tablecloth around her, snuggled her elephant under her chin, then kissed her on the forehead (the kiss is not part of the original script--that was ad lib, and brilliantly done, i might add.).

we played this game about every 10-15 minutes for the entire day, and then again after we got home tonight.  i just went in to get something from her room, and in her sleep she said, "ghost!  ghost!"

so today, my little baby ella has been my little bunny max, and i've had the thrill of tucking her in to bed and kissing her goodnight about 4 dozen times.

thing #5

this is a spread from the first issue of blueprint magazine (a magazine i don't WANT to like, but which i think i like anyway).  ella brings this to me every few days and we play "make-ahver" (makeover).  first she rubs her finger on one of the makeups on the page, then she rubs her finger on my eyes, or cheeks, or nose, or chin--and we take turns until our makeahvers are complete (usually, it takes several coats).  she'll say, "cwose you eyes, mama, and NO KEAKING!"--and when she rubs the lipstick on my lips, she will say, "ok, go wike dis," then she mushes her little lips together and smacks them several times--just the way i do when i put on my own lipstick.

she did a makeahver with real makeup once--all by herself--and she did me too--then when she checked herself in the mirror, she said, "i wook GORGEOUS!".   and she was right.

i've decided that i will probably have to subscribe to blueprint magazine--who knows what other fun games we'll find inside?

thing #4

this past christmas, my brother and his wife gave ella a set of dishes that she plays with every day.  my sister juliana/lala gave her some play food to go with it--fruits and veggies, but ella says the peach is an egg.  when ella sets the table, the colors of the plates are assigned as follows:  panda gets orange--old paint (her rocking horse--named by ella) gets yellow--i get blue--ella gets green.  ALWAYS THE SAME.  if rudi comes to the party, old paint has to drop out or share--panda is never left out.  others are welcome to come to the party too--that's bear-bear sitting in the chair--but the others don't get served, they are only part of the guest list.  and for every plate, there is something to eat, such as "corn shells":

thing #3

ella LOVES to give things to people.  last night the gift was this box that she found in my sewing room, she filled it with some things she thought were "inatressing" (interesting) and presented it to me and rudi over and over--at least two dozen times--and each presentation included an appropriate gift-giving exclamation, such as "surprise!", or "happy birfday, mama!".

the gifts in the box are:  a digital camera cable, some adhesive numbers left over from our new mailbox, and her red "crayron" (crayon) which she uses to draw in her "clue motebook" (which notebook she also uses to make her grocery lists).  the crayron is broken in two--"one for you, and one for me!".