The magic of toddlerdom

I know I have a penchant for the obvious, but, like any parent, Ella never ceases to amaze me.

She had a day of daycare today and then after ice cream following dinner, she had her own melt-down. She cried through most of her bath, drying, etc. I finally took her outside. She calmed down quite quickly and then she pointed out a bird to me, "birdie on house." Sure enough there was a robin perched on the end of peak of the house, singing his little heart out. She wasn't that enamored and promptly said "Birdie go!" giving a flick of her wrist.

After I attempted to explain that a singing bird on the house was permissible perhaps even preferred, we went to the garden and looked for sprouts. The seeds have been in just over a week and I think we saw a couple of beans beginning to rise. Ella wasn't too interested. I think that she wasn't quite fathoming the whole circle of life moment we were having or it is just her general dislike of anything vegetable.

Much like me as kid, I don't imagine gardening to be the most exciting element of Ella's childhood. It is only with a few years on does avoiding pulling weeds gain any glamor, laying between rows of corn and taking an unplanned nap. Trying to explain the peppery marks on your face from the dirt, not so glamorous.

She has a little book entitled Baby's First Animals or something to that effect. Julia told me that Ella could name all the animals in the book. The one that got me, besides "goat" (with perfect pronunciation, by the way), was "macaw," said with authority. It literally brought tears to my eyes. What a wonderful, amazing experience to witness her learning. Just to be witness to it is one thing, to know I'm playing a part is entirely another sensation.

We had a great Memorial Day weekend. We started Monday by watching Julia make her Divine lemon cupcakes. Ella had her first taste of the beater. She took to it like a veteran. We went to a barbecue with friends that afternoon and Ella got to meet a lovely four-year old, Nina. Nina was great playing with her, the running laps in the house through the living room, dining room and kitchen and seeing two girls out of breath from running and giggling collapse into their mothers' laps was one of those magic toddler moments. Ella also had her first taste of Brat. The way she tucked in, she's right at home in Wisconsin.

Julia will be starting summer school in a couple of weeks. I will be staying home with Ella. I am really looking forward to it. Her continued moments of discovery will take the edge off of changing diapers. I'm also looking forward to the naps.