Life at (Almost) Four.

If you ask Ellie her age, she'll tell you four, in anticipation of her birthday next week.  She has requested a present to open, with a box.  That's all the guidance she's given us on gifts, aside from a request for a puppy that will not be granted.

Life with Ellie at almost four....

* Although her speech isn't that of her typical peers, she chatters nonstop and she's hilarious.  Her Lego giraffe is currently eating from a Lego-window-turned-giraffe-feeding-trough.  According to Ellie, the giraffe is eating salad.  She picks up new phrases (she told Matt that he's "a hot mess of snow" the other day) and new words constantly.

* Ellie's favorite activities include coloring, playing with her dolls, and playing with her stuffed animals.  She loves books.  Her current favorites are "Zoozical" and "Elephant and Piggie."  She loves her stuffed Curious George and her baby dolls.  She has been starting to help in the kitchen more, and loves to mix and stir.

* Motor skills continue to be hard for Ellie.  Her glasses helped some, then she scratched them beyond belief, plus, we're getting a stronger prescription, so we're on a glasses time-out while we await the arrival of the new pair.  Ellie can do a forward roll and swing from the rings, but she can't walk on a wide balance beam yet.  She finally started jumping in the past six months or so and it's her favorite thing to do!  She loves to be a kangaroo, a frog, or just a jumping Ellie.

* Ellie is super silly.  She loves to put her boots on her hands instead of her feet.  She made Curious George jump on my laptop, so I said, "Ellie, tell George where he is allowed to jump."  "George, jump on the table!" Ellie yelled with an evil little smile my way.  "Ellie, the real rule."  "On da floor, George," she sighed.

* A girl after my own heart, Ellie does not like the cold.  Or the wind.  Basically, all of the photos in this post required bribery.

I remember a long list of fears for Ellie, but she seems to be just fine.  Happy almost fourth birthday, Ellie.  You make the world a sunnier place.  Up next (or whenever I get work done): A penguin party!