Cranky Mom

I am having a totally cranky mom morning. Lots of days, I can complain that Ella is the cranky, irritable one. But, today, it's me. Every little spill (and there's been lots today) seems enormous and I have so little patience for the repetive explanations toddlers require. A few moments ago, while feeling disgruntled over the many demands for food and candy, I realized most of it is just my state of mind this morning. So, I decided to focus on how well she's articulating her "requests" and how much more we're able to communicate clearly with each other - this is something to appreciate and maybe help me overcome my crankiness.

Ella loves to identify things by name and is trying out sentences so much more often. Last night, Tim was in the garage and she said "Daddy, garbage" (she thought he was taking out the garbage). Then she said, simply, "I like Daddy." When she hands you something, she'll often say, "Here you go, baby." She's obsessed with her Halloween pumpkin and will ask for it (now the candy is gone, though) and say, "I like Candy." She can count from 6 to 11 (that's where she likes to start) and identify so many letters. Ella even seems to understand her pronouns. I sing a silly little song to her, "Ella, Ella, I love you! Ella, Ella, yes I do!" I'll catch her singing it back and she'll say "yes you do!" at the end of the song. In fact, she knows so many lines to songs now, she'll request songs at bedtime and get extra time with mom and dad because we're so enchanted by how many songs she asks for.

So, that was a totally self-indulgent post. But articulating the many things I find delightful about my little girl always helps me put things into perspective.