The Garber Fam: 2 Year Old Ella

Our Charming Two-Year-Old

2 Year Checkup

2 Year Stats
Height: 2' 9" (36th percentile)
Weight: 24 lbs 11 oz (24th percentile)

We drove into the parking lot, and Ella said, "Dr. Lynch, feel better."

Like Father Like Daughter
Reading about Iraq in the Waiting Room

Ella is quite the linguist. She talks all day every day, using full sentences and both verbal and facial expressions that make us laugh. She's non-stop-- playing, running, singing, and dancing from when she wakes up until nap time, and then when she wakes up again until bedtime. She's bursting with personality, and she has such a sweet nature about her. She makes every day fun and exhausting.

Likes:

Dancing... all of the time. She likes to dance to Disney songs (Tarzan, Cinderella, Frozen, and Little Mermaid are her favorite soundtracks) and Daddy's music (fast and rockin typically), and she requests you dance with her with "both hands" over and over again.
Dressing up. Right around her 2nd birthday, the want to dress up ignited. She wants her wings, her dancing skirt ("princess dress"), slippers (fancy dress shoes), bunny ears or animal hat, and cape on as much as possible, and preferably all at once.
Trains and big trucks. We greet every train we see, and she yells "whooooaaaa" every time we pass or see a big truck.
Art. From painting to glue and coloring, Ella loves "painting" which is what she calls all art projects.
Her Big Girl Room. Before Everett arrived, Ella moved into her brand new room (formerly known as the office) complete with a reading nook under a canopy which she loves. It now has a "big girl bed", too, as Ella climbed out of her crib within days of us being home from having the baby.
Mickey & Minnie Mouse (and the whole Clubhouse gang), Thomas the Train, & princesses.
The swings... nothing's changed since she was 6 months old. Ella runs to the swings first every time we go to the park :)
Play dough and stickers
Her beloved monkey pacifier... "I need monkey. Monkey feel better"
Doing things "myself"... climbing into her highchair, into her bed, into her carseat, up and down stairs... you name it, she'd like to try it herself :)
Dairy. Cheese, yogurt, milk... she would eat dairy all day every day if we let her.
Cooking. Ella loves her play kitchen, and she "cooks" every day, most times wearing her apron Sierra gave her for her birthday. She's also started helping more in the real kitchen. She loves to bake with us, and she'll stir, pour, and taste anything we let her. She uses the step stool to help me cook, and I love it as much as she does.
Our bedtime routine of reading books and drinking milk, teeth, and song time. "Itsy Bitsy Spider," "Twinkle Twinkle," and "Slippery Fish" continue to be the favorites and most requested.

Dislikes:

Not being in charge, in control, etc. She likes when things are her idea. Too bad she's not in charge ;)
Veggies at first sight... We're having more successes with trying and then liking them though. We'll keep at it!
It could be anything depending on the moment. She's a two-year-old, and she changes her mind by the minute. She keeps us on our toes, and we're mastering the art of distraction along with other parenting techniques.
Ending fun things... Leaving the park and other outings, finishing an art project, cleaning up games/toys, etc. It's always hard to stop a good thing.