2 years old

My sweet Eleanor is now 2 years old. I don't know what to say about this. She is a joy to watch grow. She is constantly learning new words. And her vocabulary is getting bigger and bigger. A friend of mine made an observation the other day about her. She said that she is a small bundle of attitude. And I think that is very true. She is a little bit small for her age, but she always has been I think. Though you can tell that she isn't 1 now. If you look close.

She doesn't let herself be pushed around. She definitely stands up for herself. And she will be found leading the way in making the messes. Though she is now starting to learn what it means to get in trouble. And she definitely doesn't like that.

On the 4th of July we went to watch the fireworks at a park nearby. And while waiting we were listening to a free concert. It was nice and the singer sang songs that everyone would recognize. But the whole time while we were listening the girls decided that having a wrestling match would be fun. So they were running in circles around Stu and I, and tackling each other. Well mostly Ellie was doing the tackling. She almost always ended up on top of the pile. Jumping on Audrey and then me and then Stu. I think they did this for a good hour. But when it got dark and they had turned on the field lights, until it was fireworks time, Ellie looked up and saw bugs flying around in the lights. And this is where something snapped. She looked up, pointed and screamed at the top of her lungs, "BUUUUUG!!!!"  And then she curled up in my lap and kept looking around and noticing any tiny thing that could possibly be a bug and cried BUG every time she saw something that might be. So my fearless wrestling girl is terrified of bugs...

She noticed that bugs were scary at Easter time. And sometimes it doesn't bother her at all. Other times they make her lose her cool.

She so desperately wants to be a big kid like her sister and cousins. She knows all of their names and tries to say them all. She loves church. And I found out that she loves the Temple.

My Brother in Law got married a week or so ago. And She and Audrey were flower girls along with their cousins. And I had to talk to Audrey about her not being able to go into the Temple for the ceremony. (She was heart broken, but when the day came she didn't really care.) But in the mean time Ellie had come to understand that the Temple was a special place. Any time it came up in conversation she was asking about it. And anytime we would get in the car to go somewhere she would ask if it was the Temple. So when the day came she was thrilled to be at the Temple. At one point I picked her up and walked her around the foyer of the Temple so she could go inside, the little bit that she could. I told her she had to be quiet and we looked at the flowers and pictures there. Then we walked out and waited for the bride and groom.

Ellie apparently loved it there so much that when we went to leave she ran away from me straight to the Temple doors. She just didn't want to leave the Temple. I have decided that if there is any place that she wants to run from me, I like that it is the Temple that she runs to.

She still asks about the Temple.

Ellie is fairly social too. She likes to play with her friends and loves to be included by the big kids. Though just recently she has found that while she likes to be treated like a big kid, she still wants to be the baby. And she has started demanding to be carried. She wants to be carried down the stairs and up the stairs, and around. She is starting to go through a I need mommy phase again as well. But I think that is because she doesn't like the fact that she is starting to get into more trouble and she isn't used to mommy getting mad at her for breaking the rules.

The hard thing about her getting into trouble is that while she is fairly bossy, in charge, or getting into trouble, she does it all while looking very cute. So it is hard to get mad at her or say no to her being bossy... she is going to be a charmer.

The good thing is that both girls love each other, no matter how many times they fight, they still worry when the other is hurt, sad or not there. Ellie was quite upset that we were leaving Audrey at dance class to run an errand. She kept asking about Audrey as we were driving away. But then everything was cool when we got to where we were going and got back to Audrey.