The Joys of Motherhood

Well, we made it. Somehow I managed to get Ellie to the three year mark without any emergency room visits, broken bones, nothing has had to be pulled from her nose or bronchial tubes, she holds her breath under water, she only fell off the bed twice, and she even stopped drinking the bath water....overall, I'd say that's some pretty good parenting!

Like any honest mother would admit, there were definitely some moments of uncertainty, possibly even fear. Although those moments were few, they still managed to sneak their ways into our everyday lives.

Like this for example:

I have no idea how the kid managed that one. She seemed to get in the little basket just fine, it was the getting her out that caused the panic. I, personally, like to think of parenting as more of a trial and error thing.

Ellie and I seem to be learning a good bit of the child/parent responsibilities as we go. I have a good framework for what I expect of her, and she corrects those expectations daily. A lot like this picture displayed above. I never expected her to get stuck (obviously, or I would have removed the basket from the tub), but she's opened my eyes to new possibilities.

I have to say, she taught both of us a lesson on that one. I learned how to remove a small square object from a large round one, which took me a good ten minutes, and she learned not to stick random things over her head. Guess what?! I haven't seen it atop the cranium since!

That was a lesson learned more on her part I would say. There have been quite a few instances that were definitely more beneficial for me. One of those instances being the fact that there is a little rubber stopper that goes in one of Ellie's sippy cups. The rubber stopper is what makes the cup a sippy cup and not what I might call a full-flowing cup. Apparently, remembering to put the stopper in after you wash the cup is a HUGE deal. Yeah, that took some time to clean up. Do you have any idea how quickly a two-year-old can make it around the house with a leaking sippy cup? Geez.

Or perhaps the baby powder. They make the little twist top for a reason, so it can be closed. I really didn't foresee Ellie pushing her little chair over to the changing table, climbing up the drawers, and emptying the baby powder container. All the while I thought she was napping. That little sneaker even knows how to tiptoe around her room.

Always an interesting journey. I can honestly say I wouldn't rather it any other way. It's fun watching her learn...it's a little embarrassing how she puts things into perspective for me, but I'm learning too. Such a sweet, sweet blessing she has turned out to be!

Happy Birthday, precious Ellenoir!