Out of the mouth of babes...

I love this girl. She's so adorable and cute that you can't stay angry at her for long. Her mouth never stops. This is interesting considering how shy she is around others. But the moment she is with me alone?...the girl just doesn't know how to stop talking. I had gotten to the point that I learned to tune her out, but now she knows if I'm not listening because she will say "MOMMY!!! I'm talking to you!! or MOMMY!! I just asked you something." Shesh! I can't even pretend to be listening anymore. She's too smart for me.

So, I wanted to write down a couple of funny things that Ella has said recently.

~When talking about Heaven, Ella said "when I get to heaven, God is going to build me a castle and my prince will come kiss me and wake me up and I will live happily ever after".

~After a super whiny car ride home from ballet, I finally had heard enough and told Ella I was going to pull the car over and make her walk home by herself if she didn't stop. She then cried the rest of the way home because she actually wanted to walk home.

~One morning when she woke up she said, "Mommy I am soooo tired. I just need to have some chocolate milk to wake up." This is funny because this is what I say, except I say I need my coffee to wake up. She also loves to tell me "when I get older, I can have coffee too." Yes Ella. When you are 18 and in college, then I will let you have coffee.

~She loves to tell me "Mommy, when you get older, you can wear my clothes."

~"Mommy, I look just like Princess Tangled" (she means Rapunzel. And yes she does look just like her!)

~When I was tucking her into bed I told her not to get out of bed or she would be in trouble. Her reply was "It's ok mommy. I'll just get up later and ask you for more water." (This made Andrew and I laugh so hard because we knew she would!!! She always needs more water. And another animal. And to go pee pee again. Usually in that order)

~She also always asks me every time we get in the car "Did you get Jacob and Audrey? Where are they?" She knows they are there, so I don't know why she asks, but it always makes me think for a second "hmm...did I get everyone?"

~This morning she got up at 6:55am (I have a rule of I don't get up before 7) and I told her it wasn't morning time yet and she needed to go back to her room. She went to my window, opened the curtains and proclaimed "but mommy!! The sun is shining! It is morning!" I can't fool her.

~She's been wanting to read Audrey a story at nap time lately.  So, I let them sit on the floor in her room for a few minutes while I put Jacob down and I always hear her saying things like "Audrey when you get big like me, we can go to PARIS together!! We can wear our fancy clothes!" Oh dear.

The other day I told her I loved her so much and she said "yes, and Jesus REALLY loves me." I must be doing something right, huh?

So that is just a tiny installment of Ella-isms. I keep telling myself to be better about writing these things down because you do forget. These were just a few that came to mind. She is quite a character. She is certainly at an age where I have to really watch not only what comes out of my mouth, but even my body language. I see her mimicking me when she is playing mommy to her dolls or making her figurines act out. There is nothing like having a child who copies everything you do to help push all the sin out of your life. A couple months ago, Andrew and I got upset with each other about something and she said "mommy, do you love daddy?" It broke my heart and I still feel terrible about that to this day (even though I'm sure she has forgotten about it). It was a good reminder to Andrew and me to show our kids what a good marriage is and always make them feel secure about that. We always promised we would never argue in front of our kids, but kids pick up on it even if you aren't raising voices. They just know if your voice seems unhappy or stern. I am actually thankful that she said something because it was a good reminder. Ella is a very intense and emotional person, so not much gets past her. There have been times where I have been quiet and she'll say "mommy, are you ok? are you sad?" It is amazing how intuitive she is.

I will say that even though her incessant need for conversation can sometimes leave my head spinning by the end of the day, the things that she says really are a fun part of parenting. I think kids remind you not to take life so seriously. The things that come out of her mouth are pure innocence. It truly is so sweet to be her mommy.

I will leave you with a thought that I read on a blog-friend's blog recently and I can't stop thinking about it. It has been on my heart ever since I read the words and I think it is a great thing to ponder every single morning that you get up and start your day as a parent. It was an exert from a book and said

"Young children, fresh uncluttered minds, the world before them- to what treasures will you lead them? With what will you furnish their spirit?" (Gladys Hunt)