I finally did get some pictures with the pink pig... these are from just before Ella got her splash on (hence the bathing suit):

I had to keep pushing her back into the chair because she was lunging at me... she thought that was hilarious, so maybe I'll push her around more often.  :)

You might think that we were headed to the backyard for the swimming pool, but really the girls got to play with their new sand & water table (minus the sand)... a birthday present from babaanne ve dede.
       
Clearly it was a huge hit!

As I mentioned in my last post, Ella also finally got a baby doll of her VERY OWN (hands off, Sophia!).  I believe that this baby has been named "Molly" but we can't be sure about such things until Sophia starts using the name.  Ella took to Molly immediately and began to pat her butt to put her to sleep.  Here's some of that in action from a few days later:
   
Since Molly is such a stellar sleeper, I've been putting her into Ella's crib in the hopes that she'll teach her a thing or two.  I'll let you know how that plan works itself out.  My luck, Molly will pick up Ella's bad habits and they'll both wake up 2-3 times a night.

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UPDATE:  Ella finally made it to her one-year doctor appointment, so I have some stats to share with you.
Height:  30.75 inches (90th percentile)
Weight:  20 pounds, 12 ounces (50th percentile)
Head:  18.25 inches (75th percentile)
These are almost identical to Sophia's except that Sophia was a full inch taller at this point.

Would I need to post anything else?  Those blue eyes, that pink frosting... such a little birthday devil.

Here's some action so you can see how Ella handled her banana cake with whipped cream frosting:
          
... and after a few more minutes elapsed...
          
I let her go until the icing started dripping down her arm and onto the floor and then I got all Kate Gosselin on her and busted out some wipes.  It was fun while it lasted, but it secretly made me insane to watch after the first couple of minutes. 

The party attendees took turns with the official party hat:

(That's Ella's favorite teacher, Jennifer, who is now basically part of the family... we just call her "School Mom"... she's demonstrating Ella's tarantula fingers, which apparently freak people out at school.)


Some of my favorite parts of the day:
1. A morning trip to Fairytale Town... here's Esen walking with his pink girls to see the animals:


2. Sophia decided that she wanted to buy Ella a pink teddy bear (ayicik) for her birthday and Ella loved it!


3. Jennifer bought Ella her favorite book from school (no easy task given that it's no longer in print) and then we got to watch them in action:


4.  Grandma and Grandpa Griffith bought Ella her very own baby doll (that Sophia was instructed to keep her hands off of!).  She was so freakin' cute with that baby doll... hugging on it, carrying it around, patting it to sleep the way that the babies get put down for naps at school... I just about cried:


5.  And we rounded out the day with some art time where Ella was given some crayons to do some "coloring" (also known as "dinner"):


A good, exhausting day was had by all.  I look forward to sending the kids to school today and having some time to think back about the last year.  It's been the most challenging year of my life by a longshot, but there's an awful that makes me feel even more gratitude than exhaustion.  Happy Birthday darling Ella... here's hoping your second year is easier than the first!

In particular, I really like the sway move that she busts into around the 30 second mark.  :)
 

And one of Ella's silly new tricks (that she's awfully pleased about):
 

Sophia, my sweet, sensitive, darling daughter seems to be increasingly in-tune with my mood.  This is a little scary because I've been stressed in recent months, so the mood is not always good.  Even when I think that I'm keeping it together and being patient or happy around the girls, she seems to see right through me.  One day: "Mama, are you ok?"  Another day (out of the blue!): "Mama, are you happy?"  Followed by: "Mama, can I come hug you now?"  Seriously, if I needed more evidence that Sophia was sensitive, I think I got it.  In so many cases, I feel her eyes on me... sizing me up, showing concern in her little two-year-old way, giving a kiss or a hug to help me perk up just a bit.  It's incredibly sweet and makes me feel so loved.

A few nights ago, Sophia was crying in her bed (which she NEVER does) and when we asked what was wrong, she proclaimed, "My bedroom is scared!"  She then proceeded to explain that Ella's bedroom was also "scared" (her version of "scary").  I crawled into bed next to her (which I also NEVER do) and listed all the things in their bedrooms that are fun and not at all scary.  She listened intently and calmed down, and at the end of my two minute argument against scariness, she leaned over, gave me a sweet and appreciative hug and kiss (on the lips!), and made it very clear that I could get out of her bed now.  She repeated the same thing with Esen.  :)

Ella is doing some talking these days as well.  She now says Mama, Baba, Ella, and Uh-oh!  She's also mastering some sign language... she knows "more", "all done", and "milk".  Right now, most of her "talking" is done with her incredible facial expressions, laughing, and growling!  As in rabid dog.  Or bear.  Or semi-friendly monster.  I have some cute video (of the growling and the girls rolling around together with Sophia losing)... it's long, but a really good depiction of our daily life:
 

In other news - and forgive me for being brief, but I have got to get to bed:
1.  Corn on the cob... enjoyed by all (Esen and I especially enjoy how busy it keeps them... Sophia plows through 2 ears of corn!):


2.  We're working on the next generation of doot-doots, but the going is slow!


3.  I convinced Sophia the other day that she should try to lick her elbow.  Here's the adorable series of pics that resulted!

Isn't she getting big?  Yeah.  More and more I see TEENAGER in that face.  Hard to believe she's just 2.