Orderly Ella

 A few months ago I started finding washcloths around the house, only to discover that my baby Ella likes to get them out to clean. I thought it was just a phase, but she's kept up with it for so long and so often that I'd say it's shaping up to be a full blown personality trait. My girl loves to clean.

It was especially charming on this day, when the kids were outside making giant bubbles with some friends. Everyone was going nuts over the bubbles, when in ran Ella, babbling to herself, "It's dripping all over, we gotta clean it up", as she headed straight for the drawer with the washcloths. Then she ran back and dutifully wiped up the drips as the other kids made the bubbles.
How did we ever get a child like this in our family?!
And how does the same girl make such a blissful, almost artful mess of food all over herself and the surrounding region every time we sit down to eat?

I

On a related note, nearly every other night for the last few months, Ella will start to cry within a few minutes of me leaving the room as she goes to sleep. As soon as I come in, she calms down and says in her most proper voice, "Mommy, my blanket has been messed up." It cracks me up. The way she delivers it feels to my ears like the equivalent of "mother dearest, I would like to bring it to your attention that my blanket is not in its proper position."