The big 18

Thankfully, we're not talking years.  Yet.  If these last 18 months are any indication of the next 16.5 years, we'll be talking "years" in no time.  Elyse is entering the toddler realm (though still not toddling on her own YET) and seems to be enjoying life.  Her new exclamation is "YAY!" most of the day, and it can be exclaimed over nap time, applesauce, milk, or the prospect of going bye-bye.  We hear "YAY!" non-stop.  I hear "YAY!" when I'm reminding her to obey after a mommy pow-wow.  Encouraging.  :)  No, she's not walking.  I repeat, still not walking.  I am learning that kids do things whenever they're ready, so she just must not be ready! :)  When she is ready, however, I just might give her a bowl of ice cream.  Okay, maybe not a whole bowl...  It's hard to sum up what Elyse is into these days, because she is learning and growing so much!  Her new love is music.  She still loves her books, but music is encroaching.  She has only a few cd's that we put on in her room during "playtime" (which consists of puttin' up the baby gate so mommy can do all the things she can't do when the baby gate isn't up), but she is obsessed with them.  In fact, every time we put her down for a nap, get her up from a nap, go into her room, leave her room, and numerous other occasions, she points to her cd player and asks for a "D.D."  I need to get some new music.  I hear these songs in my dreams, sing them in the shower, find myself writing new words for them... In fact, as I am typing this, Elyse woke traumatized because her arm was awkwardly stuck in the slats of her crib, and when I went in and picked her up, she asked for a "D.D."  *sigh*

She is still taking a morning nap, and I am thankful that she allows me that extra time during the day.  I have a feeling it will be gone soon, but I won't wish it away right now.  She is trying so hard to say whatever we say, but it just comes out hilarious.  Her version of "butterfly" is "peeappee" (?), and "water" is "waywee"...  I don't know where she comes up with this stuff, but it's quite funny.  Most meals we eat together consist of Elyse saying "Mommy?" and "Daddy?" over and over again as she looks back and forth between us.  She's mostly transitioned out of signing, but some of those words are still a mystery :)  She loves to find her bellybutton randomly throughout the day, and she still loves to brush her teeth, thankfully.  She loves to cruise around the house uttering jibberish in a sing-songy voice and sort of gallops like a horse as she crawls around the house.  It's bizarre.

Elyse is now doing very well with Emily, and we're thankful for that.  We've had a great week or so without much jealousy, and Elyse really seems to enjoy watching Emily.  I'll try to narrow down a few of my fun's for this age, and I guess I should include my not-so-fun's, too :)  I'm not going to lie, I am amazed at how incredibly fun and incredibly difficult this age for Elyse is.  We still have some communication barriers, to put it mildly, and a certain little girl is apparently just as stubborn as her parents are!  She is such a joy to us, though, and we're so thankful for the privilege it is to parent her.  I'm still amazed at how much we can love these little girls!

fun's:

* hearing Elyse shout "Emmie" as she plows over to wherever Emily is

* the crazy, goofy facial expressions this girl makes as she eats (just to get our attention)

* hearing "Mommy" when she wants my attention

* singing and praying with her before bed, watching her try to fold her hands

* as we pray at night for our family, seeing her perk up and say "Daddy?" just in case I might forget

* seeing her "that's icky" face as she tries something she hates (I never laugh :) 

* peeking in room during her playtime and seeing her flipping through her books, talking in a sing-songy voice

* watching her laugh and play with Daddy
* watching her dance in her crib (a trick Daddy taught her)

* watching her try to get every last speck of her yogurt out of the bowl
* seeing her take a drink of her milk every time she sees me take a drink of my water

* somehow, she thinks "up" means "please."  We hear "UP" all day :) 

not-so-fun's:

* tantrums.  I'll leave it at that.  I'm so thankful God promises to give wisdom and grace!

* having her say "up" and having NO IDEA what she wants

* she seems to get quite attached to random toys, and more power to the person who attempts to take them away from her!

* she now hates to get her hair washed at bath time.  Ug.

* for some reason, diaper changing is the new form of torture :) 

* peeking into her room as she's sleeping and getting sad just thinking about how soon it will be before she's all grown up.  I love this girl!