News on Elyse

Well, today is Elyse's 19 month birthday.  This month has been a busy one for Elyse.  She has been learning all sorts of fun things, and it's shocked me again and again how quickly little kids pick up EVERYTHING.  Scary.  On a FUN note, Elyse is finally getting interested in walking!  No, we're not there yet, but she is taking steps and enjoying it.  We have a large floor pillow that we put in the center of the living room floor, and that has become our "practice" area for walking.  Unfortunately, Elyse has learned to end each of her walks towards the pillow with a belly-flop :)  Yep, that can get painful!  It's hilarious to watch such a "big" kid learn to take steps, but she is having the time of her life, and we're enjoying the show.  She likes to say "rea-by, set, GO!" as she takes off, and she laughs hysterically when she falls (most of the time).  Yes, it's pretty much a game to her, but that's okay!  She seems to enjoy the challenge.

She's also into asking "Utzzat?" of everything she points at.  Though she knows 90% of what she's asking about, she's still curious for some reason :)  Maybe she's suspicious of us lying to her?  Her vocab is expanding, but much of it is still hilariously "off" and many words end with a "wee" of some sort ("rayree" for raisin, "wawee" for water...) Her newest observation is that everything is "hoT."  Yes, emphasis on the "t."  That has kept Elyse from enjoying much of her food.  If it's not hot, it's "coal" or "worm."  The couch is hot, books are hot, and even Mommy is hot.  Why, thank you, Honey!  She likes to point out & identify doors, fans, lights, butterflies, raisins, water, blueberries, milk, cake, pie (she is no longer naive about desserts), Emmie, blankets, cheerios, grapes, cars, keekee's (for cats), nose, eyes, mouths, tongues, ears, hair, .... I'm not going to bore you any longer.  She also identifies certain things as "yuk," but I won't go into those things.  The word "please" has evolved from "up" to "more" to "pea," and I literally hear that ALL day.  She also does the sign for "more" as she says it.  She asks me for things she can reach herself, but, hey, at least she's polite!  For the last day or so, she's been saying, "Mommy, Daddy, Emmie, Shiloh..."  We might have to break the news to her that her cousin Shiloh is not her brother...  She is also VERY vain.  She loves to have things put in her hair, and I'll find her looking in the bathroom mirror at herself, saying "Elee" and laughing at herself.  Oh, dear.

Elyse is constantly being reminded to "obey" during the day, and it makes me laugh so hard when I see her approach something she's not supposed to touch, and she'll immediately look over her shoulder and yell "obey!"  Granted, it doesn't always keep her from not touching it, but I'm encouraged that she might actually think about her decisions :)  She is still in the habit of confessing when she is doing something wrong... she'll usually say, "mommy?" and get me to catch her as she pulls out all the wipes or throws food on the floor.  Ugh.  She loves to have us sing to her (heaven knows why), so our car rides these days would have SERIOUSLY embarrassed us about 10 years ago.  Yes, we're the schmultz family as we serenade our toddler with the most ridiculous songs.  Ahh, parenthood...

Elyse still loves to read her books, and every once in a while, we catch her jabbering to herself, but for the most part she is content to just flip through pages in silence.  Last time she was at the doc, she weighed just over 24 pounds and was 32.5 inches tall.  I've had to start putting conditioner in her hair to keep it tangle-free, and even that doesn't work :)  She has grown out of her morning nap, but we still pull it out on special occasions...very "special" occasions.  If she doesn't take a catnap in the morning, she usually has about an hour to rest in her crib and listen to a cd.  She had another visit to the ophthalmologist last week, and her eyes are looking just fine.  No changes in her prescription, so we'll see the him again in January.  We may have to hunt down some bigger frames for her glasses, though (not fun), since I can tell she is quickly outgrowing these frames!  Emily has become very interesting to Elyse, and she knows she's only allowed to kiss her.  It really tortures her, but most of the time she resists the temptation to pinch her legs or hit her head... Hmm... what am I missing...  Daddy is still the hero, and I hope that never changes!  Oh, Elyse has been quite picky these days with food, and that's a disappointment.  She'll randomly ban certain foods for a few days, but most of the time, she'll come back to them if I keep trying.  She's having a hard time with meat.  She has 12 teeth and just cut three of her four eye teeth (I believe- she won't let me examine...).  Wow, this was an incredibly boring post to anyone other than Grandmas, but I know I need to record these things somewhere, and it's much easier to type this out than sit down and write it somewhere!

Elyse, you make us laugh ALL the time.  This new stage you're in is hysterical to me, but we're praying that someday you learn more than just obedience to Mommy and Daddy- we want you to grow up to love Jesus and learn what real happiness is!

We love you, Elyse!!!