Was it really?

Two years ago?  Really?  Did I really give birth to my sweet Elyse Noelle two YEARS ago?  I'm amazed, because it really does seem like yesterday that I held her for the first time in my arms.  I still remember her dark eyes peeking up at me as we met.  I will never forget that night.  If you are incredibly curious as to how we spent Christmas Eve 2008, click here.  For the other 99.99% of you, I'll give you a quick (or not so quick) update on what Elyse is up to these days.  

* She loves to talk.  Can't say enough about how much she loves to talk.  Her favorite phrases are:

- Like that? (said when she accomplishes something noteworthy)
- Wanna bite?
- Be right back! (said as she darts through rooms)
- Hoppu, Mommy?  (I THINK this is a form of "help you" or something like that. . . said when she just can't do something herself)
- Go poopy on potty, get caaaannnnddddyyyyy.
- Mommy, where's Emmie?  What's Emmie doing?  Shhh.... Emmie's taking a tiny nap.
- Be nice, Mommy, be nice!!! (said when she is pleasant in any way towards any person)
- Do not throw, Mommy, do not throw! (said whenever she goes to sleep in reference to her blankets)
- Do not spit food, Mommy, do not spit food! (said whenever she's eating)
- Do not scream, Mommy, do not scream! (said whenever she's tempted to get loud)
- Do not crumble, Mommy, do not crumble! (said whenever she's eating crackers or bread)
- Do not use fingers, Mommy, do not use fingers! (said whenever she's eating applesauce or yogurt)
- I need to OOOOOOBEY! (said whenever she's tempted to disobey)
- Mommy, I see the moon!
- That's REALLY, REALLY, REALLY _______  (hot, yummy, cold, big,...)
- Mommy, when's Daddy get home?

As you can probably tell, she's really into reminding me of how much she remembers about our little house rules :)  She hasn't figured out, though, that when she runs into the kitchen to say "Do not touch computer, Mommy, do not touch computer!" as she shakes her finger at me, that I can usually surmise that she has, indeed, already touched the computer, thus explaining the music playing.  She loves to review our little rules in almost every setting, with great emphasis on what the consequences are for disobedience.  Oh, my.

* Elyse has been taking about a 3 hour nap in the afternoon, and she isn't playing nearly as much at bedtime before she falls asleep.  I wonder if she's going through a growth spurt, because she's eating a TON.  Her favorite foods are raisins, pears, grapes, oranges, peas & peanut butter.

* She loves to play games like peek-a-boo, "I'm gonna get you," and "tickles."  She's into hiding things she's playing with and then asking me, "Where'd blanket go?"  Lately, she's been hiding her food, which isn't so fun.

* She's getting pretty used to having Emily to play with, and Em is the first person she asks for when she wakes up these days.  When Em's sleeping, Elyse is devastated and has even cried :(  She loves to help bathe her in the tub & gets so tickled when Emily kicks at her.  She will get right up in her face and whisper her name over and over again.  Emily (needless to say) LOVES it.

* Elyse still loves listening to music.  She's pretty timid about singing herself, but she'll usually sing a line or two before getting terribly shy.  She loves Happy Birthday, and today we sang happy birthday to Elyse's blanket & Emily's eyes.  The things you do when you're trying to hold off a post-bathtime meltdown...

* Elyse is enjoying her crayons & her play-doh much more.  She will spend lots of time sorting her crayons and trying to identify the colors.  We have a lot to work on in that department :)  Everything is purple.  Shapes are very interesting to Elyse.  She'll point out circles, triangles, and rectangles everywhere.  Sadly, many of them aren't what she says they are, but that's okay :)

* We've read her books to her so many times, she can finish about every phrase.  I think she's just starting to figure out what the "words" mean, and it's fun to see her face light up when she puts two and two together.

Some of my favorite moments with Elyse:

* I am enjoying having her "help" me in the kitchen.  She'll pull a chair over to the counter and watch as I cook or bake.  If I let her help, she's ALL OVER that project.  AND, the project is ALL OVER her :)

* I love hearing her say "let's cuddle" as she drags her blanket over to me.  I pretty much drop everything.

* There are times she wakes up from a really deep sleep during a nap, and she's very distraught (aka "ticked off").  She'll let me rock her for a long time.  I love that she'll just hug me and talk quietly to herself :)

* I love going in to get her after a nap (where she wakes up happy :) and hearing her just jabber randomly about every object she sees in her room... sometimes she'll randomly end with, "Hi, Mommy!"

* This is actually a Daddy-moment, but I love when he bundles her up before bedtime just to take her outside to look up at the moon.  Not only does it melt my heart, but it makes her day.  She'll talk all throughout breakfast the next morning about how she saw the moon and the stars with Daddy.

Some funnies from Elyse:

* She thinks her "body" is her "bottom."  Well, .... Along those lines, every medicine in our house is apparently for her bottom.

* When she has a successful "moment" on the potty, I make a huge, stinkin' huge, deal of it, and I know I say her name over and over again as I praise her.  She will run around saying her own name and waiting for me to hug her :)

* Elyse can make this horrible, fake whining noise when she's just not getting her way, but the best is when I catch her intermittently doing this fake whine and then whispering to herself, "It's okay, It's okay" as if she's soothing a baby.

* She loves to compare things, so if she sees a circle, she'll say, "That's like a sucker!" As we were reading her "Naughty Little Monkeys" book the other night, she pointed out that the naughty monkeys were like Adam and Eve :)

* She loves to see when people are clapping.  It could be on the television, or in person, but she'll always say, "They're crapping, Mommy, they're crapping!"

* Jordan was holding her and she pointed to a mole on his bare chest and said, "That's Daddy's button!  That's Daddy's button, right there!"

Newborn Elyse :) 

Elyse at 6 months

Elyse at 12 months

First Birthday!

Elyse at 18 months

We sure do love this little curly-haired girl.  Every once in a while as I'm sitting at the dinner table feeding two little girls (and myself if I'm lucky) while Jordan's at work, it will hit me just how blessed I am to get to take care of these cutie-pies.  I can't imagine what life would be like without Elyse and the fun she brings to every day.  We pray that someday she won't hate me for giving birth to her on Christmas Eve... and even more, that she'll grow to love Jesus & think of HIM every time we celebrate her birthday.  We love you, Elyse Noelle!  

Happy 2nd birthday!

So, as Jordan put Elyse down for her afternoon nap after the "party," she jabbered on and on about "lotsa fires on the cake, Daddy, lotsa fires!"