Elyse update

Still not sure if it's possible to give an accurate update of what this girl is up to.  But, I have to try.

Eating

Elyse has become kind of a picky eater, I'm sad to say.  She still likes her vegetables, but has added pasta, meat, and potatoes to her yuk list :(  I am grieved, but I'm sure she'll come around.  She's still getting a steady diet of each.  *ahem*

Ever since we went camping, she's fallen in love with marshmallows.  You'd think she'd love the taste of them, but she actually likes to carry them around more.  Some days, marshmallows are the first thing she asks for in the morning and the last thing she asks for before bed.  Poor girl; nothing like hearing "no" all day!

When I do give her something for dessert, she takes about a year to eat it.

Sleeping

We finally removed one side of her crib railing, so Elyse officially has a "daybed."  We had been dragging our feet on this milestone, but she finally started swinging her leg over the side to be goofy at times, and we figured it was time we made this transition.  She fell out once the first night.  She has fallen out two times in the last week.  We pad the floor with pillows, and as you can see in the picture below, she takes advantage of them :)

Elyse has started to cut down that afternoon nap, which helps her bedtime a bit.. She usually sleeps for about 2 hours in the afternoon these days.  She and Em still love to play before they fall asleep, but it's not for nearly as long.

Elyse is officially diaper-less at night, and though she doesn't have a perfect track record, she's doing pretty well.  She likes to think that cereal is her reward for staying dry overnight!

Playtime

Elyse loves her books.  I'm not surprised by this one bit.  She's always loved books, and she is starting to "read" her books out loud and display all that she remembers . . . and doesn't remember.  It's pretty funny to hear what she thinks the books are actually about.

Elyse has started to like "The Wheels on the Bus."  She always asks to sing about the bus on the bus, the cats on the bus, the dogs on the bus, etc. . .

Her new quirk is to carry around small piles of things.  One pile might include: 4 small books, a puppy, her cup of water, and the Flintstones vitamin bottle.  That particular bottle has been "disappearing" off the counter lately.  Other times, her "pile" will consist of a block, a headband, her "Away in a Manger" book, and her snack cup.  She's always prepared.  The disadvantage to this new quirk is if she collects more than she can carry: trouble.

She's become a bit more adventurous outside, and she is in love with playgrounds.  She stopped crawling around the playgrounds (that was getting old), and she loves to brave slides and ladders.  She loves sidewalk chalk, swings, rocks, sand, dirt, and flowers.

Conversations

We have conversations ALL DAY.  I am amazed at the stuff she brings up... so random!  She observes and loves to comment on each thing we do.  I love the way she words things.  She'll be getting ready to take her nap, and she'll say something like, "I'm going to take a little, tiny sleep."  Some of her favorite phrases are:

"Mommy- I'm funny!"
"Mommy, can we cuddle on the couch?"
"Guess what?  Tomorrow we're gonna go to big girl class!  And camping!  And see Grandma & Grandpa at the lake!"
"Emmie cannot get this!"  (aka SELFISH)
"Can I have a snack?"  (this might be the most popular phrase)
"Do not lie!!!"
"I need to obey the first time... right away!"
"Emmie!  No screaming.  You need to obey Mommy!"
"Help Mommy?"

I think my favorite sentences from her are those that she just makes up to try to "plant" ideas in my head or show me she's thinking about certain things.

"If you do not scream, you will get jelly beans... or marshmallows!"
"If you do not push, you will get candy!  You will get suckers!  You will go to the park!"
"If you are selfish, you will not go camping!"

Sometimes, it goes on and on.  She gets this excited expression on her face, and it's NOT fun to say "no" to those cute little comments.

Personality

Elyse takes a while to warm up to people AND new things.  It's something I can totally understand, but we have been working a lot on kindness & adapting in general :)  On the bright side, she never talks to strangers!

Lately, Elyse has seemed a bit claustrophobic.  She panics a bit when she's in tight spaces or backed in a corner.  Both Jordan and I struggle with it, so it wouldn't surprise me.  She's also pretty scared of water. We went swimming yesterday, and we had to try extra hard to make her have some fun.  I hope she gets used to it soon, or it might be a long summer!  I must say, though, she's pretty cute bobbing around in a pool.

She's also into being a clown.  She loves trying out silly faces on us (mostly at very inopportune times) & making us laugh when we least expect it.  She has started trying to bargain her way out of getting in trouble, too.  I knew this day was coming :)

I took her to the store the other day and let her pick out something for the first time.  She was ecstatic.  She picked out a little bouquet of Tootsie Pops, and she refused to even eat one because she wanted to play with all of them.  Silly girl.

I must say, I love this age of 2.  It's way more challenging than I ever thought, but she makes it so fun.  I feel like everything is all the way or not at all.  It's a riot.  Jordan and I are starting to say more and more to each other, "Can't you almost just see her at 16?"  I know it will be here in a blink. . .