We spent some time mid-December with my family up in Indiana, and we rolled back into our driveway at 11pm the night before Elyse birthday. The next morning was spent doing laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, feeding children, bathing children, cupcake-baking, and - oh yea - Christmas prep. Amidst the flurry of the day, my mind kept straying to my sweet Elyse and how much I love the fact that she chose Kraft mac & cheese for dinner (not "Mommy's mac & cheese" mind you. I should be offended!)... along with pineapple and cucumber slices. Seriously, that made her birthday dinner much easier! In addition to her meal selection, I just adore HER. She grown into more of a little girl this year, and I've watch toddlerhood slip away. Though I still ache for the little Elyse (I probably always will), I love the little girl she is becoming.
Elyse is in love with the color pink these days, and much of her day is spent playing with pink things, talking about pink things, or dreaming about pink things. I would love to know what causes this, but she says she just thinks it's "pretty." Hmm. She loves to play "mommy" to her babies, dress up, mother Em and Jake, color, paint, read, TALK TALK TALK (and keep me laughing my head off!)... Her dialogue is hilarious, and I'm amazed at what interests her intellectually. Right now, she is curious as to what makes God happy. Yes, we have some interesting conversations!
I love how patronizing she is right now. I know that sounds like a backhanded compliment, but it's very funny. She will say things like, "Mommy, you know what would be fun? How about we have a special piece of candy for breakfast? Wouldn't that be fun, Mommy? It would! I know you would like it." We have moments like those all day. :) How can she make me feel so guilty when I say no!?!? I also love that she takes it upon herself to update me on every move Jakob and Emily make. It's so funny. If I dare to remind her that tattling isn't acceptable, she will just tell me "funny stories" about what they are doing. Boy, do I eat crow when I run into the other room to patrol after that!
We have had to recently embark on an adventure in manners and chores. It's interesting. It's pretty much a failure at this point, honestly, for Em! Elyse does seem to be learning a lot (considering she is getting quite good at correcting my elbows on the table during dinner...), and I am always humored when I hear her ask me if a certain behavior is "good manners." Most of the time, it is in reference to someone else, but I hope she is learning something :) Ha. We ventured out to the eye doctor a couple of days ago for a visit, and we had such a fun time together. She was astoundingly brave during the exam, and she made me proud as she read the eye chart (filled with fun pictures!) with giggles and smiles.
Elyse seems pretty tall for her age (we'll see what the doc says in a few weeks about that), and she has the skinniest little legs ever. She loves to pretend to be a ballerina and do her twirls and pirouettes. I love to watch her focus on her footwork without thinking twice about us watching.
The other morning, she woke up to see the beauty of a sunrise-tinted sky. The clouds were trimmed in pink, and the blues and oranges were so vivid! She gasped in awe as I opened her curtains, and said, "Oh, Mommy. I wish my tongue were always pink like that!!" Speechless.
We cut her hair for the second time ever last week. She looks adorable (I know, I'm totally biased and completely okay with that). She is ever-dramatic, so precocious at times, and genuinely determined to keep Jordan and I on our toes.
Elyse was the first of our kids to introduce me to the wonderful world of parenthood. She will always remind me that life is precious and sweet, and that spending time wisely is about snatching up every opportunity... that quality time should not be measured in moments of freedom to do the things you envision as "worthy." She is my firstborn, and I hope she will grow to be forgiving of her amateur mommy. I relish the fact that her greatest joy right now is cuddle-time with a pile of books and blankets, and that she seems to be quick to overlook my mistakes in choosing the tasks that aren't as worthy. I love this girl.
Happy birthday, Elyse Noelle. I love watching you grow. Someday, your world will be bigger than the color pink and the joys of candy, but for now, enjoy all of those little tastes of something bigger and better. Jesus has a lot more for you!
Please pardon my low-quality photos. We moved last week (a story for another time!), and for some reason, Mr iPhone seems a bit more convenient when my life is chaotic!
1 comment:
LOVE this post - she is just so precious! It cracked me up that she said she wished her tongue was that pink ;) I think she and Maddy would be great friends ;) Such a sweet post Sue!
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