The Big Day Has Come and Gone

Today was Elise's 2nd birthday/our housewarming party, complete with Hello Kitty bounce house, Hello Kitty cake, and a visit from Hello Kitty herself (whom Elise decided must be the mama Hello Kitty, due to her being taller than any child kitty could possibly be).  She had the time of her life, and did give Hello Kitty a high-five, despite being rather scared of her.  Hello Kitty did a pretty good Gangnam Style dance to entertain the crowd.

I put Elise to bed just now.  She wouldn't go to sleep anywhere near her bedtime, so I lay down with her and talked with her for awhile to help her wind down.  She was clearly processing today and this week, and had a lot to say!  She was really sweet.

She had been crying for a little bit after I left her room before that, so the first thing she said was "Dada go bye-bye, I was scay-ohd."  After me reassuring her that she didn't need to be scared and I would protect her, she said "Elise has no owwies.  Dada has no owwies."  So I guess we were okay.

Then she cuddled me and said "I love you Dada" about 10 times and "Dada nice," and patted my chest.  Then she said, very clearly, "Thank you very much birthday party.  I happy today."  We had prayed earlier, but she decided to go for it again:  "Thank you Jesus for Mama.  Thank you Jesus for Dada.  Thank you Jesus for the other friends.  Thank you Jesus for Toby (he always makes it in there)."

Then she talked about our time at "My Gym" yesterday, and we talked about going to a new location for church tomorrow.  She said "Go Kidspace tomorrow," but I said no, so she decided, "Kidspace closed.  Maybe Saturday."  I asked her if she wanted to go to school on Monday and see Ms. Gina, and at first she said, "Yes. I want to see Ms. Christine.  Ms. Setha funny."  But then, after thinking about it, she gave the right answer:  "I want Dada on Monday."  She pushed her new pooh bear toward me and told me to "cuddle" him.  Sure knows how to melt a dada's heart.  It's so crazy to have a long conversation with her.

Another funny saying to record:  we left Elise with Grace & Yifei & Ha-mi on New Year's so that we could go to my friend Andre's wedding at the San Diego Safari Park.  Apparently, while we were on our way home, and Elise was steadfastly resisting sleep, she said to them, "Mama not here.  Dada not here.  What happened?!"