Fashion Sense

This sweater was 50% off on Elise and since Elise needs more sweaters, I asked her if she liked it.  She said, "I like it.  It's not my style but I think I'll look good in it".  This girl...

Pillow talk

Elise: does everyone in the whole world know about Christmas?
Me: yes
Elise: does everyone in the whole world know about Valentine's Day?
Me: yes (I'm giving simplified answers here because she needs to sleep)
Elise: Can we make a special announcement to the whole world, like to Mexico, to every country, about a new holiday called "Cuddling Day" where everyone has to cuddle?
Me: but what if someone doesn't have someone to cuddle?
Elise: that's ok. They can cuddle with a stuffed animal.


Her line of thinking cracks me up. Who thinks of these things?!!

Elise is 5!

I am in the middle of grading final papers and so of course it makes sense to update this blog after months of silence.

Elise turned 5 a few days ago and she is still as charming and exuberant as ever.  Bryant just told me something just now that I want to write down...

As he was taking her to school this morning, she was skipping and giggling on the way to class while holding his hand, and she says out loud, "Why am I so happy like this everyday?"  A mother passed them and started cracking up.

Who knows how much of nature or nurture is involved with her personality, but I am hoping and praying that our son is just as joyful and sunny.  And I hope Elise continues to be like this in her teen years!!!!  

Korean Market

Elise and I were at the Korean market and while I am unloading groceries, she opens the door and nicks the nearby car.  I don't notice until an elderly Korean couple come and freak out about their car.  I try to negotiate a solution in my broken Korean and then ask Elise to come out and apologize.  She says sorry, bursts into tears, and the couple are smitten by her and try to calm her down.  They both agree to forget about it and drive off. 

Elise is learning the lesson of privilege early in life.  Cute privilege. 

Cartwheel Update

So Elise is still determined to do a cartwheel.  She tried doing them in the front yard but of course they kept turning into the dreaded somersault.   She then ran into the house and said to me, "Mama, can you please give me some vegetables right now?  I want to eat some vegetables and then I want to take a nap because I need to grow so that I can do a cartwheel."

SHE HAS NEVER WILLINGLY EATEN VEGETABLES OR TAKEN A NAP.

So I open the fridge and she is asking me to prepare all sorts of foods she usually hates-- carrots, tomatoes, and even raw broccoli.  It is amazing for me to even see her try to eat these things (she just took one bite of each with a pained look on her face) and then she ran to her room for a forced nap.  I can't explain how crazy this all is.

It's been about 10 minutes and I can hear her tossing and turning...let's see if she falls asleep.  She actually really needs to sleep because we were at Disneyland for 13 hours yesterday and I picked her up early from school because I thought she needed to rest.  She normally naps at school but never at home.  PLEASE ELISE FALL ASLEEP.  :)

SunLife

So...I'm the sickest I've ever been in my life!  It feels like a combination of the flu plus the stomach flu and I've been ben-ridden and miserable!  I was finally able to get out of bed for the first time all week yesterday.  Bryant has a much milder version of what I have, mostly a sore throat and body aches.

Anyway, rewind a few months ago where a new health food/smoothie shop called SunLife Organics opens in Pasadena.  On opening day, everything was free, so Bry and I indulged in some totally overpriced smoothies we would have otherwise never purchased.  I got the Wolverine which has the following: Banana, raw almond butter, dates, coconut, maca, raw cacao, bee pollen, royal jelly, almond milk...and it is $9!!  Bryant got another similarly fancy drink that was $13.  The whole time we talked about how crazy people are to spend that much money on these drinks. 

OK, back to present time and I have been hardcore craving that Wolverine smoothie this entire sickness.  I was too embarrassed to ask Bryant to get one for me but finally today, since I was out running an errand, I bought one.  Here's our conversation when I got home:

Me: You're going to judge me.  I've been craving that drink from that SunLife place and so I caved and bought one.  (sheepish grin)
Bryant: What?  I've been craving it, too!  I thought about going to buy one.  Why didn't you ask me?
Me: What??  I didn't think to ask because I thought you were going to get upset that I spent $9 on a drink.
Bryant: I really want one now.  I wanted the one that I had before.
Me: The really expensive one???
Bryant: Yeah, it was so good. I need it for my sore throat.


Ok this whole conversation is so random but I found it hilarious and wanted to jot it down.  :)

Carthwheels

One of Elise's main goals in life right now is to do a cartwheel, but she can't yet figure out what is the difference between a somersault and a carthweel.  It is hilarious to watch her imagine what a carthweel is in her, try it, end up doing a somersault, and then express disappointment that what she did not match up with her plan.  Sometimes she'll see older girls doing carthwheels and she'll watch them intently, studying their every move.  It will inspire her and she will quickly try to do a cartwheel, only to end up doing a somersault again.  It's so hard not to crack up laughing when all she wants is my sympathy.

Sleepover

Elise asks if she can have sleepovers with her school friends all the time.  This morning is yet another example.

Elise: Can I have a sleepover at George's house?
Me: No.  Our rule is that we can only have sleepovers if we are close friends with their mommy and daddy.
Elise: But you can become friends with strangers!  George's mom's name is Claire! 

(Then I can hear Bryant cracking up in the bathroom)

Cool stuff

Elise: My head hurts
Me: Your head hurts?
Elise: You know what makes peoples head hurt?  When they think about too much cool stuff.  I was thinking about too much cool stuff and now I have a headache. 

Jesus' omnipresence

Elise has been asking A LOT of theological questions lately...nearly everyday.  Of course, Bryant is in heaven with all of this.  A sample:

(Driving in the car with Elise a few days ago)
Elise: How many Jesuses are there?  Is there only 1 Jesus or are there a lot of Jesuses?
Me: There's only 1 Jesus.
Elise: Is Jesus in the car with us right now?
Me: Yes, he is, but you can't see him.
Elise: Is he in those other cars?  And those houses?
Me: Yes
Elise:  NOOOO!  You said there is only 1 Jesus!  How can he be in our car AND the other cars and houses!

(Last night, all 3 of us were cuddling in bed together because it was cold)
Elise: Can you remind me again why there is only 1 Jesus but he is everywhere?
Bryant: (explains things and then we get into a long theological conversation again)
Elise: (cuts off Bryant) Wait, what if we talk the WHOLE night!

Homework

For a 4-year old, Elise talks about homework a lot, and I'm pretty sure she learned about the concept from her daycare teacher's daughter who comes home every afternoon to do her homework.  Last night, Elise comes to me and says, "Can you teach me how to do homework?  I want to reading, spelling, and math". 

Drawing

Elise LOVES to draw.  Today she said, "You know what Mama?  I like coloring better than watching shows now."  This is HUGE news.  :)

4 year old interview

1. What is something I always say to you?
I love you

2. What makes me happy?
When I'm a good listener.

3. What makes me sad?
When I don't be a good listener.

4. How do I make you laugh?
When you say funny stuff.

5. What was I like as a child?
A kid who played.

6. How old am I?
26

7. How tall am I?
medium

8. What is my favorite thing to do?
Spend time with the family

9. What do I do when you're not around?
That's a hard question. I can't answer it.  (deep, kid, deep)

10. What am I really good at?
Cleaning.

11. What am I not really good at?
Doing the laundry

12. What do I do for a job?
Get money.

13. What is my favorite food?
Salad

14. What do you enjoy doing with me?
Making some valentines cards and playing with my wonderful toys and snuggling with my pretty animals.

(Elise said she needed to ask me questions)

Why do I like to play with you?
Because you love me.
BEEP! Wrong answer!
Because we have fun together
DING! Right answer!

Why do I not like to sleep?
Because you just want to play all the time.
DING! Right answer!

Perfectionist

Elise had a mini-meltdown today because when she asked me if she was perfect, I said, "no".  She was crying, "But I am perfect...  I'm perfect..." and I kept explaining to her that while she was a very good girl, that nobody was perfect and that everybody makes mistakes.  This really bothered her and she continued to ask me why I didn't think she was perfect.

Oh boy!

Zila, our first pet

Elise's teacher bought elise a small acquarium and a gift card to Petco so that we could buy a fish. Elise loves all of the animals at school and so she was super psyched for our first pet. We bought "Zila" on Monday and she lived a short 2 days. And yes, I was freaking out the whole time. 

Anyway, the reason why I'm posting is because tonight, Elise asked what homeless people so when it rains (we are in the middle of El Niño).  In this conversation, I explained to her that when people don't have homes or food, that we should think about giving them homes or food. And then she immediately said, "Ms. Courtney cared for us because we didn't have any animals and so she bought us a pet".  

Spilt Milk

Elise loves pouring milk into one of the tiny measuring cups but sometimes it will spill.  Just now, Elise kept asking Bry if she could pour the milk into the tiny cup, and he repeatedly said no.  She pleaded and begged for about 3 minutes, promising that she wouldn't spill.  Finally I came in and told Bryant that I actually let her do it a lot but that I do it with her.  So Bryant said that she could do it as long as she cleaned it up if she spilled, to which Elise responds, "I won't spill, Dada!!"  After Elise poured it (Bry and I were in different rooms), we heard her feet running to her bathroom and then I saw her carrying her step stool.  I asked her what happened, and she had this totally guilty look on her face, with her head cocked to the side and said, "I just spilled a little tiny bit.  I already wiped it with a wipe and now I have to get a paper towel to dry it".  I asked her, "Did you spill a lot?"  And she said, "No, just a little.  A little much.  A little a lot."

Christmas Surprise

Elise has been working on art project that involves ribbon, glitter, and other crafty things.  While she was making it, she looks up at me and says, "This is for Esther Eemoh" but says it in a really funny way and is about to burst into laughter.  The rest of the conversation:

Elise: (walks up to me): Actually, it's not for Esther eemoh
Me: Oh really?
Elise: (whispers) It's for someone else.
Me: OK
Elise: It's for someone really special who lives in this house.
Me: Is it for daddy?
Elise: No.
Me: Is it for me?
Elise:  NOOOO!!!!  (almost crying) It was supposed to be a surprise!  Why did you say that??  You're not supposed to guess!!  (falls to the ground rolling around)  You're not supposed to guuuueeeessss.....  Nooooooo....  I don't like you anymore....

Sleepover

Elise came home the other day and asked, "Can I sleepover at Robin's house?" (her daycare owner's daughter....the place where she spends all day everyday).  After I say "no", she immediately bursts into tears, which she NEVER does.  Since she almost never cries, I felt really bad and realized how much this pained her little heart.  She looked so cutely pathetic as the huge tear droplets were hanging off her long eyelashes and streaming down her face as she asked, "But whyyyyyy?!!!!  I wanna do a sleepover at Robin's!!!" 

You almost got me kid. 

The Land Before Time

Man, I loved this movie when I was young. We had the video and we watched it all the time.  I decided to buy it and show Elise, well aware that there is a scene where the mom dies in the beginning.  I've tended to avoid the whole death topic with Elise but thought that maybe this was a good opportunity to introduce it (beyond talking about bugs).  Well, man oh man, she was a wreck and cried her eyes out, especially at the end of the movie when she realized Little Foot would not be reunited with his mom.  Of course she started asking when I would die and she wouldn't believe me when I told her not to worry about it.  Finally I said, I will die when you become a grandmother.  She laughed at that because she understood how unlikely it was that she would in fact ever become a grandmother, haha!   She's watched the movie 2 times since and still cries at the end every time.

Still awake

It is 10:30 and Elise is still awake!!  I am working on my dissertation and she is next to me sleeping on a pull-out sofa in the office (don't ask).  She just turned to me and said in a very pedantic tone, "Momma, let me tell you something.  It is really, really hard for kids to sleep!"

If only it could be reversed.  Kids fall asleep easily and parents don't want to sleep so that they can get work done!