Ms. Gina

Ms. Gina, Elise's teacher, is out of the country this week and that means Elise will be in a bad mood.  As soon as I picked her up today, she ran to the rug, lied down, and started doing a fake cry.  I keep trying to ask her what's going on, if she is sad, etc., but she says that she is fine.  She's definitely a little grumpier and so we just tried to give her extra attention today.  We took her to the pirate playground (her favorite) and it is so hilarious seeing her in action there.  Right when we arrive, she runs around to all of her favorite parts and tries to show us everything, like she owns the place.  It is definitely the nicest playground I have ever seen and it is actually wheelchair accessible for handicapped children.

Oh, speaking of Ms. Gina, we found out last week that she will be moving to the 2s class, and so we immediately requested that Elise be put into that class.  We are thrilled that Elise will be with her for another year!!!  She is an amazing teacher and several of our friends who have gone through many teachers still say that she is one of the best teachers at the preschool. 

Right now, Bry is doing the nighttime routine with Elise and she is just in fits laughing and giggling.  She's going through a goofy phase right now, thinking everything is hilarious.  :) 

Being a good listener

Last night, Elise was really fighting sleep, especially since Bryant was painting the office and she was so excited about it.  So I sat in her room to enforce her to stay in her bed.  I told her she had to stay quiet or I would lock the door (she hates this).  So as she is trying to fall asleep, she sporadically whispered, "I'm being a good listener" or "I'm not talking right now" or "Mama, don't talk". 

Weird phrases

Elise was jumping off the couch today and one time she said, "Be careful Elise.  You're going to kill yourself."  Of course I am wondering where the heck she got that.  Her only influences are us, school, church, and a few select videos like Frozen, Thumbelina, Yo Gabba Gabba videos, and Pororo (Korean).  So the only suspicious one out of this group is Frozen so I googled the phrase and sure enough, it's in there.  Great!

Yesterday, Elise was lying on the ground and put her legs in the air and said, "Sexy legs!"  !!?!?!?  I have noooo idea where should got that!

Elise's personality so far

• Loves to be active.  Jumping on and off furniture (her favorite), dancing, running, climbing...
• Not really into toys! 
• Has now passed the stage of being a mommy to her stuffed animals
• Loves to take objects and put them into things like bags, boxes, plastic sandwich bags, etc.  This is probably her favorite form of playing
• Loves anything artistic-- painting, drawing, coloring...
• VERY happy and easygoing kid.  Always happy and bad moods are rare and usually due to things like insufficient sleep, sickness, etc.  Never tantrums.  We're incredibly thankful for this.
• Shy around new people but quick to warm up
• Loves people and talks about them often
• A little jokester and likes to make us laugh with silly jokes
• Hates bugs and creepy crawly things
• Has a hard time sitting still because she constantly wants to explore anything.  This makes it difficult at restaurants or long walks in the stroller.  Just yesterday, we ran into some church friends while out on a walk, and while we were talking, she jumped out of the stroller and tried to run into the street
• Likes to put on a dress and sing Frozen songs or say "I'm a princess!" or "I'm a flower girl!"
• Does not like to be alone.  Wants us to engage with her at all times.
• Gives many excuses for not wanting to go to sleep (thirsty, bathroom, etc.)
• Does not like sports or anything to do with balls

While Elise doing her business on the potty

She says, "Elise goes poopoo in the toilet but the animals go poo on the ground".

I was laughing at something I read online and she said, "What are you laughing at?  Are you laughing at ME?"

Kidspace

Kidspace has a free admission night once a month and we took advantage of it today.  We used to have a membership because they have a cute baby/toddler room where a LOT of parents hang out.  They totally remodeled the room and Elise definitely noticed even though we haven't gone in months.  She kept saying, "Kidspace changed" and kept asking where the monkey was.

The rest of Kidspace is probably best for kids age 4 and up but of course Elise tries to hang with the big kids.  There is one exhibit that is like an underground ant hole which involves going downstairs and climbing up a pretty long, dark, and narrow ant hole.  It is pitch black except when a light shines on a scary 3 foot ant every 10 seconds.  Apparently, Elise went up it with Bryant with no problem.  One worker even commented to Bryant that he found it hilarious that a little 2 year old was passing by all the big kids and showing them how to do it.  When I got there, I decided to go with her and when we got underground, there were all these big kids psyching themselves out and some were too scared to go up.  Elise very confidently went in but when I went in with her, you could tell that she was REALLY scared of the huge ant.  She kept one eye on it the whole time and whenever the light blinked, she got pretty scared.  But I think she really likes the adrenaline rush and even the fear factor.  When we got out, she screamed, "WE DID IT TOGETHER!!!"  We went up 2 more times.  I mostly went up with her because some of the other kids were being pretty rough.  Some of them were like 10 years old!

Oh man, she said so many other hilarious things but I can't remember!  I sit down to type, thinking that I'm going to jot down all these funny things, but it's so hard to remember it all.

New Church

We visited a new church today and dropped off Elise in her toddler class. It's been awhile since we've dropped her off in a new setting and she used to be quite the crier. This time, when we picked her up, she seemed happy enough and when we asked her if she was happy or sad in her new class, she responded, "happy AND sad". Very deep. :)

She tries to skip her nap on the weekends. I've actually resorted to pushing her in the stroller and this time, after sweating profusely in the heat in order to get her to nap, as soon as I put her down, she opened her eyes and saw my sweat. I think it was the first time she's seen me sweaty. She was so curious about it and kept asking me if it was sunscreen. And she didn't go back to sleep. :(