"Dada Bye"

Bryant is in Minnesota for a conference and I believe it's the first time he's been away since Elise was born.  She definitely misses him and kept saying "Dada Bye" to her babysitter today.  She asks for him the most in the mornings and right before bedtime since he usually puts her down.  It is sweet yet sad to see her sad little eyes and voice asking for her Dada!

I can hear her talking in her sleep right now and she is saying, "Nnnnnno!   No!".  I wonder what she is dreaming about!  

Edit: I just heard her say "appo" which could be hippo, shampoo, or apple.  It sounds a tiny bit different depending on the word but I can't tell this time.  :)

Bah-Bull

I (Margaret) put Elise to bed for the first time tonight in weeks. Bryant's been putting her down recently so that Elise can learn how to fall asleep without nursing. But since he's leaving for a conference tonight, it's now my turn. Anyway, I read her the picture Bible at her request, and I actually read the entire thing 3 times. It is a pretty long book for a kid's book, it being the bible and all. After the 3rd time, I decided we were done, and Elise threw a fit. She kept screaming "bah-bull!" over and over again! Elise rarely throws tantrums but I never thought that she would throw one because she wanted to read the bible for the 4th time.

Bry and I were trying to figure out why she loves the Bible so much and we think it's because each page is a completely different storyline, characters, and colors. She likes to point out all the major players in each story and tell us who they are. Her will is definitely growing. We are now in toddler land! The last few times we took Elise to a restaurant has been a TOTAL disaster. She just can't sit still and wants to explore everything and say hi to everyone. I know that some kids seem to do fine in restaurants but Elise is definitely not one of them. I find myself feeling really exhausted after the end of the day because there is so much boundary-setting, negotiating, and hardcore playing that needs to be done all the time. Our upcoming Toronto trip should be very interesting.

The Bedtime Routine

As Elise is able to communicate her thoughts more clearly, bedtime is getting more and more interesting!  If she wants to delay, she says she went poo-poo or asks for water or her bunny.  If she has a lot of energy left, she insists on getting down, then runs around to the foot of the bed, uses the little trash can to climb up, and crawls across the bed, over me (Bryant), and repeats.

We mostly read books and sings songs, and she has names for a lot of the books and songs now, so I don't get to pick anymore!  If she doesn't like what I am reading or singing, she will definitely let me know.  If I turn off the light before she is ready, she passionately says "Yite!  Yite!" to get me to turn it back on.  When she does get sleepy, she is more aware of it than before.  When she is ready to go to bed, she will say that "Yeah," I can turn the light off, and she says "night-night" and puts her head on her pillow.  Sometimes she wants to put her bunny "night-night" too. She will put him on his back on the pillow and pats his tummy and says "night-night."  She still usually rolls all over the bed for another 10-15 minutes, but eventually falls asleep, usually leaning back against me.  Usually she falls asleep more quickly when I sing her hymns.

Elise loves the picture Bible that Nana and Grandpa gave her.  Last night, I read it twice, and she wanted more, but I was too tired.  She loudly shouted "Bah-bull!  Bah-bull!"  for five minutes.  She likes all the  animals, trees, stars, and people that she can point to and name.  I think Margaret was cracking up in the other room that Elise was upset at me for not reading the Bible to her enough times.

I treasure these times of putting her to bed, even though it takes awhile sometimes.  She says "Dada" and points to me a lot, leans in for random kisses, giggles a lot, and gives me tons of smiles.  She is growing up so fast!  I feel like she has a whole new level of personality and sense of humor since about a week ago.

Toby and Elise Kissing

Little Ham

Elise is really social and hammy. She gets really excited when we have people come over and she likes to show them all of her favorite toys. We had a few friends come over last night, and she wanted me to read "Blue Hat, Green Hat" to her. She laughed extra hard at all the funny parts and kept looking at my friends to make sure they were laughing, too. I keep thinking about it today and cracking up to myself. Now that we know we are moving, I can't WAIT to move! We are seriously busting at the seams in our current apartment. I can't fit one more toy or book here. Elise also gets restless indoors and much prefers playing outside. I am creating a mental list of all the outdoor toys I want: water table, sandbox, cozy coupe car, and a plastic playset with slide. Thank goodness for Craigslist.

Diaper changes

I never thought the day would come but now Elise is obsessed with getting her diaper changed.  She loves it and asks for it even when she doesn't need it.  She gets a diaper pad or a blanket, puts it on the ground, grabs the diaper cream, sometimes gets a diaper or wipes, and lies down on the ground asking for her diaper to be changed.  It's the most hilarious thing.

Girly Girl

Very interesting to see Elise's gender preference emerging.  I have done my best to raise Elise in a gender-neutral environment, limiting pink and avoiding princess stuff.  We had a playdate at Judy's this week and Elise saw a tiara and immediately put it on her head.  She has never seen a tiara before.  She also saw two necklaces and immediately put them on and smiled.  She's also quite nurturing and likes to feed her stuffed animals and gives them sips of her water.  Sometimes I have to brush off or clean the mouths of her animals because there are crumbs or food marks. 

I bought her an Olivia the pig book without reading the story.  After I purchased it, I read that it mentions Olivia wanting to be like a princess.  I kind of winced and am considering giving it to Elise's friend Olivia who is already into that kind of stuff.  At what point do I just give in and embrace the inevitability?