Eagle

Elise had an itchy back and asked me to scratch it. I had just cut my nails and so they were really sharp with some jagged edges. When I scratched her she said, "Stop scratching me. Your fingers are like...Eagles. They are like talons".  

Three and a half

Elise is three and a half.  Bananas!  Of course she is saying hilarious things on the daily.  A few:

1) We went to her friend's birthday party (the kid's mom is also my coworker).  My friend is Dutch, and therefore tall, at least 5-9.  She's probably about an inch taller than her husband, although I certainly wouldn't describe him as short.  Anyway, after the party, as we were driving home, Elise randomly announced, "Some mommies are tall and some daddies are short".  I asked her to clarify and she said, "Kelly's mommy is tall but her daddy is short.  My dada is tall but you are medium."

2) Elise has a funny habit of wanting to wear all her skirts down to the bottom of her belly.  She's convinced they are meant to be worn that way.

Learning about cats

Elise: Where do cats sleep?
Me: They sleep in little cat beds.
Elise: Where do cats like to relax?
Me: They like to relax anywhere.  They like to nap everywhere.
Elise: What do cats like to eat?
Me: Cat food
Elise: I know they eat FOOD, but what do they EAT
Me: Oh, hmm, you can buy cat food at the grocery store.  They eat that.
Elise: No, mama, what do they EAT?  Like what kind FOOD?
Me: I think they eat vegetables and meat...but it looks like meatballs.
Elise: (laughs) Cats eat meatballs! 

Commercials

Elise is watching Saturday morning cartoons for the time in her life right now.  Up until this point, she's been fortunate enough to pick and choose exactly what she wants to watch without commercials with the many available online offerings.  During one of the shows, she got really upset, and comes to us saying:

Elise: There's so many commercials!  They just keep coming and coming!
Me: Oh, you just have to be patient.
Elise: I am being patient but it's not working!  They won't go away!

I think she's having a coming of age moment right now. 

Problem-solving

There is a nail sticking out of a wall in Elise's bathroom and she will often talk about how it needs to be banged in while she's going potty.  

We read a book that involves a bunny piling on a stack of animals in order to retrieve a toy plane that got stuck in a tree. Elise had a lightbulb moment where she realized that she could do the same with her stuffed animals in order to bang the nail. 

So she piled on a bunch of stuffed animals on top of a step stool in her bathroom, got a toy hammer, and tried to reach the nail (it was still too high for her).   When she told me how disappointed she was that she couldn't reach it (I had no idea what was going on), I went to her bathroom and freaked out a little because it was actually a really dangerous setup. I wish I had taken a photo before I put things away because it was pretty creative. 

I told Bry what happened and then he reminded me that she was just copying what was in one her books. We got a good laugh out of it. 

Anger

We had some friends over today and Elise got mad at one of the girls (who is like twice her age).  Elise tried to summon all the bad words she knew and said to her, "You're bad!  You're mean!  You're a stranger!!" 

Elise to Siri (on Bryant's phone)

Elise: I want Panda Bears!
Elise: What's your name?
Elise: I really want Panda Bears!

By the way, Panda Bears are her favorite animal.  We really need to go to San Diego Zoo.