Author: Brand_New_World_Jason

Best. Pic. Ever., originally uploaded by griffey.

Well, this past week Eliza got to live out a huge number of little girl fantasies, as we spent the week at the Magic Kingdom in Disney World. This is one pic of the dozen or so Disney characters she got to meet, not even counting the several dozen she saw in parades, or as we passed them in the park. She rode rides, stayed up to watch the fireworks, and was generally a complete champ with all the lines and crowds.

She was awesome, and I’m sad we had to leave. It was the best thrill in the world seeing her so incredibly happy…she had, literally, the time of her life. So did Mom and Dad.

Scene – Eliza using the potty, dad is showing her his iPhone for entertainment.

Eliza: “I want to hold your phone!”

Dad: “Well, you can’t while you’re on the potty. There is water, and you might drop it.”

Eliza “But if I keep my legs together and am careful it can’t go in the water, Dad.”

Dad: “Seriously? How do you do that? You’re two!”

21st Century Toddler, originally uploaded by griffey.

That’s my girl…sitting in a 120 year old house, on a 50+ year old Brass Bed, watching a movie on her iPod Touch.

Hanging with cousin Kelsi, originally uploaded by griffey.

Eliza is enjoying having her cousin Kelsi around for a few weeks. Not sure if the same could be said of Kelsi, but she’s being pretty patient with Eliza…as patient as an almost-13-year-old could be.

Ladybug Girl, originally uploaded by griffey.

Eliza had an incredible time this weekend at Lake Winnie, an amusement park outside of Chattanooga. It was her first park experience, and she was completely fearless. She wanted to ride everything, to the point where we actually had to talk her away from things (“No, Eliza, I think that the Haunted Castle might be too scary for you.” “But Daddy, I’m really brave!” “Yes, honey, I know.”)

Her favorites were the kiddie rollercoaster and the swings, but she rode just about everything she was legally allowed to ride, and then went back for seconds. Combine that with pizza, ice cream, funnel cake, and then some bonus cotton candy for the ride home, and she was about as happy as a 2 year old can be.

IMG_9827, originally uploaded by griffey.

Blogging from TxLA, missing my girl.

Freckles, originally uploaded by griffey.

Guess who’s finally starting to get some freckles?

IMG_9584, originally uploaded by griffey.

A couple of days ago, E and I were hanging out. I gave her something, and she said “Thank you.” I said, in an exaggerated tone, “You are welcome!”

Her response: “I’m not welcome, I’m Eliza!”

After I stopped laughing, I had to reverse the roles to get her to see that it was funny, but once she did, she’s been telling it to everyone.

IMG_9484, originally uploaded by griffey.

Eliza and I had another Daddy weekend these past few days, as Betsy spent some time in Athens, OH at a Latin American lit conference. Judging by the grin on E’s face, I think I did ok.