Eliza doing her first Christmas decorating, helping Mom and Dad trim the tree. She loved it for about 15 minutes, then got bored.
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Eliza vs the Giant Slide
She has no fear, and giggled madly for minutes afterwards.
She’s gonna be riding rollercoasters with me in no time.
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Halloween Cousins
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E and her daddy
After spending all day Friday as a clown, Eliza changed her mind and decided she would trick-or-treat as a butterfly. Good thing we had a backup costume. Here she is with her dad, trick-or-treating at the mall in Chattanooga. Hard to tell who had a better time.
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Clown
For over a month, any time we’ve asked Eliza what she wants to be for Halloween, she has replied “a clown.” Not a fairy, not a princess, not a butterfly or a bumblebee. Not even her beloved friends like Dora, Foofa, or Muno. A clown. Why??? We’re not sure.
Here’s a sneak peak of Eliza, trick-or-treating this weekend as a cute little clown!
Just wanted to post Eliza’s first ever school picture, taken at 21 months old. I have NO idea how they got her to pose like that (or sit still for so long). The giant smile is no surprise…that’s honestly how she looks the majority of the time. The cow lick is just an added bonus! And, by the way, this is an outfit she picked out. She absolutely insisted on wearing her “chick shirt” for picture day.
We love everything about fall, and I think it’s rubbing off on Eliza. Could it be the Little People toys we’ve gotten her (trick-or-treat house and hayride set)? Could it be the awesome trip to Bear Wallow Farm in Nancy, KY where she picked out her own pumpkin, petted animals, and led all her cousins through a corn maze? Could it be the beautiful fall leaves, which she now picks up to take home, along with rocks, pinecones, and other treasures? Could it be all the books about Halloween and her impending excitement about trick-or-treating?
Who knows, but these past few weeks have been Eliza (and mommy and daddy) heaven.
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Wha’s dat?
Eliza has learned to say “What’s that?” and now we’re doomed. It’s not the dreaded “why,” but it’s pretty close. Because she asks all the time, about everything, even when she knows the answer perfectly well. “Eliza, it’s a spoon. You know what a spoon is. You’ve said it since you were 13 months old.”
She’s not saying “Who’s that?” yet, but instead points to strangers and asks “This one?” as in, what’s this one’s name? She doesn’t yet realize that mom and dad don’t know everything.
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Feelings
I think the most fascinating process in Eliza’s growth and development so far is watching her learn about emotions: what they are, how to talk about them, and how to recognize them in others.
Every morning, daddy says, “How do you feel?” And she always says, “Happy!” She also reports on the well-being of her classmates at daycare. So-and-so cries. So-and-so sad. And she knows the word “scary,” and uses it more or less correctly, like when she pointed at the covers of some of Jason’s videogames and said, “Mommy, that’s scary.” So I moved them. She looks carefully at the faces in her books, and tells me which ones are angry, sad, happy, surprised.
But the best of all is hearing her say, “I love you,” which comes out more like “I duv u.” But we know what it means. And it’s awesome.
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No rest for the weary
Eliza has been going through what some call a “sleep regression.” Probably due to some crazy developmental stuff that’s keeping her body and brain too jacked up to settle down properly, she has decided she hates going to bed. This is the same child who was “Ferberized” at 6 months and has gone to bed easily and happily since then and slept through the night with no problem. All of a sudden, she is afraid of the dark, or doesn’t want to be away from mommy and daddy, or simply doesn’t want to go to bed. So for a week, bedtime has become traumatic for everyone.
We tried a nightlight. It made things worse (creepy shadows). She has plenty of “lovies” in the bed with her and her “bankie,” which is the same one she’s always had. We use the same iron clad (and, until now, successful) wind-down routine: bath, books, singing, bed.
Last night was a little bit better. I’m not sure what made a difference, though. Hopefully every night will get a little better until this phase is finally over.