Jason Griffey

Eating icecream, originally uploaded by griffey.

She is almost a year and a half old! To celebrate, and because she has been feeling terrible with a fever and sinus infection, we took her to a local ice cream place. She insisted on eating it all by herself, like a big girl.

Favorite foods: Ketchup. Asks for it at almost every meal and will dip absolutely anything into it. Ice cream (vanilla). Pizza. Applesauce (more for spoon practice than for filling her belly). Peanut butter.

Favorite music: Still completely obsessed with the Laurie Berkner band, as featured on Jack’s Big Music Show. She also now loves to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Old McDonald, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Clean it up (Laurie Berkner), as well as some songs she has apparently invented or learned elsewhere.

Favorite toys: Anything like an action figure, especially her family dolls from Melissa & Doug and her Elmo and Ernie figurines; magnets; water table with shovels, scoops, and sponges; books (see below); Foofa doll (from the Noggin show Yo Gabba Gabba); gel window clings

Favorite hobbies: Singing, talking, dancing, marching, stomping, wiggling, throwing, tickling, scooping, digging, climbing stairs, climbing into and out of chairs, taking baths and “swimming” in the tub.

Favorite books: “Flip a Face” book called Colors; Froggy Green; Fifteen Animals (Sandra Boynton); anything with Elmo or Zoe from Sesame Street

Dislikes: Too much sun. Getting too hot. Sitting still in her high chair to eat breakfast. Someone trying to help her do something she insists she can do by herself (“Eliza do it!!”).

What she knows and can do is scary sometimes. She now recognizes and says most colors (and tells us her favorite is pink), several shapes, and quite a few letters, and can count to ten. She can accomplish just about anything with phrases like “See it.” “Hold it.” “Do it.” and “Want some.” The other day she looked at her piece of toast and told me, “Cut it,” because she wanted it in triangles.

Her social understanding is also amazing lately. She is great at saying “thank you” and “you’re welcome,” unprompted. We’re working on “please,” which she will say when told to do so, but not on her own yet. Is now telling people to be careful, like when we’re carrying her down the stairs (“Careful, Daddy.”). And she checks on everyone’s well being: “Happy, Mommy?” “Happy, Daddy?” “How doing?” “Where Nanny go?”

Eliza the baby, I think, is all but gone. Eliza is now our little girl. And that’s pretty special.