Elise Update

Another month older for Miss Elise, she's now 2 years and 2 months old! This has been a really fun month with her with lots of exciting changes. I feel like her personality is really coming out and her desire to do things for herself is quite cute. She is definitely a determined little girl! I love how she is always running around or jumping up and down while her beautiful blonde curls bounce and flop on her head. I really hope her hair stays curly because it is just beyond adorable! The biggest change for Miss Elise this month was moving from a crib to a toddler bed, more on that in an upcoming post. We made the transition on May 6th and it was been smooth sailing pretty much ever since! Other than waking at 6-6:30 every morning now! Anytime someone is showering she wants to get in with them. The minute the water is turned off she starts chanting, "I cold, I cold, I coooooold!" She also wakes up from naps saying she's cold, usually because she is all sweaty from her nap and is cold getting out of bed. She's finally understanding bribes a little bit more now. I was able to get her to smile for a few pictures by telling her she could have fruit snacks when we were done. We came through the difficulty of hitting and spitting and we're on the other, sunnier side of 2. 

 

Elise continues to pick up new words at a rapid pace. Jeremy hadn't seen her in about a week and when he did he commented on how much she was talking compared to the last time he saw her. She now refers to Carter as Carty and just loves him. She's always asking where Carty is and wanting to find Carty.  She's started crying for daddy during the day when I don't give her what I want. It makes me laugh every time because I know he would have been more severe or harsher than I was and here she is crying out for him because she's upset with me. On days when daddy is home she sometimes cries out for J or Taco or Oma or Opa. She hasn't done this in a long time but at the beginning of the month she would hiss at us when she was running from us and she cornered herself. It was hilarious but I figured it would become embarrassing if she continued it as she got older. Thankfully she kicked the habit. She has this little evil cackle she does when she's mean to Carter or she does something naughty. If I see her and say her name, she hunches up her shoulders and rocks them up and down as she fake laughs. I joke she's going to be an evil genius although I'm pretty sure it's just a nervous thing because she knows she's in trouble. When we're walking, even if we are on the side walk, she likes to yell out, "Car coming," when she sees a car. This is especially entertaining while walking through a parking lot. She now refers to herself a Uh-leese. It is so cute to hear her pronounce her name. Her best friends (other than Carter) are Cha-lee, Finny, Jakey, and Tiffy. I love hearing how she says different names. Jake will adamantly tell her that his name is Jakers, not Jakey. It's so cute! Elise likes to encourage her friends to follow her and will show them what she wants to do. My mom pointed out that she adds an -ie or -y to the end of most words and it is true. I think it's pretty cute. Although she does say ki ca instead of kitty now. Possibly my favorite is anytime she sneezes and I say "bless you," hearing her sweet, little voice say, "thank you, mommy." She loves her Uncle Paul and still talks about "Pau". She has started calling Wyatt "Wydee" rather than baby or "Baby Pau" like she used to. She adores watching videos of her cousin.

Elise wasn't too thrilled to have her picture taken.

 

Her big thing is wanting to do things herself so we hear a lot of "Do it myself," as well as "I do it/that!" or "My do it/that!" I'm all about fostering independence and growth but there are a couple situations that just drive me bonkers! One is that she wants to strap herself into her carseat. I don't mind that when we aren't in a hurry but when we're trying to get Carter to school on time and we're running late I have to take lots of long breaths to find my patience. She can clip the top part but can't do the bottom and won't let me help until she gets really frustrated, usually after a solid 5 minutes of trying. I've noticed lately she's given up quicker and I think she's come to figure out she just can't do that part yet. I've explained to her over and over that it's the tricky part and Carter can't quite do his by himself yet either so it's okay. I think that helped. She also wants to dress herself and will throw a fit if I start to help her. But she also throws a fit if I walk away so she can do it herself. I've figured out she wants me to stand nearby so I can help her when she decides she needs it. Another time suck when we are trying to get to school on time and don't even get me started on tooth brushing! It is difficult to get out the door in the morning, that's for sure! 

 

Girlfriend loves to run and any game that involves running is a favorite. She doesn't care if she falls and face plants right into mud, she gets right back up and takes off running again. When we are at the playground by the trails I run on, she always wants to go on a run rather than play. It brings me so much joy seeing her pure love for running. She also likes slides a lot and typically spends most of her time at the playground going down the slide, running back over, climbing up and doing it all over again and again. She also likes playing games where she and Carter growl in each other's faces. She hadn't found any kids her age who enjoyed it until she did it to Finley and they had the best time growling in each other's faces. Another favorite of hers is looking through pictures and naming who is in them. Baby dolls are still a favorite. She has also branched out to loving blocks and Legos or anything she can build with. She loves to color and still refers to most colors as yellow. We started letting her stay up a little later and watch a little tv with Carter before bed. She wants to watch whatever Carter wants. First it was PJ Masks and now Garfield. She still prefers PJ Masks but will get excited asking for Garfield because she knows it's what Carter wants to watch. During the intro to PJ Masks she'll yell out "Gekko! Owlette! Kitty Kitty!" whenever it introduces each character, it's so cute. Then she yells PJ MASKS when it gets to that part.

 

Sis is very opinionated and will tell me exactly what she wants to wear, eat, or do. There are certain things she likes to do herself and gets very upset if I try to help. Some days she wants me to help or doesn't mind when I do, other days she screams and kicks her feet if I attempt to help. She always wants to put on at least one article of clothing all by herself. If she puts on her shirt, she'll let me put on her pants. If she puts on her pants, then I'm permitted to put her shirt on. She likes to put her socks and shoes on by herself and also enjoys picking out her shoes, making sure they in no way match her outfit. When I get her out of her car seat I unclip her and leave her in to climb out on her own because she prefers that. Often times she will re-clip her top clip so I have to undo it again for her to get out. She likes to climb down from her car seat and get out on Carter's side. If he closes the door and she doesn't get to, she'll throw a huge fit. She doesn't like to get her hair combed and makes that very difficult. She also went through a phase where she just screamed and would bite the toothbrush when I tried to brush her teeth and she'd thrash her body around. That was disappointing after she'd always been so good and would sit still with her mouth wide open to let me both brush and floss. We were having to hold her down and pry her mouth open which I thought was ridiculous. I tried offering to let her brush her teeth when I finished, I tried letting her brush my teeth after I brushed hers, then I tried letting her play with my phone while I brushed her teeth which was a winner! Between getting her dressed, combing her hair, brushing her teeth, and getting shoes on her, it can be quite difficult to get out the door in the morning. Add in the fact that she decides to carry as much stuff as can fit in her arms, usually a bunch of her stuffed animals, most the time as we walk out and then freaks if she drops something, the whole process can be exhausting!

 

I feel like we are awfully darn close to potty training. I'm letting her take the lead on this one. If she doesn't more or less do it on her own, I may try doing it with her around 2.5 years old. Some days she asks for undies instead of a diaper and tends to do better in undies than she had in the past. Before she pretty much only made it to the potty chair when she was naked. Now she does most of the time in undies as well. If I try taking her diaper off to let her run naked, she screams for a "diapy" most of the time. Other times she'll cry for undies. She doesn't really like going naked anymore. When we're out and about if I go to the bathroom or take Carter to the bathroom, she wants to go too and will sit on a big potty froggy style with her legs on either side of the bowl. She has been using our big toilet more often at home too. She's wanted to get up and go potty at naptime a couple times. I thought more so to delay going to sleep but she actually pottied, so maybe it wasn't a ruse. When she's on the potty she'll tell me she wants privacy which often sounds like peace and I found that hilarious. She'll want me to leave the room and shut the door or leave the bathroom stall and shut the door. I'm really not in a hurry to get her potty trained, I'd rather have a successful first attempt with minimal stress and crying after the bumpy road we had with Carter. I am excited that she's making such huge progress on her own without us pushing the issue, just supporting her as she works on it.

 

Elise is the sweetest little girl. She's full of spunk and makes us laugh on the daily. She's always yelling out stuff and running around like a wild woman. When she wants to talk but doesn't really have anything to say she'll say, "I, I, I..." and then follow it up with something random. She also likes to parrot back what Carter says which can be so adorable, especially when she tells me what she wants for lunch. I love her so much and am so glad I get to be her mom and spend my days with her!