2.5 years of Elise

I forgot to include her unofficial stats on the original post, so here they are:
Height: 37 inches (between 75th and 90th percentiles)
Weight: 31 lbs (75th percentile)
Clothes: 3T/4T
Shoe Size: 8-8.5 (same as last summer!)


Elise is now 2 1/2 (and 1/2)! As a whole, her 30th month of life was the most challenging, followed closely by the 2nd half of month 28 (after Jack was born). She's been through a lot this month with Mike being gone at SERE for 3 weeks, having visitors come and go, moving away from Alabama and flying to Texas, but we are on the road to recovery :). The last week has been relatively smooth, so I think the worst is over. She's had a great time playing with all of her grandparents and has really enjoyed swimming. We got a Puddle Jumper for her and it has been fabulous! She will now jump off the side of the pool and swim to us, and she loves being independent in the water. I wish I had known about them last summer.

Eating: Nothing has really changed in this department. She is predictable and likes a variety of healthy foods but is usually hesitant to try new things. We discovered this month that she really likes roast. Thanks, Laura, for the recipe that you posted on your blog!

Sleeping: She's been more difficult to put to bed this month, though it seems to be getting back to normal. I would say that she woke up screaming at least once during the majority of the nights last month. If I had a dollar for every time I heard "I want to hold you, Mommy!" then I could go out and buy a fully loaded minivan :) When we first got to Texas, she started waking up to go to the bathroom but was not easily going back to sleep. After a few nights of this, we had a big talk about how it was okay to pee in her diaper while she is sleeping, and she's slept soundly for the last week and a half and is usually asleep for 11.5-12 hours. She does best when she goes to sleep by 7:30, but that time has been pretty hard to make since we've been in Texas. She still takes a good 2-2.5 hour nap after lunch.

Learning: It is still amazing to watch how quickly she learns new things. One of her favorite activities this month is working jigsaw puzzles. She can now do the 24 piece puzzles by herself and is very deliberate as she is putting the pieces together. She will start working it and then look very carefully at the pile of pieces to choose the next one. She almost always orients the new piece correctly on the first try. I've been trying to figure out what I should be teaching her (aside from patience, ha!), and I think she's ready to focus on letter sounds (haven't done much with this aside from watching The Letter Factory every now and then) and sight words. I've ordered this and Cindy gave her a set of BOB books in May, and I think those will be good places to start. My mom and I also just got this for her and I think it will be a great learning tool. She loves the Monkey Preschool Lunchbox app (especially the Memory game) and I might try to find a few more good ones to download. Any recommendations?

Potty: She is still very proud of herself for her potty "skills". She has an occasional accident during nap time (one in the last two weeks), and wears a diaper at night. I have absolutely no interest in trying to train her for nights and will probably wait until she is in a big bed and can get up and go by herself. I still keep the Baby Bjorn potty chair in the car and take the Baby Bjorn toilet trainer with us when we go places. It's been over 3 months now and I'm just in the habit of it, so it isn't a big deal. She doesn't use the "car potty" very often, but it was very nice to have on our recent long drives and if we are in a situation where it is just easier to use it rather than take both kids inside somewhere. I insist that she goes to the potty before we go swimming (or somewhere else without a convenient potty), nap, and bedtime, but other than that, she initiates when she goes. She can get on the potty and go by herself, but usually wants assistance/attention, and that isn't a battle that I want to fight right now, so I don't mind helping her. She always asks us to leave the bathroom so that she can have some privacy and she especially likes to talk to herself while on the potty. Sometimes she talks about Baltimore and moving, and other days she gives herself a pep talk.

Overheard outside the bathroom:
E: "I am very good at this!"
Me: (poking my head in) "What are you very good at?"
E: "I am very good at peepeein' and poopin'!"
E: "I am very good at swimming too!"

Personality: In typical two year old fashion, she can go from insanely happy to insanely frustrated with the flip of a switch. I really have to make sure that she gets enough sleep, because a well-rested toddler is much happier than a tired one. When she is in a really good mood, she is little "Miss Manners" and is very exaggerated when she asks us for things, thanks us for things, and compliments us. This is quite funny. The other day, I went to get her up in the morning and she said, "Mommy, I am so proud of you for waking up!". She can carry on quite the dialogue or monologue. When she is frustrated (read: jealous that I am not at her beck and call, usually because I need to do something for Jack), she acts out. The other day she was in a great mood after her nap. We played for a little while and then went to wake Jack up. I started feeding him and in that INSTANT she ripped her socks off, threw them on the floor, and screamed "Put them back on NOW, Mommy!" for the entire 15 minute feeding. Doesn't that sound like fun? :)

Most of the time (as in, when Jack is playing by himself or sitting in his car seat and isn't being given attention by someone else), she does like her brother and will often talk to him, saying something like, "You're so CUUUUUTE, Jack. I like your shirt, Jack! Are you smiling at me, Jack? Did you poop in your diaper, Jack? We need to get you a new one. That is yucky! You can't have/do ___ because you're a baby. It's okay, Jack, we will be there soon. Don't cry, Baby Jack! Did you wake up, Jack? Oh, you DID! You're eyes are open!" He started rolling over last week, and she discovered very quickly that she can "help" him roll over. Ha! She also likes to make him smile by playing pat-a-cake with him.

She is usually very quiet and wants to be close by when she is around people that she doesn't know very well (or just hasn't seen in a while). I'm really excited for her to go to preschool for one morning a week in the fall. I think it will help her in this area. She does like to go to the church nursery on Sundays and is always playing happily when we go to pick her up. She got to take home a mini flashlight last week and when I asked her what it meant, she said "Jesus." She's got the Sunday School answer down already! She doesn't have problems with hitting, throwing, biting, pushing, etc, but she sometimes offers too much unwanted affection. I haven't seen this happen in large groups, just when we've had playdates with one other child.

In the last few weeks, I've noticed her talking to herself a lot more, usually in the car seat or on the potty. She still asks a ton of questions, and they usually come in strings (like one question leads to another, which leads to another, etc). She has a great memory and often remembers random details about something that happened a long time ago. Last week, I told her that we were going to see Grandma Frances and Grandpa Harold (we last saw them over Christmas) and she looked at me for a few seconds and said, "They have a rocking chair!".

I did a very poor job of writing down her funny sayings... I think a few of them got stuffed in moving boxes and maybe I'll find them in Baltimore. She is just hilarious and always makes us laugh. Here is another sample:
E: "Did Baby Jack spit up on your shirt?"
Me: "Yes."
E: "Did he spit up on your strap?" (I was wearing a tank top)
Me: "Yes."
E: "It is wet." (looks at the other strap) "That one is dry. He will spit up on that one tomorrow."

Elise brings us so much joy that we overlook the frustrating moments of this age. We love her so much! What an amazing blessing that we were chosen to be her parents. Happy 2.5!

These wonderful pictures were taken by Elise's Aunt Michelle! You can visit her website at www.michellebphotographie.com. In case you are wondering, she looks a lot like me at this age. I'll have to post a few old pictures soon.