Here are some of the words people that know Elle use to describe her:
A character.
Hilarious.
Busy.
Fast!
Holy cow is she quick!
Trouble baby.
LOUD!
Smart.
Hilarious.
She is frankly, hilarious. Everything she does is intentional, and the way she does things makes Grace and I laugh. Crack up. Whether or not this is Elle's intention is yet to be determined, but I'm thinking we will know that soon.
The world is Eleanor's oyster, and she wants to explore it. Her favorite thing to do is to get a lift from me, point to objects, have me walk her over to them, and say what the object is so she can repeat it, and then I explain what the object is and how it works. This little activity usually ends in front of the pantry with a packet of Dora fruit snacks. Shrewd move, little sister. She always asks for a second pack for "Gaaacie," and runs them over to her like she can't believe her good fortune. How can I say no?
Elle loves juice. She loves treats. She loves to chew food and then spit it out and look at it. She doesn't at all mind being dirty or sticky. I think she rather enjoys it. She is no stranger to candy and suckers, she had her first ring pop last week and the excitement I felt via osmosis makes me want to give her another one right now. Her clothes are always stained. She smells like a puppy.
Elle is not shy. She loves people. She especially loves her family. And her little Papa. Check it:
And another one of her favorites is "MAX!"
She is quite easy to befriend. She's also easy on the eyes. She also might be a GINGER?
Here's something exciting: she has one movie she will sit still and watch. Sing! She loves it. She especially loves Gunter the dancing pig and tries endlessly to copy his spin move. Eric and I are so excited for this development. With the exception of the opening credits of Sophia the First, nothing else will hold her attention, except a human, on her level, with lots of toys and books. Part of the reason Sing! is so appealing to her is because it features animals, and the only thing Elle loves more than fruit snacks are ANIMALS! I'm so excited about this because I also love animals, but Eric does not loves animals, but he loooooves Eleanor, so we shall see what happens in the future, no? 😏 Speaking of animals, if you're driving in the car with her, she'll say your name and then say "animal?" which means, tell me an animal and let's make that animal's sound together! Let me tell you after about 20 miles, the animals get more and more obscure and the sounds get less and less realistic. I'm really looking forward to the day when she can face forward and watch TV like the rest of American children.
Elle is starting to play pretend with Grace and I, but after about five or so minutes, she will dump out ALL the toys and then lay on top of them and flap her arms and legs like she's making a snow angel. She also loves books and can turn individual paper pages all by herself, a sight that continues to amaze me. She loves to play babies, to look at pictures of babies on my phone (like Grace used to do with slides. She has one favorite baby on a google image search that she calls, "girl." We have to look her up often.) , she loves to be wrapped in a blanket and be held like a baby, she loves babies. Much like the animals, I think I have an ally if we ever decide to add a baby to our family. (It should be said, Grace is completely against adding any babies. "Nope! No way! No more babies! I want you to get back to sleeping with ME." What can I say? I am well loved. And never able to leave at night ever.)
I'm working on potty training Elle, and she does this thing now where she'll grab her diaper, say "boo!" and then clap and say "YAAAAAY!" Which means she peed. In her diaper. So she's missing an integral step, but I'm thinking we'll get there soon.
Elle believes she, too, is turning four soon, and wants to do everything Grace does. She wants to be thrown like daddy throws Grace, she wants to climb and do the monkey bars, she wants to eat yogurt like Grace, the same yogurt as Grace, out of the same container, with the same spoon, on the same chair. She loves to play in our van and sit in Grace's car seat, with the buckles on, and the headphones on...just like Gracie. She is enamored by her big sister, and for the most part, she can keep up. She has zero inhibitions, physically...she's willing to throw her body into everything she does, which is amazing and terrifying to watch. She's remarkably strong, she can hold herself up on the monkey bars, pulling her knees to her chest while laughing, Grace and I staring on in amazement. She doesn't fall nearly as often as her sister did or does, which is a relief, but her shins are purple and knees are scraped constantly. Good thing her dad's so good with photoshop.
She knows all her colors, tons of words, and hearing her say "yellow" is my favorite thing. She likes to grab me by the throat to get my attention, says "MAMA!" and then stares me deep in the eyes so she knows I am fully focused on her. Usually she wants me to carry her somewhere. Like to the pantry cupboard. Where the fruit snacks are. She doesn't mind chucking a toy across the room if it really ticks her off, her first impulse when she's mad is to give something a good smack, but she's developed some good self control in the last few months, and she's able to check those impulses more and more often. That sort of behavior used to really terrify me, like, oh my gosh she's going to be a total monster bully giant baby! Now that I know her a little better, I have to try reaaaaallly hard not to laugh. Elle, you've taught me so so so so so so so so much about patience, about how people with the same genetic material can be wildly different, about laughing, about how when I thought I was a busy mommy two years ago I HAD NO FREAKING IDEA WHAT WAS COMING, about how deeply I love you and your sister.
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