She's something else, isn't she? 😀
Eleanor Elizabeth, our lucky charm, we adore you! How are you already two? Wasn't this just yesterday?
Here are some of the things I love best about Elle:
Her tall, strong body. She's a very physical girl and I love how she throws her body into everything she does. Especially cuddling. I love the weight of holding her.
Her sense of humor is unmatched. She often cracks herself up, playing in her own little language, leaving the rest of us to crack up along with her. She is the sort of person who is naturally funny. She also understands how to be funny -- timing, expressions, physicality -- and she loves it. She is a comedienne through and through. This is SO EXCITING because my favorite thing to do is laugh.
Her determination. This kid will accomplish whatever she puts her mind to -- convincing Grace to play with her, jumping from a height that is inappropriate for her age, sleeping in her parents' bed (snuggled under her mom's arm, to be exact), the list is endless. She'll often come up to me, grab my hand and say, "C'mon mom, play!" Sometimes I have to tell her it will be a few minutes, and she'll almost always say, "Ok Mom!" and run away to pursue whatever little scenario she has concocted, not at all discouraged things didn't go exactly her way. She'll give it a minute or two, and then she's back, asking for a playmate, and possibly, a treat? M&Ms, Mommy?
Her sweetness. She radiates joy. She loves her people and expresses it by tackling a friend in a big hug, or slapping the back of another's legs and running away, hoping to be chased and swept up into an embrace. She gives the best hugs you'll ever have the privilege of receiving, arms wrapped tight around your neck, head buried into your chest. Tonight, after returning home from the store with her dad, she ran into my arms, said, "Missed you Mom!" then grabbed my face in her hands and kissed me on the forehead. How do I deserve such sweetness?! Last, she always, always, always says thank you, unprompted, when I give her anything, even something as simple as a napkin -- "Thanks mom!" I'm so impressed and pleased.
How she loves food. ←You have to watch that. What she's saying, for those of you who don't speak the mac-and-cheese dialect, is "sooo goooood!! MMM sooo good!"
Enough about me -- what does Elle like to do, now that she's two?
Watch Elsa.
Play Elsa.
Be Elsa.
*I hate Elsa*
Elle is a wonderful player, and princesses, one in particular, and barbies are her favorites. She loves to dump bins of toys upside down, rifle through the contents, hand-select her choice, and leave. You can always tell where Elle has been, because there is a trail of debris in her wake. Grace and I watch in horror; Eric totally "gets it." Two very different trees produced two very different apples, as they say.
She likes to sing and dance with Gracie, and her song of choice is always "Let it Go." She's more of a spin-and-fall sort of dancer, which is hilarious, but I'm not sure that's her intention. She also likes to sing "slap that booty," while slapping her booty, which is completely inappropriate and also completely her intention.
She loves books, music, music class, playing hard to get, ANIMALS, babies, finding pacifiers and sucking on them for a few hours at a time while pretending to be a baby. It is worth noting she never once used a pacifier when she was an actual baby. She also enjoys moving every part of her body at the same time all the time. Also head butting. Tonight I offered her the choice of reading in bed with me and Grace or going with her dad, and she said,"Wrestle Dad!"
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| Grace always calls her Ellie. So she may be called Ellie as she grows up? Grace wields a lot of power in this family. 💁 |
Sometimes I remember back to when Grace was her age and how much more of my uninterrupted time Grace had, and how that was reflected in her perfect recitation of the ABC's, counting to 20, being potty-trained and blah blah blah. I look at Elle and sometimes I wonder, like, what are 2 year olds supposed to do again? Elle, I know you're bright. I'm just less patient than I used to be, and you never stop moving so I figure you're gonna learn how to count in your own time, so I'm just going to sit back and let you do you. (Right now I'll ask her to count something and she'll say "sixseveneightnineten!" When I politely suggest we start with one, two, she'll cut me off in her demon voice and say "NO MY TURN! sixseveneightnineten!")
Sometimes I'll ask Elle how she's doing, or how her skin feels (she battles eczema), and I'll say something like, you feeling ok babe? And her response is Eleanor in a nutshell -- No, Mom! I Great!
She is joy.
This week I've been wrestling with insomnia, in part because I'm feeling a bit uneasy about having a two year old, because I see Elle's big sister, and I know where we're going. As fun as it is, growing with your kids, it's also challenging as they become less connected to you and more their own person. Babies, with their own unique challenges, are only sweet. Four year olds, for example, may tell you your breath stinks and to get away from them, hypothetically 😳. I find myself lying awake thinking two isn't a baby age, two is independence, two is turning three, and three is preschool -- feeling like I can't hold on to a frickin' thing in this household and wondering what my identity is going to be, when these people realize they don't need me so much, what are the origins of the universe, you know, all those tricky things our brains do to us after 1 am...and one night I realized, you fool! This isn't about you! This is about Elle! Stop thinking so much about your damn self! Then I sort of got over it. Because Elle is only excited about growing up, being two, eating M&Ms, giggling, and stealing all her sister's stuff. So I'm going to be excited right along with her. Because look at her! How could I not be?
Happy Birthday, sweetest Elle. I love being your mom.
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| sixseveneightnineten |
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