Here’s our little supermodel at breakfast one day.
She still loves wearing her sunglasses…either on her face, upside down, or on her head like Mommy. Some days she also likes to have the newspaper at breakfast to look at pictures…which we try to pick out the friendly ones for her to see. If she asks for the business section, I’ll really think she is “just like Daddy”. She already asks for money to put in her princess “piggy” bank, or tells me she is “going to work to buy me money”…and then comes back to me with “money”, which I, of course, eagerly stuff in all of my pockets! I am open to receiving money – even if it is fake!
We got our Christmas tree in early December to try and enjoy it for a few weeks before travelling back to Philly for the holiday. What surprised me was how Elizabeth seemed to instantly know what to do with the Christmas tree balls I was unpacking. She asked to help, so I handed her one (of the unbreakables) and I watched. She went over to the tree and hooked it on. What? I handed her another and another. She hooked, she looped. Of course, she also piled them all on top of each other, which is something she does with stickers and toys, too. She needed help with some of the ornaments, but I was surprised how she just knew what to do and how to do it. She was so cute, too, running back and forth flopping on the floor or going into a Down Dog and then yelling “mores” (most words are plural in her vocabulary) and most of her actions are animated and dramatic!
I’m usually pretty picky about where to put my ornaments, so it was strange to look at our tree when we were done and see all my glass blown fish and fancy balls on the top half, and all of the cheaper break-resistant balls and wood pieces on the bottom half. How life has changed. Not to mention now having a blend of Florida and Colorado decorations on our tree…but I like that part.
We had big plans this year of taking Elizabeth to see Santa and sit on his lap to get the “great photo”. We thought trying it out at the YMCA was best since it was easy and free and we’d see what her reaction would be. Well….here’s a picture of her and Daddy. The picture with Santa? Shows her trying to run away. She loved that she got a candy cane from Santa though, but “no lap” and “candy cane!” was all she would say for the month.
Santa came to her school…”no lap” (but “fun!” was also repeated over and over). We pointed out Santa in the mall…”no lap” with the legs-wrapped-around-my-belly death squeeze. We went to a very decorated Bass Pro store…”line was too long to even think about it”…oh! That’s what we said! Ha! She still said “no lap”, though.
But at the Bass Pro store is where we got the Christmas photo we wanted…as she rode the very cool Western and Christmas themed carousel which had moose and bears, jack-a-lopes, and a reindeer, of course.
We find it very interesting that Elizabeth still cannot say her name very well, yet she can say words like “Carousel” and “Cinnamon”. So how is she saying her name? “Belize”. I think it’s cute, but Andy keeps playing games with her in the car chanting “Give me an “E”…give me a “Liz”, give me a “Beth”, What’s it spell?” Getting her to practice yelling her name.
Our friend Beth gave Elizabeth a Tea Party Set for her birthday. I found it hysterical to find her using the mat in the kitchen one day unloading every piece of plastic and tupperware from her cabinet and setting it up. I suggested having “friends” over for the tea party and here we are…
We did get some outdoor decorations put up this year. Andy did a great job considering we haven’t finished unpacking and we were trying to sort through all of the boxes we had shipped from Florida and trying to re-combine them with the items from the condo. We are feeling quite discombobulated with such unorganized chaos. And, remember, we haven’t looked inside most of those Florida boxes in years. It was hard to even know what we had.
But, anyway, Andy put lights on a bush and a tree out back. When it snowed, the tree glistened like a disco ball with lights reflecting off of the snow on the ground. It was beautiful.
We went to Philly for the holiday to be with our families. Here’s Elizabeth in her Christmas Eve dress. She was so excited to get a horse and stable from Rosie that she made Daddy cut open the package so she could play with it on the spot.
Ok, she wanted Daddy to open EVERY present she got! It was a very different year and was so much fun to watch her really get into opening presents. She has been opening presents since her birthday in October, though, so hopefully she won’t think this is the new norm.
She received a veterinarian kit, and again surprised me by immediately putting the stethoscope around her neck and wanting to check everyone’s heart. Future vet or doctor, perhaps? I wouldn’t mind thinking of that except she is just TOO compassionate and empathetic and gets too upset when she sees anyone cry that I think her heart would be too soft for those jobs. (I’m still trying to figure out how to get her to be less reactive to situations without dampening that compassion and empathy!)
Here’s a picture of her with some of her cousins on Andy’s side. Quite an age difference, eh? But she loved them all, and had such a great time both on Christmas Eve and at Carol’s party a few nights later. And we were so pleased to see how her cousins all helped to keep an eye on her to keep her happy and safe during crowded parties.
Here’s my sister-in-law, Linda, with Elizabeth as she opened up some new Legos on Christmas day. Yeah, we let her play with plastic. It’s so nice at my brother’s house…relaxing and quiet in comparison to a large Thomas celebration. Ok, except for trying to keep Ashley and Elizabeth from colliding as both dog and toddler run full-force around the house! And one whip of Ashley’s tail hurts me.
Daddy and Eliz saying Cheese…I think this was taken before we left her at Carol’s house for her sleep-over. Her first time sleeping in someone else’s house without us.
I still can’t believe we left Elizabeth have a sleep-over at Carol’s that night. Steph, Rosie, and Carol wanted to have her, and we wanted a relaxing night to visit with friends. But Carol was having a party of 30+ people, and she (Carol) was sick. And, Rosie went home sick. So that left Steph to help with the party and watch over Eliz. But, again, all of the cousins chipped in and kept an eye on her and Eliz made friends with some other young children and she had a blast. Apparently never missing us for one minute! Aaaah, that’s a good thing. I’m glad it’s never been difficult to leave us and she has such a good time whether we’re there or not. Our little social butterfly…yet so cautious at the same time.
And, back at home, this is what she can get into in a few short minutes while I’m distracted on the phone. I shouldn't have gotten her those scented markers. She loves putting them up to her nose…or in this case all over her face.
Her and Daddy playing with her sunglasses. Good thing I got a couple of freebies for her to abuse. Amazing how durable those cheap free ones are. But even in the winter on a cold day, she loves to be naked (or at the most, clad in a diaper).
She got a Leap Frog computer from my sister for Christmas, and I immediately took a picture of her when she first sat down to play with it. I sent the picture to my sister and asked her what she thought was interesting about the image and she said, “She was Qwerty ready!”. Yep, both hands on the keyboard with fingers moving. She mimics everything! Of course, that was me she was mimicking, because Daddy is a hunt-and-pecker.
Funny thing, though. She started playing with it and asked for her “horses”…the videos she watches on YouTube. She was sad to hear that she couldn’t watch her videos on HER computer. Or , “pooter” as she calls it. Some day, Elizabeth, we’ll get you one with a mouse and access to YouTube, but for now this one is plenty fun.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!
More Pics in December’s WebAlbums
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