Almost TWO!

My little Elise Maya is almost two. The change from a year ago to now is just amazing. I love how she can express herself so much better now. She makes us laugh on a daily basis. One of the things she is doing is talking in sentences and a couple words may not be super clear, but I know what she is saying. I am tandem nursing her along with her baby brother (he's 5.5 months now) and sometimes when I'm home on weekends she wants to eat just as often as he does. Right now, well, that's a lot since he's getting teeth and growing through a growth spurt. Yesterday, I said "no" to her and tried to ask her if she wanted anything else. Here's how it went down.

Elise: "Mama, mama... boo-bye?" [her word for the boob]
Me: "No, how about some cheese?"
Elise: "Mama, no, no teeze".
Me: "Would you like an apple?"
Elise: "No!!! No appo."
Me: "Want some avocado?"
Elise: "No! No wan cado."
Me: "Oranges?"
Elise: "No! No oge."
Me: "George?" [at this point I'm laughing, and so is Andrew, because it's so funny]
Elise: "No! No Jo-dge".

She is saying "peeze" now when she asks for the boobie, so it's good that she is practicing her manners.

She is funny. She will carry around odd comfort items, such as an apple, or an orance slice, or a bar of soap. DH thinks she has some odd attachment disorder, but the more I talk to other parents, the more I see this is quite common! I just laugh about it. Whatever makes her happy as long as she does no harm, right?

I just look at her sometimes and picture the baby she was and it's just mind-boggling, at times, how fast these past two years have gone by. I love her gorgeous smile. I love her happy-go-lucky personality. I love that mischievous look she gets in her eye before she laughs and runs down the hallway. I love that she mimics her brother. I love how sweet she can be and how much concern she shows for her family members. I love her sweet, random kisses. I love when she holds out her arms and says, "hug" as she runs to me. I love her silly personality. She is pure joy.

Elise, never stop being you. Always dance as if nobody is watching. The world needs more people like you.