eloise {four & a half years}

{lion: jellycat via Nordstrom // sequin shirt: Gap Kids (old) // leggings: Cat and Jack // hair clip: Ryan and Wren}

{four & a half years} Oh man, guys, four & a half! It really feels real that Eloise is growing up. She’s just 6 months from being FIVE and registered for Kindergarten!

Eloise has done so well in Pre-K and it has been AMAZING to see how much she has learned in just half a school year. She knows all of her letters, how to write them, and what sound the letter makes. And from this, she is also learning to read, including sight words. The entire world is opening up to her now that she is understanding words, and I cannot wait to see it happen!

Also, she mostly writes in upper case letters and loves to ask how to spell a phrase, and then write it down, letter-by-letter. (Which is so cute but can be trickier when she asks about a super long sentence or phrase.) My favorite thing is that when she writes the letter “S” she wiggles her body. It’s the cutest thing ever!

She continues to be the BEST big sister to Daphne. They truly are the best of friends which makes my mama-heart burst with joy! Eloise always wants to help Daphne do everything. Sometimes to a fault. And most recently (on the weekends), Eloise has been so sweet in helping Daphne get dressed in the morning! BUT they are also sisters in that they fight. A lot. Okay, not a lot, but enough. And generally it is about sharing (or not sharing) a specific toy. Because nothing makes you want to play with something more than seeing your sister playing with it!

Eloise is also pretty tidy and likes things in order. (I have no idea where this comes from. Ha!) She folds and puts away her own laundry (not all the time, but some of the time). She puts away toys and organizes things. Again, she doesn’t always clean-up, but is generally pretty tidy.

She’s also a rule follower. If she knows (or has been told) that there is a specific rule, she will totally call you out if she sees you “breaking” it! Generally speaking, this means she is a really well-behaved kid, which she is. We’ve definitely had our moments of defiance and total melt-down, screaming tantrums recently though which is WAY worse than anything we saw at two or three. (And our friends with older kids have told us that is really normal! The “terrible twos” are just a mild precursor to having a young child.)

And the newest rendition of Things Eloise Says:

“Mama, can you turn down Daphne?”

“We are playing sports!”

Me: “Which jacket would you like to wear?” Eloise: “My fleece one because it’s purple!”

Sees other kids at the park: “Maybe I’ll make them as my friends!”

Eloise: “Papa, when is take your kid to work day?” Aaron: “Not for a while. What would work for you?” Eloise: “Wednesday. Mama, will you watch my kids on Wednesday?”

“Will you check the rain cast?”

“I love making pizza. Mama, can you put lots of cheese on it? And love? You sprinkle it on like cheese, only it’s love.”

Playing store with Daphne: “Can you scan this and take Apple Pay?”

Eloise: “Knock, knock?” Me: “Who’s there?” Eloise: “Boo!” Me: “Boo who?” Eloise: “I have broccoli ears! How did I get broccoli ears?”

Eloise saw my name written out. “Mama, this says M-I-S-H-A. That’s not your name. Your name is Mama!”

Eloise calls her new (My First) Bananagrams game Zucchini Grams because they are green!

“Mama, some things are unlegally parked. Like this stroller!” (And she points to her doll stroller.)

“Mama, I don’t think dragons make good pets. They breathe fire and it’s not good for the Earth. And they are reptiles and I don’t think reptiles should be pets.”

Eloise says to Daphne while she is feeding Sadie: “Keep it tippled up!”

“Mama, I need a Boogie wipe. Because my nose feels crispy.”

Sings: “Lucy in the sky’s a darlin’!” (LOVES The Beatles!)

After seeing Santa, Eloise really wanted marshmallows in her hot chocolate, but they didn’t have any. And then she didn’t drink ANY of her hot chocolate. (Seriously.) Later in the car that day we were chatting with Aaron about our day and the hot chocolate came up. Aaron and I told Eloise that we could tell our friend Sara, who is a lady boss at Starbucks, that they should put marshmallows in the hot chocolate. And Eloise says “Is she pro-marshmallow?”

“It’s nice that I don’t have to drive!”

Eloise had a super secret project at school the last week before Winter Break. The last day she brought home a gift bag and told us it was her Christmas present to us. She was so excited, but she didn’t make a peep about it, just that it was super secret. And then on Christmas morning, she hands Aaron the bag to open it and says “Here, Papa, it’s an ornament!”

“Mama, I am playing Candyland. I’ll tell you if I win.” (And she was playing by herself.)

Last night we were driving home from dinner at a friend’s house and Eloise needed a Kleenex to blow her nose. And then she went on to explain to us about boogers: “The boogers that come out of my nose are exit boogers. And the ones that stay in my nose are house boogers.”

{weight} 40 pounds.

{teeth} 20 teeth plus four molars.

{clothes}  4T, some 5 or 4 to 6 (which is a kid’s XS).

Happy Half Birthday E!

M

This post contains affiliate links.