emerald city diaries

{lion: jellycat via Nordstrom // tee: Old Navy // leggings: Cat & Jack for Target (similar here and here) // bow: Hadley Girl (similar)}

{month thirty} Holy two-and-a-half years! I cannot believe we are even here. Seriously. I know Eloise hasn’t been a baby for a long time, but my mind cannot comprehend that she was born two-and-a-half years ago! I digress… here’s a recap of the last three months:

Eloise still loves Hide and Seek (see the hilarious video of her here if you missed it!) even though she can’t contain her excitement to stay hidden long enough to be found. She also really loves playing Peek-a-Boo these days, either with her hands or a blanket.

There is lots of singing during the day and Eloise almost always insists on music being played while we are in the car or in the house if we are hanging out in the kitchen. She sings a lot at school too, but is always singing to herself during her play time or even before she falls asleep. She is really into changing the lyrics of songs too, or mashing them together (two or three songs become one!) which really surprises me. She is really understanding the words of songs which is super cool. Her favorite personal renditions are: “We all live in a PURPLE submarine!” and “Grammie Had A Little Lamb.”

Eloise is also really grasping shapes these days and comments frequently about seeing different shapes in her food. She also is amazing at recognizing letters in books, letters, or out-and-about; she can tell you if something is a letter (versus a number or a symbol) but really can identify: E M P R G S and L. (Not a coincidence that most of those letters are in her name, or other people’s names – like Mama, Papa, Grammie.)

Something else I have noticed recently – which I think is also from school – is that Eloise will tell us that things are “similar” or “different.” And this can be anything – colors, dogs on the street, fruits or vegetables, a character in a book.

Eloise, much like her mama, is pretty Type-A already and is already has a fondness for lists! She likes to count things on her fingers, but also list things (or events) on her fingers; like “one – Eloise go to school, two – stories with Mama, then – naptime, then – Papa comes home.” And she makes this great face while she is thinking of things that I have been trying to capture in either photo or video! She sort of wrinkles up half of her face, it’s the cutest!

The past few months Eloise and I were enrolled in a Mama and Me dance class at a local dance studio. One of our PEPS friends told us about it since it was a free 9 week class session (normally classes are about $20 per class – yikes!) and so we joined on Friday mornings with our PEPS friends. The class was pretty structured in that we did the same basic things and songs every single time; a little repetitive for the mamas but great for the toddlers. Eloise mostly participated, though sometimes wanted to just be on my lap or have me hold her, but still sings all of the songs when we are at home. She is too young still for any real dance or gymnastics class (especially without me being involved too) but seems to really enjoy the classes that we have been able to take here and there. I am hoping once Baby Foot is a little older, I can figure out a good dance or gymnastics program for Eloise to enroll in.

Eloise’s bi-annual visit to the dentist was in December and she was awesome! Aaron was able to come with us and I think that helped. The office is super kid-friendly (it is only a peds dentist) with toys and prizes and TVs on the ceiling. She really hasn’t been into the TVs at all, but still did really well. She got a clean bill of health, and the dental hygienist was so sweet and gave her a big prize for giving up her pacifiers! I picked out the Daniel Tiger figures for her as the big prize since she has been really into the show recently (she watches an episode about three or four times a week). And then twice a day we brush our teeth and Eloise is really good about it. She still chews on the toothbrush more than we like, but does let us help her at the end (thanks to the Dentist who told her she needed to let Mama and Papa help).

And as if she wasn’t cute enough, Eloise started saying “I need you” if she wants you to stay, like at naptime or bedtime. We do our best to let her fall asleep on her own, but she always wants one more story, or song, or cuddle, and when you get up to leave, she will say “I need you!” and it breaks your heart a little. Or if we are busy doing something and she needs your attention, you will tell her “Okay, give me 2 minutes,” and she will say “Mama, I need you!”

Because a lot of things are changing, mostly that Baby Foot is going to be here before we know it!, Eloise has been very in-tune with being a “big kid.” Before I was a parent, I thought the whole “big kid” thing was sort of weird, almost belittling to toddlers and young kids. But I totally get it now. Eloise is all about being a big kid and we can see the way it changes her behavior or makes something more interesting. And she almost always wants to be a big kid! On the flip-side though, she has also learned that she is “too little” for some things too. Mostly it is a height thing where she wants to do something and she is “too little” to reach it. Or she also has been pretending that she is a baby, and then she is “too little” to do anything!

Along with using a real plate and utensils at mealtime (no plastic stuff around here!), Eloise has been using a real glass for milk at mealtime. We still use a sippy cup and of course her water bottles with the straw, but especially at lunch or dinner time when we are at the table eating all together, she drinks out of a real cup. I picked up these tempered glass ones which are a great size for her. Plus I can stick them in the dishwasher, which I won’t do with any of her plastic sippy cups or water bottles!

As you know from my weekend posts and other updates, we were in the process of getting Eloise’s big kid room ready to go. I wanted to move her with ample time before the baby came, just in case we had any big issues with her not wanting to move, so we moved her just after the holidays. She was already in a toddler bed (her converted crib) and was doing really well in it, so transitioning to the big kid bed (a twin) was a little easier. We tried the transition at a naptime which may not have been the best, and she ended up taking two hours to go to sleep AND ended up back in her crib (!) but after that, we haven’t had any issues with her. She sleeps well in her new bed and even though it is low to the ground, we keep a pillow on the edge and she has yet to roll out! At first she didn’t get out of bed without Aaron or I in the room (which is how she was in her converted crib), but now we will see her on the monitor get out of bed to look at her books or try to find her monitor on the top of the dresser or other toddler shenanigans. It is mostly harmless and the funniest thing is that she knows she isn’t supposed to get out of bed because if she hears you coming down the stairs, she will scamper back to bed and lie down! But, it is a balance because if you get downstairs and she thinks she is in trouble (for being out of bed) she will cry and cry (this kid is like her Mama and does not like to be in trouble!). But the entire transition from the nursery to her new room went really smoothly. She still likes to play in the nursery and we still use the changing table twice a day, but she is really happy in her new space!

And unlike most toddlers we know, Eloise loves the Ergo! Since I can’t wear it right now, it is a special treat for Eloise and Papa to get a chance to snuggle together. She asks for it all the time and is always really excited when Papa goes on an adventure with her and they get to use it, like when he took her to school the other day and they took the bus! She talked about it all day long. It is the sweetest.

And finally, Eloise loves (LOVES) temporary tattoos – as you can see on her hand in this month’s photo) and hand stamps. Her tattoo obsession started in the early fall and she pretty much likes to have a tattoo on one of her hands all the time. I try not to let her have one all the time and make it a special treat for her. But she also loves stamps on her hands and really does have them on all the time between getting one at school twice per week (including on her belly!) and then one at library story time (and also at dance class when we were going).

Here are some photos to share from the past quarter that you may or may not have seen already!

{Helping the teacher make play-dough at daycare one day. She occasionally still goes to a full day at daycare, but since we are in the midst of cold and flu season we have mainly stayed away!}

{Look at that Mohawk! Eloise and Papa shenanigans at bathtime.}

{Eloise saw the dentist in December – she goes twice a year! – and did so well.}

{After dance class one day. She is obsessed with her tutu (or her “ballerina skirt”), those are shoes from when I was three, and she gets three different magazines in the mail each month (or so) and it is her very favorite day!}

{From her half-birthday celebration at school this week since school won’t be in session for her August birthday. Her school loosely does the Montessori birthday ritual which involves walking around the globe and a candle.}

{More birthday celebration at school. It was also spirit week at school and Pajama Day was the same day. Her teachers and friends made her a big birthday banner which she insisted on hanging in her room (I promise to share photos of her new room soon!) and she is obsessed!}

{weight} 31 or 32 pounds.

{hair} dark (reddish) brown.

{teeth} 20 teeth and molars.

{eyes} dark brown.

{clothes}  2T, 3T and some 4T.

{diapers} POTTY TRAINED! size 2T/3T underwear during the day and honest company size 6 diapers for naptime and at night.

{feeding} during the day, three meals, morning snack, & afternoon snack. cup of milk with every meal.

{likes} school (her friends and teachers), talking walks around the neighborhood, coloring, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, football, yelling, Duplos, digging in the dirt, splashing, counting, chewing on her toothbrush, the mailman, any person outside on the sidewalk, bubbles, sidewalk chalk,  buckles, jumping, watching out the front window (dogs, kids, trucks), books, mama & papa’s cell phone (photos or FaceTime), singing & music, dancing, Sadie, bath time, shoes, mama’s bag, clapping, putting things inside a bag or box, taking lids off of things, talking, helping with anything & everything, when Papa comes home from work.

{dislikes} not being included, having something taken away from her, being hungry, getting into the carseat, getting out of the carseat, not being able to do something herself.

{nicknames} Bug{s}, Love Bug, Baby Bug, E, Wheezy, Kiddo, Love, Bugaboo, Ellie or Elle.

Happy 30 months Eloise!

M

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