Monday, May 18, 2009

18 months

Dear Eliza, I can't believe you turned 18 months yesterday! On one hand I can't believe you're already such a toddler and growing up so fast! On the other hand, I can't believe your dad and I have only been parents for a year-and-a-half. I can't remember what we used to do without you around! I'm surprised by how much of your own person you already are, with your own likes and dislikes. You love to eat pickles and feta cheese, and that certainly wasn't our idea! And you already have your own friends. Roberta and Ingrid from next door ask you to come out and play all the time. Yesterday you grabbed your baby and stroller and played hide-and-go seek and chase with them all over the yard. And you're making up your own words. We're really enjoying watching your personality shine through!

Friday, May 15, 2009

Bossy Pants

This morning when we were getting ready to go, Eliza put her hands on her hips and said, "let's go!" She says a few other sentences too, just stuff she's heard us repeat a lot, like "Want a bite?" "Here you go." etc. She uses a lot of gestures too, like patting a spot next to her where she wants us to sit, or motioning us to follow her. She doesn't like us to rest our arms on her carseat. She'll move our hands and say "no no" like she needs her own personal space. It's a good thing she's so cute because she really is getting very bossy. :)

Monday, May 11, 2009

H-town

We spent this weekend in Houston for Jason's graduation and Pam & Wayne's 40th anniversary. Eliza got to meet her Great Aunt Carolyn and got to see Aunt Becky, Uncle Chris and her cousin Gryff too. She and Gryff had a great time together. They kept hugging and patting each other on the back. Very cute. We went to a very fancy restaurant for lunch and afterwards headed to the park so Pam & Wayne could renew their vows. Congrats to them and to Uncle Jason!

Beantown




Eliza flew on a plane for the first time last week. She was very excited and really wanted to greet all her fellow passengers. She didn't understand why so many of them were trying to sleep on such an exciting occasion. :) For a while the ride was pretty bumpy and she kept yelling "wheeee!!!" Overall she was a very good sport.

I'll post more later, but for now, a few highlights:
-The enormous turtle at the aquarium (seriously, it was 5 feet long)
-Eliza raising her sippy cup to say "cheers" at the Cheers bar
-Eliza feeding the ducks and chasing the squirrels in Boston Common
-Checking out the Harvard Natural History museum (Eliza pointing to each gem and saying "rock rock rock")
-Eliza saying "choo choo!" every time we got on the subway
-Eliza posing at the Stata Center (famous architecture) MIT sign
-Riding the carousel in the park


And a few lowlights:
-Me getting lost in the rain trying to meet up with S and Eliza on the Harvard Bridge (turns out the Harvard Bridge doesn't go to Harvard, oops)
-Almost missing our return flight because we had to go through security twice due to a JetBlue error.
-Eliza swallowing an olive pit. I'll spare you the details.
-Eliza figuring out how to unlock our hotel door and trying to make a run for it while we slept.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Tomboy



S said last night "Now I realize why parents kiss boo boos. Because they can't do anything else." So true. Eliza is such a little adventurer now. Watching her explore is both exciting and terrifying. She climbs up and stands on everything she can find. She has little bruises all over her shins. She climbs up her slide backwards. She tries to climb up the neighbor's monkey bars. She stands in the rocking chair and tries to "surf." And every time she accomplishes something new she looks so proud and checks to make sure we see her. She also loves to play in the dirt and in sandboxes.