"Silly Elizabeth!"

Nothing much new going on here, except packing for our trip, finishing the move, and writing a chapter for an edited collection in which submitting the essay (which I finally got sent off!! Yea!). Most of the news around here involves Elizabeth, especially with some of the things she’s been saying and doing. Here are just a few:

1. I accidentally stepped on one of Elizabeth’s stuffed animals and said, “Oops, I’m sorry, Elizabeth.” She responded, “It’s okay, Mommy. It’s OKAYYYYY!” She was trying to comfort me.

2. We were eating dinner at a Mexican restaurant and she started singing, “Rain, rain, go away” very, very loudly. And this just happened to be the one moment in the last few months in which it was NOT raining!

3. Every time we ask her where she wants to go eat, she says, “Chuck E Cheese.” The closest one is in Waco, and we have promised we will take her there on her birthday. We’ve gone there once and she was scared of everything, so I’m not sure that she really wants to eat there, but she keeps insisting. I think it’s because they advertise on Disney, and she likes the commercial.

4. The town-home we are living in temporarily has stairs and Elizabeth doesn’t like to be upstairs when we are all downstairs. Occasionally, however, we will find her upstairs alone—not in her room playing but at the sink in her bathroom, washing her hands and brushing her teeth. If she’s not doing that, then she’s allowing Cago, Lilly, Baby, and some of her other stuffed animals to go potty and wash their hands, too. She loves to take them through the routine she goes through every time she uses the potty!

5. After the Wiggles phase ended, Elizabeth became obsessed with Mickey Mouse and gang. She still is, but a new favorite of hers is Dora. She LOVES Dora, and even answers the questions Dora asks on her show. She loves saying, “Swiper, no swiping!” and “Everybody, let’s go,” as well as all the Spanish words she’s learning.

6. Every time someone does something funny or that makes her laugh, Elizabeth always says, "Silly _______ (Mommy, Daddy, Nana, John, etc.)!"

That’s enough memories for now. I want to make a record of these incidents so that years from now she can look through them and know what she was like. Elizabeth, in case you’re reading this in 2030, I want you to know how sweet, loving, and caring you are. You are so special!