Elise also knows how to praise her pup - she spent about 10 minutes showering a submissive Sadie with a variety of hugs and kisses (soft head butts) and gentle pets. She loves Sadie and tries to love the kittens, but the old grumps just don't have the patience for her. Max, sometimes. Molly, hardly ever. Elise has even developed her own "meeowww" in an attempt to better communicate with them! It's adorable.
More from Elise - She's now up to about 8 steps on her own when she feels like it. Some days, she chooses the easy route - speed crawling. Others, she's taking steps that make us think her crawling days are behind her. It's clear that she's decided to take her sweet time with this, which is fine by us! On the other hand, she'll climb up on anything in the blink of an eye - a book (just sits on it), a chair, a pet, steps, and recently, Nora's step stool. She hasn't had a big spill yet (knock on wood) and she shows no fear!
Elise, caught in the act of trying to sneak upstairs!
February also marks the first time we've heard her say "apple" and her sign language is developing just as quickly. She has consistently signed "food," "all done," "bath," and has even created her own signs for "bonk" (when she bumps her head). She can accurately point to her nose, mouth and feet. She has trouble with ears, but they are kinda hard to find without a mirror. She still loves to dance at the drop of a beat, whether its the Drums on my iPod or an NPR interlude. This past week, she's even started to sing her own little melodies!Elise will eat just about anything you put in front of her these days, but still doesn't really care for a bottle or baby food from a jar. I'd name favorites, but she's really not all that selective. If I had to pick one, it would have to be these "all fruit" strips from Trader Joe's. Yeah, she's a little obsessive about those!
Last note on Elise - she's finally into bedtime books, which she didn't used to have the patience for. Her favorites are "Say Goodnight" and "Barnyard Dance." The former because of the page that says "bumpity, bumpity, hold on tight!" (we bounce around on that one) and the latter because Naomi does a little dance-along as we read!
And these are certainly heady times for Nora as well! She's smarter than ever, using words that she obviously picks up from our adult conversations: "Actually, Papa, you're not a prince, you're just my papa. I was just pretending." "My cousin's last name is Cleveland, just like the town we live in!" She's brilliant. And I'm not just saying that because she's my big girl!
More importantly, she's a super endearing and loving to everyone around her. This is especially true with Elise and her family, from mama and papa, to her grandparents, aunts and uncles. Sometimes, when I least expect it, she'll throw her arms around me and say, "I love you SO much papa!" It melts me, as I'm sure you would imagine. A little while back, after completing one of her princess puzzles, she told me to "make them talk." I did, saying, "Nora, you are going to be a beautiful princess someday!" She replied, "No, I just want to be like my mama." Last weekend, she called me when I was at a Cavs game to tell me that she was worried that I was going to get hit with the ball. She's clearly grown to believe that the Cavs are so bad these days that they'll be haphazardly chucking balls into the second deck. I assured her that I would be extra careful.
Nora loves her some Elise:
Nora is in her second "school" now, which is a Waldorf class at her friend Big Nora's house. They do a nature walk every day, no matter what the weather, and they come back to bake bread (which they eat as part of a healthy shared lunch), do creative play activities, sing, and what not. She loves this once-a-week exercise and it makes us very optimistic about her future outlook on school. Perhaps most notable, however, Nora has just completed her second week of dance classes! She LOVES these, which was virtually guaranteed. She gets all dressed up in pink tights, black leotard, headband, and tutu and runs into the Beck Center classroom with her little friends for about an hour every Saturday morning. The only thing that would make it more adorable would be an "open door" policy or a two-way viewing mirror. But alas, parents are relegated to the hallway!Trying out the new outfit!
Getting acquainted on Day 1:
Last note on Nora - someone (you know who you are) got Nora an iPod touch for Christmas. You know kids and new techno gadgets... I loved my Nintendo and GameBoy when I was a lad, and Nora loves her iPod! As you might suspect, though, she can get a little too attached to it. She's got some pretty sweet games on it and knows how to do everything but add more cash to her iTunes account. But, just as we've had to do with TV, we've had to set some pretty serious limits. She has adapted, knowing that if she doesn't follow the rules, she won't see Rapunzel or Angry Birds for a few days. One of her most common cries these days is a desperate, "I want mine iPod! I really want mine iPod!" Yes, Nora, we know...
In other news, I've had the pleasure of spending a couple days with my girls at the museums in University Circle in recent months. This is a pleasant side effect of figuring out how to have two working parents on a weekly basis. Nora has chosen the Botanical Garden each of the past two times, which is a damn fine choice, I'll admit. She's becoming quite the bird and butterfly scout and has started to impart her knowledge on her little sister. I love it!Elise in her caravan and Nora with her field guide:
The mirror room where you have to check to make sure you're not carrying any fugitive butterflies with you as you leave:
Last story - The Bongornos met up with the Boyds a couple weekends ago for a hike and some sledding in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It was one of those outings that made me think that another 3 months of winter wouldn't be all that bad! We met up at Wallace Lake and pulled our girls (Nora, Elise, Sofia, and Fiona) on sleds through the wooded hills, around the frozen lake, to a wonderful sledding hill, where Nora had her first frosty trips down a powdery hill in the big orange sled that I used when I was a kid. I don't know who had more fun, her or me!
Nora & Elise were not thrilled about getting plucked from the car while sleeping, even though they got to share this kick-ass sled!
The sled ride through the woods cheered Nora up. Here, sharing a giggle with Fiona:
Naomi & our little pink burrito:
This one's a keeper:
