little MOMents from kristin: Elizabeth Grace

Lizzy is such a blessing. She is such a good little girl. She’s so sweet, but has a bit of an ornery streak. She’s so quiet, but she’s starting to talk a lot. She’s so busy, but always has time for a cuddle. Here’s what she’s up to these days…

She loves to give hugs and kisses. She makes a loud kissing noise when she gives someone a kiss. Her favorites to kiss: daddy, mommy, Elmo (“Mo”), Lucy, and her baby.
She loves her blankies and carries them everywhere. She hoards as many as she can find. When she gets sad, she finds a blanky and cuddles for a while. Her new favorite with the blankies is covering herself like a ghost and walking around. She thinks it’s really funny… and so do we.
She is a pretty good eater. She loves blueberries, strawberries, cereal bars, raisins, graham crackers, cookies, chocolate, and string cheese. She still doesn’t want to eat much meat, but loves shaved turkey so she eats a lot of that.
She is talking a lot and repeating anything we ask her to. Her favorite words are puppy, mommy, daddy, no, outs (outside), please, more, yes, boo (when she’s scaring me), up, baby, whoa… Those are the words I hear a LOT of, but she has a pretty good vocabulary already and it’s so fun to hear her little voice repeat things we say. It’s time for mommy and daddy to really watch what we say!
Animals are a real favorite of Lizzy's. She knows what a puppy, kitty, duck, cow, and horse say. My favorite is kitty; she makes the sign for it when she meows.
She is really good at time-out. Things that get her in time-out these days are throwing food and hitting. (Sometimes being one-and-a-half is frustrating!) When we place her in time-out she sits really well until we tell her she can get up. When she is finished she knows to give hugs and kisses. It’s sad to put her in time-out, but cute to see how well she handles it. She even looks so sorry sitting there.
She loves her daddy. She’s been a mommy’s girl since day one, but she is so fond of daddy right now. Whenever she sees him, she says “DA” and runs to him. She loves to find pictures of daddy around the house. She never points out mommy; just daddy. I was folding laundry last week and every time I pulled out a red t-shirt she said “DA!” Jon, I think maybe that’s a sign you have too many red t-shirts. When she says mommy, it's in her sweet little voice, but anytime she says da or daddy, she yells it. Too cute.
Like I said, she’s such a sweet little girl, but she has an ornery streak. She has a crooked smile she gives when she’s being ornery and it’s pretty much the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
She loves to help mommy. She loves to sweep, dust, clean the floor, put dishes away, get things for mommy (like diapers), and throw things away. The last two have come in really handy! She loves to get a tissue, blow her nose, and throw it away. She’d do it five times in a row if I’d let her. We keep Lucy’s treats in the same cabinet as the trash, so whenever she throws something away, she usually gets a treat for Lucy, too. So thoughtful!
She still LOVES to be outside: swinging, drawing with chalk, going for walks, and getting the mail. She also loves to play in the cars. I’m not sure how this started, but she thinks it’s so cool to sit in the front seat of the car and look out. Daddy’s car has coins in the console that she arranges often, too.
If she is inside, she can usually be found helping mommy, playing on her Dora couch, doing a puzzle, playing with blocks, pushing her baby in the stroller, playing with her Little People (mostly the animals), or racing cars on the kitchen floor. She also loves climbing on the furniture. This one doesn’t seem to get old. Lucy sits on the top couch cushions, so Lizzy thinks that’s a good spot to be, too. Good thing our couches are pushed up against the wall and the window.
She loves to brush her teeth and wash her hands. Thanks to a great step-stool made by Grandpa Charlie, she can reach everything herself, but still needs some help getting the toothpaste out.
She is a good sleeper. She usually goes to bed between 8:00 and 8:30 and gets up around 7:00 or 7:30. Sometimes I have to wake her up in the mornings for school at 8:00 :o) Sometimes she still lets me rock her to sleep and cuddle before bedtime. Those are the nights I love. Sometimes, though, she just points to her bed and wants to get comfy there. I like those nights, too. She’s getting more independent all the time. She usually naps for two hours, give or take a half an hour. She needs multiple blankies, a pillow, and a binky to sleep. (Getting rid of that binky is on the radar, Lizzy!) We usually turn on a CD her Grandpa Charlie made her when she was a newborn to help her fall asleep. She also has a little bear light that plays music in her crib and she usually turns that on to fall asleep and turns it on again when she wakes up. She has done this ever since she could reach the button. Very sweet.