First, Elise's stats. She is 27 lbs 12 oz (70th percentile), 36 and 3/4 inches tall (97th percentile), and her head is in the 50th percentile.
As for likes, Elise loves the Mary Engelbreit Mother Goose book and any Clifford or Arthur books we can get from the library, especially Clifford. Elmo's World is a definite favorite. So is the "Trolley Song" from Meet Me in St. Louis. Peanut butter, cheese, doughnuts, peaches, strawberries, rice with ranch dressing, and crackers (graham crackers or goldfish) are a few of her favorite foods. Her favorite sentence right now is "I want please," and she doesn't understand when she doesn't get everything she asks for after asking so nicely. She loves playing with baby dolls and all types of balls. She likes finger painting, play doh, and chalk. She also likes buckles and balloons. Playgrounds = heaven on earth. My sister's kids are some of her favorite people. She loves new songs or rhymes, and will always ask me "again" repeatedly when I sing her a new one. She likes one song called "ABC, Music, & Me." She loves to carry around the biggest rocks she can find. She also loves cats, although we don't have any pets. She likes to help me with laundry. Story time at the library, nursery (class for kids 18 months to 3 years at church), and Family Home Evening are the highlights of her week.
This is the "Trolley Song." Seriously, it works like a sedative. It might be magical.
Some quirks: While swimming, she likes her entire face to be underwater. This made swim lessons interesting. She bites her nails, even though I try to keep them ridiculously short. In true toddler fashion, everything must be done independently as much as possible. "Do it self!" is an oft repeated phrase. She likes to cross her fingers. She still climbs everything climbable. Most things still go in her mouth at some point, even when she isn't teething, but not quite as much as they used to. She is into throwing things down the stairs. The toilet is fascinating, especially since we started potty training, and all kinds of things end up in there: toys, balls, hands, feet, and even her face once. She tends to be constipated, even with a high fiber diet. She is still really into undressing, and she still occasionally smears poop (not my favorite). She is also getting into dressing herself. She still likes to drink bath water every time she takes a bath, no matter what I say. Destruction seems to be her favorite way to explore. She is so cuddly right now, and she gives tons of kisses and hugs. She has a terrific memory, and she loves to talk about our trip to see Grandma and Grandpa at the end of April, or when we saw fireworks on the Fourth of July, or our trip to the aquarium in May. She has started singing a lot, and she remembers the words to a surprising number of songs. She knows how to count to 12 (and has known for awhile now), but she seems stuck on learning 13; after 12 she just repeats 14, 15 over and over. She recognizes all of her capital letters. She has known her colors for awhile, and she knows a few shapes. She talks like crazy, and she enunciates very deliberately sometimes, with pauses between words, which makes me smile. She loves to say prayers on her own. Without any help, her prayers typically go just like this, "Dear Heavenly Father, thank Thee for Jesus Christ, amen." She is always concerned when she hears crying kids; today at story time at the library she blew kisses to a random crying toddler. Speaking of kissing, when I tell her not to touch something she wants to touch, she generally will blow it kisses and give it an air hug. When she wakes up in the morning or from a nap (usually about 2.5 hours for a nap!), she is usually completely quiet, just waiting for me to come get her. She gives the best hugs. She sucks her left thumb. She still has hardly any hair, with just a little bit of curl above each ear.
As for dislikes, Elise doesn't like her face to be washed or her hair to be rinsed at bath time, me to open the front door without her help, me to help her eat in any way, bathroom doors to be closed to her, or pooping on the potty. She drinks milk a lot better than she used to, especially with her cereal or when I add chocolate syrup, but she still doesn't really love it.
Elise is such a happy, active child, and she really does bring so much happiness to our family. She's going to make a great big sister soon! It's crazy how much I love this gorgeous girl.
As for dislikes, Elise doesn't like her face to be washed or her hair to be rinsed at bath time, me to open the front door without her help, me to help her eat in any way, bathroom doors to be closed to her, or pooping on the potty. She drinks milk a lot better than she used to, especially with her cereal or when I add chocolate syrup, but she still doesn't really love it.
