Little Miss Elizabeth

Things we do for fun at home

2012-01-20T19:34:00.000-08:00

play in water/bathe baby dolls; dress-up; do messy experiments (and run around half-dressed or less)

Three year well check

2012-01-13T17:00:00.000-08:00

Weight -- 33 lbs (75%)
Height -- 38 1/4 (50-75%)
(thought I am dubious about these numbers since I think she was slouching on the height measurement, and Caroline was recorded as 75% at her three-year-well-check at 37 lbs.)

She got one poke -- for Hep A -- since she's going to MDO. No tears (though she did tell me it hurt and whined a bit after the nurse left the room.)

She slipped in the shower this morning and scraped her foot pretty badly. That has bothered her all day. We also showed him the molloscum contagiousum we've been battling for a year now, and he thought it didn't look too bad. We're to just keep doing what we've been doing while we wait for her immune system to attack it.

Antonyms

2012-01-13T16:01:00.001-08:00

When Elizabeth heard me say Caroline can only have soft foods right now, she asked, "Why can't she have loud foods?"

Enjoying the fruits of sister's surgery

2012-01-10T18:33:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!

2012-01-08T12:23:00.000-08:00

We had Elizabeth's Super Why birthday party Saturday, the 7th. She invited three friends (but one was sick) and had her cousins and sister there, too, along with Uncle Tony, Aunt Mary, and Poppy. We decorated castles and cottages, had a super letter hunt outside, played on Elizabeth's new glider swing, ate cake and ice cream. Just had some fun on a spring-like day.

Colors

2012-01-06T18:48:00.000-08:00

We're just calling this a color mat since it's not a true rainbow (upside down colors), but I saw it in the Dollar Spot at Target and thought it'd be fun for different activities. This morning, we used it for color matching. Elizabeth gathered characters from the nativity set (and the dino flashlight) and matched them to their color on the mat. Later, I saw her do it on her own with some stacking pegs she was playing with.

Happy Epiphany!

2012-01-06T18:46:00.000-08:00

some Hello Kitty toy (as requested)

Christmas Fun

2012-01-03T10:08:00.000-08:00

Our tradition is to have as much family fun as we can the first days of Christmas before school and work are back in full swing. We enjoyed a trip to Six Flags, a trip to the Austin Children's Museum's new Dinosaur: Land of Fire and Ice exhibit, and a trip to the zoo. We also had library trips and play time with the neighbors and a full day at home in pjs.

Christmas

2011-12-25T15:59:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth and Caroline both got prarie girl dresses. Elizabeth was excited to find baby Jesus in the manger this morning! My favorite of her toys is the big rainbow. And Elizabeth and her babies have been hanging out all day.

I loved how excited Elizabeth got as she went through her gifts. When she pulled out a Reeses Christmas tree, she said, "I asked for this!" And same for her watch. And she was so excited to get her own "Molly."

A few pre-Christmas videos

2011-12-24T20:50:00.000-08:00

Uncle Coach gives the girls some tackling practice:

And Elizabeth talks in her sleep about food. (She does this pretty much every.darn.night. but since we were in the car, I could record her.)

Pre-Christmas Cheer

2011-12-24T20:33:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve Pageant

2011-12-24T20:24:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-24T20:18:00.000-08:00

Santa has visited, and once again, mommy feel like this will be the best Christmas ever!

Elizabeth is getting a Bitty Twin American Girl doll, a doctor kit, and a Little House on the Prairie dress/bonnet/apron. She and her sister are sharing the beautiful large wooden rainbow, that big peppermint hatbox filled with arts and crafts supplies, and the big family gift -- a Wii -- along with Mario and Just Dance 3 games.

After opening gifts today from Poppy and Nana, the Boatners, and the Bindels, these girls have hours and hours -- make that days and days worth of new fun to have with this stuff! Fun times!

Merry Bindel Christmas

2011-12-24T20:09:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth had a great time celebrating Christmas with the Bindels. She played with Pepi, napped with Mary Clare, played with the big girls, and got another baby (or baby sister, as she calls them).

Christmas party swim

2011-12-18T07:59:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth's traditional Tango Christmas party swim pic with Ella and boyfriend-of-the-moment See last year's.

Christmas Party (COOKIES!)

2011-12-18T07:57:00.000-08:00

Shopping with Mama

2011-12-14T21:02:00.000-08:00

A little trip to Tuesday Morning turns into a fun outing of trying out chairs and insisting on having her picture taken in each one.

She looks so grown up in this picture!

2011-12-13T21:11:00.000-08:00

Christmas Production at Preschool

2011-12-13T21:04:00.000-08:00

Getting the kids settled. Elizabeth was ready to rock!

Itsy Bitsy Spider (you'll hear Elizabeth at the beginning)

And cake lover, too

2011-12-11T19:00:00.001-08:00

Caroline lost her first tooth this evening. As I was getting the girls in to bed tonight, making sure Caroline had put her tooth out, Elizabeth asked me:

"Mommy, does the tooth fairy bring cake?"

Hopeful girl.

Jolly Old Saint Nick

2011-11-30T13:47:00.000-08:00

Chocolate lover

2011-11-29T18:51:00.000-08:00

Without a doubt, Elizabeth likes chocolate.

After her cousin's birthday party (where she tried some Cool Ranch Doritos that she did not like), her Uncle Tony asked, "What are your favorite kind of chips, then?"

She didn't even have to think before replying, "Chocolate."

--

When I was baking before Thanksgiving, I tried out a beer bread recipe. Elizabeth, as is the routine, asked to lick the beater. After a lick, she handed it back to me asking, "Mommy, can you turn this in to chocolate for me?"

--

After returning home from a trip to the grocery store, Elizabeth ran in to John's office. "Daddy, we're home! she chirped. "It was good. We got chocolate."

(She may look like her daddy, but she got her mama's chocolate-tooth!)

Thanksgiving Fun

2011-11-26T18:45:00.000-08:00

Paper-shredding fun

2011-11-21T13:55:00.001-08:00

Fat lip

2011-11-21T13:53:00.000-08:00

tumble off the ol playhouse

good ol' dirty fun

2011-11-16T05:34:00.001-08:00

giving Poppy a haircut

2011-11-16T05:33:00.001-08:00

Playing before music class

2011-11-16T05:32:00.001-08:00

2011-11-07T12:17:00.001-08:00

dressing up in mommy's clothes

Preschool Halloween Party

2011-10-27T13:22:00.000-07:00

The inaugural class of LOL Kids' Day Out

Elizabeth and her buddy Sydney (who was having a not-so-good-day

Luke Sleepwalker, pooped from a fun morning

Happy Halloween from Luke Skywalker

2011-10-20T13:31:00.000-07:00

Two sweet sisters, sitting in a tree

2011-10-20T13:26:00.000-07:00

The neighbor she never knew

2011-10-18T13:33:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth and Sydney are classmates at Mother's Day Out and have hit it off from day one. Way before there was a Sydney or Elizabeth, back when there were only five houses on Bandon Drive, Sydney's parents lived across the street from us. We both had our first babies, and they moved away to West Austin. Well, they are back in the 'hood, though no longer neighbors. I'm so glad Elizabeth has made a sweet friend at her school!

Dancing with Skeletons

2011-10-16T19:27:00.001-07:00

Messy = Fun

2011-10-16T18:59:00.000-07:00

Sleeping Dragon --> Rides a Horse

2011-10-16T18:56:00.000-07:00

Catching up

2011-10-16T18:54:00.000-07:00

Jesus Loves Elizabeth and Grandma B

2011-10-01T12:30:00.001-07:00

A little reading

2011-10-01T12:25:00.000-07:00

Wall art

2011-10-01T12:24:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth and friends

2011-09-19T19:05:00.000-07:00

Kickin' back at sister's soccer game

2011-09-10T09:31:00.000-07:00

Rain??

2011-09-06T17:24:00.001-07:00

After months of not seeing such a thing, my girls really enjoyed playing in the rain and mud at my family reunion on Lake Sam Rayburn.

Playing house

2011-09-06T17:24:00.000-07:00

MDO

2011-09-06T17:15:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth had her first day at Mother's Day Out today. She will go Tuesdays and Thursdays to the MDO at a church a street away from our house in a program run by Caroline's piano teacher. Elizabeth has been very excited about starting HER school for a couple of weeks, and she was this morning. . . until we heard the wails and cries coming from the room as we approached. One little boy was not at all happy to be there. And others joined in with his upset. And so did Elizabeth. I disappeared, though, as the teachers encouraged, went off and enjoyed my morning, thinking about her constantly. And then as I approached to pick her up, the director was waiting for me and handed me an envelope with the "incident report" as she told me that Elizabeth bit a child. Oh no! I was so upset, but so not surprised. I am hoping for a better day Thursday.

Sweet Friends

2011-09-02T06:50:00.000-07:00

They were actually playing "I'm home!" They would lie down on a bean bag, then wake up and have breakfast. Then they went to work or whatever, and this is how they'd greet each other when they said "I'm home!"

This is the cat

2011-08-24T19:04:00.000-07:00

that bit Elizabeth (after Elizabeth lay on her several times with escalating warnings from the cat, ranging from this pissed off look to moving to hissing to, ultimately, biting.) Elizabeth did not seem to learn as lesson. When another of the cats came into the room, she said, "I go lay on she sister."

Another haircut

2011-08-24T19:02:00.000-07:00

I thought she'd fall asleep getting her hair washed! She loves this!

First day Fro Yo

2011-08-23T17:08:00.000-07:00

We celebrated sister's first day of school with frozen yogurt. Elizabeth really missed her sister today and suggested several times that we go pick her up.

Still needs her naps

2011-08-23T07:29:00.000-07:00

I think there are two camps of parents out there -- those who want to hold on to naps as long as possible and those, like me, who kind of wish they'd go away. Now, I know there are kids who take two or three hour afternoon naps and still sleep thirteen hours overnight, but that is not my experience with my girls. It seems to be one or the other. And I'd rather the early bedtime! So, with back to school approaching, which means back to early bedtime for big sister, I tried skipping Elizabeth's nap. The above picture was taken at 4:00 one such afternoon. Fail! Yesterday, day before first day of school, I kept her busy running around and playing with her sister during naptime, so she stayed awake. . . until I went to cook dinner at about 5:30. Caroline and Elizabeth were playing in their room. John walked by on his way "home" from work (he works from home) and saw them playing, Elizabeth awake. Two minutes later, Caroline came in and said Elizabeth went to bed. I checked, and sure enough, she was asleep at 5:45. She did sleep until 7 am, thank goodness. We'll see how today goes for nap or no.

deck talk

2011-08-13T12:11:00.001-07:00

beach fun

2011-08-13T12:10:00.003-07:00

road trip

2011-08-13T12:10:00.001-07:00

Elizabeth redesigns daddy's hat

Vacation sleep sweetness

2011-08-13T12:08:00.001-07:00

Sand castles

2011-08-13T12:07:00.000-07:00

Autographs after the Austin Summer Musical

2011-08-06T20:15:00.000-07:00

Mayborn Museum Waco

2011-07-30T18:01:00.000-07:00

Cousins 2011

2011-07-30T17:53:00.000-07:00

"I hang like a monkey, dad!"

2011-07-27T12:35:00.000-07:00

Tiny Dancers

2011-07-27T12:33:00.000-07:00

Kids Bowl (or lie down in the disco lights) for Free this summer

2011-07-27T12:30:00.001-07:00

Creative Playscape in Georgetown

2011-07-27T12:30:00.000-07:00

First Filling

2011-07-26T19:39:00.000-07:00

and I hope her only!

Elizabeth had her first dental exam last week, and Dr. Powell found a cavity! We returned to day to have it filled. Elizabeth did GREAT! She's ready to go back. She got to bring home her pink, bubble-gum flavored nitrous mask and she's enjoyed playing with it today. I did have the rest of her upper molars sealed, so hopefully we won't deal with any more cavities in her deep-grooved molars.

New Splash Park

2011-07-26T19:36:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth sings (again)

2011-07-25T10:35:00.001-07:00

She sings all the time! Mary Poppins, Annie, and Sound of Music is in my ears all day long. Love it!

Fiesta Texas

2011-07-25T07:45:00.000-07:00

Hot rocks

2011-07-25T07:44:00.000-07:00

I got this idea from a friend, and it was a fun activity! The hardest part for us was finding smooth rocks. You heat a smooth rock in the oven on 350 for about 15 minutes. Peel crayons while it is heating. Take it out and touch the crayons on the rock. They crayons melt into pretty designs on the rock.

First Dentist Visit

2011-07-24T20:10:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth had her first dentist appointment last week. I went in knowing she'd to great! And she did. BUT, she has deep grooves in her molars (like I do) and she eats more candy than her sister ever did and she's my second kiddo which means sometimes she falls asleep before we get to brushing her teeth. . . SO SHE HAS A CAVITY! I may have thought I was a good mother, but now I know for a fact that I am not. And that is OK. We'll get this cavity filled and have the rest of her molars sealed so I don't have to be a good mom, just good enough with the help of medical technology. We go back Tuesday to have the cavity filled. More pics then, I'm sure.

Painting and Tea Parties

2011-07-15T16:04:00.000-07:00

Two and a Half

2011-07-09T19:32:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth turned two and a half yesterday. And we celebrated by letting her have a night away from mommy! (Yeah, bad timing on my part, maybe.) Elizabeth weaned (very much mommy-led) about two weeks ago. She still asks to nurse every morning, but we get out of bed instead and go watch "Nick and Sally" AKA Cat in the Hat, instead. We are still working on using the potty. We were there. And then we went to the lake for spring break, so there was regression. And we were there again, and then we went on vacation and regressed again. And now I just figure we'll be done at some point, but I won't worry about it!

She and Caroline play so well together now. And they fight so much. Really, for the first time, I see the girls as a reflection of my childhood with my sister. Such fun. And such fighting. And I sympathize now with my mom, especially when they are both fighting for my lap for reading time. Elizabeth knows so much about "big kid" stuff, like Star Wars and Captain Underpants. Really, should a two year old even be able to say Captain Underpants, much less recognize him?

Her language has totally exploded. She is fully communicative now. Her favorite book is SISTERS. When she likes something, she asks to do it "moragain." Things she doesn't like to eat are "lucky." She likes eating popsicles, swinging, spinning, and dancing. When there are four of anything, she classifies them from biggest to smallest as Daddy, Mommy, Caroline, and Elizabeth. She confuses blue and red; green and pink. Any word she sees written is "my name."

Elizabeth not only looks like her daddy, but she shares some of his personality traits, as well. He'll admit to it, too. They are STUBBORN! And I adore them both!

We made playdough

2011-07-07T19:33:00.000-07:00

Boat Ridin' (or boat nappin')

2011-07-04T17:23:00.000-07:00

And we capped the weekend off with a much-anticipated and practiced-on-land boat ride. Elizabeth loved it so much that she fell asleep!

Fishin' (or more like minnow'in and worm'n)

2011-07-04T17:20:00.000-07:00

Then we headed to Poppy and Nana's at the "big lake" for some fishin'. Elizabeth spent more time torturing the worms and shiners, though.

Buddy's Birthday Party

2011-07-04T17:17:00.000-07:00

One of Elizabeth's BFs had a birthday party at the beginning of our Independence Day Weekend.

after-dinner swing

2011-06-26T12:32:00.001-07:00

Mary Elizabeth Poppins

2011-06-26T11:53:00.001-07:00

My dancing queens

2011-06-23T11:08:00.001-07:00

an evening walkabout with daddy

2011-06-22T11:12:00.000-07:00

Children's Museum

2011-06-21T16:04:00.000-07:00

Summer Swims

2011-06-20T11:58:00.000-07:00

Since we spent the first week of summer on vacation and the second week of summer at VBS, today is our first summer free day! We all slept late (8:30 for Miss E). Then the girls joined me for grocery shopping. Then we headed to the pool for a quick post-lunch, pre-nap swim. The second photo is how I knew it was time to head home for that nap. :-)

Summer Vacation 2011

2011-06-12T14:33:00.001-07:00

Sister Skate

2011-06-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth in Oobleck

2011-05-30T19:26:00.000-07:00

Trainride to Museum with friends

2011-05-27T12:48:00.000-07:00

Sister's Kindergarten Party

2011-05-26T11:31:00.000-07:00

Sister's Audience

2011-05-15T16:35:00.000-07:00

Caroline's recital fell during Elizabeth's naptime. She managed to stay awake to see her sister dance, but while standing in front of Caroline's kindergarten teacher, she fell asleep. Mrs. Satterwhite just held the sweet napper for the rest of the show.

Elizabeth at play

2011-05-15T16:34:00.000-07:00

Silly bubbles

2011-05-14T17:51:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth and her buddy, Emmaline, playing in sink bubbles

Making Bubbles

2011-04-29T19:44:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth, waving back at the royals waving at her on the TV

2011-04-29T19:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T16:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter, Avery Ranch!

2011-04-23T11:07:00.000-07:00

downtown afternoon

2011-04-22T19:11:00.000-07:00

Pooped Pirate

2011-04-21T19:03:00.000-07:00

Caving

2011-04-16T13:00:00.000-07:00

It is a very blurry picture, I know, but this is my baby girl emerging, in tears, from a cave. Once she was out, she wanted to go "m'again."

'nastics

2011-04-15T18:20:00.000-07:00

"I wake up Carrie."

2011-04-13T20:28:00.000-07:00

Words and Why

2011-04-10T21:10:00.000-07:00

We have entered the "Why?" phase.

A few of her special "words"
-- bainby = banana
-- bwabee = water
-- m'gain = more again
-- moose = move
-- Y=L as in "that's lucky!" or "logurt"
-- M=Lem as in "lemon Ms" (you know, the candy-coated chocolates), her friend Lemaline (Emmaline), and water lemon (watermelon.)

Every restaurant (fast food or not) we pass is "Chick-a-Lay." And most meats are "turkey."

And the answers to some frequent questions:
What is your birthday? Jan-ary 8
What is your favorite color? green (always green, though if you hold up several different crayons, they are also all green.)
What is your name? Liz (in a deep, husky voice)

She has called our priest Jesus.

She is great with names and uses them. She got bitten in the top of the "Chick-a-Lay" playscape and was able to report just who had bitten her from hearing the boy's mom yell his name over and over. Any man or woman (of any age from teenager to octogenarian) is "'body else's mommy"

And we have to take turns singing in the car now. She tell me when it is my turn and when it is her turn.

Spinning Friends

2011-04-04T11:12:00.000-07:00

Since spinning is so great for vestibular development, these are going to be some smart chicas! :-)

2011-03-30T09:54:00.001-07:00

Elizabeth just made a car seat with her blocks and asked me to open her wooden car to put it inside. I told her it doesn't open, so she said she needed my keys.