August 7, 2007

Today was a very sad day. More so for your Mom and Dad than for you I know. We lost our precious Harley. He had been loosing weight, vomiting, and acting lethargic. Daddy took him to the vet in the morning and came home in tears, Harley has intestinal cancer and is basically starving to death. We kept him home and tried to love him up as best as we could. Then at 1:00, we took him in and had him put to sleep. Death is such a hard thing to understand, even for adults. You seemed to understand, you were there when he was put down, and when we buried him. But later when I was crying because I wanted to go check on him and then remembered I couldn't, you asked Why? I asked you "Why do you think, Sweetie?", but you just said, "I don't know."


I know you're too young, and you probably won't remember him when you get older, but he was very special to your Dad and I. We got him as a kitten after we'd only been dating less than 3 months. He was such a lovey, goofy, sweet boy. He was with us for so long, and we really thought we had a lot more time. You called him "The Lover" because of his sweet and loving personality. He seemed very protective of you, and would always rub on your feet during breakfast. Once when you were sick, he slept in your bed most of the time. I'm including a picture of that time, plus a bunch of others, so maybe you'll remember him. I'm glad he's not suffering anymore, but I am going to miss him so much.

August 6, 2007

Sometimes you just make me so proud! Today, you had your 4 year check up. We had to bring in your first mornings urine in a cup, and this had you completely mystified. "Why do they want my pee?" "What are they going to do with my pee?" "Will they put it in the potty?" On the drive in you said, "Remember when we took Shai to the doctor and they took her away and she had to spend the night." I said yes I remember, but you are not sick, and I won't let them take you away. First you were weighed and measured. You are 33 1/2 pounds and 40 inches tall. Then they took your blood pressure and checked your vision. 80/42 and 20/40. Dr. Vanzee said 20/40 is normal for a 4 year old, but with your family history it will be a miracle if you don't end up with glasses. Dr. VanZee checked your eyes, ears, and listened to your heart and lungs. Then he asked you to jump, stand on one foot, walk on your tip toes and your heels. You were so excited to show him that you could do it all. Then he was asking me some questions, and in the meantime you were doing a little improv demonstration of your dance and acrobatic moves. I'm sure he was quite impressed ;-)

Then it was time for shots.......... I had told you that you would be having some, and that they would hurt. I knew you were nervous, because on the way in you said that you had to hold Mini because she was scared. I asked you what Mini was scared of and you told me shots. But you had on such a brave face, and took the shots just like a brave girl and didn't make a peep. Then you got up and said, "That wasn't so bad! But it did hurt." On the way out of the office, you asked me if they had some more of those pee cups. Not sure what you had planned for that. We went out for ice cream to celebrate, and you said I couldn't take the bandaids off because that would "let the hurt out." You told Daddy that he "missed all the fun." I am so proud!

July 29th, 2007

This year we had two birthday parties to celebrate your 4th year. Today, we had a party with your friends and Grandpa and Grandma Denise. We got a big blow up waterslide for entertainment (no you're not spoiled at all!), and it was a big hit. Among the partygoers were Hannah and Kale, Haley and Evan, Alexis, and Maddie. I think it's pretty safe to say you've completely exitted the shell. You are a true social butterfly now. You just love being around kids. You were practically frothing at the mouth for them to show up. I told everyone not to bring gifts partly because you've already received so many from us and your grandparents and partly because I know you could care less!! You are way more
interested in playing with the kids than any ole presents. Most of them brought some small gifts anyway, however.

You played on the waterslide, ate some food, played in your playroom, on the swingset. I could barely keep track of you! Maddie was very afraid to go down the slide, so you held her hand and she went down (once!). I just loved seeing you surrounded by friends, and interacting. It will be so cool to see your friendships bloom.

July 2nd, 2007

I love it when a simple thing like an evening walk turns into a wonderful memory. Last night we went for a stroll. It was cool enough to wear long sleeves and jeans even. I was pulling you in the wagon and Dada was walking Shai. We got about a half mile down Snow and found wild blackberries and mulberries. You were eating them as fast as I could pick them. Your hands and face were purple. It was like finding hidden treasure. Then your Dada was taking chunks of dried dirt and smashing them on the road, so of course you wanted to be cool like him and did it too. You looked so cute with your purple victorious little smile. I wish all of our days could be relaxed and comfy like that.

June 21th, 2007

Well we have a new addition to our family. Last week while you and Dada were out for a walk, Dada found a baby kitten in the woods along side the road. It was tiny and starving. We took it to the vet while we went on vacation, so they could check her out. They found she had round worms and ear mites, but she was treated and didn't have anything that was not curable. Daddy and I had already agreed we would keep her if she was healthy. She is a very spirited little thing, and we named her Rossi after the motorcycle racer Valentino Rossi. You get very excited when she is around, but she doesn't seem frightened even when you are jumping around screaming and picking her up akwardly. Last night she spent most of the night in your bed and I hope she grows up to be your cat. It's very fun having a kitten around the house....well for everyone but the other cats.

June 19th, 2007

We just got back from our first real family vacation! Albeit a short one. We went to Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City for 2 days. You had no idea where we were going. We walked into that great big lobby, and you were still confused. Daddy parked the car while you and I checked in, then we took you around to the second floor balcony overlooking the waterpark and your eyes got huge! We took our stuff to the room and checked out your "Wolf Den".

Then we headed to the restaurant to eat. I was looking over the list of things to do, and mention Wiley Wolf the Great Wolf mascot. You looked petrified. You kept looking all around like he was going to pop out of anywhere, and then you asked about how many locks were on the door to our room, so that we could keep him out. I think you thought he was going to come after you while you were sleeping. I just kept assuring you that we'd only see him if you wanted to see him.

After dinner we put on our suits and went down to check out the water park. You could hardly contain your excitement, you were all over the place. Your favorite thing seemed to be watching the big bucket dump out. Every time the bell started to ring you would run over there and start jumping up and down screaming. It was so funny. I had to hold you back at some of the slides and lily pads because you were so excited to get on you forgot to wait in line.

After swimming, we put on PJ's and went down to listen to the "Rythum of Nature" clock sing and hear a bedtime story. You loved the clock and it's talking animals, but when the storytime lady came out to read, she had Wiley Wolf with her. You didn't cry or want to leave but you kept one eye on that wolf the whole time. After the story, all the kids went up to give Wiley a hug or a high five. I suggested we go up and give him a group hug and you agreed.
You were very brave and gave Wiley a hug while I held you, and from then on it was "the wolf" this and "the wolf" that. You wanted to see him all the time. The next night you went up and gave him a hug all by yourself, and on the last day we had to wait 30 minutes after breakfast so we could catch him in the lobby.

The whole trip you amazed me with your bravery. You went on every ride you were tall enough to ride, and a couple you weren't. ;-) You swam by yourself with your swimmies, and even went under the big bucket one time with Dada. We played games in the arcade and you made a necklace in Cub Club. It was a very fun trip, and you can't wait to go back!

May 9, 2007

I think I'll entitle this post Fashions by Elise. You have been putting together the most interesting outfits lately. Your specialty seems to be accessorizing. You found one of my necklaces from when I was a kid. It's got pink beads with six teddy bears on the front of different colors. It must be at least 22 years old. You've been wearing in non-stop for a week now which is a first. You also have an assortment of hair accessories, rings, necklaces, and bracelets that you interchange depending on your mood. Other times, you just wear all of them at the same time.

Dresses are another big thing with you now. I blame the "Princesses" for that. You suddenly have a big interest in the Princesses. Your favorite movie is Aladdin. And we have a great big book of multiple princess stories that I have to read to you at least once or twice a day. You usually will pick a Princess Jasmine story, or Snow White.

And you are really coming out of your shell with other kids! When we go visit the Rozelles, you just run off with Evan and Hailey without a second glance at us. Dada said you guys were driving past some kids gettting off the school bus the other day and you told him you wanted to play with them. This is great, especially since school starts in 4 months!! September 10th! I hope you will be happy there.

Your other skills are really excelling too. You now have you own computer and can navigate the Nick Jr. website with ease, and play most of the games by yourself. You can write your own name, with the exception of the S. You love puzzles, and yesterday you put together a 24 piece puzzle all by yourself!! Puzzles and playing with the beach ball are your two favorite past times. You like to bounce the beach ball between us and see how high you can bounce it off your head. You are so excited for summer, so you can swim in your whale pool and plant a garden. We have already planted some strawberries and tomatoes in pots.

March 13, 2007

Great day today. It was 70 degrees out and all the snow was melting. I took you out to the pond, which was very flooded, and we followed the stream that was feeding it. We threw sticks in the water to watch them go over little waterfalls through the weeds. I'm trying to encourage your tomboy side. We met up with Josette and her daughter Olivia out there. You seemed intrigued by the older girl, but still a little shy. When we got back home you were yelling to Dada, "I made a new friend!!" Dada said, "What's her name?" You looked at me and asked, "What was her name?" Silly kid.

Then we took a walk down the cul-de-sac, and hung out with Jack, Kyla, and Keimon. You actually played with Kyla. At first, you just sort of followed her around, but once she started talking with you, you two were off playing. This has got me really excited. A friend for you in the neighborhood! Kyla is 5, and will go to Kindergarten in the fall. After your bath, we watched half of Cinderella for the first time. You were loving the parts with the mice, but you were obviously exhausted. I'm planning a vacation to Disney May of 2008. If I can arrange it, we'll have breakfast at Cinderella's castle!

February 21, 2007

You are growing up so fast. Yesterday, I picked up the packet to sign you up for Pre-school in the fall. You already know so much. You know most of your letters and can count up to 40. You can also sound out letters and know your left from right. You also delight in helping anyway that you can. Now you open the fridge and put things away, clear the table, fold laundry. You're doing very well with your reward chart, and have received two special nights out. I can't wait until summer is here and we can be outside again. Although the cold really doesn't seem to bother you a bit, but it bothers Mama.

Everyday you do something that makes me wonder what you'll become when you grow up. Your love and absolutely zero fear of bugs makes me think Entomologist. For a long while, you had been keeping a box elder bug in a tupperware container and calling him Boxy. Frequently, you'd wake up to find the lid off and Boxy having "escaped", but you always find another to replace him. One day you manhandled one of the bugs a little too much and found him lifeless next to his "toys". You were so upset and came to me crying, "I pinched Boxy too much and now he's DEADDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!" Luckily, you weren't too sentimental and we were able to replace him. Now you are extra careful to be gentle with them and have figured out how to handle them without squishing them. I still get creeped out a little, when you let them crawl all over you, but just a little. It's my goal to raise you to be curious about nature and to love all creatures even the creepy crawly ones.

I also wonder about sports. The other day we went to the track, so that I could calibrate my Ipod/Nike thing. You ran all the way around the track behind me! I also think you are a good kicker, so maybe soccer. But you also show some talent at basketball. Either way I think you will be better at sports than your mother. I hope at least. I think we'll do a sports class next. There's one in Caledonia, and maybe we can meet some new friends to have playdates with.

February 1, 2007

It's snow time! Finally there is real snow on the ground, and we have been trying to take advantage of it. Although sometimes, I think you just go outside so that you can come in and tell me, "I'm cold! I think I need some hot chocolate to warm me up!" We go sledding on the hill next to Rich's house, make snow angels, and one of your favorites, snow spray. Mama puts food coloring and water in a spray bottle so you can paint the snow. On Dada's birthday, we piled up the snow like a billboard and I put Happy Birthday! on one side and you decorated the other. On Sunday, we went over to the Rozelles and you got to ride with Mama on a sled pulled by their 4 wheeler, and you weren't scared a bit. Dave went slow for you, but I think you would have liked to go fast.

We also have started a new bedtime game of sorts. The other day you were trying to tell me that you don't sleep at all at night. That you just lay in your bed and play with your animals all night. I said that I knew that wasn't true because I check on you every night before I go to bed. You swore up and down that you don't sleep, so I told you that when I checked on you that night I would leave a mark on your nose, so that you would know I checked on you and you were sleeping. You were so delighted the next morning to see that mark on your nose that you wanted me to do it again. So every night this week you've woken up with a mark on your nose. Although last night, Dada and I both left an X on each cheek where we kissed you. You are the apple of our eyes.

January 6, 2007

Welcome to the new year!! You spent New's Eve at Grandpa's house partying with Hannah and Cale. From the sounds of it, you had a blast. It makes me so happy that you like going over to Grandpa's house, since he's a pretty special person to me.

Today we instituted Elise's Reward Chart in order to foster a little more independence in you. There are 5 categories; Getting Dressed, Eating, Cleaning Up, Being Independent, and Attitude. Each category has it's own list of criteria and you must meet the majority in order to get a star. See this is what happens when your mother is raised by educators!! Last night (first night), you got all your stars. Tonight you missed out on the getting dressed star, since we had to ask you to get dressed 5 times and you refused to let Dad help you on with your coat and said Mama had to do it. I was expecting you to be more upset about it (not that I wanted that), but you handled it well. After you get 10 stars you get a candy bar (of your choosing), and after 50 we are going to take you to Chuck E. Cheese. You seem very excited about the latter especially.

Amazing talent of the hour - You are sounding out letters! You are actually much better at this than you are at recognizing them by sight. The other day we were sounding out B, and then you just starting listing off other words that start with be all on your own!! You came up with Beaver and Butterfly. Aunt Allison and I were blown away. You can just pick a random word out of speech and tell me the letter it starts with. Your best letters are S, T, P, B, and M. Now if I could just get you to recognize them, we'd be halfway to reading!

December 25, 2006

Merry Christmas Sweet Girl!! Santa was here and left you lots of nice gifts! Dada and I went to tuck you in last night and made the mistake of mentioning that "he sees you when your sleeping", and you were freaked out from then on. We had to put you to bed in our bed because you didn't want Santa looking at you. This seems perfectly rational to me though, since I wouldn't want a strange man coming into my house watching me sleep either, even if he was bearing gifts. You did end up being successfully transferred back to your own bed later on. Mama got a wonderful present from the hospital too. They called and said I didn't have to go to work. Yay!!


Christmas morning: You appear to be shellshocked, not really knowing where to start. Your two presents from Santa were unwrapped beside the tree. A large play kitchen that makes 40 different sounds and comes complete with food, and the "barking doggy" you had wrote to Santa about. Along with an overflowing stocking. You must have been a good girl! Mommy and Daddy got you some "pets" (Littlest Pet Shop), a puzzle, books, and some polly pocket stuff. We had fun playing with our goodies all morning and then went to the airport to pick up Aunt Allison as she arrived from Tokyo. She was so excited to see you! And you love the airport. I'm glad I have a few days to relax now.

December 11, 2006

I'm getting so excited for this Christmas time! You are so excited about everything! On Saturday we went out to get our Christmas tree. Usually I'm responsible for picking it, because I'm very particular about my Christmas trees. I was eyeing one when you told me you wanted a different one. I tried to have you look at my tree, but you kept saying that you wanted this one. So we tried walking you around the whole lot, to see if you'd pick the same one. You did! You were adamant that this was the tree you wanted, so we got it. It is a very nice tree. Nice and fat like Mama likes. You did a great job of picking. You also helped decorate this year, although you like to take the ornaments on and off all the time.

The other day Daddy took you to the mall and you saw Santa (from a distance). You still don't want to sit on his lap, so last night we wrote him a letter to tell him what you'd like. All you said you wanted was a barking doggy like the one you saw at Target. I asked if there was anything else and you said to write "I love you, Santa." So we mailed it off, and I know this is a little premature, but I'm quite positive Santa will get the message.

November 14, 2006

I have a new idea for a career for you. Playwright! When we play you have to script everything, and I must say you can be quite the difficult director. You get very upset when I don't say my lines just right. Most of our scenes are based on Backyardigans shows (your favorite TV show). It usually goes something like this.

Elise: (breathless and spoken very fast) I'm Lady Tasha, and you're Butler Tyrone. You go in the closet and then I open the door and you fall out and I say, "Oh my goodness! Who put you in there Butler Tyrone." And then you say, "I don't know." And then I say, "Where are my jewels?" and then you say, "It must have been the jewel thief!" And so on and so forth.

We also have to play the Guess Who I am? game all the time. 98% of the time you are one of the Backyardigans, and then every now and then you are some kind of animal. The other day you were playing this game while sitting down for lunch. So I asked you, "Am I ever going to be able to play with Elise again? I miss her." Well, this sent you into hysterics practically, you were crying so hard. Oh my sensitive girl.

November 12, 2006

My big girl! You are getting so big. I am sometimes taken aback when I see you, you seem so tall now. I can barely find any pants to fit you. If they fit in the waist, they're too short, and the ones that are long enough, fall off your little butt. So I've had to safety pin most of them. You are doing many things for yourself now, going potty, getting dressed, feeding your fish. You can write all the letters of your name except S. You love to give snuggles too, which is Mama's favorite thing. Tuesday we're going to go have lunch with Dada a work, so you can see the presses "rollin". You always ask Dada if they're rollin.

Lately, you've been having a hard time with me going to work. Everyday you ask, "Do you have to go to work today Mama?" If I say No, I get a "Yay!!" and if I say Yes, I get "Ohhhhh....." and sometimes crying. It's hard because I do want to be with you, but I do like work too. It's hard to explain to a three year old. I don't want you to think that I like work better than being with you, but I don't want you to think that I hate my work either. I'm proud to have a job that I like most of the time, and even if I could be a stay at home mom, I don't know that I would. I probably wouldn't work full time, but it's nice to get out of the house sometimes. I know you will understand that when you are older.

November 1, 2006

Well the Halloween festivites are over. Friday night we carved pumpkins, well Mama and Dada carved pumpkins and you watched. We tried to get you to scoop out the "pumpkin ookies", but you only managed a couple of seeds before you decided that was not your thing. Dada did his usual obsessive seed collecting, and then proceeded to carve his pumpkin with a power drill and what I believe are routing bits. I carved your pumpkin in typical jacko-lantern style. Then Dada shared his finished pumpkin seeds with you, and I think that was your favorite part.

Last night was Halloween, and you had a blast again, although it was colder than last year. You were very excited to go Trick or Treating, and kept asking, "When's it going to be here?" You went as a kitty cat.
I wanted to find you just a regular fuzzy kitty cat costume, but all they had were these fashion kitties with leopard print or pink faux fur. I hate that! You're 3!! But what can you do? We went to Pine Edge again this year, since that worked so well last year. Both Maddie and you agreed to skip the "shaking houses", which were the ones with strobe lights. Last year, you had made it all the way around the subdivision, but despite Mama's layering job (3 shirts, 3 pairs of pants, one jacket, and mittens), you were convulsing with shivers half way through. So we went home, had some hot chocolate, and ate candy.

I'm including some pictures of you in your costume, and one that I took when we were playing in the leaf piles the other day. What a beautiful fall girl you are!

October 30, 2006

Lots of milestones around here lately!! Yesterday, you started drawing portraits of Mama and Dada, but it was still hard to decipher what was what. Well, today we have our first recognizable drawings, which is so exciting! I am including them here. The gray one is a picture of Mama, and the blue one is a picture of Dada. Dada has arms and legs, but apparently I only have legs. Oh, well. You can also write all the letters of your name, with the exception of S. You still need a bit of coaching on that and the E sometimes ends up with 4 horizontal lines instead of 3, but we'll take it.

Dada has been working with you on your computer skills, primarily mouse control. After just a few days you are doing so much better! There is one Dora game you can even play by yourself. And you can type your name, with very little coaching. Computer literacy is obviously a big thing around this house ;)

I'm also including a photo of you playing at Boardwalk (the castle). We were playing hide and seek, and it was a very cold, windy fall day. How cool is it that I get to play with you on the same playground I played at when I was a kid!

October 23, 2006

I can't decide if I should be pleased or very worried about you. You are sooooo sensitive. You and Dada were playing in the play room the other day. You were looking for a specific toy and said to him, "Damnit! I can't find it." Dada, knowing that you didn't know that was a bad word, simply said, "Sweetie, where did you hear that word? That's not a nice word, and we don't want you to say it." You were inconsolable for 15 minutes. This happens everytime you think you have dissappointed us, and you really haven't gotten into any real trouble yet. I explained to you that you weren't in trouble, Mama was the one who did something wrong, I shouldn't have said that word. It didn't matter though, you still cried and cried.

You also seem very concerned about Mom and Dad's moods. You have taken to asking us, "Are you happy, Mama?" It's like you feel it is your responsibility to keep us happy. We love you so much sweetheart. I'm happy you are sensitive to other peoples feelings, but I worry you will be hurt by other kids at school if you are so sensitive.

October 14, 2006

Today we went to the Post Family Farm in Hudsonville to hunt down some pumpkins. It was a pretty crisp day, but the sun came out and it ended up being pretty nice. They had lots of neat little activities for you. Your favorite was the pumpkin train, which was a string of 12 barrels that were painted orange and cut out with a seat and steering wheel. They were pulled by a lawn tractor around a little field. You looked so serious driving your little barrel. You turned the wheel side to side and made motor noises with your lips, every now and then waving to all your adoring fans in the crowd standing in line. I was shocked when you agreed to ride the horse with me. His name was Samson and we sat on him together while he made a couple of loops around the corral. At this point, Dad and I were really kicking ourselves for leaving the camera in the car. We saw some goats, sheep, ponies, and baby kittens.

We rode the hayride, and ate cider and pumpkin donuts. On the hayride, you turned into quite the little actress rolling around in the hay and throwing it up in the air, all the while smiling at the other passengers like "look at me, aren't I the cutest thing you've ever seen?" We picked out pumpkins next. You picked out a wee little pumpkin, and carried it all the way back to the car. You would have thought it weighed two tons by the way you were heaving it around. I love days like this.

September 23, 2006

Well, today you past a milestone of toddlerhood. You had asked me for some scissors so you could "cut orange's hair." Orange, incidentally, is a blue and green rubber ball, but I digress. I figured there was no harm in it, because orange doesn't really have hair, so you'd just be pretending. A little while later you called out to me and asked, "Mama, can I cut my hair?" I said, "Yes..I mean NO!!" And went running in there. It was too late of course, you had already cut a medium sized chunk. I think you were scared because I ran in there so fast, and you started crying. I told you it was okay, and of course it is. You can only see where the hair is missing if your hair is brushed all nicely, and how often is that really? I figure this is something pretty much ever kid does at some point.

Last night there was a thunderstorm, so Daddy and I were laying in bed with you a while. You looked about as happy as you can be having the undivided attention of both your parents. Daddy was on one side and I was on the other all mushed into your double bed. We had to kick out your 50 stuffed animals and 2 dozen books in order to fit. You and Daddy were playing the silly things game where you take turns making up silly things. For example, "Did you ever see a goose walking on your arm?" "Did you ever see a flower growing out of your head?" Etc, etc. There was much giggly and whenever you two would seem to finally settle down Dada would tickle you or you would pinch my nose and we'd all start laughing again. Dada and I kept sneaking huge grin glances at each other, like we both were thinking, "isn't she the most wonderful thing you've ever seen?"

PS - I added this picture for two reason, a)it features "orange", and b) it's a nice picture of you playing with your Daddy.