Miss E, Nearly 2 1/2

Miss E is almost 2 1/2. I am constantly delighted by her expanding vocabulary and comprehension. Though occasionally chastened:

Someone in a van in front of me was driving sooooo slowly. Finally they pulled into a turn lane. "So long, grandma," I muttered as I passed them. A few moments later, Miss E thoughtfully asked, "That was Grandma?" Oops.

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She still talks about that calf from the pumpkin patch. The other day she carefully laid her baby bear down for a nap in a large Rubbermaid tote. "Baby Bear scared," she told me solemnly.

"What's Baby Bear scared of?" I asked, suspecting the answer.

"Baby Bear scared of cows."

I reassured her that Mommy and Daddy would not let any cows hurt Baby Bear. A few days later, Mr N asked Miss E if we should go to the pumpkin patch and she emphatically told him no, because she didn't like the cow. That cow is very vivid in her memory!

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Miss E loves Sesame Street. She loves all the different characters, knows their names. One day she was hanging around me while I made dinner in the kitchen.

"Wait a minute!" She looked up at me expectantly. "Wait a minute! Oscar the Grouch!"

I suddenly realized she was quoting Oscar. I filled in. "Now scram! Wait a minute! I sent this email! I'll scram!" (There've been a lot of Sesame reruns on lately, so I've got the skits down too.) She was delighted and danced around the kitchen saying, "Now scram!"



Today she saw my shoes sitting out on the bathroom floor as I put on my makeup before church. "I wearing Mommy's shoes to church!" she announced. "Mommy's wearing Mommy's shoes to church," I replied. "No, I am!" she shot back. Have you noticed all the exclamation points? That's how Miss E talks. Emphatically.

When I emerged from the bedroom all dressed and ready to go, Miss E came up to me. "Pretty shoes. Ooh, nice tights. I like your skirt. Nice shirt, Mommy! It's nice!" She went right up my outfit. I loved it!




Miss E constantly runs around. She also constantly narrates her day. This afternoon Mr N and I were eating a late lunch after church. He read the newspaper, while I tried the NYT crossword (pretty hard today, only got about a third filled in). Miss E ran around the table, narrating to herself. "I running! It's fun!" Repeat for five minutes. Then she started with the "I'm gonna get you!" and tickling us. She can only be neglected for so long. Ha ha

Wow Bonesteele's clothes totally don't match.

It's a good thing Bonesteele is a big boy, because his big sister has no concept of playing gently, despite my best efforts. She loves to lay on top of him and give him rough hugs. Fortunately, he loves it and will squeal delightedly and grab on to any part of her he can. She usually loves to help me, fetching a bib or binky for Bonesteele, or running into his room when he wakes from a nap to keep him entertained for a few moments until I get free.

She has been asserting her independence more often recently. She threw a huge fit at Target Friday because she didn't want to ride in the cart. (I suspect this was because Mr N was with us. She rides in the cart all the time when I take the kids by myself.) She never wants to go for a walk anymore, though she used to love walks. This afternoon I insisted on a walk, and she bawled for the first five minutes. Eventually she got distracted by something and forgot to keep crying, and then had a lovely time.

Bonesteele has taken over the high chair, and our chairs are much too big for Miss E, so we got her a booster seat. To get her psyched, I told her she was a big girl to eat in the booster seat! A big girl like Ballerina (my friend K's daughter, one year older than Miss E). Now every time Miss E eats in her booster seat, she announces proudly, "I a big girl! Like Ballerina!"

She also wants to be just like her Mommy, which makes my heart sing. She carefully watched how I ate my spaghetti and was soon trying to wind her noodles around her fork too. She didn't care for the cut-up noodles. She wanted them long - "Like Mommy!" I love to hear that little phrase.

I love the spontaneous bear hugs, the unsolicited kisses, the requests for me to kiss an owie and make it better. Miss E is fabulous!