Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for Elaine.  I know, “every mom is supposed to say that about their kid.”  But seriously, lately she just makes me laugh and smile, even when she is being naughty (which is really bad!).

Here are some examples…

I have an oven mitt that hangs inside the cupboard door.  I rarely use it.  Elaine plays in the cupboard.  I used the mitt one day, and threw it on the counter.  I missed, and it ended up in the floor.  Elaine picked it up, ran over to the cupboard, opened the door, and hung the mitt on it’s hook.  Talk about smart!

Elaine is a total girl, except that she likes her baseballs.  She loves shoes.  She goes to the bottom of the changing table where they are stored and picks out a matching pair.  Then she attempts to put them on all by herself.  (She doesn’t get very far).

Everything becomes a cell phone to Elaine.  She holds it on her shoulder and jabbers away.  Today she carefully tucked her toy phone between her chin and shoulder and had a little chat “hands free” while she walked around the living room!

When Elaine cries in the morning, or after a nap  I usually walk into her room to this:  Elaine is standing up grabbing the bars and crying.  Always crying loudly – she wants to be sure I hear!  When I walk in she looks around and grabs up her bunny, her paci, and her blanket.  It’s kind of like the announcement on the airplane, “Please make sure you have all of your personal belonging before leaving the aircraft.”

All bundled up to go out to the store!

We fold our hands and pray before each meal.  At breakfast and lunch it goes something like this, “Dear Jesus, thank you for the food.  Please watch over Daddy.  Amen.”  Now, as soon as Elaine is placed in her chair, she folds her hands to pray.  However, as soon as I start praying, she starts hollering for me to give her food!  (Patience is not one of her strongpoints!)

Elaine loves bath time.  When it is time to get out, I remove the rubber mat the plugs the drain and start cleaning up the bath toys.  When they water is gone, she has to get out of the tub.  This week Elaine has started playing a trick on me – while I am cleaning up the bath toys she replaces the rubber mat and sits on it so that her water doesn’t drain!

If you ask Elaine for a kiss and pucker your lips you will get this response:  She will smile and then walk towards you.  Just when you think you are getting a big, wet, mouth-to-mouth kiss, Elaine ducks down and allows you to kiss her royal forehead!

Now I am a little embarrassed about this, but I will share anyway.  Elaine has a “thing” for underwear.  She will get into the drawers and pulls out a pair of undies, and usually ends up wearing them around her neck!  It is funny at home.  But when you go to the laundry mat, and she steals a pretty blue pair out of someone else’s cart, it gets really embarrassing!

Elaine went to the doctor last week for her 12 month checkup.  It was our first doctor’s visit here in NYC.  It was quite different from the visits as a baby!  Elaine did not want that doctor to touch her, or look in her ear, or listen to her heart and lungs.  And she certainly didn’t want that shot!  She weighed in at 18 pounds – that’s the 10th percentile.  I was told she is underweight, but would you believe I am constantly chasing her out of the food cupboard?  Like, all day long!  She is 30 inches, and “not short by any means” as the doctor put it. 

This has been a lengthy post, but I will finish with a couple of pictures.  Elaine loves her grilled cheese sandwich, and that’s what we eat nearly every day for lunch!

She smiles a lot lately – and especially when she sees the camera!