Here's Elizabeth helping daddy, Elie, and Matt build a picket fence for us! Okay, so technically, no actual "building" got done... but one entire Sat. afternoon was spent with 3 guys, a rented auger, Vassil's new (to us) little pick up truck... and the end result: the supplies/wood got picked up, and about 8 holes got dug--lol! Hopefully soon we will get the fence up, too!
Along with building (or starting to build) our fence, Elizabeth had a few new developments this week. One of which being her growing self-esteem and verbalization of such. She often tells us "Elizabeth looks pretty!" or "Elizabeth cuuuuute!" And of course, we might be a tad partial, but we sure think so as well!
Another new development is the fact that she's started calling us by our first names. Often she will wake up from a nap, saying, "Vasé! Vasé! Where are you Vasé!" (pronounced Vah-say); And when we ask "Who's Vasé?" She says "Vasko!" which are two nicknames for Vassil. Or if she hears Vassil call for me, a few minutes later she will be shouting, "Jennifer! Jennifer!" We are trying our best to ignore this new behavior; although, the first few times we were in such surprise/shock that we couldn't help but laugh about it. Not the best move on our part.
Another development is her interest in the potty chair. She started using it 1 or 2x about a month ago... then one day, after she'd stripped off her diaper and told me she wanted to sit on it, she did, and she went potty! I decided I'd let her stay half naked that morning see what happened... that morning she went 5x!!!! I had ABSOLUTELY ZERO intention of starting PT so soon, especially since we have a baby on the way, for fear of regression. But I was getting lots of advice to at least try it out, since there is often a very short "window of opportunity" in which a toddler will be receptive to the concept of PT. So, I figured I'd give it a shot, and if it didn't work, we'd wait until later... and at least I'd know I tried (and not regret not doing so). After all, I didn't want to miss that "window" especially with the horror stories I've heard!
Of course, as soon as I started asking if she wanted to sit on the potty chair, setting potty timers, encouraging her, etc. she immediately decided she wanted nothing to do with it. I wasn't able to get any supplies in order (like training pants/mattress protectors/etc.) but I did try for about 1.5 days of letting her run around half naked, and trying to get her to go... it became clear, though, that she's definitely not ready! Lots of puddles, and lots of resistance! So we will hold off on training pants and all the other gear until she's more like 2.5 or whenever she seems more ready!
This past weekend, we took another trip to the zoo. Our year membership was due to expire, and when friends Ada, Andy, and Adresito mentioned going... we just had to tag along, too!
We somehow managed to make it through the entire zoo (only skipping a few exhibits) with a 20 month old, and a 6 month old! No easy feat! But lots of fun, especially with company!
Elizabeth LOVED the mist... "Feels good, mama!" she kept saying! It was so cute!
She also loved all the animals... she wanted to hold, pet, and go in nearly every exhibit, and let us know that she "needed" the Rhinos and Elephants several times. You know your child is officially spoiled when she "neeeeeeeeds" an elephant!
She enjoyed watching the sea lions and seals... and also telling the Polar Bear "Nap time over, bear. Time to wake up! Wake up, bear!"
Of course, like any todder... her favorite part was playing in some rocks/gravel while we waited near various exhibits. Go figure.
This week we also celebrated Alex's 3rd birthday! Friends Nicole and Ivan made a delicious, gourmet meal to celebrate! But best of all was the yummy Thomas cake... to which, Elizabeth cried "please cake! please cake! please cake!" about a dozen right before it was time to eat.
Here's the birthday boy! Can't believe he's three! And what a cutie he is!!! It was cute to watch her play with two older boys... she was very talkative to them, and kept trying to give them toys (even when they didn't want them).
Elizabeth has been to so many birthday parties lately, that she can sing the Happy Birthday song on her own... and she does almost daily these days! She also told me this morning that "Elizabeth birthday today!" I guess she's ready for it to be her turn!
As you can see, we had another fun few weeks!
