feb 2010 at nana’s house 005

Originally uploaded by nanagriffey

It’s unbelievable to see how these two are growing. And how different they are. It’s also wonderful that they will be able to grow up and experience the world together! It seems so far that Eliza will be the bossy one and Parker will do what she says. I don’t know how that’s going to work out later. We’ll see.

IMG_9350

Originally uploaded by griffey

Jason and I swore we’d not raise one of those “girly girls,” not let Eliza fall in love with the Disney princesses, wear too much pink, be interested in fingernail polish and makeup. You know, all that stuff.

Yeah, right. We have absolutely no control over any of this, do we? We know better now.

Despite our attempts at putting Eliza in witty, black rock n’ roll tshirts, she still finds a way to dress like a fairy princess. As she said to me once, “Mommy, I’m a beautiful princess. Like Cinderella.” So much for the best laid plans.

All by myself

Originally uploaded by griffey

I love this photo, taken with my iPhone on a strangely sunny and warm-ish day in January. It was the first time Eliza had expressed an interest in this tire swing, and she insisted on doing it all by herself. You can see a glimpse of the grown-up Eliza in her face, I think. I don’t know how we produced such a gorgeous girl.

IMG_0083

Originally uploaded by griffey

It’s interesting to me the toys that Eliza plays with (and the ones she ignores). She’s not a builder. She doesn’t like blocks. She’s not into puzzles or “manipulatives” of any kind. She doesn’t care about push / pull toys or even her tricycle that much.

Here’s what Eliza does. She wakes up every morning and immediately says, “It’s tea time!” And we must play “tea” at least five times a day. We also must go grocery shopping and have picnics with her play food and dishes. We also put all of her action figures (Yo gabba gabba, mainly) and stuffed animals into interesting situations and make them talk to Eliza (and to each other). They get sick and we take care of them. They get into arguments about whose turn it is to do something and then apologize. They get time outs. They go on adventures, go hiking, and get into pirate ships. They go to school. They go to the potty. They visit Santa Claus and have birthday parties. They find magic wands and turn each other into strange things.

Lego’s? Nope. Play doh? Not much. Cars? Hardly ever. Toys that have buttons and make noise? No way.

We role play. A lot. And read books (to each other). And talk.

Oh, and sometimes we draw, paint, and write. But that’s usually only when she’s tired.

Most fun ever!

Originally uploaded by griffey

If Eliza doesn’t turn out to be a chef, she might be a painter. Or some kind of funky performance artist. Either way, it’s cool with me. I think I had a kid just so I would have an excuse to play with craft supplies, paint, and construction paper. Luckily, she agrees with my love of these things.