My friend over at Sunflower Stories posted 21 facts about her boy...and has for several years...and I loved it so much I decided to do the same every year, whether or not I did the 31 for 21 again!!
HERE is our first and THIS is last year's!
And for this year:
1) Elise is in love with wolves, dinosaurs, dragons, horses, and sheep this year.
2) Her favorite movies and shows this year are: Shrek, Ratatouille, Up, Shaun the Sheep, Wallace and Gromit, Mr. Bean, and anything involving a non-current holiday (we have watched Scared Shrek-less at least weekly since last November 2nd)...she still prefers shows that rely on physical expression and comedy rather than dialogue...She is on pins and needles for Brave to come out!
3) Her cracker habit has been decimated...and therefore requests chips or crackers are for dessert nowadays. She will occasionally ask for sandwich meat or hummus with chips for snacks, rather than simply caving in when her preferred is turned down.
4) She still folds herself up to sleep in a ball...and cannot sleep in a room alone. There MUST be a sister or parent in it. She springs up like a jack-in-the-box if you try to sneak out.
5) Unlike last year, where she required her babies to be lined up in a line along the edges of her bed, she has kicked them all out. Not one single doll or stuffed animal is allowed in her bed. They have their own, separate bed in the corner. And the quilt MUST cover every corner of the mattress or she will follow you out to the hall pleading...
6) She loves to pet Simon, our rash decision cat. Petting him is very calming and soothing to her. He moves slowly, so he does not freak her out like our dog, who she has become SUPER patient and loving with. She has not attempted to hit or kick him at all the year. SO proud of that!!
7) Elise is playing more independently more often. Her dolls get to have adventures...but they refuse to have tea in plastic. They will only suffer good china. She loves to play with her plastic animal horde. They have families, friends, and often have conversations and trips now! Although, her favorite part is still sorting and matching.
(I was in no way consulted or involved in this tea party. In fact, I believed this tea set to be safe from her.)
8) She can read simple sentences on her own. Her independence is growing with her vocabulary. She will actually do homework this year. In previous years, she was completely tapped out and exhausted by the time she got home from school.
9) She still enjoys to "read" books without pictures. She pores over them, enchanted with the idea of words and their potential. And still basks in recipe books...and still refuses to eat them.
10) She will listen to books being read. In their entirety. I know this sounds silly. But she used to listen to a page, and then close the book on your fingers and jump to another one.
11) This year Elise independently paddles about in the pool!! She spent the entire summer enjoying swimming in her life-jacket, but you HAD to stay within a couple of feet from her. But now, she will paddle up and down the length of the pool, using her arms and kicking. Up until 2 summers ago there was screaming and she terrorized the whole pool...now she begs for it. In fact, I am crediting it with a smidgeon of the weight she's lost.
12) She still despises to have her hair brushed.
13) She would submit to violent torture over a shower. I almost got myself turned into DFCS because of a misjudgement in choosing to shower off the girls after a swim at the YMCA.
14) She still loves to cook. She adores Asian, Indian, and is branching out in textures. And LOVES to be included in the making or planning of supper. And will happily sort and put away silverware out of the dish washer.
15) Pizza is the food of the gods. Manna directly from heaven. As a matter of fact, she named a baby doll after it.
(This is "Baby Pizza")
16) She was assessed crazy low on last year's psychological evaluation and IQ test, but still enjoys very sophisticated humor and could plan her escape from Alcatraz, and so I have decided to trash those numbers from my head.
17) Elise has taken to writing "notes" and "stories" in notebooks. It's all scribbley, but she can usually tell you the same story several times when she is presented with the pictures and words. So they must make sense to her.
18) She will still do her angry goose step and lizard tongue, if she is not pleased about something. But I believe growling and similar verbal expressions are taking precedence (heading in the right direction!).
19) She no longer kisses friends and usually won't hug strangers. But we are still striving to curb hugs in favor of more verbal options
20) We have pursued more sign language. In September, we went outside the school system for Speech Therapy...and have a "date" with the Assistive Communications Technology in November, to see if there are any more options that we should consider to help her express herself more.
21) She is cutting back on thumb-sucking, and I feel like the petting of my eye-lashes is getting worse. But she is beginning to save such persecution for those she loves. :)
My girlie is growing up!!! Love her to death!!!
I love learning about Elise!
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