After the first year of collages with Curie we switched to the bigger six photo format while clandestinely still taking a picture a day. After Elia’s first year we do the same, and because we were writing a separate blog for her we will continue to do so, but now scheduled for the 15th of a month instead of the 19th, so the “January” blog for Elia will actually be from the middle of December to the middle of January.
Interestingly, we have picked four pictures where she is not smiling which is weird, because Elia is smiling all the time and usually because she is particularly proud of something she can do, whether it is putting things in cups, using her front teeth to eat apples, or tearing off bits of food with her hands to feed herself. She still doesn’t walk yet, but can get down from the couch by herself, stands when she forgets she is holding something, and (we need to get a downstairs gate now) climbs up the stairs when you are not looking, especially when she is supposed to be downstairs with Albert while Erin is getting Curie to bed. She knows where Erin is and goes to find her.
Elia has turned much into a Mama’s girl recently and has started to get jealous of Curie if Erin is holding Curie. When she was sick (she was sick last, we all caught the flu in January) she needed to be held by Erin all the time – literally – if Erin put her down next to her she would cry. When she does this she will prostrate herself on the ground from a sitting position bent forward with her hand in front of her on the ground.
Albert and Elia have a game where they have a yelling conversation. We have noted that Elia likes to yell “aaaaaa” into a cup, more recently Albert will yell “aaaaa!” randomly and Elia will respond “aaaaaa!,” to which Albert will yell “aaaaaa!” and Elia… well you get the picture. They will often do this nose to nose and shake their heads doing it. She is wont to babble now with words only she understands for things we don’t know. She can say “Mumma,” or “Duhduh,” and still says Jie sounds for older sister in Chinese.
So Elia is, in a word, adorable right now. Sure, we are biased, but that is a parent’s prerogative isn’t it? Elia has Albert’s sense of humor and will insert herself between any pair of us when we are watching TV or in bed. She has this big grin when she sees you and tracks you when you walk away. If you shake your head, she will too. She still hates driving in the dark, but can be bribed by a cracker or cookie to not cry these days.
When we are overwhelmed by work and parenting we have to remember: there is nothing like a child’s welcoming smile when they see you after a long day. There is nothing like their laughter when you rub you head on their bellies. And there is nothing like a sleeping child on your chest in the wee hours of the night to soothe the soul and fill the void.