Elia June 2015. It’s midnight, everyone else is asleep; we are eating Japanese stacked potato chips watching BBC cartoons in the dark. Elia can’t talk yet, so when she wants another chip she makes the sign for “more” but in her definition it means “I want.” We open the can, she takes two chips from the sleeve in the can puts them on my chest. She takes one and gives it to me, takes the other, leans up against me and takes a little bite. We don’t say a word and once the chips are gone she makes the sign and we open the can for new ones. Little by little, she nestles a little further on my chest and turns her head away from the TV; in moments, she is asleep, and I sit quietly in the dark and appreciate the enormity of my wealth.
On June 14 Elia really started to repeat words like “dog” “woof woof,” the day before she said “water” after seeing a fountain, she says “ah,” when you ask to see her teeth, and “hi” to people, a lot. She sings when she dances with Curie, she dances to any music, and she raises her hands to twirl when she sees Curie do ballet -but doesn’t end up turning. Elia loves to play the piano and cries when you try to pick her up while she is playing it.
She understands very, very, well. She sits when you tell her to sit down. You tell her the pot is hot in the kitchen, she raises her hands and backs away. She communicates with a motion or a look. She points to things she wants, and she cries when she doesn’t want something. Her favorite part of “When you are happy and you know it,” is stomping her feet. Our favorite though, when something is amazing, she claps; and when she the time is right you say “hurray,” and she shoots her tiny fists into the air and shouts “aay!” in return. Hurray!
She loves to drink soup and her spoon work has become amazing. She finally has lower molars, or rather one lower molar and two upper molars, so now can chew. She likes spicy food but will tell you if it is too spicy – spitting it out and wiping her tongue with a paper towel bunched up in her hand. She wipes her mouth and the table with that same napkin. She has graduated from her high chair at home to a toddler IKEA chair, and at restaurants, she gets to choose which kind of chair she wants to sit in. She learned to click a pen, and hold the camera. She works on the keyboard, and loves books. She draws and writes, and of course goes on the potty. June 6 first time on the potty, no. 1, June 10, no. 2; in eight days, five successful events, two blanks, one misfire. She can’t talk but she will point to her diaper and it is time to go or time to be changed.
Ever since we went for the walk with the tandem tricycle, Elia has been sitting on the tricycle in the basement waiting for us to go back out or in the little car that Curie loves so much. She asks to play tent with the covers even though it has been months since we last played tent. She loves trains after going to Strasburg and says “too-too” when riding the train, and says “vroom” pushing chuggers on the carpet. At her doctor’s visit she recognized the nurse from the previous visit and remembered it was the same one who gave her her shots – and was afraid. The doctor saw her pout and begin to cry and was amazed that she remembered. She waves at dogs but is scared of them when she gets too close, the cat at the Hoaglands made her cry. She waves at babies, and waves goodbye; she flirts then turns shy when you catch her looking.
Elia hugs Curie in the morning and gives hugs to everyone at bed time. The girls play a lot; Curie is a lot more patient and Elia interacts with Curie more. She draws when Curie draws, gets a turn walking on walls because Curie does; they cleaned up the blocks together and, at the bath, learned to squirt water from the rubber ducky first accidentally into her own face, then into Curie’s. Her laughter is infectious when she does it. She likes to pour water over Curie’s head even when it is un-asked for.
So Elia is growing and it is amazing. Our favorite this month? Elia sits on Albert’s chest facing him reaches down and grabs his shoulder and tries to pick him up to go down stairs. Albert goes along with it and Elia dutifully makes the “this is heavy” grunting noise and is delighted to find that it works. She then sits in Albert’s elbow, waves good bye, to everyone else, and then the two of them go downstairs, sometimes at midnight, to watch BBC cartoons in the darkness, and somewhere, in the glow of the TV, there is a can of Japanese stacked potato chips just waiting to be shared.
