Elia, what a sweetheart in these interesting times. If you have children, you know what a salve they can be to the world’s problems and perspective comes down to simply worrying about them not everything else out there. Sure they can be whiney and frustrating and you can be sick with worry, but these things are still about love and not about disdain or hate.
Elia is a joy – most times. She does love to provoke her sister, and seems to have inherited, along with Curie, Albert’s ability know what will frustrate you. She has not yet learned that it is not always funny and that when you say “no” it really means “please stop,” but then again she is just shy of three. Sometimes we will tell her we love her and she will respond “me no love you” with a big smile on her face.
On the other hand she is unbearably cute. Albert asked, “Do you love Jie-jie?” To which she responded, “Yes. I love Jie-jie. Curie loves me too!” Oh and yes, she is using “I” now, mostly, instead of “me.” This manifested recently when Albert said “I love you Elia!” And she said “I love you!” Erin then said “I love you too!” To which Elia replied “Me love you too!” Albert likes telling Elia that she is funny because Elia likes saying “Dada funny” or “Sophia sat on Dada legs, Sophia funny.” So when Albert says “Elia funny,” she says “‘Lea no funny,, Dada funny.” And they will go back and forth a few times with this.
Albert recently had a meeting but had time before it to spend with Elia which gave them a chance to really bond for a bit, as a result for a while Elia wanted only Dada and allowed Curie to spend time with Mommy. One thing that has become a favorite for Elia is hiding with Albert. This started with being in a sheet tent right before bed with Curie and they would hide in the bed to surprise Erin. But Elia has really taken to it and loves laying on Albert’s belly hiding from animals. “Me sleep yo belly, we hide from bea-os!” She will put her face up against Albert’s touching noses and say seriously in a whisper “hide dada! is bea-o!” Then she will make bear sounds “”Rawr” but more like “Wawr!” in your face. Or lions, or tigers, and sometimes dinosaurs. “Dada, hide!” “We hiding.” “Es Beawr”
Elia has loved going to parties with bounce houses and jumping things especially at EJ’s party where she wanted to climb up everything, even things that seemed to big for her. She is very much in the “do by my self” phase. When Curie got a new winter coat, Albert washed Curie’s old one and gave it to Elia as her new coat which she loved. It was still a little dirty so Elia said “wash my coat” in her measured way so Albert washed her coat. It was the morning and Albert was going to put her in a lighter coat because her coat was being washed. Elia, not knowing that washing took time started crying that she wanted her coat, her new winter coat. Albert fortunately found a vest that Curie never wore with a big 5 on the back that Elia loved. In fact she insisted on wearing it the next couple of days as her “soccer shots vest.” Oh and if you called a coat, she corrected you that it is “my vest.” That week was the last week for Soccer Shots (which Elia loves) and all the kids got medals for participation. Elia was so proud to wear hers. On occasion she asks about it and loves it all over again.
Her favorite show is Hi 5 House on Netflix and she can be seen singing and dancing to the show by herself as a part of the studio audience. It is adorable. We have all gotten into it singing “The Animal Dance,” “Action Heroes,” and more. She is so good natured and laughs with a beaming face that lights up your own joy. She calls M&Ms “em a lens” or “em a lems,” kisses everyone good night, unless she decides you don’t get a kiss to get a reaction out of you, points to the old car and pointed tells us that it is the old car, got a little sick and for Thanksgiving said “I thankful family” when asked what she was thankful about. She is a sharp one that one, and a joy to have all the time, especially in these interesting times.