Elise-isms

At the Botanical Garden,
outshining the flowers.

It must be remarkably fun to be a 2-year-old. The line between real and imaginary is constantly blurred, so that not only are you a purple baby kitten, but wishes really do come true, because, poof, as soon as you wish on a dandelion seed and let it float away, an imaginary green stuffed bear appears in your hands, out of thin air! Wow! If only we could all be 2!

And the things Elise says or talks about usually reflect exactly what's going on in her mind, whether that's, "I changed our old house into a purple hotel!" or "When I close my eyes, I see purple!" It's a combination of a massive vocabulary with a minimal filter, and it's hilarious (and usually purple).

Elise's new big-girl bed! She wanted
to be sucking her thumb in the picture
since that's how she sleeps.

The ice-cream flavors she comes up with, for example, would put even Willy Wonka to shame. "Chocolate vanilla marshmallow M&M chocolate ice cream with purple sprinkles and chocolate chips and peanut butter to keep the chocolate chips on." Yes, please, says the pregnant mommy.

And then there are the random revelations along the lines of: "I do not like sticky milk. I do not like sticky Cheerios. Write that down, Mommy," and, "I have a great idea! Let's have a boy party!" (presumably for Daddy), and, "When I clean house, my pups lick the house clean!"

We have intriguing questions: "Why do people color?" or,
Elise: "What if an elephant picks me up by my shirt?"
Me: "What would you do?"
Elise: "Just hang there."

Kalina's new big-girl bed!

Elise loves to be a baby kitten--a purple one, of course. As she's naturally happy and curious, this suits her. Plus, it can be remarkably convenient at times. For one, it gets her extra cuddling--who can refuse to pick up a baby kitten nuzzling their knee? Even Kalina can't. Plus, if there's a question she doesn't want to answer, she can respond with a simple, "Meow." And then there are the side perks: "I have a rainbow tail! I painted it rainbow!" Wouldn't we all like a rainbow tail? When she's in kitten mode, she refers to herself in third person: "It wants its pink bear," which sounds a little strange coming from a 2-year-old, but can work in my favor, too. She's more likely to cooperate if I address my request to a baby kitten ("Does the baby kitten want to wear its purple shirt?"), and especially if her big sister dangles imaginary catnip in front of her as motivation.

And if you've been in Elise's vicinity lately, you've undoubtedly heard the big news: "We're having a girl baby, and we went to a seal show!" They are both true, and entirely unrelated. But she tells everyone.

Renee came to visit!

But my favorite has to be the random insights Elise has had on first waking up in the morning. Since she's started to sleep in, sometimes I wake her up--and the very first words out of her mouth have me smiling all day ("I want to eat at a restaurant, and I will be a helper and help carry the food," and, "My feet need a drink!" and of course, "I dreamed about making purple marshmallows. I know how to make them. You need purple food coloring. You can get it at a purple grocery store. I have a purple grocery store! They have purple carts.") What in the world was she dreaming of? Sometimes I greet her in the middle of morning playtime with her stuffed animals: "We were just making a lemon meringue pie and a juice pie!"

We made porcupines! And more
porcupines! And food for the
porcupines! And then we had to
squish them, but they'll be back
again someday (like Frosty) 

I could go on--and often, so could Elise. Let's hope she does, because the world really could use more purple, couldn't it?