Pico DiPaolo

Elise has been pretty good with understanding the concept of the trash (the kitchen trash…other trash cans throughout the house are for her to climb in).  She knows to pick up her dirty diaper, run in the kitchen, open the pull out trash, throw in her diaper and shut it.  (She can also complete this task at Honey’s house.)  We’ve been pretty impressed with this development and I hadn’t seen her take anything out of the trash in a long time…. so, I thought the trash was “safe.”  Wrong!  I was in the computer room and heard her open and close the trash.  I got up to investigate what was going on and found that she had taken out her half eaten yo baby yogurt.  Before I could intervene, she had swallowed down the remaining portion.  I didn’t know she could drink from a cup! 

Impressing me further today, she reached up and grabbed the half eaten banana from the table.  She got out a plate from the drawer and put the banana on it.  Then, she peeled the banana and threw the peels in the trash (see, I thought she had gotten the concept of the trash!).  She daintily ate her banana prize. 

I hope higher fuel prices spurs more innovation such as this:

A Milk Jug for a Green Earth

Make sure to click on the graphic, or click here.

Petie wrote a post (here) about the difference between how much Joelle and Elise enjoyed books when they were as old as Elise is now (17 months). Well, yesterday Elise was all over books. She pulled out nearly every book in the playroom to bring to me and read.

Before we would start reading a book and she would lose interest after a page or two. Maybe she’d have us read the first couple of pages again, maybe we’d read the first three pages of a new book. Then that was it for reading for the time being. I’m not sure how many times we heard the first story in one of her “Animal Baby” magazines. “Here’s Bobby the Beluga…he goes squeee-a, squeee-e….” as she runs away disinterested.

Yesterday she actually sat in my lap and, while she was often anxious to move to the next page, listened to the whole book in most cases. I don’t remember if Joelle was as picky as Elise is, though. Elise would take a book from the shelf, study it and either say “nah” and dump it unceremoniously to the side with a backhanded flip or look inquisitively at me and say “MO-uh?” (more) and bring it to me, stepping over toys strewn out in the playroom.

So, maybe she was just trying to figure out what she is missing, seeing Joelle read all the time. Maybe she just wanted to give it a try. Or maybe she’s finally ready to try books. On her own terms, of course.

Poppy requested a post (again).  It seems like that’s the only time I get spurred on to do it during these busy months (yes, that’s a good thing, Poppy – thank you.)

I don’t have a lot, because, well, I’m so busy most days that I forget to jot down notes about cute things they are doing.  I did write down a few notes:

- Joelle has been typing to Chris on IM.  Since she can read now, it’s opened up the world of instant messaging and she loves to send daddy a “show” with the emoticans and her few words that she can type.  I know she’ll do fine in the texting world of abbreviating because she already types things like “fj” for “from Joelle.”  Anyway, one day she was typing to Chris and then Chris suddenly got a call from home.  He answered and it was Joelle.  This is third person, but she said something like, “I wanted to tell you something but I didn’t know how to spell most of the words.  So, I called.”  Nana was home at the time and knew that Joelle was calling Chris, but didn’t assist at all. 

- Elise is starting to talk more (and liking for us to read to her, remember your post about reading, Chris).  Our favorite word is:  “more.”  She says it with the cutest inflection and makes it into a two syllable word.  Yesterday, at Pappacitos, she noticed the water fountain and very matter-of-factly said, “Wa Wa.”  Chris said, “yes, yes it is.”  At the library, a little baby her size walked up to where she was playing at the water fountain (she loves to find and play with water fountains.  Elise said (very distinctly), “Go Away.”  My last favorite (for now), is that she likes to say, “no, no, no, no,” in a little sing songy voice.  For instance, when I now say, “we’re going to the MAC to play,” she says, “no, no, no, no.” 

- One day, while I showered, Joelle snuck into our room.  (Elise was napping).  I heard the door open and close and knew it was likely Joelle.  However, I didn’t know what she was up to until I got out of the shower.  There, on the bed, she had laid out a selection of clothes.  Chris asked what it was when I told him the story and I said, “what I have on.”  He was impressed.  My clothes aren’t put up into outfits, so she had to select shorts from the drawer and a shirt that was hanging.  I was impressed, too.

- Elise continues to be a shoe bandit.  It’s rather a problem with some of my Asian friends because, of course, they take their shoes off at the door.  Elise has a free for all and tries them all on, trucking through the house.  I’m sure my friends love when I do this, but I’ve had to start putting everyone’s shoes outside.  I just can’t keep her from them.  At the splash park, everyone discarded their shoes to go play in the water.  Again, it was like a shoe shop for Elise.  I had to chase after her and put all the shoes back that she was picking up.  (She had on shoes, so she couldn’t try them on.)  Also, she thinks it’s a convenience store with all the “free” drinks and snacks in the open bags.  She tries to sample and check out the contents of each bag.  Luckily, she’s so darn cute, most people are pretty kind about me having to save their stuff from her little paws.

Ok, that’s it for now.  Joelle starts summer camp next week, so I should have a tiny bit more time on my hands and be able to keep up with the chronicles of the DiPaolos better.

Wow, it’s been so long since I’ve written.  I think that’s a testament to how busy I am this summer.  These girls keep me going!  Most days are fun and filled with lots of activities.  Today, we went to Noah’s Ark, a little pool “playground” by our house.  There is one big slide and one little rainbow slide.  Joelle is familiar with this place and has been anxious to go.  We were supposed to go the 2nd week of summer (we’re on the 4th week now), but we were all hit by a fever bug.  Even Chris.  The day that Chris came home from work, because of being sick, Joelle said to me, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Daddy sick.”  I know she was probably mulling that over all morning.  I had told her at the Natural Museum of Science that Daddy was home sick and she made that comment hours later on the way home.

Anyway, back to Noah’s Ark.  Elise was a maniac!  It did not take her long to scan the premises and determine that there was a little rainbow slide.  She ran for it.  Literally.  I walked with her up the slide and we slid down together.  She was absolutely delighted.  We tried that a couple of more times and then she started doing it on her own.  I would catch her as she came down, obviously, but she would climb the steps and go down herself.  She’s just 16 months!  Not long after that, she figured out there was a stream of kids going up another set of even bigger stairs.  Of course, she went to investigate.  She started climbing, but it’s a lot trickier and she jumped and hollered until I came to help her up.  We went down together (with Joelle on the parallel slide to us).  I am smiling right now remembering her squeals of delight.  I’m not quite ready to let her go down the big slide by herself, but I can see her hankering to do so in the very near future.