Toddlerhood.

Requisite remorseful statement about not posting enough: 
I regret not posting on this blog more frequently. I wish I could look back and have a month by month chronicle of everything that's gone on in mommydom - but alas, I went into some kind of black hole during months 5-12. I think it was an attempt to practice guitar or something. Oh well. Maybe I'll redo the site a little bit and start posting weekly, even if they are boring chronicles of every day life.

I miss having a little baby. Dare I say it? No, it's not what you think. Don't think I'm quite ready for another yet. But every single day, it is so apparent to me that Elisa is totally embracing toddlerhood and becoming more of a real little person. She's like my buddy that I take around with me wherever I go. Except this buddy is prone to tantrums, whining, being hungry every hour, and on a bad day, kicking and screaming. (Sounds a bit like me when I'm PMSing.) She can easily be cheered up with baked goods though. Hmm, also sounds a bit like me - on a normal basis...

I shouldn't dwell on the negatives because there are plenty of positives. She's learning so many things and is unbearably cute in her new pink sneakers that we got a few weeks ago when walking became imminent. She has been walking for about three weeks now and getting sturdier every day. I half expect to see her running if I turn my back. Sometimes when she loses balance, she'll stick out her right arm in this Frankenstein sort of way with it half crooked pointing towards the sky. Other times, she'll pick up random objects and hold them while she walks, maybe for balance, but also just to prove that she can multitask. These items include books, trash, packaging, spoons, and anything with a handle. The other day we were at a Mexican place having lunch and she proceeded to walk around the entire restaurant and touch random strangers while making her kissing face at them.

Today we went to the library for weekly story time and afterwards, she sat in a kiddie sized chair and flipped through a book. Paul happened to call me from San Francisco, where he is on a one-day business trip. I said, "Elisa is sitting in a chair looking at a book." He promptly freaked out and said, "She's sitting in a chair? She's such a woman now. Next thing you know, she'll be driving and hanging out at coffee shops."

Ok, so I guess we're still new parents. These new steps of toddlerhood are pretty thrilling, in a lot of the ways that infancy were. They're just different. I'm trying to embrace it, too.

Pizza delivery!