Things That Amuse Me.

Ellie likes to walk on the low wall on the side of our driveway. She holds my hand and I sing a little circus song and we'll walk back and forth. The other day there was a big pile of bird poop and I told her "don't step on that big pile of poop" and so every time she stepped over it, she said "excuse me big pile of poop." Then she usually asks if she can jump to the other side of the wall and be a flower.

She also calls our drive way "the hill" and in addition to running up and down it whenever she can, she has started playing a new game where she stands in the sun, complains she's hot, then says she has to come and lay in the shade. I'm sure the neighbors think we're nuts (more nuts than they already did.)

Gigi and Grizz left for a vacation in Colorado yesterday, and we drove them to the airport. The entire ride home, Ellie told me that SHE wanted to go skiing TOO. I agreed with her that Gigi and Grizz were mean for not taking her with, but perhaps they would next year. I personally think Gigi and Grizz are pretty gutsy to leave for four days when I have approximately fourteen days of grandson gestation left. Today I was at the beach with a girlfriend and took a picture of the ocean, which I wanted to text to my mom with the caption "water breaking" but I didn't know if she would know it was a joke, and I didn't want to incite any frantic calling to change flights.

I consoled Ellie yesterday with a pair of new hot pink jellies, and a trip to the park, where she gleefully teeter tottered. And I overcame the eternal older sister impulse to dump a smaller child from the top of teeter tottering.

She is an absolute delight.

Also nice: she's now big enough to climb all the way to the top of the play structure and go down the twirly slide. I am too big to go down it with her at present, plus all that spinning makes me want to barf.

We were at the park for over an hour, and when I told Ellie it was time to go, she first climbed up onto one of the tables pictured behind her and said "okay, okay, let's talk!" Then she saw the checkerboard tiled into the top and said "let's play checkers!" How she even knows what checkers is is beyond me.