Those three munchkins: no. 3

Elora: 2 years, nearly 11 months
Little big girl


There is so much to say about this delightful little creature that I don't know where to start. In fact, I started writing this post nearly 3 months ago... I got as far as "2 years, 8½ months" and then stopped. Now she's nearly 3 years old, but I swear she could pass for older.

She is so completely different to the boys, and yet a lot like her eldest brother at the same age. Ridiculously inquisitive. Constantly asking questions. Sometimes you can see her looking around at her surroundings to find something to ask a question about. It's adorable and funny but sometimes very frustrating. And when she's not asking questions she's just talking. All the time talking. But mostly asking. Her favourite colours are "pink and white", by the way.

She loves to do what I do, and what my mother does, and what Atti does. She loves to pull a chair up to the kitchen bench to see what's going on, or to be involved in whatever's being cooked. Hasn't quite mastered the art of breaking eggs yet... more like smooshing them into bits, but hey, her nearly-9 year old brother isn't much better. She's very empathetic - picks up on what's going on around her. There's no sneaking things past this little girl.


She LOVES her brothers. Adores them. She and Atti get on superbly. Of course they have their tiffs but most of the time that is when they are both tired and/or hungry. She engages in role play with her brothers and her toy animals. Puts on silly voices. Uses the raised inflection at the end of sentences that kids use when they're playing "Let's Pretend"... "Let's pretend I'm the mum? And you're the dad? Okay? And we're going to the shops? And this is the money? Yeah?" It amazes me to hear her do this - I keep having to remind myself that she is not even 3 yet. I didn't hear Dante talk like this until he was at school, or just before!

Of course, she loves her soft toys. The spare bed in her room is covered with toys. I guess it doesn't help that her mother also has a predilection for them. Especially the nifty unusual ones from Ikea. Her all time favourite toys are her Beaver and, more recently, her Rabbit (seen above in the first photo dressed up in an "Ilan" dress from Thursday Island). (I know, I know, we're not very inventive with names around here).

And she loves our real animals too. She's incredibly gentle with them all and adored Flopsy (and he loved her). But fairly tough, too. I guess you'd have to be if you played with Atticus so much! Today they were wrestling and giggling away. Music to my ears.





She's toilet trained - for the last few months now (started in Sept/Oct). Day time at least. She is interested in drawing and writing and looking at letters. She can count pretty well (quite keen on "two-tee two" (22) on the Advent calendar last year) and we are showing her the basics of addition (using fingers)... She gets the concepts so quickly! And physically she grows. She eats a tonne (more than Atti sometimes). Her hair is so long it's half way down her back. Beautiful glossy straight brown hair. She is very patient when it comes to combing it and doing it up! Tonight we took the side off her cot so that she is officially a BIG GIRL. Wow. I can't believe that I will be putting her name down for pre-school on the first day of term in a few weeks. Pre-school 2011, that is. You've got to get in early in the inner-west.

I have to say that I feel that I am the luckiest person around to be the mother of this charming, sociable, cute little girl. She's everything I could have asked for - a little bit girly, a little bit tom-boyish. Friendly, helpful, mostly obedient... although she's starting to get a little more cheeky of late. Never could I have hoped for such an amazing creature when I looked at that ultrasound and found out she was a girl. The tears I shed then were well worth it. I am completely smitten by Elora. I would hug and hold her all day every day if I could. She is simply delightful!