Elsie is a Joy

Elsie learning to walk from Becca Groves on Vimeo.

Elsie is non-stop sweetness. She is so determined. So proud. So willing to try. So happy to fall down and pick herself back up again. I see a million life lessons in how she lives her days and it makes me want to be more joyful. More proud of what I do. More strong willed in what I believe in.

She only says a few words, but the ones she does say are hilarious to me.
Cheese and Chicken- she says "chs" for cheese and will kick her legs in her high chair happily until you split her string cheese in two. She says, "chi-in" for chicken and is usually the first thing she says as she lunges from my arms to the window to see if they're out for the morning.
Thank You- perhaps the most polite and gracious one year old on the planet, Elsie says her own form of thank you with a sweet "tay tu" She says these words after I give her anything on her high chair tray. Or when I give her a water bottle or a toy. She is so gracious!
Poop- a few days ago she crawled up on the ottoman with a diaper and said to me in a very high pitched, staccato voice, "poop" while tapping her hips. I was blown away. And sure enough, she had a dirty diaper.

Other than those, her most used words are Mama, Dada, and her personal favorite: Baba, which is her bottle. And now every time we open her animals book, she flips to the page with the sheep and says proudly, "Baba." As if to say, those sheep like Baba's too.

Our awesome neighbor girls come over often after school to help coach her walking. She is a happy learner, and they are so eager to be here for her first steps. Elsie will let them know she's done by laying her head on the carpet for a rest. This girl is so sweet.


elsie's coaches from Becca Groves on Vimeo.