What (she thinks) She's NOT

Breaking News: Elaina IS NOT a baby.

Sadly for her however, she's always going to be my baby. Look at it this way, I'm going to be 33 (Holy Smokes!) and according to my mother, I'm still her baby. Let me just tell you how much I wanted to sink through the floor and disappear when I was a teenager, out shopping with my mom and she yelled across five rounders of clothes, "Baby, do you like this?" or "Baby, I'll be in the next aisle!" Even though I was completely mortified and way too cool to acknowledge being called "Baby," I was, indeed my mother's baby.

And now I know.

Elaina is totally my baby. Even though every. single. day. she does something new, says something completely thought provoking or pee-pees in the potty like a big girl, I can't get over my baby growing up. I know she is still my baby like Lincoln is my baby. Except for that he actually is a baby-baby. My kids are just my heart. My babies.But, getting back to why Elaina is not a baby is because tonight, she said so. We were getting ready to go out on a family shopping date, (I call them "dates" because getting Eric to shop with me IS a rare and special occasion.) Eric was changing Lincoln's clothes while Elaina rocked in her chair singing "Rock-a-bye-Baby." Jokingly, Eric called her a baby and she got very upset, claiming over and over, "I NOT a BABY!!"

At first, I laughed to myself about their banter until I realized that she was actually feeling offended by his remark. And for the record, we have always called her our Baby or BabyDoll, just out of affection and habit. The reality is though, our BabyDoll is growing up. She won't always be 2 and have the world at her disposal. She won't always want Mommy and Daddy at her side and call us her best friends. There will come a day where her two-year-old-tantrums will be like a cakewalk compared to hurtful words that may be exchanged one day when she becomes a teenager. Our girl is really growing up.

Only because this was a "first" you get to share the joy of hearing about it too. Yesterday, Elaina "poopied" in the potty. And being our baby, simple rewards of stickers and candy make her the happiest. Lest, we not make mention of the hugs and fanfare of encouragement that go along with anything relating to my kid's hiney on the potty seat resulting in excrement. Way to go Elaina!

Beyond potty talk, her two year old mind is functioning at a rapid pace and remembers like a steel trap. Do you remember my Walk-A-Thon post? From 2 weeks ago? Remember the balloon release? I didn't happen to mention that we let Elaina hold onto her balloon and take it home. Unfortunately, our exchange of child plus balloon entering the house combined with a gust of wind and slippery fingers equalled Elaina's balloon going up to heaven after all. For two weeks, she has randomly mentioned her balloon going into the sky. And an airplane can get it. And heaven is where her balloon is and the angels and God too. And an airplane can bring them down and she can get her balloon back. (If only...) At this point, she fake whimpers her sadness over losing her balloon and recovers easily.

Everyday, she just blows me away by how her mind processes relationships, memory and functions. She puts so much thought into figuring things out and I am loving to see how her real personality is developing and becoming apparent. For instance, we went out to our favorite pizza place, (where you can usually find us on a typical Friday night) where we meet with 2 other couples and their kids. Once we finished dinner and the girls played awhile, Elaina wanted to give Maddie a hug goodbye. Maddie resisted and pulled back, rejecting Elaina's affection. (Okay, so no one has ever done that to my daughter before.) Elaina put both hands on her hips, stuck out her bottom lip and scoffed at Maddie without a word. She didn't know what to make of her action and didn't exactly know how to react.

Hardly a day goes by that Elaina doesn't say, "I go school today, Mom." Sometimes she'll mention going to school first thing in the morning or after her nap. She thinks she's ready to go to school. God love her! The best thing that she comes up with is hearing her say "I love you Mom" and knowing it is pure and from her heart. That girl continues to take my breath away sometimes. It is so fascinating to me to watch her develop socially, verbally and intellectually. In all of the wisdom that my two year old holds, she's still going to have to get over the fact that she is and will always be, my Baby.