Eliza at 5

I have been meaning to write this post for a couple of months now.  Better late than never, right?  The thing is, I now have so many stories I want to include that it would make the post much too long.  I'll have to do some follow-up posts in the near future.  Hopefully before the stories escape my mind.

Eliza is such a joy to be around.  She is so smart and retains information very well.  I love hearing her use new words or explain a concept she learned in school or at church.

Eliza wants to be big and independent, and she has strong opinions about the way things should get done.  In that way, she reminds me a lot of her older sister.  And her mother.

Another thing that Eliza and Cat have in common is that they can both be very motherly.  I recently offered to take a friend's toddler to the library because she had work she needed to do.  I thought I had my stroller in the car, but when I got to the library I realized that I did NOT have the stroller in the car.  So I asked Eliza to hold hands with David while I carried Luke.  She jumped at the chance to help, and took care of David the best she could while we had our outing.  David and Luke both tried hard to give us the slip, but with Eliza's help, all 4 of us made it back to the car after story time and checking out a few books.

Walking in to the library from the parking garage.

Today Eliza's teacher was telling me how helpful and kind Eliza is at school.  There is a boy in her class who is very quiet and doesn't interact with the class very much and Eliza makes an extra effort to talk to him and be friendly, and swing next to him (since he chooses not to go on the playground with the other kids.)  And when Eliza noticed that two special needs kids in her class, who are always grouped together so that their helper can help both of them, had been assigned to different groups because of a student teacher's mistake, she quietly went to the board and switched their names so that they would be together.

Cat's freckles started appearing when she was a toddler - probably around the time she turned 2.  I remember being so excited when I first noticed them that I squealed with delight, inadvertently scaring her and making her cry.  Eliza has had a few scattered freckles but several more have appeared over the last few months.  In March I pointed out to her that she had more freckles and she was so excited - since we dote on Cat's freckles - that she hurried to the bathroom to get a good look.

Freckles!

Can you see them?

One way that Eliza differs from Cat, though, is that she's more girly than Cat was at this age.  She really loves pink.  And purple.  But mostly pink.  Today I asked her what color she would be if she could choose any color and she said PINK because she thinks she has pink inside her.  She wears a skirt or dress at least 6 days a week.  She loves all things sparkly and pretty and recently started wearing a purse all the time (one that Ben brought back to her as a souvenir from a work trip).

Putting on the FROZEN press-on nails Grammy sent for her birthday.

Showing off the pink baton she bought herself at Dollar Tree.

Eliza is so friendly and really loves being around people.  She is able to make friends of adults just as easily as children.  One of our neighbors has taken a particular liking to Eliza and invites her to run errands with her or spend time with her on occasion.  When I had some extra work to do around the house a few weeks ago, I asked Pat if she would take care of Eliza for a couple of hours and she eagerly agreed.  They made sugar cookies together and we got to take them home to enjoy.

Eliza is extremely confident in herself and her abilities.  This week I've been talking to her about what she wants to be when she grows up.  Her first response?  A queen.  Second response: an artist.  I asked her what kind of artist she would like to be: drawing, painting, sculpting, wood-carving, music, actor, etc., and before I could even get very many examples out, she interjected "All of those!" When I brought up singing, she said "I'm a good singer.  I'm famous." When I requested clarification, she sang, "Oh, little Liza, little Liza Jane." Well, of course.  And, yes, she is a very good little singer.

Along these same lines, Eliza was in the spotlight in front of a big Sunday School class recently (full story coming in another post) and she didn't giggle, hide behind her Dad, or cower in any way.  She stood tall, looking the adults in the eye, and smiling.

Eliza expresses herself very well, partly, I'm sure, due to her confidence.  She has no trouble getting her point across (whether the person on the receiving end wants to hear it or not).

There are probably several more things I should include in this post, but this is a good place to conclude.  I sure love my little Eliza.  She brings me and everyone around her so much joy.  I enjoy spending time with Eliza, and feel so blessed to call her mine.