Eloise is getting into the "I want my way" stage

 Eloise is getting into the "I want my way" stage. It's really funny. And still cute, because she is small and her little voice is so adorable. And her fits don't last super long still. So it's totally bearable. Here's an example of the stage. I'll pick her up and show her her bookshelf (her books are up too high to reach), and she or I will pull out a book, and she'll say  "no no no!" And so I'll show her another option, and another, and another, with the same response. And finally we'll get to one and she will start wagging her little bum and smiling. She LOVES books. Yesterday she would grab my hand (I was cleaning the house) and say "Boooooooooook!" and pull me to a book or to her bookshelf.

Also she loves these Altoids Joseph keeps in his backpack, so she always tries to sneak into his backpack and steal one. And she calls them "dum" for gum. And she threw a huge fit, crying so hard and throwing her head back and letting go big tears. I tried to put her down, and although she didn't go down, she did at elast calm down. And so we ended up on Conley's bed, and she was so squeezy and delicious and snugglicious. I just can't get enough of her. Her cheeks are so soft and smooth and squishy. And she is too And she was just so ticklish. And I was tickling her neck and nuzzling it and she was just so giggly and funny and cute.

Oh and before bedtime we played hide and go seek and she just LOVED it. And Conley liked it a lot too, but Eloise was just uncontrollably in love with it. Joseph and Conley would hide, Eloise and I would go find them, and then when we found them, she'd grab Joseph's hand and say "zeeeeek!!!" and take him to go hide. She just loved it, and she kept doing that over and over and switching teams and grabbing hands and stuff. It was so fun.

Oh and Conley said something so sweet this morning. Joseph wasn't feeling well, so we left him sleeping and ELoise in her crib to fall asleep. And Conley and I were walking out the door and it was different from routine and he was confused, and so so concerned with Eloise. He said, "But why aren't we taking Eloise, Mommy? She is all by herself. It's OK; she can come to primary with me. I'll take care of her!" It was so adorable.

Anyway, spending time with him on the way to church and at church and on they way home today was so delightful. He's such a sweetie, and I need to spend one on one time with him more often.