elle » Four Against Two

My Little Boy

Oct 052011

The four in FourAgainstTwo stands for four girls. The only boy in our family, save our three dwarf hamsters is my Hubby and to show respect he is a Man not a boy.

I have often said that God knew what He was doing when he gave me girls. Boys scare me a bit. I’m not sure how I would have parented one, or more than one. I know that I would have learned on the job of course, but I still believe that with my anxiety that girls fit me better. I am amazed when I watch my nephews or my friends’ boys play. They play so different than girls. More movement, less talking, less drama and a lot more rough play! My one regret with not having a boy is not being able to have some really cool birthday parties. I would have loved to have had a Pirate Birthday party with a treasure map activity.

My youngest Elle has allowed me to glimpse into the land of boys. She is my Star Wars fan. Thanks to her I can go into the boys section in search of Darth Vader shirts and R2D2 pajamas. I also find twigs, dirt, rocks and bugs in her pants pockets when I do the laundry. She will wear the same undies for endless days as well as socks if I don’t watch her. All of these things are things that I have heard are “boyish”.

Elle is also a pack-rat-slob. I feel bad about this attribute as she got it from me and I got it from my dad. It’s a family gene. The other day I was gutting her room getting rid of the millions of items she has tucked away and I found this:

6 Pieces of gum...right beside the Disney fairy!

Chewed bubble gum. Saved for later. Yucky, but funny. Very funny. Just don’t tell her I told her so.

The Age Of Understanding

Moments with Elle 1 Response »

Apr 252011

I cannot remember when Meg hit what I call the age of understanding. A time when a child starts paying more attention to her surroundings, starts to digest conversations she overhears. I think one reason I didn’t notice when Meg came into this is because she was the oldest. We expected more from her. She had to be smart, polite, brave… I wish I hadn’t had such high expectations of her, not because she couldn’t do these things but because of the pressure we put on her. This is what we tend to do with our firsts. Mita and Enu came to us at ages six and eight so we did not have the opportunity to watch them reach this milestone.

Elle, however, is the baby. Her growth and maturity always catches me by surprise. I’m not ready for her to grow up. I know she will, but I treasure her youth and try to hang on to it.

The other day we were sitting outside on our porch, just Elle and I. I was reading her a Magic Treehouse book. She is really serious when she asked,”Mom, can I ask you something?” She then goes on to ask about a conversation she overheard between Hubby and I a couple of days earlier. She is confused and asking me to clarify. She was so grown up, so articulate. My heart was full of pride and sadness.

Then on Easter morning we were watching the news. They were showing a reporter trying to find an Easter Service in China. The Chinese had guards at a popular church site and were turning people away. The reporter told a police officer “Happy Easter” to see what the response would be. Meg happened to walk in and say Happy Easter about that time. I murmured not in China and Elle says yeah, they are having a crack down. Hubby and I looked at each-other with surprise. She is watching and understanding the news?

The age of understanding isn’t always convenient for parents, we have to watch our conversions a little more closely now around her. It seems Hubby and I can only talk like big people after 9pm now!

I took this over Easter weekend. I think it is the best shot I have ever personally taken of my littlest girl.