Eliza at 46 months

  The baby thing has not gotten old for Eliza.  She is still as enthralled with Joshua as the day she first met him.  She likes to "babysit" him while I make dinner or take a shower.  She sure loves him!

Eliza enjoyed the Christmas season.  She knows about Santa, but we don't play it up very much at all.  I took her to the dollar store so she could choose a gift for Caleb and Mike.  It was so fun to watch her try to find things that she thought they would like.  She had a really hard time making a decision, but what do you expect when anything in the store falls within her budget?  In the end, she got Mike a flashlight gadget and Caleb a package of glow-in-the-dark stars.  On the receiving end, Eliza was very gracious.  Every gift she received seemed to be just what she'd always wanted, no matter what it was.

At our annual Ugly Sweater and Mustache Party we had a kids gift exchange.  Each child brought a present that would work for a boy or girl and we passed them around the circle a few times and then had them open the gifts.  Some of the older kids were very vocal about their disappointment (there was even some crying involved).  Eliza got a ball and I could tell by her expression that it wasn't what she had always wanted, but I was so proud of her for not getting upset.  She was very mature about it.

 Eliza was very excited to go caroling to some friends and neighbors.  We sang "Joy to the World" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," both of which Eliza learned very quickly.

Eliza has been being sneaky lately.  She doesn't know that we are not fooled.  She has also not been truthful about her sneakiness.  I walked into the pantry and caught her with her hand in the chocolate chips and she still told me that she was just sitting there thinking.  We are working with her on being honest.

In January, Eliza started attending the Sunbeams class at church.  She has been asking for about a year now when she would get to be a Sunbeam.  Needless to say, she is thrilled to be a Sunbeam!