Anissa has been fighting a stomach bug since the middle of last week, so we've been spending more time than usual at home. This means I've had to be creative in keeping the girls happy: crafts and puppet shows, blanket forts in the living room and, well, watching more Treehouse than usual. On Thursday, Barack Obama made his first appearance in Ottawa so I even got to catch a bit of the coverage on CBC. Later that day, I was putting away laundry upstairs while Anissa vegged on the couch, and Elianne decided to perform some shows for me on our bed. First was a Princess Show: she was Wella (Cinderella), twirling and spinning elegantly. The next show was the Panties Show: she flopped around on the bed, giggling and yelling "panties, panties, panties!". My favorite, though, was the Grande Finale: the Brack Bama Show. She smiled and waved and said, "Hi, Brack Bama! Bye, Brack Bama!" 

Happy Birthday, my sweet, beautiful Elianne.

This is my birthday present to you: I am going to start posting here regularly again. (I know the scooter we got you is much more exciting right now, but someday you'll appreciate this.) Everyday, you wow us with your sweetness, your sense of humor, the joy you bring all of us, and I need to start recording some of the little things that make you so lovable.

Fittingly, you had two parties to celebrate turning two. The first was with your cousins, Uncle Lee, Aunty Tam, Memere and Pepere, the first weekend of February. You shared a penguin cake with Corbin, who turned 8, and got a new doll and a chair "just like Anissa's" (one of your slogans these days). For a week after party #1, you sang "Happy Birthday to Me" all day long, and each morning insisted that, "Today Elianne's birthday!" So you were very excited when the real thing came at last, and on Sunday you had round two of the celebrations with friends. I made you a kitty cake and we blew up the bouncy house in the living room. You soaked up every second of the attention, and though you had fun with your friends you especially wanted to hang out in their parents' laps.  I think, judging by the collection of empty wine bottles in the kitchen, that the grown-up "kids" had a good time too!

What are you like at 2 years old? Everyone always notices your big brown eyes, you are generally friendly and smile a lot. You are also feisty like your sister, and insist on doing things your own way: you want to pick what you wear (your lizard rubber boots, for example, are your favorite, even in the dead of winter), want to climb into the car seat by yourself (although you can't quite make it and it takes minutes of negotiations to convince you that you need help), refused both your highchair and any form of bib a long long time ago, and will not stay in a shopping cart for any bribery in the world. You and Anissa now share a room - though you're still in your crib - and you spend a lot of time hugging and kissing each other. You love to play store, school, house, fairies and princesses. You're affectionate, and often take breaks from your play for snuggles.

Some of the things that make us laugh? The way you say "like this" - Italian style, with hand gestures and an accent - "lika dis!" And you say it a lot, whether you're re-enacting how you fell down the stairs or telling us what you did in the gym at the YMCA. You love the YMCA, and whenever Anissa talks about school, you always jump in to say, "Eli goes YDA!" You also love picking Anissa up from school, especially because she always gives you one of the stickers she got that day. You have a crush on Frosty the Snowman and like to pretend you are other people, like Anissa's friend Holly. And that means I have to be, Kristine, her Mom, for hours on end. You like to sing, and your present favorite songs are Twinkle Twinkle and your own version of Frere Jacques. You also make up funny jibberish songs that you say are French and love to do dancing shows with Anissa in the living room. You speak very well, telling us what you "no like" and "want" and "NEED" (like "one candy, one more time, please?"). You tell people, "I'm Elianne Ranya Moo-ali" and we have a hard time tearing the phone away once you start pacing around the house and gabbing with Memere, Pepere or Mama Jo. 

What else is there to say? We love you! So so so much. Happy Birthday, Eli Belly.

My sweet little Elianne, I've neglected to blog about you for far too long!

"Little" Eli is, in fact, not that little anymore. She's 21 months old, and in such an adorable phase that between Mehdi, Anissa and I, she must get hundreds of hugs and kisses a day. She's doesn't seem to mind, thankfully. Here's a little summary of what she's up to these days:

Her favorite things:
- anything to do with Frosty (Fossy) the Snowman
- playing house/school/anything at all with "sissy" Anissa
- taking a bubble bath
- looking at the moon
- going to her "class" (playgroup) at the YMCA -whenever someone mentions Anissa's school, she has to inform them that, "Eli go YDA."
- talking to Memere and Pepere and Mama Jo on the phone. So much so that she cries when I try to talk to them myself.
- the sticker Anissa gives her each day when we pick her up at school.
- her Elmo book

Her not-so-favorite things:
- her high chair. We've given up on that one.
- grocery shopping
- sleeping in

And my favorite part of Eli's age is the new words and sentences she comes out with every day. The things she say most each day are, "Eli do that!" and "Anissa go?" (where did Anissa go?) She adores her sister, and the adoration is mutual. They crack each other up with silly dance moves, giggle while hiding from us, and snuggle on the couch.

Anissa is now in her third week of kindergarten, and I am so proud of how great she's handling it so far. Back in the spring, I was torn about whether to enroll her in the French immersion school her friends from preschool would be attending (classes are 8:10 to 10:50 daily), or the francophone school which offers a full-time program (daily, 8:50 to 3:20). I didn't know if I was ready to give her up to the world so soon, and worried that the French would be overwhelming for her. I worried about Elianne missing her sister, I worried about Anissa making friends with kids who speak French at home, I worried that a full day would be too much, I worried about being "francophone" enough to fit in with the other parents, etc etc etc!

I'm happy to report that all my worries were unfounded. I'm really impressed with how well Anissa has adjusted. She's cheerful every day when I pick her up, easily made friends and is understanding the teacher well enough to keep up. And though Elianne asked for her sister the first few days, she now understands where she is and, frankly, is soaking up the extra one-on-one time with me. It's all worked out for the best. And just when I was thinking Anissa couldn't seem any more grown up, she came home Friday and announced that she had a loose tooth. So now we've also had our first visit from the tooth fairy!

Anissa's first day of Maternelle