what do big girls do?

elenora is all questions lately... and most of all the question "why?" this word leads to an endless conversation which it is difficult to escape from.

the other afternoon as we walked outside, ella asked "why did God build the world?" and i said "because he wanted to make a place that was beautiful and that had people who he would love." and she said "why did God make me?" and i said "because he loves mommy and daddy and wanted to give us joy."

the other question that gets a lot of air time is "what do big girls do?" she really wants to know. between sleeping in a big girl bed, going potty, not sleeping with a binky, etc., we have a lot of answers... but she still likes to ask.

tonight when i sang her songs before bed i sang "close your eyes my little baby girl..." and she said "i'm not a baby girl." and i said "no, but you're my little girl." and she said "what if i was a little boy?" and i said "then you would be my little boy." and she said "what if God made my bottom curly?"

which just really made me laugh. how could i not?

we had a cookout tonight. our second time grilling. j. grilled up burgers and corn and peppers.

it's been in the 90s and will be about 97 degrees tomorrow. ugh. we spent the morning at the ocean swimming. it's the only way to enjoy being outdoors. last night we went to h.'s for a cookout and swimming, and s. was there with her family, so ella and aurora had fun in the pool together.

if there were fireworks close by i'd be tempted to wake ella and go. but the closest fireworks display is over 1/2 hour away. not worth it for a girl who hasn't slept during her nap since tuesday.

we're down to about 2-3 sleep naps a week. the rest of the time she just plays. today j. heard her over the monitor singing "amazing grace" to her friends.

we put the toddler bed together this afternoon and let elenora try it out during her play time... i'm nervous about the switch, and really want to make sure we're ready for it before removing the crib--especially since that crib is near impossible to put together and won't fit out her door without being unscrewed. in the end i put her mattress back in her crib and the toddler frame is on the floor of her room. we'll see. the main reason to switch now is that she sleeps over at momby's so much and has outgrown her pack and play. she really needs to be sleeping in something else over there. so i feel like i should switch her over here so she's used to it.

i have 2 more days off of work. it's too hot.