Elise- 10 months!!

Dear Elise,

I simply cannot believe you are 10 months old!! Time is flying by way too quickly! You are such a fun baby, though you're not going to be a baby for much longer! Every day you learn something new and I am watching you turn into a toddler before my eyes. You are a joy to be around and I try and savor every minute of this fun stage! You are active, inquisitive, and always in motion. You are very good at keeping yourself entertained. You love to take two plastic items, put one in each of your hands and crawl so they make a loud sound when they hit the floor. In fact, you love loud noises and really nothing seems to scare you; the vacuum seems to be a fav.

Some tidbits about you this month:

• You are a great sleeper!! You sleep from 7:30-7:30 and take 2 naps each day. You are so easy to put down. If you don't fall instantly to sleep you will happily play and babble in your crib until you do. You never wake in the middle of the night (knock on wood!)
• You sleep on your side or tummy. I keep a blanket in your crib and you love to snuggle with it.
• You are becoming pickier when it comes to food and no longer eat everything I give you. Go figure, it's like you have a mind of your own. You love Greek yogurt, either plain or with fruit mixed in, cottage cheese, regular cheese (notice a pattern here??) tofu, and anything with applesauce! Those are my go-to foods because I know you will always eat them. Your manners are still atrocious and the only one happy about that is Jaws. You are very good at feeding yourself assuming it's something you want to eat. Otherwise it ends up on the kitchen floor. You are still our little begger and want to try everything that we're eating and drinking. Daddy's Bud Light can is another favorite. There's not much you can't have at this age- err.. except of course beer!
• You attend Mother's Day Out two days a week. Daddy gets you ready and takes you every morning while I go to work. You love it and have made good friends. Your teachers always give you a great report at the end of the day.
• I have joined a mom's group and you have become a Mopette! Our groups meet every other Friday and have lots of activities in-between meetings. You're making new friends everywhere you go! You are very good at playing with other babies and don't mind when I leave. Strangers don't bother you at all.
• You still adore Jaws, Bailey and really any dog that we may encounter on our walks. You love to climb all over the leather chairs in the family room; I think they're nice and squishy for you. Speaking of, you love to flop all around on our bed and play peek-a-boo under the sheets. You love to be held upside down and also fall back, look at the ceiling, and giggle when we walk around the house. Your little personality is shining through and I think you're going to have a great sense of humor! You like to have fun!
• You are a breast-fed baby, in addition to solid foods and water. My goal was to BF you for at least 9 months (when most of the BFing benefits are reaped.)
• You are on the petite side, still wearing 6-9 and 9 month outfits. I think you weigh around 18 pounds. Your hair is coming in more and more each day and is also getting lighter. I wonder if you'll be a blonde?
• You babble all the time though "Dada" seems to be your word of choice. "Dadadadada" all day long :)
• You are a warp-speed crawler. You are also pulling up on everything in sight and sometimes stand by yourself. I don't think it will be long before you take your first steps.
• You have 7 teeth; 4 on the top and 3 on the bottom.
• You love shoes!!! I can surround you with a dozen toys, but if there are shoes within your sight, you will race for them and begin chewing on them. Yea, that's kind of gross.

Daddy and I are having a blast with you! We adore you to bits and can't wait to see what next month brings!

Dog Days of Summer

Tompa had rotator cuff surgery a few weeks ago and had to cancel his Saturday (and Sunday, Monday, Tuesday...) tee time for the next 6 months. So we hit up the dog park last weekend while Matt was out of town. Elise loves loves loves dogs and had so much fun watching all the dogs play at the dog park. It was like her head was on swivel!

Tompa, Bailey, and Jaws. Three peas in a pod!

Bailey is our family dog and is going strong at 11 1/2 years old. He and Jaws are BF4E.

Our neighborhood has a surprise natural spring that runs every so often. No one can figure it out. Jaws loves it and it even gets deep enough in some spots for him to swim! So while Jaws' life has certainly changed since Elise's arrival, no one can say this dog is neglected!!!

9 Month Pictures- the Rejects!

Like I said in my last "Photo Reject" post, these pictures are getting impossible to do alone. So I enlisted Matt's help. I thought this would be a quick and painless process. Ahhh... ignorance is bliss.

May I present photo #1? About 9 things are wrong with this picture, and it all happened within 2 seconds.

1. Sign fell over
2. Elise tried to escape
3. Matt's hand made the photo. Okay, fine, 3 things wrong.

Now, here's a cute picture! She's sitting up, you can read the sign, AND she's smiling. However, her hand is in her face. FAIL!

"Mom, I really don't think *this* is the best place for the sign."

"What's down here? Oh snap! It's the stupid sign!"

Elise- 9 Months!

Dear Elise,

You are now 9 months old. Time is going by crazy fast. Personally, I think you are the world's most delightful baby. You are happy 24-7. You are so content to explore the house, crawling around everywhere. You are a lightning fast crawler! But you never crawl away from us. You like to be in the same room that we're in and you follow us when we leave. You love your toys and are very happy playing with them. You make the cutest sounds and expressions. Even your teachers at school comment on them. Some tidbits about you this month:

• You weigh 17 lbs. and 8 oz and are 28 inches long. You are in the 50% for height and 25% for weight.
• You sleep through the night on a very consistent basis!!!!! (Only took 9 months! :) You go to bed around 7:30 and sleep until 7:15-7:30 the next day.
• You still take 2 naps totaling about 3 hours. You take your naps around 10:00 and 3:00. Your morning nap is usually your longer nap. I lay you down in your crib awake and you fall asleep without a peep.
• You attend Mother's Day Out 2 days a week and are so good!! So far you have gotten nothing but great reports at the end of each day.
• You have 5 teeth. 2 bottom and 3 top.
• You love trying new foods! Applesauce does seem to be a favorite though. You haven't had anything with sugar but you have had goat cheese, frog legs, lamb, veal and most every fruit and veggie on the market. (No citrus or strawberry though.) Plain, whole-milk Greek yogurt is also a favorite. (For mommy too!) You are still a breast-fed baby, which is the best thing for you nutritionally.
• You are such a healthy baby! You've made it 9 months and have never been sick or been to the pediatrician for anything other than a "well visit." However, you got your first runny nose, probably from school. I think it bothered me more than it bothered you! It only lasted about a week.
• You love to give kisses and hugs! It's so sweet!
• You fake cough and then smile. You love to try new sounds and like to make different noises with your throat.
• You love your mommy and your daddy. However, we think you love Jaws most of all. He gets the biggest smiles from you. You squeal and laugh at him.
• You look just like your daddy. Everyone agrees!
• You are a pro at blowing raspberries. You do this quite often, especially at your Tompa.
• You are cruising around and can even stand by yourself for a few seconds.

This month has been wonderful. This is such a fun age and though we're excited to see what next month brings, you're growing up so fast and we wouldn't mind if you slowed it down a bit. We love you so much and can't imagine what we did before you.

Daddy and his "mini-me"

Taking a bath in GiGi & Tompa's outdoor sink after playing in the grass.

You and your buddy, Jaws.

Naked baby!!!