The Greatest Dog

Everyone knows I believe Jaws is the greatest, most well behaved four legged furry beast out there. Am I biased? Yes... yes I am. But I did get a little photographic evidence to prove it. Elise spilled her snack cup all around Jaws. I happened to walk by the family room and saw him surrounded by goldfish. But he didn't eat a single one... he wouldn't dare without permission. What a good boy!

Elise giving Jaws some love. She loves loves loves her dog! However, "Jaws" is a word she will not say. She will "bark" like a dog and that's how she says Jaws. In fact, that's one of the first things she "says" every morning. She barks and points down the stairs until she sees her doggie... but will not/can not say "Jaws." Hmmmm.... not sure what to do with that. ;)

More love...

And more!

Just chillin'. Elise thinks Jaws makes a pretty good recliner.

She also thinks he makes a pretty good horse.

Note the hand in the mouth. She was smiling so nicely... I grabbed my camera, a devious look flashed in her eyes and her hand flew to her mouth. And stayed there until I put the camera down.

A visit from Jen, Joe, and Drew!!!

My cousin Jen, along with her husband and 13 month old son, Drew came to visit us from St. Louis this past weekend. We had such a great time!! Even though Drew is a good 6 months younger than Elise, he keeps up just fine. They had so much fun together; it was a wonderful visit!

Of course we had to visit the Alamo.

We took a nice stroll along the riverwalk before heading to Market Square for lunch at La Margarita.

Backyard fun.

Go figure. The scrub brush I used to clean the water table was a bigger hit than any toy!

Jen holding down the fort.

Looking intently at... something. Whatever is was, it even grabbed Jaws' attention!

Cutie-pie Drew putting his quesadilla on his head.

Hottie dads at Sea World. :)

At the first show. Elise wasn't too impressed. Maybe because she knew we were in the splash zone. Woops.

She liked Shamu!

Wasn't a fan of the dolphins.

It was a fun weekend and I'm looking forward to seeing them all again soon!

Last Day of School

Hard to believe Elise has finished her first year of "school." Matt and I feel so fortunate to have found such a wonderful place for Elise to go twice a week. I'm sad to see the year end... but she'll be back next August in the Toddler room!

Last Day of School. Elise isn't sure how she feels about it.

And just for funsies and comparisons sake- a look back at her FIRST day of school! What a change!

With her teacher, Ms. Raina, and friends.

With her bestie Cameron. They are always together!!!

Cam giving Elise some love.

Eating... they don't look too thrilled. Maybe they'd rather filet? Surf and turf perhaps?

Elise pondering all she's learned this year and looking forward to next year!

Elise - 18 Months!

Stats:

• Weight: 22 lbs 7 oz- 24%
• Length: 32 inches- 62%
• Head circumference- 47.6 cm- 79%
• Tooth count- 12. 4 top, 4 bottom and all 4 molars have made their arrival. Eye teeth are on the move.

Elise is just about the cutest thing to grace this earth!! ;) She is so sweet, fun, and as busy as ever! She loves to go swimming, play outside, read books, and dance in the living room. She's still a semi-picky eater, loving her constant favorites and dropping everything else on the floor. Elise is still very much a scheduled child, sleeping from 7:30pm-8:00am, and still naps at 12:30 for 2-3 hours. We are blessed with such a good and easy sleeper!

She loves to play with other children and is usually a little more assertive; she doesn't get pushed around! Her vocabulary is developing and she has countless words, though not very many phrases. She knows lots of animals and the sounds and movements they make. Elise is very physical and can run, jump, and climb up just about anything. It is so fun to watch her turn into this little person and become her own self. We love her to pieces!!

Toddler Play at the Zoo

Elise met her friends James and Audrey at the zoo last week. Of course, the highlight for them was the toddler play area. The San Antonio Zoo is very toddler/child friendly and we have enjoyed going this spring. We purchased a zoo pass and like to take picnic lunches, so it's basically a free morning for us. It's also a great way to get a guaranteed loooong afternoon nap out of Elise.

Tres de Mayo!

So Elise and I hosted a Tres de Mayo playdate (we did it on the 3rd of May since Mondays are best for us and our friends.) Elise and her 8 friends were all dressed in their Mexican/fiesta attire and looked so cute! I managed to get some "before" pictures before everyone arrived, but I didn't get any pics of the kids playing.

Table settings for the moms.

There was a time when I swore our yard wouldn't be full of "plastic crap." Ah... how I have eaten my words... Anything that holds Elise's attention for more than 2.5 seconds becomes a "must own" in our book! We make China's laborers proud ;)

Elise telling her BFF, Jaws, just how much fun her playdate was. Either that or she was going in for an open mouth kiss. You decide.

Happy Mother's Day!

We had a really nice day today. Matt has worked his butt off this past week, so in my quest to win "WOTY" (that would be Wife of the Year!") I encouraged him to golf. Yes, I'm amazing... I know ;)

We had a nice breakfast at my parents house and then, after Matt, my dad, and Brett golfed, my mom and I met them at Tre. As always, it was yummy. Here are a few pics I snapped:

So Elise hates the camera. She sees it and does one of three things. She either 1) runs away. 2) sticks her tongue out as evidenced in these photos.

Or 3) sticks her fingers in her mouth, which is really odd as she doesn't do this any other time. See the exhibits below.

Mom and Dad- love them so!

Mom and Brett- he's not half bad either ;)

I hope everyones Mother's Day was just as nice :)