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 :)

Elise- 17 months.

Crazy to think that Elise is now 17 months... and the word that comes to mind when I think of her is FUN! She is just a lot of fun to be around. Her little personality is in full force. She is sweet and cuddly, and at times loves to sit and snuggle and be held. She is also very active, running, playing, climbing, and sliding on her new toys outside and at the park. She plays very well with others and loves playdates with friends.

"Car!" We play outside with the neighbors, and Elise has heard all the moms yell "car" when one is coming. Now she points them out for us.

She loves talking on the phone. "Yea, yea, yea..." is what she says.

"Where's your bellybutton?"

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day from Elise, who helps the environment by wearing cloth diapers and using reusable bags ;) I also have a massive new "eco-friendly" rave- Rockin' Green laundry detergent!! It is made here in San Antonio, and is environmentally and sensitive skin friendly. It's also much more cost effective than the detergents most of us use. It almost has a "cult-like" following on the 'net... I never knew people could be so obsessed with laundry detergent. Anyway, I suggest giving it a try! Especially if you have fallen for the "chemical-laden" Dreft marketing in the newborn stage (not that there is anything wrong with that.. their marketing department has done a niiiice job convincing us that our babies will have 3 heads if we do not wash with Dreft) ... this is far far superior. I love the idea of supporting a little family business over a monster company like Procter and Gamble. :)

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter and I hope you did as well. Matt had to work, so Elise and I went over to GiGi and Tompa's for brunch and an early dinner. Elise loved her little gifts from the Easter Bunny, but what she really loved was the Easter Egg hunt! We had to have several... she loved gathering all the eggs and putting them in her basket. It was so fun :)

MiMi made Elise's Easter dress!!

Elise and Jaws. This is right after Jaws tried to gently take Elise's Easter Rabbit for a little "stroll". That explains the guilty look.

Elise and Bailey

Tompa and Elise

Finally, what a difference one year makes! Look at those chubby (healthy!) cheeks!

Elise, Easter 2009

Easter 2010