Elise-23 Months!

I haven't done a full update on Elise in a while... her little personality has just exploded and I wanted to "jot" some things down before I forget. I'll do a "proper" 2 Year post (whaaa???? How on earth can my baby be almost 2????) in a month, but for now, let me tell you what 'Lisee (as she calls herself) is up to:

• Talking, talking, talking. Oh my gawd, this child is never quiet!! She's like a little parrot, repeating the last words I say. Her vocabulary is enormous and she's speaking in 2 and 3 word "sentences." She speaks very clearly, and has very specific thoughts and ideas. And don't you dare try and cross her, especially if it concerns her baby.
• Baby (her doll.) It is all about Baby in this house. Is Baby okay? She's usually sleeping... Elise likes her babies to sleep... a lot. ;) She lays out a blanket perfectly and then puts Baby on top. Then she puts another blanket on top of Baby, lined up perfectly with the first blanket. Kind of like a Baby Sandwich. If you mess up the blanket, even move it one inch she will flip out and WW III will begin. (Not that I know this. Not that I would ever mess up Baby's blanket just to see Elise's reaction. And if I did do that, I would never ever giggle-snort while watching Elise melt down. Not this mom!)
• Elise can count to ten. She thinks the number after 10 is "yea!" She can also sing her ABC's and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She's got the gist of Old MacDonald and likes to fill in the animals and the sounds. She knows every animal and sound that *I* can think of. We are now working on colors and shapes.
• Miss Independent! She likes to walk everywhere we go... including our daily walks around the neighborhood. That doesn't really fly with me. I let her walk to the park, then I put her in the stroller. She tries to go all Garfield on me, but I usually win.
• Loves to give hugs and kisses and has to give Jaws a hug and kiss every night and if she's forgotten, she will insist on going back downstairs before she'll go to sleep. If she gets a "boo-boo" she wants me to kiss it. And then I have to kiss every spot where she's ever gotten a boo-boo. Ever.
• "Pick-up!" Holy cow- this is awesome. Elise is obsessed with picking-up and totally picks up all her toys every night before we go to bed. She also picks up and puts away her bath-toys. Love this! I wonder if it's too early to teach her to put away Mommy's shoes.....? wdyt? ;)
• When Elise gets angry, she pulls her bows out of her hair and then pulls the rubber-bands out and throws them on the ground. And then stares/glares at me. It's her way of getting even, I guess.

Elise is personality+ and we're having a blast with her! Watching her grow has been so fun and I can't wait to see and hear what she comes up with next!

'Tis the Season!

Halloween that is! We have lots of fun Halloween activities planned and we started it off yesterday with a Haunted Trick-or-Treat hosted by the Salas Family! This year Elise is dressing up as a pink poodle!!!

Once we arrived at the party, the costume lasted about 10 minutes.

Elise and Sydnie. Who says cats and dogs can't be friends?? ;)

Elise and I had such a wonderful time. That said, Elise's obsession with all things baby continues. I have never seen an episode of the show "Hoarders" but I can imagine what it would be like. And I picture Elise on that show, surrounded by baby dolls, baby strollers, baby beds, and whatever other baby paraphernalia she could get her paws on. It was all downhill once she found Sadie and Sydnie's baby dolls. She was obsessed. Had to make sure they were okay... were sleeping well.. and that NO one (adult or child) got near them.. or even looked at them. *sigh*

As always, Melanie's decorations were off the charts!

Happy Fall Y'all!

October

We've had a busy October so far. The weather has been awesome and we've been soaking it up!

Play Date at the Zoo

Elise and her bestie, Audrey, eating lunch.

Joined by more friends.

Go big or go home, right? So normal toddlers have a nice little swing where their moms and dads can maybe sit on a bench and give them a little push. Not this house! Elise loves her huge swing and the higher she can soar into the branches, the more she loves it!

And of course Jaws has to get in on the action.

We also flew to Missouri over Columbus Day weekend to visit MiMi and Papa and celebrate MiMi's 60th birthday.

Eating out.

"Helping" MiMi sew.

Visit Uncle Mark at the fire station.

Bucket ride! All we needed was a bungee cord!

Love you MiMi! See you next time!

First Haircut!

I feel like it took forever for Elise's hair to start growing, and of course, the last thing I wanted to do was cut it off. However, it was very uneven, so I took her in for her first haircut; just a little trim. She got to sit in a super cool fire truck and she kept saying, "nee-naw, nee-naw." She was pretty still, and thankfully, the hair dresser was quick.

before

during

AFTER!

Even though it's shorter, it looks much healthier. I'd say the first haircut was a success!!

September Happenings

I blink and September is almost over. What happened to this month??? It blew by for me! We have settled in nicely to our fall/school routine. MOPS has started up again, and I am so thankful for this wonderful organization and the friends I have made. We had our first outing last week- Chuck-e-cheese! That was a first for Elise and me. I can definitely see that Chuck-e-cheese has its place in this world. Elise had a wonderful time running around and playing with her friends.

Elise and Marissa

Elise and Audrey, doing their favorite thing; climbing UP the slide!

Elise is so hit or miss with eating. Some weeks she eats everything in sight. Others, I'm lucky if I can get her to eat a cracker and a piece of cheese. And the things she likes are all over the place as well. She won't touch a sweet mango, but would eat an entire can of black olives if I let her. Tomato sauce makes her gag, but she'll eat anything if dipped in hummus (or hummey as she calls it.)

Finally, Saturday we had a Mom's Day OUT! Ashley, Maggie, Erin, and I all went to see Jersey Boys. It was SO great and was such a fun afternoon :)

Sunday Funday

Sunday I was vacuuming the downstairs and realized Elise was nowhere to be seen. Odd because she is usually no less that 5 feet from me, especially when I vacuum. She loves it! So I went hunting. What did I find? The most precious little girl reading to her babies. She was pointing to the ducks and saying, "Duck. Quack-quack." Melt my heart.

The rain continues. And there is only one person that would take Elise out in a summer rainstorm...
barefoot...
and let her walk on the filthy, nasty street...
Busted.
And I don't know who loved it the most- Elise, Jaws, or Tompa.

Fearless

Our little 'Lise is absolutely fearless. She loves loud noises, loves to be scared; you'll get the biggest squeal of delight if you come around the corner and yell "BOO"! She thinks thunder is super cool... and she'll lock herself in a dark closet without fear. Hmmm... wonder where she gets it from???

So last weekend I had an urge to clean the fans. Of course, when that random moment strikes, you gotta run with it! I had Matt bring in the ladder and I went to a different room to get what I needed. In no time at all, Elise had scampered to the top of the 8 ft ladder, by herself! In fact, we couldn't keep her off. Add heights to the list of things Elise doesn't fear.

Now for a random pic that is just too cute not to include.

I can't get Elise to hold my hand to save my life. It's actually a struggle because she wants to walk by herself where ever we go, but in places like, say, a PARKING LOT she doesn't get that she needs to hold my hand. Enter Ms. Melanie! Three moms took 5 children (you can't see infant Gregory) to Red Robin and Melanie got them all to hold hands! Such sweet little girls. And now- Elise is not so opposed to holding my hand when needed! Thanks Mel! You have no idea how much easier you made my life! ;)