Friday, February 26, 2010

Elise- 15 months.


Our sweet Elise is 15 months!
Current stats:
  • Weight- 20 lbs 5 oz- 15%
  • Length- 30 1/2 inches- 53%
  • Tooth count- 9! Four on the top, four on the bottom, and her first molar has cut through. That explains the night wakenings... though it doesn't explain why she only wakes when Dad's out of town and Mommy has to work the following day!
Elise is a full fledged toddler! She is either walking or running everywhere and is into everything! She's quite destructive. If she sees my shoes lined up, she must go over and knock them down. If her sippy cup is upright, she knocks it over. Toys in the basket? Oh no, out they come!! She is so active and loves to play outside, even just walking up and down the hill in our backyard. She usually likes to find a souvenir, like Jaws' collar, to take along as she wanders the yard.
She is a very happy child, laughing and squealing all day long. Her favorite go-to word is "Dada" and she will randomly shout it, all day long. She also says Mama, baby, ball, book, light and a lot of other gibberish that I don't fully understand but I know has meaning to her. She is smily and pleasant to everyone she meets, strangers love to talk to her wherever we go. She loves playing with other children and she has no problem taking whatever toy they are currently playing with. We'll work on manners soon enough. She still attends Mother's Day Out on Tuesday and Thursdays. It is a great situation... she has never, ever cried when being dropped off and when I go to pick her up, she often runs from me, looking back with a massive grin. I take that as a very good sign that she is happy there. Every other Friday she attends Moppets while I attend my MOPS meeting, and she's making friends there as well.
We have weaned from nursing and Elise no longer uses bottles; she's becoming such a big girl! She has dropped her morning nap and is now taking about a 3 hour afternoon nap, starting usually around 12:30. I was dreading when she would drop her morning nap, but I've changed my tune. It's really freeing to me, knowing that we have all morning to run errands, have play dates, and just get out of the house. Her bedtime is still around 7:30 and she usually sleeps for 12 hours. Her eating habits have improved and I no longer stress about her not eating enough or getting proper nutrition... this month anyway. That said, her manners are still terrible, but we're working on it. She loves to taunt me with her sippy cup, dangling it over the side of her high chair. Sometimes she'll drop it, sometimes she'll put it in its proper place, and other times she'll launch it across the kitchen and look at me for a reaction. Same with food. And if she's full, she can't stand to have anything on her tray; she'll sweep it all to the floor where Jaws is usually waiting for permission to "take it."
Elise loves to sit in my lap and read books. Her favorite books have real photos of children in them. She is really just darling, sweet, and a fun little girl. She brings such joy to our life and I can't wait to see what Spring will bring!

Yes... that is a dog collar around her neck. She put it there, not I.



It's hard to tell, but Elise's hair is now long enough for piggies!!!! That was a big day for us ;)

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!!! We started off the week of love with a fun playdate at Alecia's. The kids exchanged valentines and had a heart themed lunch. Sadly, no pictures were taken of all the kids together; they were a busy bunch and were all over the place!

Elise and Audrey playing with the balloons.
Elise playing peek-a-boo while out to dinner...
Peek-a-boo!!!!! She would do this for hours if we let her.
Of course our little Valentine was spoiled on Valentine's Day. She received Rody and a monogrammed backpack from Matt and me and her first doll with a stroller from GiGi and Tompa.
Rody was a hit!
As was the "Bay-Bee" and stroller...
Except poor "bay-bee" has been ending up on the ground. A lot. Quick, call CPS!
Uh-Oh!
Um, Elise? I think you're missing something...
She's becoming such a sweet little girl and growing so fast!
Oh yes- that is sass in her eyes! Wonder where she gets that from???
After our little Valentine was tucked into bed, Matt and I enjoyed a scrumptious meal together. I hope your Valentine's Day was just as special :)

A few new pictures....

So sorry for the lack of updates! This has been a very busy month for us!

The weather has been really nice lately and we've been spending a lot of time outside.
Elise is finally big enough to enjoy our neighborhood park that is just 5 houses away.
Whew- Elise has finally turned a corner at mealtime! I was struggling about a month ago to get her to eat entire healthy meals. She wanted none of it... unless it was a cheerio or cheese :) Then the poor thing caught her first stomach bug and really lost her appetite for a full week.
But when she recovered, she recovered with a full appetite and has been eating everything I put in front of her since. Favorites are green beans, peas, spinach balls, raspberries, grilled cheese, veggie burgers from Costco, and yogurt. She has become such a good little eater and I am thrilled!!


I have been reading to Elise since day one.. being a former reading teacher and all, books and reading are super important to me. And when I say I have been reading to Elise since she was itty bitty, that means I have been reading picture books to myself while Elise wanders around the room, not paying attention one bit. However, when she turned 1 it clicked! "Books are cool!" And she hasn't turned back since. Books are a favorite and she will bring no less than 134 books to me to read. "Boo..." she will say. Then she hands it to me and strains until I put her in my lap. We finish one and she's off to find another.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

3 years ago today...

I headed to the Parker Country Animal Shelter 3 hours before they opened, waited in the ice and rain and adopted Jaws! He was such a cute cute puppy... he was just about 3 months old at the time. I know I've posted some pictures before of him at the shelter. Here are some pictures of his first week at home with us.

He didn't feel so well his first night home. He didn't get sick, but he was pretty mopey and lethargic. He had been neutered the day before and separated from his sister. :(

Typical Jaws look that he still gives us. It's like he thinks to himself, "If I cock my head a little bit more, maybe I'll understand what they're saying."
Cute dog laying on our awesome grass. People would ring our doorbell and ask how our grass was so green. They called our house the "Easter Grass" house. True story. (fertilizer blended at Acme Soap if you must know!!)
He wasn't always calm... this is right before he mauled Matt. Good boy Jaws!
See what I mean... cute puppy!!! With such a serious face. He always has a serious face and sad eyes. Which is so strange because he is the happiest dog around.
Jaws is truly a remarkable dog. He is so good and well-behaved. His goal in life is just to please us... and go on daily walks. We adore him to pieces!! Happy Gotcha Day Jaws!

Birds of a feather

flock together.


Jaws loved to climb up onto the grill when he was a puppy. Elise likes to do the same. Now, this took place on Matt's watch. He "claims" he turned around for 1 second and she was up on the grill... either our child is spider-woman or he was turned around for MORE than 1 second. OR.. he let her do this for the photo, just so he could post it on Facebook. Hmmm....

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Possessed dog or shoddy camera?

You be the judge.




Now you know why there has been a lack of blog posts. My camera is on the major fritz. Luckily, the birthday fairy is bringing me a new one. Get ready for a bombardment of new blog posts and pictures!!! Once I learn how to use my new camera of course.


Sunday, January 24, 2010

January

It's been a nice, calm January so far. Elise has become an excellent little walker and it is officially her main mode of transportation. The past week has been beautiful and we have been spending our time outside playing. It's so fun, especially now that she's walking full time. Here are a few pics from this month.

Mimi and PaPa came for a visit.


This was a first!!!! Elise is a great sleeper... but she really only sleeps in her crib. She rarely falls asleep in her stroller or car seat. However, we were at my parents' house for the afternoon and she explored their entire backyard. She probably walked around for 2 hours straight. So by the time it was dinner time, she was exhausted.
Books have really become a favorite this past month and she wants to be read to all the time. I love it!