I'm 22 and a half weeks pregnant now, and only getting bigger. I feel like a walrus. I thought I might as well take a picture now of my pregnant self because I can't see myself being okay with pictures much longer.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Potty Talk
image from here
Elise is very interested in reading lately, especially books about going potty. (No real success on the potty yet, but she definitely understands the concept.) She loves Once Upon a Potty by Alona Frankel. We checked it out from the library, but I think we'll probably end up buying a copy. She adores Prudence.
I wish I had gotten on video the beginning of her reading this book to herself; it was so cute. Her favorite part is when Prudence is trying to decide what the potty is, whether it's a hat, "a milk bowl for the cat," a flowerpot, or a birdbath. She practically has this book memorized. Her memory is seriously impressive sometimes.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Daddies and Daughters
I know Mother's Day is this weekend, but I have been thinking a lot about fathers the last couple of days, especially father/daughter relationships. First, I reread the talk "Love Her Mother" by Elaine S. Dalton. I love that talk, and I love how great of a father Matt is to Elise. I'm sure he's going to be just as terrific of a dad to the baby girl who is joining our family in September.
Also, today is my own dad's birthday. If he were still alive, he would be 63 today. He died in August 2004, almost eight years ago. I miss him so much. He was such a great man and an amazing father to his six daughters and one son.
me, my sister Lauren, and our dad
Having our own little girl makes me appreciate my husband even more for all that he does, especially the role he plays as a father.
Elise, eight days old, in her daddy's arms
He already loved her so much.
three months old
(This picture makes me smile.)
six months old
Elise's first time at the beach, ten months old
reading with Daddy, almost one year old
one year old
(one of my favorite pictures ever)
at the fall festival, thirteen months old
(Matt was winking because of the sun, but I still like this one.)
Elise's first time at the zoo, fourteen months old
Christmastime at Grandma and Grandpa's, fifteen months old
piano duet, same visit to Grandma and Grandpa's
Elise's first time bowling, eighteen months old
picnic and flying kites at the park, St. Patrick's Day,
eighteen months old
same day
spontaneous kiss from Elise, because she loves her daddy so much
a visit to the duck pond, same day
Easter, nineteen months old
Later, Daddy made her a crown of Easter eggs.
Children's Museum of Phoenix, nineteen months old
Matt's birthday, still nineteen months
The relationship between a girl and her father is such a precious, beautiful thing. I am so blessed to have had a father who loved me so much and set such a good example for me. I am so blessed to have a husband who loves me and who loves and cherishes our little girl. And I am eternally blessed to have a Father in Heaven who loves me unconditionally and who I can turn to whenever I need Him.
Potty Plunge
Elise pooped in the potty for the first time ever tonight (if you don't count that one time we had to give her a suppository when she was 9 months old, which I don't, mostly because I never want to think about that again). It was definitely more of us catching her than her initiating the process, but we still acted really excited and told her what a great job she had done. She was in the tub when she started to poop. When I saw the way she was acting, plus the concerned look on her face, I whipped her out of the bath and onto the toilet. In my haste to put her on the potty, I accidentally plunged her leg into the toilet bowl. She was already wet, naked, and headed back to the bath promptly, so no real harm done, right? Plus, she regularly dips her fingers in the toilet water just for fun, so I know she wasn't worried.
Maybe this experience (pooping in the potty, not having her leg dipped in the toilet bowl) will help her get the hang of going potty on the toilet. One can only hope.
P.S. I almost titled this post "Slam Dunk." Then I realized that some people call pooping taking a slam, and that's not what I intended at all. But it's still kind of funny, in a middle school kind of way.
Maybe this experience (pooping in the potty, not having her leg dipped in the toilet bowl) will help her get the hang of going potty on the toilet. One can only hope.
P.S. I almost titled this post "Slam Dunk." Then I realized that some people call pooping taking a slam, and that's not what I intended at all. But it's still kind of funny, in a middle school kind of way.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Twenty Months Old
Elise is twenty months old now. (I feel like saying she is one is just too broad still, so I'll stick with twenty months.) She is so spunky and full of personality.
Lately, Elise has been stringing more and more words together, often using three-word phrases and seldom having trouble letting us know exactly what it is she wants. And as Elise has become even more vocal, I feel like her personality is just blossoming.
Here's a list of just a few of her quirks/obsessions/preferences/strange habits that I find amusing:
-Elise likes to talk about "owies." Anytime she gets hurt, especially if it leaves any kind of mark, we have to talk about it endlessly, and of course kiss it. Any blemish or "owie" I have is also a favorite subject. We talk a lot about the difference between moles and owies, since she seems utterly convinced any mole or freckle I have is an owie. (But I guess "owie" is a lot better than "nipple," which is what she once called a mole on my neck.)
-She likes to randomly blow her nose. In her sock, in her hand, in her baby doll's clothes, whatever is handy. This is not my favorite thing, since it's pretty gross and I have to clean it up, but it still kind of makes me laugh. It's not like she only does it when she has snot issues, either. Even if there's no snot running down her face, or even if I have a tissue available, she still does it sometimes. And she knows how to ask for a tissue. She blew her nose into her hand yesterday at the zoo, and my sister Holly's comment was, "Wow, she's really good at blowing her nose." Snot was everywhere.
I wasn't necessarily trying to get a video of this grossness, but Elise was caught blowing her nose into her baby doll's clothes today anyway.
-As soon as we blow up her beach ball, she immediately deflates it. Not only does she open the valve (with her teeth), but she squashes the ball with her face until the ball is flat. I think it's funny to watch her use her head to deflate it.
-As you can also see in the above video, she loves to talk about when people are sad. If she ever overhears someone crying or sees someone acting sad, she wants to talk about it every time. That book is Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. I thought this book would be too wordy for her, at least until she gets a little older, but she loves it. She especially likes to talk about how Alexander gets soap in his eyes when he is in the bath.
-She is pretending more and more. She loves to pretend that there's a bee flying around in the bathroom while she is taking a bath. We talk about where the bee is flying and what it is doing. She especially likes when it "lands" on her. The only way to end this game is to tell her the bee had to go home to its hive to go to sleep. She then spends five more minutes saying, "bee, home, hive" before we can really give it up.
Another thing she likes to pretend is that she (or her baby doll or teddy bear, or whatever) is eating. She uses anything cup-like as a bowl and anything stick-like as a utensil; for example, she often uses one of her stacking cups and a xylophone mallet. One of her favorite things to pretend she is eating lately is rice. "Breakfast," "lunch," and occasionally "dinner" are new words in her vocabulary that she likes to employ. Sometimes she fantasizes about things, and she might say something like "eat, cheese, breakfast." She would love it if I would give her cheese for breakfast.
-She loves to make a loud noise and then shout "Loud!" as you can see from the above video.
-She asks for candy about a thousand times a day lately. (She only actually gets one piece a day.) Easter candy has ruined her. Hopefully she doesn't go into hysterics when we run out.
-She loves octagons. If she sees a stop sign, she immediately identifies it as an octagon. We also have a window that is shaped like an octagon that she likes. She doesn't know what a triangle or a square is, but she knows octagons.
-She loves to undress. Not just at night anymore, although we do still have to duct tape her diaper at night. She's getting pretty good at getting naked fast these days, though I only encourage it when she's getting ready for the bath.
-She loves to help me vacuum. If it were up to her, we would vacuum every day. Her job when we vacuum is to help move the toys out of her room so the floor is clear, and she is a very enthusiastic helper. Then while I vacuum, she occupies herself with running to the corner I am trying to vacuum, and I have to coax her out of it.
-Elise likes to push the kitchen chairs around, and she especially likes climbing on them so she can play with the light switches. She's getting so tall lately, though, she won't need to climb on chairs to get what she wants much longer. She can already reach the drawer with the stickers in it.
-She loves jumping, spinning, hopping, and throwing. Of course, she's not coordinated enough to jump with both feet at once, and what she calls hopping is really just shifting her weight while standing on two uneven surfaces. She's pretty good at spinning and throwing, though, although she definitely can't catch yet.
In this video, she is saying "round, round," which means she is going around and around in circles. I love this video because I feel like it captures Elise's happy, lively personality. I even love the look on her face at the end when she gets too dizzy and falls on her bum.
Lately, Elise has been stringing more and more words together, often using three-word phrases and seldom having trouble letting us know exactly what it is she wants. And as Elise has become even more vocal, I feel like her personality is just blossoming.
I love how she has a curl trying to form over her right ear these days, and she is still as bald as ever over her left ear.
Here's a list of just a few of her quirks/obsessions/preferences/strange habits that I find amusing:
-Elise likes to talk about "owies." Anytime she gets hurt, especially if it leaves any kind of mark, we have to talk about it endlessly, and of course kiss it. Any blemish or "owie" I have is also a favorite subject. We talk a lot about the difference between moles and owies, since she seems utterly convinced any mole or freckle I have is an owie. (But I guess "owie" is a lot better than "nipple," which is what she once called a mole on my neck.)
-She likes to randomly blow her nose. In her sock, in her hand, in her baby doll's clothes, whatever is handy. This is not my favorite thing, since it's pretty gross and I have to clean it up, but it still kind of makes me laugh. It's not like she only does it when she has snot issues, either. Even if there's no snot running down her face, or even if I have a tissue available, she still does it sometimes. And she knows how to ask for a tissue. She blew her nose into her hand yesterday at the zoo, and my sister Holly's comment was, "Wow, she's really good at blowing her nose." Snot was everywhere.
I wasn't necessarily trying to get a video of this grossness, but Elise was caught blowing her nose into her baby doll's clothes today anyway.
-As soon as we blow up her beach ball, she immediately deflates it. Not only does she open the valve (with her teeth), but she squashes the ball with her face until the ball is flat. I think it's funny to watch her use her head to deflate it.
-As you can also see in the above video, she loves to talk about when people are sad. If she ever overhears someone crying or sees someone acting sad, she wants to talk about it every time. That book is Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. I thought this book would be too wordy for her, at least until she gets a little older, but she loves it. She especially likes to talk about how Alexander gets soap in his eyes when he is in the bath.
-She is pretending more and more. She loves to pretend that there's a bee flying around in the bathroom while she is taking a bath. We talk about where the bee is flying and what it is doing. She especially likes when it "lands" on her. The only way to end this game is to tell her the bee had to go home to its hive to go to sleep. She then spends five more minutes saying, "bee, home, hive" before we can really give it up.
Another thing she likes to pretend is that she (or her baby doll or teddy bear, or whatever) is eating. She uses anything cup-like as a bowl and anything stick-like as a utensil; for example, she often uses one of her stacking cups and a xylophone mallet. One of her favorite things to pretend she is eating lately is rice. "Breakfast," "lunch," and occasionally "dinner" are new words in her vocabulary that she likes to employ. Sometimes she fantasizes about things, and she might say something like "eat, cheese, breakfast." She would love it if I would give her cheese for breakfast.
Translation: "What are you doing?"
"Licking. Licking."
"Are you going to eat the food? What are you eating?"
"Rice. Rice."
"Rice? That looks like grapes. Are you going to eat grapes? What else to you have to eat?"
"Eat. Eat. Loud!"
"What else do you have to eat? Grapes, and what else?"
"Grapes."
"Where's the apple?"
"There."
"Over there. Where's the orange? That one's a peach. Where's the orange? Yeah, good. What else do you have? Where's the banana?"
"Foot."
And husbands sometimes wonder why their wives crave adult conversation after being at home with a toddler all day.
-She asks for candy about a thousand times a day lately. (She only actually gets one piece a day.) Easter candy has ruined her. Hopefully she doesn't go into hysterics when we run out.
-She loves octagons. If she sees a stop sign, she immediately identifies it as an octagon. We also have a window that is shaped like an octagon that she likes. She doesn't know what a triangle or a square is, but she knows octagons.
-She loves to undress. Not just at night anymore, although we do still have to duct tape her diaper at night. She's getting pretty good at getting naked fast these days, though I only encourage it when she's getting ready for the bath.
-She loves to help me vacuum. If it were up to her, we would vacuum every day. Her job when we vacuum is to help move the toys out of her room so the floor is clear, and she is a very enthusiastic helper. Then while I vacuum, she occupies herself with running to the corner I am trying to vacuum, and I have to coax her out of it.
-Elise likes to push the kitchen chairs around, and she especially likes climbing on them so she can play with the light switches. She's getting so tall lately, though, she won't need to climb on chairs to get what she wants much longer. She can already reach the drawer with the stickers in it.
-She loves jumping, spinning, hopping, and throwing. Of course, she's not coordinated enough to jump with both feet at once, and what she calls hopping is really just shifting her weight while standing on two uneven surfaces. She's pretty good at spinning and throwing, though, although she definitely can't catch yet.
In this video, she is saying "round, round," which means she is going around and around in circles. I love this video because I feel like it captures Elise's happy, lively personality. I even love the look on her face at the end when she gets too dizzy and falls on her bum.
What a sweet, lovely little girl we have in our lives!
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Ready to Be Potty Trained?
Now if I can only get the nerve to commit to potty training her, I think she'll catch on pretty fast.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
To Grandma and Grandpa's We Go
We went to see Grandma and Grandpa (Matt's parents) in California last weekend. Matt took off Friday and Monday, and we made it a little vacation. It's so nice to have family living so close (just about 5 hours away, including a bathroom stop).
Elise finally napping in the car on the way there
Their dog, Hazel, is Elise's favorite. The feelings aren't necessarily mutual.
so happy to see Grandma
marching with Grandma
After this, Elise wanted to march around everywhere for several days.
Grandma was trying to wear Elise out.
Elise's second favorite animal friend, Magic
Magic kept rubbing up against Elise, trying to get petted, and Elise would say "oops" every time, like they had accidentally bumped into each other.
sharing toys with Hazel
trying to play fetch with Hazel, who wasn't really interested
hanging out with Grandpa
Matt and I even got to go out on a date one night! Without Elise! We went to P.F. Chang's to celebrate our 3rd anniversary, which was May 1st. So much fun, and such good food! Thanks again, Craig and Patti!
playing the piano with Daddy
I was so excited to get this picture of Elise looking pretty normal...
...because this is what most pictures of her turn out looking like.
It's always a fun time with Aunt Ann! (Ann is Patti's sister.)
Grandma didn't want her picture taken (that's her in the background, ducking her head).
smelling the flowers with Grandpa
Did I mention Elise won't sit still for a picture to save her life?
saying goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa
Thanks for letting us come visit!
Elise fell asleep after less than ten minutes of being in the car headed home.
The trip home was pretty uneventful, unless you count me getting caught really needing to pee in the middle of nowhere and having to stop at the most ghetto gas station imaginable, complete with laundry facilities and Tokyo Massage center. This baby has been seriously affecting my bladder control lately, I swear.
On a happier note, I always love to see these wind turbines. I'm not sure why I think they're so cool. Maybe it's just that they're gigantic. This picture doesn't even begin to show how big they are.
And thus ended another successful trip to Grandma and Grandpa's! Maybe next time we see them, there will be another baby girl in the family!
Matt's Birthday
Matt celebrated his 27th birthday almost two weeks ago. He's getting so old! (just kidding)
goofball
reading his card from me
with his armload of birthday presents
This girl loves her daddy!
She loved this card too.
Seriously. It had pictures of Daddy, Mama, and herself on it. She especially loves pictures of Daddy.
Matt requested lasagna for his birthday dinner. I was a little nervous to try making it for the first time, but Matt said it turned out fine. (I didn't taste it since it wasn't gluten free.)
garlic bread (which Elise now calls "yummy bread")
salad with Matt's favorite dressing, thousand island
enjoying his lasagna
Elise seemed to like it too
My favorite part was the Godiva chocolate cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. It was gluten free.
Happy birthday, Matt! You're amazing!
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