Super Summer Scramble

You may be wondering what we have been up to this summer (since, clearly, it hasn't been much blogging). I thought I'd throw together this gigantic, random catchup post for those who are interested. I'm really not kidding about the gigantic part. Feel free to stop reading whenever you feel so inclined.

peanut butter play doh, which was a big hit

enjoying lots of chocolate milk together, one of my biggest cravings this pregnancy

This was kind of a big deal for Elise, who never really would drink milk at all before.

Um, cleaning house?

 Elise's first trip to the movies to see Mr. Popper's Penguins for free (and she fell asleep halfway through)

She also had a second trip to the movies to see Brave.

enjoying all the yummy produce (and the fantastic produce prices)

Elise loves peaches.

getting all dressed up and going out

(just kidding, Elise is actually in her pajamas here, and we weren't really going anywhere)

practicing eating cereal solo

painting with watercolors

Pretty good for her first ever painting, right?

more yummy produce

Aside: Why so many pictures of Elise eating in her high chair? Because she's strapped in, and that means I'm more likely to actually get a shot at her face. Usually she's too fast and busy for pictures.

fingerpainting

playing in cardboard boxes

trip to the Children's Museum of Phoenix

also at the museum

hanging out with some favorite toys

playing in the bathroom sink

Seriously, she would play there for hours if I let her, especially when I fill the sink with water.

practicing letters

playing in the crib

finding interesting ways to eat, because just putting food in your mouth would be way too boring

practicing writing the letter E

(line down, then one, two, three)

Doughnuts might be Elise's favorite thing to eat, besides cheese.

getting big, fast

(Elise and me both)

lots of swimming

This was at the ward (church) pool party. That orange slide was Elise's personal favorite.

swim lessons

This was at the ward pool party too. I don't have any pictures of swim lessons because I was always in the pool with Elise, but here she is practicing her kicking with Daddy.

trying to be just like Daddy

getting cuter by the minute

reading

potty training, lots and lots of potty training!

which is exhausting (for me and Elise)

practicing with panties

hanging "pictures" on the walls, just like Daddy

figuring out which animals have tails

And some videos, for the ambitious blog follower...

playing with babies

making silly faces

dance parties

learning to brush teeth independently

 Not to mention story time at the library, music class at the senior living community (kids + elderly people who live there), and the occasional trip to the playground when it's not too hot out.

And when it is too hot to go to the playground, Daddy is fun to climb on too.

Not So Little Anymore

When did this tiny baby

grow up to be a so big?

Happy second birthday tomorrow to my

silly,

spunky,

crazy,

smart,

beautiful,

fun,

not-so-little-anymore

little girl.

Fourth of July

We had a pretty fun Independence Day this year. In the morning, our ward had a breakfast at Falcon Field Park, which is right by Falcon Field Airport, a small airport in Mesa. Elise had breakfast before we left, but she still ate five sausage links, and probably would have eaten more if we would have offered them to her. The morning was overcast and lovely. The high that day was only about 90°, a perfect day to play on the playground (it has been too hot for Elise to play on playgrounds outside here for months). She thoroughly enjoyed the food, the kids, the playground equipment, the weather, and the airplanes. I don't know how she could've had a better morning.

This one makes me laugh because it looks like she's putting her hand over her heart.

Later, we joined up with my sister Holly's family for dinner and to see the fireworks. At their house, there was an enormous, disgusting frog by the trashcans outside. Elise still talks about that frog over a month later, so I had to include a picture (although I'm not really sure why I took a picture in the first place).

 cute cousins

 Holly's family, waiting for the fireworks to start

one with Grammi included 

(Elise loves Grammi like she's her third grandmother.)

Grammi brought glow sticks for the kids, which they loved. Leighton and Ryland played like theirs were light sabers, Savannah wore them like jewelry, and Elise had to have hers taken away because she bit right through it. Typical.

Elise stayed awake the entire night, even though she had almost no nap that day (trying to put her down for a nap for hours was definitely the worst part of the day). She enjoyed the fireworks, though, and fell asleep almost as soon as we got in the car to go home. All in all, I'd say it was a pretty fantastic Fourth.

Nesting

There has been a lot of nesting going on around here. By Elise, not by me. Actually, I feel like our house is totally unprepared to receive the new baby that will be here next month (though we are so excited for her to come). No, the nesting is all Elise's doing.

Elise's kind of nesting is not the same as a pregnant woman's nesting. Elise likes to make nests, like a bird. More specifically, she likes to sit on things in her Bumbo seat, especially balls (she's been a little obsessed with balls lately).

[And she likes to play in her crib throughout the day, which is why she is in her crib in these pictures. Totally her idea, and she just asks and I get her out whenever she wants.]

She also enjoys putting puzzle pieces in her Bumbo. This is her teddy bear sitting on a nest of puzzle pieces.

She often puts the pieces from all three of her puzzles together into the Bumbo, then does all three puzzles at once.

Happy

A few minutes ago, while Elise was eating a cheese stick and sitting on my lap, she told me twice that she was happy. And that made me very happy, too.

I love this cheerful, wonderful little girl, and I love how easy she is to please. It's hard not to be happy when she is happy.

Life is but a Dream

I have tons of pictures I want to post to update our blog, from the last month or so, including pictures from the Fourth of July and more from our trip to the South to visit family. The task seems a little daunting, but here's a little something from yesterday, just for fun.

Sorry you have to hear me sing. Elise sings this song pretty well, but she rarely almost never performs for the camera.

Lions and Tigers and Elephants, Oh My!

We went to the circus on opening night last week, and we had so much fun. We got there a little early and got to see the preshow (free to all ticket holders), which included elephants, clowns, and a bounce house. Elise was a little too young for the busy bounce house, but she loved seeing the elephants and dancing with the "silly clowns."

an elephant painting a picture

Matt and Elise at the preshow

 The show was excellent. We had a lot of fun watching together. I loved the trapeze acts and the and the horse riding.

These riders reminded me of something from Bears on Wheels. So crazy!

Elise was a big fan of the animals. She loved the elephants, and she also got excited about the lions and tigers. There were all kinds of other animals, from cats and dogs to goats and horses, all doing really cool tricks.

the lion/tiger tamer

She was pretty excited...

...and there were much cooler things to look at than the camera.

Matt and Elise enjoying the show

The elephants were pretty amazing. 

Another of Elise's favorite parts of the show was all the motorcycles. I can't believe these drivers. They got up to eight motorcycles going at once in that ball!

It was a really fun time, and I'm so glad we were able to go!

I am a Feld Family Ambassador, and in exchange for my time and efforts in attending shows and reporting my opinion within this blog, as well as keeping you advised of the latest discount offers, Feld Entertainment has provided me with complimentary tickets to Feld shows and opportunities to attend private Feld pre-Show events. Even though I receive these benefits, I always give an opinion that is 100% mine.