A Mover and a Shaker

Elise is still army crawling everywhere, but she is getting really good at it. She can climb over some (small) things.

Underneath the jumperoo is one of Elise's favorite places to play these days.

She loves to teethe on those rubber pieces on the base.

The next one shows off her teeth, and if you look closely (and maybe enlarge the picture), you can see the third one. It's to her left of the other two.

She has also discovered that now that she can move, she can go to other rooms of the house. I'm a little surprised by how long it took her to venture into the kitchen, but it has definitely become one of her favorite places to explore.

She's about to suck her thumb in the next one. She has been sucking her thumb a lot more lately because she has been a little sick with a runny nose, which makes her not sleep as well. She sucks her thumb more when she's tired.

And she found the kitchen trash. (Yes, I know we have a lot of boxes by our trash can. Sometimes the dumpster seems so far away. Elise doesn't mind, though; she gets to play with the boxes!)

Patting the stove is also a new favorite activity. I guess it makes a cool sound.

But she's getting up on her knees more and more now. I think the traditional crawl is probably just around the corner, but we'll have to wait and see!

And who knows? Maybe she'll pull up soon. She loves to pull herself up in the bath (but we stood her by the chair in this picture).

I spend my days just trying to keep up with her! Maybe that's why I haven't gotten around to blogging about these pictures. That, and spring classes just started (ahh!).

Thanks for playing catch up with us!

Messy Mealtime

Because every kid needs pictures of themselves covered in pureed peas.

If I let Elise go at it, this is what she looks like after every mealtime. I love how she looks a little like some kind of slime-covered monster in a couple of these.

Run away!

I wouldn't advise rubbing your eyes if your hands are covered in peas.

The Family Plan

I came across an article tonight called "The No-Baby Boom," and reading it made me so sad. The article talks about how more couples worldwide are choosing to be childless, often because they think having kids would inconvenience them. It is written by a man who decided, with his wife, not to have children. He talks about how expensive raising kids is. Then he says, "But for the child-free, the benefits go beyond dollars and cents. There's less guilt, less worry, less responsibility, more sleep, more free time, more disposable income, no awkward conversations about Teen Mom, no forced relationships with people just because your kids like their kids, no chauffeuring other people's kids in your minivan to soccer games you find less appealing than televised chess." Like life is all about doing whatever you want whenever you want.

I kept thinking about the things he is missing by choosing this lifestyle. What about the fun you can have with your kids? What about the joy that comes from taking care of them and making them happy? What about knowing that your life has a purpose, that you're doing something good for someone besides yourself? What about the way your capacity to love grows every single day? What about getting the chance to witness the miracle each new person in the world is, getting to share your life, and everything in it, with them? What about learning how good it feels to love someone else more than yourself? Some things you can't fully appreciate until you have experienced them for yourself.

I love my husband and daughter more than I can say. I can't imagine what my life would be like without them. I am so grateful that I have the chance to share my life with them. My life is not always fun, and it's rarely glamorous, but I love it. Having a baby is one of the best, happiest things that I ever decided to do. Elise is a constant joy in our lives.

God has a plan for His children, and families are central to that plan. Why are families so important? It is in our families that we learn how to love, and it is in families where we experience our greatest joys. I am so grateful that families can be eternal. (Learn more about what Mormons believe about families here.)

Easter

Happy Easter! Here's a video about the Savior, Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for Him. Because of Him, the dead can live again. Because of His love, we can have peace and joy.

We had such a nice Easter Sunday today. Of course, I forgot to get any pictures of Elise in her Easter dress, but here are a few of her with her basket. We got her a pack of Onsies, baby puffs (she's never tried them before), a jar of baby food mangos (a new favorite), bath toys (which were a big hit tonight in the tub), a noodle teether, a bead maze, and the board book version of her favorite book (Brown Bear, Brown Bear). She also got a sock monkey dressed as a bunny and bubbles from Grandma and Grandpa. All those cool things, and she was mostly interested in the fake grass.

a video of Elise eating the Easter grass

Here are our baskets when they were still intact:

Elise's basket

Matt's (all Reese's, literally)

and mine

I hope everyone had a really great Easter!

Grandparents' Visit

Matt's parents came to pick up Matt's younger sister, and we got to spend the day with them yesterday. We had a lot of fun together. Elise loves Grandma and Grandpa! And they love her too!

Lucky Number 7

I've always had a thing for the number 7. I was born on July 17, and I was 7 weeks premature. I was the seventh child. I graduated from high school in 2007. I was 17 when I met Matt, and we were engaged on December 7th. I've just always liked the number.

We usually rock Elise to sleep, but last Friday night we started sleep training. I realized after she was asleep that night that she was exactly 7 months and 7 days old. So a good omen, I guess.

And it has gone pretty well. The first night she cried for a total of 27 minutes before she fell asleep (another 7), and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be to hear her. (I still ended up crying before she was done, but it still wasn't as horrible as I had anticipated.) She has been sleeping better, waking up less, and sleeping longer, and as a result she is happier during the day. She even naps better. And sometimes she goes to sleep without a peep. We're still working out the kinks, but I think this thing is actually going to work. I feel more rested already.

And more good news: Elise is on a 4-hour eating schedule now! Yeah! Gone are the days that I would feed her every two hours. She's eating better than ever too. She still usually wakes up after four hours to eat, but I can handle two night feedings, especially since she is so good at putting herself back to sleep in the middle of the night because she is really tired. Last night she only ate once.

So all in all, we're doing well around here. We're all happier. Why didn't I blog about this before now? Honestly, I was afraid to jinx it. Sometimes I still think it's too good to be true.

This is a picture of our "video monitor" that Matt rigged up. We get live feed from Elise's room. He set this up so that we can see if Elise is okay without going in her room. We'll take it down when she gets the hang of putting herself to sleep.

Now We're Getting Somewhere

Elise started doing this army crawl today. Look out, world.

[Sorry the video is kind of long. I'm just proud of her.]