Cheese Whiz

Elise loves string cheese more than any other food. Along with peanut butter or biscuits, it is one of the only foods she almost always finishes. I am amazed by how fast she can put away a string cheese! I'm pretty sure she doesn't even attempt to chew.

Elmo Obsession?

photo from here

Let me begin by saying that we currently don't own a TV, and I make a point to limit any kind of screen time Elise has (I know what the AAP has to say about babies and TV). The only full-length show we have ever put on just for Elise to watch is Baby Signing Time when she was about nine months old and we were encouraging her to start signing with us. Even then, we didn't watch the shows for long, partly because we checked the DVD's back into the library and partly because she started catching on with signing. And sometimes we would watch Jeopardy in front of her when she was really little.

So, why is my baby obsessed with Elmo?

I do admit that sometimes I put on a Youtube video of Sesame Street while Elise and I wait for Matt to get home from work. When dinner is cooking, or when Matt is a few minutes later than he thought, she loves to watch these clips. But she never watches more than a few at a time, so a total of less than about 15 minutes. And this has only happened very recently, and fairly infrequently.

I was walking around Wal-mart the other day when, far off in the distance, Elise spotted a pair of Elmo pajamas on a rack. She immediately pointed and exclaimed, "Elmo!" What? Baffled, I told her what a good job she had done identifying Elmo correctly. Then I tried to figure out how she knew with such certainty who Elmo is.

And he keeps showing up everywhere. I noticed her safe-to-swallow toothpaste has a picture of Elmo on it. Actually, she pointed that out to me. Every Sesame Street character is Elmo to her, except Big Bird, who is just "bird." Pretty soon, she'll be insisting I buy her Elmo pajamas like the ones she saw at Wal-mart.

She also knows Sesame Street from these toys she got from my sister Paige for her first birthday, which are great little toys. Elise is still really into biting, and these little figurines are perfect for that. They're also great for church, since they make absolutely no noise. She has Elmo, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, and Ernie.

So now that I have written this post, I guess it doesn't seem like such a mystery that Elise knows who Elmo is. But it still scares me a little.

But I guess not bad enough, since my not-yet-18-month-old is also currently obsessed with this Youtube gem from 1986. Yeah, I know; I'm a great mom.

P.S. We're not anti-TV. We just haven't bought one since we gave away the free CRT giant one we used to have before we moved. Matt and I watch movies all the time on our laptop. And we have already bought Elise movies for when she is a little older.

P.P.S. Oh, and that day we were at Wal-mart? I bought Elise a Sesame Street counting video from the $5 movie bin. I haven't decided if I want to take it back yet. We'll probably keep it.

P.P.P.S. If you let your baby/toddler watch TV every day, I totally don't blame you. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do.

Ten Tiny Toes

Elise's perfect little feet

8 days old

Elise's feet now

almost 18 months old

Can I just say that I love Elise's toes? Her little feet are so perfect and chubby. I especially love the crease at the base of each toe. I will be so sad when she grows out of her baby chub and those creases go away.

Please, Elise, don't grow up too fast.

Another Baby Asay!

We're excited to announce that we're having another baby! This baby is due September 20, 2012 (which is 18 days after Elise turns two).

These images are from when I was 8 weeks 1 day along. Now I'm just about 10 weeks.

The head is over on the right. (The ultrasound tech kept telling me how great the images were. I guess she knows much better than I do, because they look a lot like blobs to me.)

And a labeled one, for those of us who really just can't tell.

My favorite part about the ultrasound was getting to see the baby's little heart beating. He/She was moving around too, which was fun to watch.

We are so happy to be expecting this little addition!

Pretend Play

photo from here

Elise has this toy car that comes with blocks and a Little People girl. She got it for her birthday.

The other day she was playing with it when she turned a block upside down, put the girl inside, and told me "poo poo" (what she calls the potty, as well as pee, poop, and tooting). I realized she was pretending that the girl was sitting on a potty.

She has been pretending a lot more lately. She has a stacking cup that she pretends is a bowl, and she uses the mallet for her xylophone as a pretend spoon to feed her baby doll. She likes to undress her babies and give them pretend baths, using a doll hat or doll diaper as a pretend washcloth. Sometimes she randomly feeds me pretend food or hands me pretend things (never sure what she is pretending to hand me). I can't tell you how cute it is when she is pretending.

Here she is feeding her babies from their "bowl," but not using the mallet/spoon. That yellow stacking cup is the only one she uses as a bowl, probably because I suggested it once. (The mallet as a spoon she came up with all on her own.)

The Library and Getting Lost

photo from here

Elise and I went to the public library today for baby lapsit, which is like storytime for kids under two, but more interactive. We played pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo and read nursery rhymes. Elise loved it, especially playing with all the other babies. Next week we'll try harder not to be late.

I didn't get lost on my way to the library this time, which is good for me. (And I only had one small detour on the way home.) Last time we went to the library, I accidentally turned into the fire station, and this group of muscly firemen in shorts were standing around about to do some sort of drill. They all stared me down as I turned around. What did they think, that I was there to personally report a fire?

I did get lost going to Wal-mart yesterday, though. We usually go to the closest Wal-mart, which is a "Neighborhood Market" that only sells groceries. I needed a few other things that I could only get at a "Supercenter," so we ventured out. I had to call Matt to help me figure out where the heck I was. I call Matt at work a lot these days. I'm sure it's pretty annoying, especially for someone who pretty much never gets lost.

Besides finally figuring out how to get to the library, I have also been driving on the freeway a lot lately. Holly's baby, Hudson, who is 2 months old today, has RSV, and he was in the hospital from Sunday until last night. I'm so glad he's home and getting better. I made a couple of trips to Holly's to help out with the older kids so my brother-in-law Jonathan could visit at the hospital. Can I just say that driving on the freeway is scary?

(If you haven't noticed, I hate driving in general. I'm not very good at it, and I don't have much practice, though I've gotten more practice lately. I don't have a good sense of direction, and driving makes me nervous. I've only had a driver license since July of 2010.)

Anyway, I love having the library so close. When we lived with Holly, the public library was too far away to be practical. I just finished The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (thanks for recommending it, Casey!), and now I'm on to Life of Pi. After seeing the movie, I really want to read The Help, but I'm still on the waiting list. Does anyone have any good books to suggest?

Elise at 17 Months

Elise is almost 17 months old now, and she is so much fun. I am so glad I get to spend my days with her. She is smart, vivacious, and happy.

We had to do Elise's 15 month appointment late (new insurance + new doctor's office + Christmas in California = 16 month appointment instead of 15 month). For those of you who are interested, at 16 months Elise was 33.5 inches tall (97th percentile!), 22 lbs 13 oz (40th percentile), and her head measured 18 inches (40th percentile).

She is full of energy and so ready to learn, which are both things I love about her.

Speaking of Elise being full of energy, the two of us made our first trip to the Mesa public library recently. That meant that I had to spend time getting a library card, figuring out where to find the board books, etc. Needless to say, Elise was done before I was. While I was searching for a book on the shelves, a teenage library employee saw me struggling to hold Elise, who wanted to run wild. The girl smiled at us and told me, "She's funny. She's all hyper and stuff."

Yes. Yes, she is.

Elise is super vocal, and she has been erupting with so many new words and phrases lately. Today she said several things I had never heard her say before, including broken, washcloth, and all through the town (while we sang "Wheels on the Bus").

One of Elise's favorite activities right now is looking out the window in her room. If I open the blinds, she asks to be picked up so she can see birds, cats, dogs, airplanes, trees, whatever, and we have to talk about it all. Then she cries when I put her down. She could look out that window forever.

Another favorite activity of hers (but not my favorite) is constantly removing her shoes and socks. Then she'll try to put them back on, but she isn't as good at that, so I end up having to help. I probably put her shoes on more than a dozen times a day on average.

Elise also loves to write right now. Pen is a little messy, so we usually stick with a pencil. She even has her own notebook.

And last but not least, Elise loves music. And dancing. Dance is the word she uses for all things associated with music, from a song she hears, to a piano, to a hymnbook at church, to the computer (where I play music for her). Here she is playing Matt's keyboard. Elise got three Raffi CDs for Christmas, plus another African Playground CD, and now we listen to kids' songs all the time.

And she loves to sing along. Here she is singing along to "Down by the Bay," which was one of my favorite songs when I was little. She also likes to sing along with "Popcorn Popping," "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," and "Wheels on the Bus."

I had iTunes Visualizer on. That's why she's staring at the computer the whole time, and why she says ball at the end on the video.

We're working on colors too, but so far all she'll do is repeat what we ask her to say.

Elise can also spell her name (with a lot of help). When she sees words, I know she recognizes that what she's seeing is letters because she will say E and S (which, apparently, are the only letters there are). She likes to try to sing along when I sing the ABC's to her.

Besides that, we spend our days dressing and undressing baby dolls, playing at the playground nearby (where Elise loves to collect acorns and swing), reading books (especially We're Going on a Bear Hunt), napping, and playing with toys. Elise is still nursing occasionally, and we're hoping to wean her soon (she's not interested in weaning). Cheese, crackers, and broccoli are a few of her favorites. Elise thinks throwing out the trash and getting the mail are fun activities. I think Elise is almost ready for potty training. And she is getting her canines. I think that just about sums it up.

This really is such a fun age. Minus the teething.