Here is a picture of Elise is her "new chair" after her 1st birthday party!! We had a wonderful party- lots of friends and family, gorgeous weather- so we were able to play outside, good food and a wonderful cake... and Elise SMASHED right into her cake!! We all had a blast!
Here is one of our favorite pictures of Elise. We were playing outside in our back yard and loving the cool weather and the leaves!! Elise had fun picking up leaves and throwing them and running around the back yard. She enjoyed having the freedom of running and hearing the noise of the crinkling leaves under her feet!!
My baby girl with a pretty bow in her hair!!!! Her hair had just started growing longer and her hair was starting to get in her eyes. I tried to put a bow in her hair and- surprise- she actually left the bow in long enough for me to take a picture!!
Also- she's sitting in her chair that she got from James and I for her birthday. This is seriously the BEST gift that we could have gotten her- she sits in it every single day!! Also- we had her name embroidered in the chair. When Elise sits in her chair, she turns around and points to her name and wants me to spell it- E L I S E. And- when you ask Elise what her name is... she runs to her chair and points at it!!
Here's a picture of my "babies" sitting together. Elise is about 16 months old in this picture and Sieben is 13 1/2 years old (can you believe it?!) It seems like every month Elise gets more and more active- and Sieben becomes more and more tolerant.
James and I were so nervous about Sieben and how she would be with Elise- Sieben has never been good with children. But it's so clear that she loves Elise. She checks on her all the time, she greets her every morning when she wakes up, she sits close beside her at every meal (hoping for some yummy food) and Sieben even shares a seat on her bed!! I'm so happy that our "babies" get along well!! One of Elise's first words- of course- was DOGGIE.
Elise also helped us make a "big announcement" in February 2011. We found out this year that we're going to have another baby!! We waited until the baby was 12 weeks old- and then had Elise pose in her BIG SISTER shirt- so that we could announce through e-mail and Facebook to our family and friends!
Elise is very excited about babies- and if we ever see one, she must go over and see the baby up close!! We've been trying to talk about the baby as much as we can to try to prepare her to the change. I think Elise will be a good big sister- she is already to helpful and curious!
Here is a bit of a gross picture- but certainly something that I should blog about! Elise had her first visit to the Emergency Room in February 2011. She was pushing around her toy grocery cart, tripped and fell on the corner and ripped her labial frenulum (the skin that connects your lip to the gums between your front teeth). She kept bleeding and bleeding- and I finally got her into the pediatrician 3 hours after the incident. While the doctor was examining her, Elise bit him- so they had to restrain her in a papoose (which went completely around her and strapped down her arms, legs and head). Elise and I were both crying!! The doctor was concerned because the bleeding continued and he didn't think he would be able to stop it- so he sent us to Akron Children's Hospital. Elise was examined by two residents and one doctor- and the final decision was to keep feeding her Popsicles and the bleeding would eventually stop. One of the residents made a joke that Elise looked like she had just eaten a piece of dead animal or something- she was literally covered in blood from head to toe. It was a stressful day- but turned out fine and we went home an hour later and both took a very long nap!!!
The next two pictures were taken in March 2011. Elise started her second swimming class!! She had her first class about a year ago- when she was only 6 months old. She was the youngest in the class and wasn't really able to do much more than splash and kick a little.
James LOVES the water- so he was more than willing and excited to get in the water with Elise for her swim classes. It's so fun to see the change in Elise for her classes this time around. She is one of the oldest in her class now and she loves being active and doing everything! She is able to sit on the side of the pool, climb in and out, jump in the pool to daddy, kick, reach and pull, blow bubbles, put her head under and of course sing and do motions with all the song. One of Elise's favorite things to do now is KICK- even when not in the water... and sometimes I'll see her with one of her stuffed animals trying to get it to "reach and pull"- just like she does in swim class!!!! SO AWESOME :)
I'll finish the blog with a picture of me and Elise!! I know that it's not the best picture of either one of us- but it's the most recent.
This little miracle will be 18 months old on March 25th. She is the most excited and energetic child I have ever met- she runs EVERYWHERE!! ("hot in the socks" is what Grandma Ellie says) She loves her baby dolls and stuffed animals and hugs and kisses them several times a day! She talks all the time- even when trying to get herself to sleep. She knows many words (just to name a few)- momma, dada, papa, doggie, door, car, truck, plate, fork, juice, snack, cheese, book, teddy, Stella (her baby doll), piggie, ball, Mick (Mickie Mouse), horsie, push, pull, touch, hot, cold, shirt, pants, socks, shoes, yes and of course NO!!!!
We love spending every day together. Having Elise and staying home to raise her has been one of the best decisions of my life. I feel like I'm a totally different person than I was 18 months ago- and I have my baby girl to thank for it!! She makes me feel like I have more meaning and purpose to my life- and that makes it all worth it!!
