What Elise is up to

I've realized that my posts about Elise were much longer before she was actually born. Since she is on the move, I sometimes find it hard to find time to write about what she is up to. But I thought I'd take a moment to jot some things down.

At Elise's 9 month check up, she weighed 22 lbs 4 ounces (95th percentile) and was 28.25 inches tall (75th percentile). So, she is still a big girl. But, she seems to be growing into her body a bit - she doesn't have quite the chubby cheeks or petruding belly she once did (although they are still there).

She is a motivated kid - she took her first steps on September 5, which was Grandma Erwin's birthday! She has now taken as many as 10 steps in a row. She is also a very talkative and often loud girl. She constantly babbles - "dada" is her favorite word still. When she gets tired, her talking turns into loud shouts of "ahh". She is very smiley and waves, claps, and generally charms people everywhere we go. I suspect she is a lot like her daddy.

Elise is a good sleeper - she goes to bed at 8:30 and usually takes 3-4 hours of naps a day.

Elise has adapted very well to going to daycare two afternoons. While she doesn't take the best naps there, she likes it and is learning new things. They often sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and she has learned some motions (see video below - ignore my bad singing). She is also into dancing, as evidenced in another video below.

Those are the highlights of what Elise is like these days. I started my new schedule of 25 hours a week, so I am enjoying having a little more balance in my life. Wes and I actually have home-cooked dinners to eat these days! What a treat!

Wes is enjoying the Career Development Center and he is doing a really great job. Funny how things work out.

Here are a few pictures.

Elise watching her Daddy play softball

At the Alumni Tailgate with CDC colleagues
With Justin (above); Nichole and Nick (below)
Just finished dumping the dogs' water bowl on herself - a daily occurance