A few new photos

Elise must have eaten something that upset her stomach yesterday because she started acting weird around dinner time - not wanting to eat and being pretty fussy. By 7:30, she was acting really tired, so I was going to nurse her and put her to bed. Well, about two minutes into nursing, Elise vomitted three times all over me - yuck! But, as my brother reminded me, that's just part of it! Of course, Elise woke up hungry in the middle of the night and then had a hard time going back to sleep. So, we're a little tired today, but we're hanging in. I'm thankful I don't have to leave my house or my pjs for my job!

Elise is getting pretty skilled at her walking - I need to get it on video and get it posted. She's become very vocal - talking often and very loudly. We were at Lowes this weekend and she kept shouting, which just echoed off everything in that store. She also has this new game where she throws her body onto a pillow and wants you to come "attack" her. We'll try to get that on video as well.

I haven't taken too many pictures, but here are a few.
Elise and Rebekah checking out the backyard

Wes and Elise watching the ceiling fan - always exciting in the world of baby.
Wes getting Sam, Elise getting her Dad

Elise and Wes at 9 months

Here are Wes and Elise's 9 month pictures. They are a little small (I am sure you can make them bigger - I just don't know how - if you click on them, they are bigger), but you can see the resemblance - especially in the nose and mouth. Elise's face is a little rounder and her eyes a little bigger and bluer, but she definitely looks like her daddy.

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

Cute new videos

Just wanted to share a few new videos of Elise walking behind her cart and saying her favorite word - "Dada". In the walking video, it looks like an accident happens right at the end - no worries, she was unharmed in the making of these videos :). Enjoy!

At the Zoo

This weekend we went to the zoo with Wes's parents, Aunt, and cousin. Here are some of the pictures we took.

Elise getting a refreshing drink of water from Grandma

Elise with Great Aunt Judy and cousin Jason
Elise riding on Daddy's shouldersElise going for Papa J's hat
Got it!Wes said he was taking my picture with the elephant - this is what he took....Checking out the elephants with Mommy
Looking for sharks with Daddy. Elise and Mommy were too scared to pet the sharks.Happy and tired from a fun day at the zoo!