Was it really?

Two years ago?  Really?  Did I really give birth to my sweet Elyse Noelle two YEARS ago?  I'm amazed, because it really does seem like yesterday that I held her for the first time in my arms.  I still remember her dark eyes peeking up at me as we met.  I will never forget that night.  If you are incredibly curious as to how we spent Christmas Eve 2008, click here.  For the other 99.99% of you, I'll give you a quick (or not so quick) update on what Elyse is up to these days.  

* She loves to talk.  Can't say enough about how much she loves to talk.  Her favorite phrases are:

- Like that? (said when she accomplishes something noteworthy)
- Wanna bite?
- Be right back! (said as she darts through rooms)
- Hoppu, Mommy?  (I THINK this is a form of "help you" or something like that. . . said when she just can't do something herself)
- Go poopy on potty, get caaaannnnddddyyyyy.
- Mommy, where's Emmie?  What's Emmie doing?  Shhh.... Emmie's taking a tiny nap.
- Be nice, Mommy, be nice!!! (said when she is pleasant in any way towards any person)
- Do not throw, Mommy, do not throw! (said whenever she goes to sleep in reference to her blankets)
- Do not spit food, Mommy, do not spit food! (said whenever she's eating)
- Do not scream, Mommy, do not scream! (said whenever she's tempted to get loud)
- Do not crumble, Mommy, do not crumble! (said whenever she's eating crackers or bread)
- Do not use fingers, Mommy, do not use fingers! (said whenever she's eating applesauce or yogurt)
- I need to OOOOOOBEY! (said whenever she's tempted to disobey)
- Mommy, I see the moon!
- That's REALLY, REALLY, REALLY _______  (hot, yummy, cold, big,...)
- Mommy, when's Daddy get home?

As you can probably tell, she's really into reminding me of how much she remembers about our little house rules :)  She hasn't figured out, though, that when she runs into the kitchen to say "Do not touch computer, Mommy, do not touch computer!" as she shakes her finger at me, that I can usually surmise that she has, indeed, already touched the computer, thus explaining the music playing.  She loves to review our little rules in almost every setting, with great emphasis on what the consequences are for disobedience.  Oh, my.

* Elyse has been taking about a 3 hour nap in the afternoon, and she isn't playing nearly as much at bedtime before she falls asleep.  I wonder if she's going through a growth spurt, because she's eating a TON.  Her favorite foods are raisins, pears, grapes, oranges, peas & peanut butter.

* She loves to play games like peek-a-boo, "I'm gonna get you," and "tickles."  She's into hiding things she's playing with and then asking me, "Where'd blanket go?"  Lately, she's been hiding her food, which isn't so fun.

* She's getting pretty used to having Emily to play with, and Em is the first person she asks for when she wakes up these days.  When Em's sleeping, Elyse is devastated and has even cried :(  She loves to help bathe her in the tub & gets so tickled when Emily kicks at her.  She will get right up in her face and whisper her name over and over again.  Emily (needless to say) LOVES it.

* Elyse still loves listening to music.  She's pretty timid about singing herself, but she'll usually sing a line or two before getting terribly shy.  She loves Happy Birthday, and today we sang happy birthday to Elyse's blanket & Emily's eyes.  The things you do when you're trying to hold off a post-bathtime meltdown...

* Elyse is enjoying her crayons & her play-doh much more.  She will spend lots of time sorting her crayons and trying to identify the colors.  We have a lot to work on in that department :)  Everything is purple.  Shapes are very interesting to Elyse.  She'll point out circles, triangles, and rectangles everywhere.  Sadly, many of them aren't what she says they are, but that's okay :)

* We've read her books to her so many times, she can finish about every phrase.  I think she's just starting to figure out what the "words" mean, and it's fun to see her face light up when she puts two and two together.

Some of my favorite moments with Elyse:

* I am enjoying having her "help" me in the kitchen.  She'll pull a chair over to the counter and watch as I cook or bake.  If I let her help, she's ALL OVER that project.  AND, the project is ALL OVER her :)

* I love hearing her say "let's cuddle" as she drags her blanket over to me.  I pretty much drop everything.

* There are times she wakes up from a really deep sleep during a nap, and she's very distraught (aka "ticked off").  She'll let me rock her for a long time.  I love that she'll just hug me and talk quietly to herself :)

* I love going in to get her after a nap (where she wakes up happy :) and hearing her just jabber randomly about every object she sees in her room... sometimes she'll randomly end with, "Hi, Mommy!"

* This is actually a Daddy-moment, but I love when he bundles her up before bedtime just to take her outside to look up at the moon.  Not only does it melt my heart, but it makes her day.  She'll talk all throughout breakfast the next morning about how she saw the moon and the stars with Daddy.

Some funnies from Elyse:

* She thinks her "body" is her "bottom."  Well, .... Along those lines, every medicine in our house is apparently for her bottom.

* When she has a successful "moment" on the potty, I make a huge, stinkin' huge, deal of it, and I know I say her name over and over again as I praise her.  She will run around saying her own name and waiting for me to hug her :)

* Elyse can make this horrible, fake whining noise when she's just not getting her way, but the best is when I catch her intermittently doing this fake whine and then whispering to herself, "It's okay, It's okay" as if she's soothing a baby.

* She loves to compare things, so if she sees a circle, she'll say, "That's like a sucker!" As we were reading her "Naughty Little Monkeys" book the other night, she pointed out that the naughty monkeys were like Adam and Eve :)

* She loves to see when people are clapping.  It could be on the television, or in person, but she'll always say, "They're crapping, Mommy, they're crapping!"

* Jordan was holding her and she pointed to a mole on his bare chest and said, "That's Daddy's button!  That's Daddy's button, right there!"

Newborn Elyse :) 

Elyse at 6 months

Elyse at 12 months

First Birthday!

Elyse at 18 months

We sure do love this little curly-haired girl.  Every once in a while as I'm sitting at the dinner table feeding two little girls (and myself if I'm lucky) while Jordan's at work, it will hit me just how blessed I am to get to take care of these cutie-pies.  I can't imagine what life would be like without Elyse and the fun she brings to every day.  We pray that someday she won't hate me for giving birth to her on Christmas Eve... and even more, that she'll grow to love Jesus & think of HIM every time we celebrate her birthday.  We love you, Elyse Noelle!  

Happy 2nd birthday!

So, as Jordan put Elyse down for her afternoon nap after the "party," she jabbered on and on about "lotsa fires on the cake, Daddy, lotsa fires!"  

7 months old

Emily is 7 months old today!  She's celebrating by blowing raspberries & playing with her toes.  That's the life, isn't it?  We haven't had nearly as much going on this December (as in years previous), and I've found that I have really enjoyed playing with my girls.  Emily is really interacting with us more, and I've enjoyed watching her facial expressions as she starts discovering the wonderful world of textures, noises, sounds and tastes.  We're well into the food sphere these days, but she eats quite daintily and takes her food in small portions.  She is not a fan of sweet potatoes, but enjoys her green vegetables (for now!).  Honestly, I think she tolerates bananas, but I'm looking forward to introducing her to a wider variety of fruits soon.  She has mastered the art of pursing her little lips with an impish look that says, "I'm done, Mom.  Seriously."  Some of my highlights with her have been during Elyse's afternoon nap; we usually get 30-45 minutes of quiet time together, and I so enjoy playing with her & just trying to make her giggle :)  She loves to watch Elyse still, and I think she wouldn't know what to do without such great entertainment!  Emily is getting feisty, though, and several times Elyse has come up to me whimpering, not wearing her glasses... sure enough, Emily's over on the floor gnawing on them...  It is rather funny to me, but Elyse puts up with it pretty well.  They still love each other to pieces.  Emily has (SADLY) brought back the crack-of-dawn feeding, which saddens me, but I'm hoping it will be gone soon enough.  I am dealing with an entirely. different. personality than my eldest, so I hope to learn a great deal this time around about flexibility and patience :)  For now, I just try to enjoy the times I have with her when everyone else is asleep....  No, I'm not jealous.  I see signs of new little teeth, so I'm hoping they pop through without too much of a fuss.  Emily is trying to sit up, but still topples very frequently.  Her hair is still a crazy mess, and I often see her sleeping at night holding a fistful of hair at the top of her head.  She can almost roll from her back to her tummy, but she hasn't accomplished that yet.  She will scoot around as she needs to, but she still hasn't tried to get up on those little knees of hers.

fun's:
* watching Em play with her toes.  quite possibly the cutest baby gesture out there.
* okay, rubbing her eyes is a close second :)
* hearing her play after waking up from a nap in her crib
* watching her face light up when Elyse comes storming in the room
* bath time is so fun these days - Em loves kicking!
* her faces when she tries new foods... hilarious!
* I've found she's very ticklish!  .. under arms, behind her knees, her sides, back...  the list goes on :)
* she is into making a gargling noise that is just intense
* she's into making silly noises in response to silly noises
* I can tell she's going to be a little clown.  she'll play games with us when we put her to bed & get all goofy over the silliest things!
* pigtails!

not-so-fun's:
* blowing raspberries while eating her veggies (okay, it's kind of fun...)
* *ahem* this special morning feeding!
* she chews and drools on EVERYTHING
* she still won't extend the time between eating much past 3.5 hours
* though she's still a fairly sound sleeper most of the time, she's starting to wake up more often when a certain big sister of hers decides to make some noise :)
* Em loves her toys & gets rather upset if she can't get a grip on her favorite toy
* I actually heard her shriek in anger the other day.  I laughed, but I probably should be scared :)
* she's into that "just-put-me-down" stage... sometimes she just wants her BED.  Not Mommy.

We love you, Emily Mae!

You definitely add so much sweetness to every day.

We're still here...

It's been longer than usual since I posted anything, but we are still alive and well.  Well, three of us are well.  One of us (my sweet eldest) is recovering from a yucky stomach virus.  That, unfortunately, makes all things yucky.  She is breakin' my heart with the "Mommy hugs" as she follows me around the house with her blanket, and I have taken many moments to cuddle with my girl.  We have pushed the pause button on potty training for these days (is it bad that I'm loving the small break?), and I know it's for the best, for many reasons :)  Here are some random things that have been going on.  Most of them are horribly boring.  BUT, they are still on my mind, so perhaps they're worth noting?

* We had our first snow Saturday night.  It really only left us a dusting, but it was wintery and fun while it lasted.  We hit a local parade that evening, and it was quaint to see the flakes falling on our way to the sights. Elyse was astounded by the marching bands (her jaw just dropped), and Emily had the time of her life squealing and squawking throughout the parade (I know it was more about getting to stay up late than the powerful parade scenery).

* I am back at making baby food.  I'm amazed how not a big deal it is this time around.  I am so glad.  Em loves eating and is getting better at it all the time.  Her favorite combo is peas & rice.  Yum??

* Elyse has entered a new phase of spitting food out.  Most of the time, it's just for fun.  She then likes to play with it on her plate.  Seriously, it's SO gross.  She isn't getting away with it, but if I catch her after stepping out of the room, I almost just have to stare at what a strange sight it is.  Wow.

* I am getting so excited for Christmas!  I got a large portion of our Amazon.com order today, and it was so fun to see what came.  I am excited to be with my parents & brother & sis-in-law for Christmas this year. . . AND, for Miss Elyse's 2nd birthday!

* The girls are really amused by each other these days.  Elyse LOVES to get right up in Emily's face and get a reaction.  Thankfully, she's getting smiles in response to that, but someday she might get a smack from Em?  When I watch them, it's like watching little secrets pass between them.  I know it's only the beginning of sister language :)

* I've started giving the girls baths together most nights, and although Elyse doesn't get to have a mountain of bubbles when Emily's in there (I think we'd lose her!), she seems to like the extra entertainment.  Getting the girls ready for bed in tandem is always interesting, but it sure is fun.

* Emily is finding her impatient voice.  It is hilarious, but so LOUD.  Elyse then thinks that she's allowed to be so expressive, and I think she's thinking about how unfair I am... :)

* Bedtime has been hilarious lately.  Emily can now scoot to whatever position is most convenient to watch Elyse's antics.  Sometimes even after Elyse is passed OUT, Em will still be waiting in there for giggles.

* Emily went through this stage just before she turned 6 months old that I don't want to repeat.  She was up several times a night for weeks, and just a week or so ago, she stopped.  Thank you, Emily!  I sure hope it was a growth spurt.  We still see no signs of teeth.  I can't believe she's almost 7 months old.

* Jordan and I enjoyed a nice night out on Monday.  We've started swapping more with A&I, and I hope we can keep it up.  We enjoyed dinner, shopping & a hot chocolate date.  I love my husband.  Seriously, I do :)

* We bought Elyse a new pair of glasses last week, and I about cried when I put them on her.  We didn't have a ton of options to choose from, and though I like the actual glasses, they seem WAY too old for her.  I have a feeling I'm going to say that about any pair that isn't pink with cable temples :)  We still have some "adjustments" to make on them, but she'll probably be wearing them soon.  This pair she's wearing is about to just pop off her head.  She also quit calling "glasses" "goggies," and I'm so sad about that.  She now says "glasses" clear as a bell.  *sigh*

* I can't believe 2011 is right around the corner.  I am amazed by what God has done this year.  He is so very good, in "good" times and in "bad."  I sometimes feel like I'm a little "Emily": just learning to digest the amazing things about him.  Each little taste I have of his grace is such a wonderful reminder that this life is NOT about me.  And, as much as I love my family, it's not about them, either.  It's about Jesus.