A Little Girl with a Big Personality!

Our sweetie is almost 18 months old and I just can't believe how fast the time has gone. Elise isn't a baby anymore that's for sure, she's now a little girl with a big personality! When I look at pictures of her from even just 6 months ago, I'm amazed at how much she's grown and changed! She's now talking non-stop and even putting two words together when she talks like, "more milk." In addition to walking, she's now running. When we say Hi, she says Hi back instead of just waving to us. I'm not gonna lie, not all of what she's doing these days is good. Having a soon-to-be 18 month old also means temper tantrums. Before I had Elise, heck even 6 months ago (before these tantrums started) I thought to myself that Elise was so good that she'd never have one and she'd just skip the tantrum stage all together. HA - was I WRONG! Things like going back inside after playing outside or taking away something she shouldn't be playing with (like her daddy's Blackberry) will cause these tantrums. Another thing we're dealing with is biting. It has only happened twice but it's still a big deal, especially when you're on the receiving end! Needless to say, having an almost 18 month old means having to discipline. While we're dealing with some of the negatives that go along with "growing up", all in all the "terrible twos" haven't been that terrible; Elise knows when we're upset with her for doing something wrong and she never deliberately disobeys. She is a really good girl who's exploring her independence. :)

Coloring after storytime at Barnes & Noble.



Elise walking around with daddy at the Dogwood Festival.



Hanging with mommy at the Festival; Elise enjoying her paci while mommy enjoys an adult beverage. :)



Love it when she scrunches her little nose!



Now Elise can push her lion...



...only a few short months ago all she could do was sit on the lion!

Spring has Sprung!

We've had beautiful weather these past few days so we're spending most of our time outdoors enjoying it! Elise absolutely loves playing outside and spends hours collecting rocks and twigs, looking at birds, and being silly! When it's time to go inside she starts crying so we've started eating every meal outside to maximize our time outdoors! :)

Watering flowers!



Playing with her shadow!



She loved walking around with the flowers!



Playing on the deck after eating breakfast outside.



We had a great Easter complete with an egg hunt, tons of food, and great company. Elise had the best time finding the little plastic eggs that we hid. It was so much fun watching her face when she spotted each egg...my favorite part of Easter this year!


Getting her Easter basket from GiGi and Grandpa!



She walked around with it for a few minutes before opening it.



Love this face!



Enjoying her new books!



Elise loves Easter and is already looking forward to next year!

Ready for Spring!

We've been a little preoccupied lately and I haven't dedicated much time to my blog. It seems like the entire month of March we were all dealing with ear infections, fevers, coughs, sniffles, etc. It has been a long month and we're ready to start feeling better!


Elise in her pjs...resting up and trying to get healthy!



Elise in her pjs again...at least she's in good spirits!



Since we've spent the majority of the month cooped up inside being sick, we definitely have Spring fever! I can't believe it's practically April already and Easter is this coming weekend! We're hosting Easter at our house this year so I've been busy preparing the menu and grocery shopping. We're really looking forward to celebrating; holidays are so much more fun with kids!! :)


Elise with the Easter Bunny - I love her expression!

Swimming Lessons!

This past Saturday we started swimming lessons for Elise. I know that some of you are rolling your eyes because she's only 16 months old, but the main purpose of the lessons at this age is to get Elise used to the water and equip her with the skills she needs to get to the side of the pool if God forbid she ever fell in. The first lesson was a success; Elise loved it! We learned to kick our feet and scoop our hands. Here are some pictures of our little fish...













We can't believe that Elise will be 16 months old in a couple days. She seems to be learning something new everyday which is so much fun! It's hard to believe this was only 16 months ago...




...And here we are today!

White Out, 15 Months & Valentine's Day!

On Friday, Elise experienced her first snow fall! About 3 inches fell and it looked beautiful! Although it was freezing outside, we had to let her go out and play in it. After layering her up, she could barely walk but absolutely loved the white stuff!













Elise's 15-month well-visit was Friday morning, before the snow started to fall, and everything went well. She weighs 24 pounds, 3 ounces (75th percentile) and is 35 inches tall (off the charts!).

Here are some recent pics of our 15-month-old! :)


Already showing some sass!



My little Valentine and I!



Hanging out in her bedroom!



We had a great weekend celebrating Valentine's Day! Greg and I went to dinner while my parents watched Elise.

Me and my Valentine - celebrating our 9th Valentine's Day together!

I can hardly believe that January is already over. 2010 has started off with a bang for us. We sold our house in Florida and Greg started a new job! It has been a little chaotic around here but we wouldn't have it any other way. ;) Hopefully our luck continues through the year!! Elise has also been doing great. She has been talking so much lately; she now says ball, bubble, dog, hi, more, wow, uh-oh, and a few more words that sound like a foreign language! It's the absolute cutest thing to hear my baby talk, but when I stop to think about it, I realize that she is no longer a baby...she's growing up to be a little lady! She has really started to enjoy her books, insisting that we read them to her again and again. And just recently we noticed her looking at them and talking to herself like she is trying to read all by herself! ;) She is now a pro at walking and getting SO fast that I know she will be running very soon (maybe chasing after her will count towards my 1/2 marathon training?!?!). She has also started to stomp her feet and jump! As each day passes, Greg and I are amazed at how awesome it is to watch Elise grow up and change from day to day! It is such a neat experience!

Here are new pictures of Elise from this past weekend when we celebrated my sister's birthday.


Elise has her daddy wrapped around her little finger!



Elise with GiGi and the new toy rhinoceros...thanks, Aunt Natalie...we love it!



Pretty baby, tired mommy!



Elise with the birthday girl!



One of our many attempts at a good family picture! :)

New Pictures!

Here are some new pictures of our almost 15-month-old!

















I promise to actually write something within the next few days!
Love,
Kim