Elsie is 13 months!

Elsie now weighs about 17lbs, 10oz (3%) and stretches to a little over 28.5 inches (25%). Just last month she moved up to size 3 shoes, and now they are almost too small already. Crazy how fast she has grown this month! She is also wearing (and fitting!) most 12-18 month clothes, although 6-12s still fit, too. It helps that she isn't crawling at all anymore, since she can wear longer dresses without "knee-tripping".

Communication

Signs Elsie does: milk, good-bye and hello (waving), no (shaking head), all done, poop

Signs and words Elsie recognizes: more, kitty, duck, bird, cow, horse, diaper change, food, drink

Words Elsie says: Daddy (Dada), Mama (Mamamama), Kitty (Tee-tee), and (new!) Grandma (Gamma)

Activities

As previously documented, Elsie became an expert walker right after her first birthday. Unfortunately, along with her new-found walking (and running!) skills has come a bad case of separation anxiety. I discovered this when I started attending classes at a family yoga center. When I go to class, only a dedicated TEAM of loving mama-caretakers can keep her occupied in the childcare room. Luckily, they are some amazing mamas, and they reassure me after every class that (though she cries a little or a lot, depending on the day), it is beneficial and healthy for BOTH Elsie and me to practice being apart from each other. Plus, since I am just a room away, it is easy for me to step in and cuddle her if she gets too upset.

This month I got sick and was stuck in bed for a few days while Andy stayed home from work to play with Elsie. A cute after-effect of that experience is that Elsie decided that Daddy is REALLY fun to play with and it would be better if he didn't ever go to work again. Now every morning when Daddy tries to leave, Elsie sprints to the door crying "Dada dada dada dada!". If possible, she grabs his lunchbox and tries to get away with it (as if a lack of lunch will keep him at home). If the lunchbox isn't readily available, she'll grab his leg instead. I have to swoop in and hold her up to the window to wave good-bye to Daddy before she will stop crying. While I don't like the fact that Elsie now cries almost every morning, her love of her Daddy is beautiful to see and makes it all worthwhile!

A couple of other big events for Elsie this month were my jury service (she stayed at home with Grandma RJ for two whole days and did GREAT!), and a trip back to MN for a very unexpected funeral (she did not sleep for either of the 3.5 hour car rides- how does she do it???).

One last funny thing about Elsie this month- Elsie has been using the potty for pooping with some regularity these last few months, and has now discovered that the potty is a great place to read. Taking after her father, she has decided that it is really only worth sitting on the potty if she is reading a book the whole time. Sometimes numerous books. What a silly kid!


Watch Elsie Grow!
Comparison Photos:

One Week


One Month


Two Months


Three Months


Four Months


Five Months


Six Months


Seven Months


Eight Months


Nine Months


Ten Months


Eleven Months


Twelve Months


Thirteen Months

Olivia likes wearing hats. Especially ones that I decide I don't want to wear anymore.

Random 13-month pictures

While playing with Daddy and Amanda at the Children's Museum, Elsie decided it was more fun to stack the rock crayons than to color with them (thanks for the pics, Amanda!).


As Dr. Seuss says, "Big feet, little feet, feet feet feet- oh how many feet you meet!"



Playing with potatoes in the cupboard.


Finishing up a walk with her friends, Baby Simon and Abby.


Hanging out on the deck in the hot weather.

Playing on the deck

It's been a hot week here in Madison- temps in the upper 90's with heat indexes in the 110's. Luckily, Elsie and I are blessed with a beautiful, shady back porch where we can spend our days lounging and playing.

We started the summer with only a little baby swing out there, and have slowly accumulated more (and more, and more!) toys. The pool came first- a Target clearance find- then the turtle sandbox (a birthday gift from G. Ann and G. Brian)- then sand toys from a friend.

A few weeks after her birthday Elsie started climbing on EVERYTHING, so I went ahead and bought the climber/slide off Craigslist for a ridiculously low cost so that she would have a safe place to explore her new skill. And since this picture was taken, we've also incorporated a Little Tykes plastic play kitchen that a neighbor was giving away. Yikes! We are running out of room for the picnic table, but that's okay- it's a great (fun, stimulating, SAFE!) place for Elsie to play on hot summer days!

Elsie likes to "help" around the house...

Lately I keep losing things around the house. It may be a significant lack of sleep, or it may be that Elsie has figured out how to "help" Mama do her chores. When she "helps" by putting away her toys, some of my items often get put away, too. Can you guess which items Elsie "helped" put away in the following photos I took while I was making dinner and doing some baking?

An offering to the kitties...

"Please, Kitties, won't you share your dinner with me? I'll share my diapers with you...."

Elsie is 12 months!

Elsie now weighs 17lbs, 4oz (3%) and stretches to 28.5 inches (25%). She's finally moved up to size 3 (6-12 mo) shoes, though, which makes Mama happy. Giraffe shoes! Monkey shoes! Dinosaur shoes! I've been waiting six months for this cuteness to fit her! Our other big news is that Elsie's hair is finally starting to come in; her hair is long enough to form two or three strawberry-blonde ringlets in the back and one on the top of her head. In the last month a number of her mommy friends have commented that they can finally see her red, curly hair.

Communication

Signs Elsie does: milk, good-bye and hello (waving), no (shaking head), all done, poop

Signs and words Elsie recognizes: more, kitty, duck, bird, cow, horse, diaper change, food, drink

Words Elsie says: Daddy, Mama, Kitty

Activities

Elsie's days are pretty full. She wakes up at about 6, plays for about an hour,
has breakfast, then plays with Daddy for a few minutes before he heads to work. We try to do one big activity a day- grocery shopping, a play date, going to the pool, visiting the zoo, Storytime at the library, etc. If it is a morning event, Elsie gets home around 11 or 11:30 and has a snack before her noon nap time. Naps last about an hour (sometimes two!), then she has lunch before starting our afternoon activity. That usually involves being outdoors- a run in the jogging stroller, a long walk, playing at the park or with toys on the deck. She plays in the kitchen while I start on dinner, then has her "first dinner" around 4:30. Daddy to gets home between 5:30 and 6:30 and we all have dinner together ("second dinner" for Elsie!). After that, we either have bath time or Elsie has quiet play time with Daddy before bed. We start bedtime stories around 7:30-45, and hope to have a sleeping baby between 8 and 8:30.

Play Time

Elsie is starting to do some imaginary play- she tries to "dress" Olivia pig in her clothes, and even tries to give her a pacifier (which is funny since Elsie hates pacifiers!). She is very interested in dressing herself, too, and regularly tries to put on her own shoes, socks, and hats (unsuccessfully).

Other games Elsie currently enjoys:
-Putting the lids on and off her sippy cups
-"Sorting" the food on her high chair's tray
-Gathering things into baskets and buckets
-Opening and closing cupboards, doors, or drawers
-Playing with laundry, especially unfolding clothes
-Playing with water- tubs, pools, or faucets
-Dancing to music, especially if she has a hand in making it
-Petting (brushing!) and chasing the cats

Watch Elsie Grow!
Comparison Photos:

One Week


One Month


Two Months


Three Months


Four Months


Five Months


Six Months


Seven Months


Eight Months


Nine Months


Ten Months


Eleven Months


Twelve Months

Elsie is a walker!

Around 10 months of age, Elsie became pretty good at walking a few steps at a time between Andy and I. She thought it was a lot of fun, but only moved toward a Mama or Daddy target. At about 11 months, she was able to walk long distances while holding just one of our hands, but would sit down and cry if we tried to take our hand away. Then she went through a short phase where she would hold on to our hands and lift up her legs and refuse to even stand if we suggested that she walk. By 12 months of age, we knew she could walk on her own because she would often do it without realizing it (like when moving toward a toy or door). When she actually "tried" to walk, though, she would try to run, making balancing a bit of a problem!

Last weekend (7-3-11), however, she finally slowed down and consciously walked by herself! She was standing in the kitchen playing with a toy when a cat laid down in front of the back door. That was all it took- Elsie turned toward the cat and, with a very determined look, walked five feet. While we weren't fast enough to get those "first" (kind of) steps on film, here are some videos from later in the day. We've taken a lot of video since then- now that she has figured out how to slow down and walk, she doesn't want to stop!

My 1st Birthday Party

My first birthday party was a blast! It was fun to have (almost) all my family in the same place all at once. Grandma Julie took a nice picture of Daddy's family.

And then Uncle G took a picture of Mama's family.

I spent some time playing on my new giant tortoise.

The living room was packed when it was time for presents.
My cousins opened my gifts for me, and I played with the tissue paper.

Then we played with my new toys.

Everybody gathered around on the deck and sang "Happy Birthday" to me.
Then the big people ate birthday cupcakes and Mama and I had
soy-free, dairy-free, gluten-free birthday cake.
It said "Elsie" because it was for me.

It was okay, but rather sweet for my liking.
I dropped most of it on the deck for the ants.

Later on, Daddy and his family decided to play croquet.
There was a lot of discussion about rules.

I tried to help Daddy get his ball in the little hoop, but he said that was cheating.

So instead I just played with the extra balls by myself.
Seemed like a silly kind of game, anyway!

All in all, it was a great first birthday.
Thanks to all my family who made the long trip to celebrate with me
(and Uncle G and Kristen, too, who didn't make a long trip
but who I was thrilled to have at my party)!

I am already excited for next year's party-
Uncle Will said we will be playing full-contact football
to celebrate me turning 2!
Hope you can make it!

Elsie and the Cooler: Part 2

If you are a loyal reader, you will remember the fun Elsie had with the cooler on the deck at her pool party a few weeks ago. Now that the string of parties is over and the cooler is back inside, Elsie is finding other ways to entertain herself. P.S.- at the time of filming, the cooler was loaded with ice, two inches of water, and three two-liters of pop. Wow!