More apple-picking pictures!

Halloween at the zoo!

On Sunday morning Mama and Daddy and I went to the zoo to celebrate an early Halloween.





I got to wear my giraffe costume (which I love!), and I got to see tons of big kids wearing cool costumes, too. I even went trick-or-treat for the first time, though I got a little confused about when (and who) I should ask for candy. I really liked this lion I met- he didn't give me candy, but he did give me some high-fives!





Daddy climbed on the jungle gym with me and helped me across the bouncy suspension bridge:



This is a video of Daddy going down the slide with me:



The animals at the zoo are all really cool, but I like the giraffes the best.



I think they like me, too! The giraffe in this video seemed to think that I was a baby giraffe, and she tried to push down the fence to get to me. When that didn't work, she even tried to climb UNDER the fence (that didn't get on the video, though). I waved to the giraffe, but she didn't wave back. Daddy said she probably would have if she had hands.



Before we left, Mama rode on the carousel with me. Hooray!

It's always a good day to swing!

When Mama says it is too cold, Daddy "pimps my ride" with a fancy swing blanket. Coat, hat, and mittens (when I agree to wear them!), and you can swing in any weather!

16 months old!

Elsie continues to grow like a weed. She is wearing size 12-18 month clothes these days, and her feet grew a whole size last month- she now wears a size 4.5 shoe! Her insides must be growing and maturing, too, because in the last month she has become a champ at digesting dairy and soy. She LOVES yogurt and cheese! She has been eating some gluten lately, too, and that also seems to be going well!

Communication

Signs Elsie does: milk, good-bye and hello, more, bath, sorry, please, all done, poop, food

Words Elsie says: Daddy (Dada), Mama, kitty, Grandma (Gamma), no, yes, shoe, Papa

Activities

Elsie's favorite activities continue to be swinging, sliding, and playing with toys that involve "putting things in other things." She also loves her stuffed animals, and is usually carrying at least one at all times. She is very interested in the potty chair, and likes to practice using it. She has even started changing her doll's diapers and "checking" her Mama's pants to see if they are wet (the same way I check her diaper). Too funny!

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


Fifteen Months


Sixteen Months

A tea party with Dexter!

Last week my pal Dexter came over to play. It was such a beautiful day that I decided to invite him onto the deck for my first Garden Tea Party. We got out all my "food" from my play kitchen, then sat down to "tea" at my picnic table from David. Dexter even indulged me by wearing one of my fancy sun hats (proper tea party attire, though Mama told him he had to wear it so he didn't get sunburned). After the party, Dexter played in the sandbox while I cleaned up and swept off the deck, then we ran around the yard collecting leaves in my watering can. I am so lucky to have such a nice place to host tea parties, and such great friends to play with!

My first painting

I was channeling Paul Jackson Pollock while I painted...I'm pretty sure he used his fingers instead of a brush for most of his work, too!

Little Miss Independant

I'm not scared of much. Yesterday Mama took me to the park, and while I was on top of one of the playground towers I noticed a bunch of college boys playing flag football in the field next to the park. I scooted down the tower and ran onto the field to join the game. Unfortunately, Mama was right behind me and scooped me up. She said I was too little to play with the big boys...I think she was just worried I would embarrass them with my mad ball skills. To demonstrate my independence, Mama took this video of me playing at the same park later that day. Watch me climb, then scoot right pass Mama on my way up the ramp to the slide!

Always Have an Exit Strategy (and Other Life Lessons)

A post from Josie:

When I was little, I went through a phase where I loved those "Disaster" books. You know the ones..."How to Survive a Plane Crash and 100 other emergencies", "How to Survive Anytime, Anywhere", etc. My family used to tease me because I was always carrying around a huge backpack, and would have the most random things with me when they were needed (toothpick, fingernail clippers, sewing kit, scotch tape).

Unfortunately, I never read a section about "How To Survive a Bouncy House Deflation". I was wholly unprepared today when the bouncy house a friend and I and our two bambinos were in collapsed on us. Luckily, mothering instinct kicked in, and I was able to find the door and scoot the babes out to safety while my (very tall!) friend tried in vain to hold up the ceiling. Let me tell you from experience, those houses collapse in a matter of seconds (literally about three seconds before we were completely trapped and on the ground), and they are really oppressively heavy when they do collapse! Everything worked out fine, though, since we were the only ones in the house and all got out safely. I am so thankful that we were in there with the kids, and didn't let them jump by themselves. I am also glad that it was a quiet day at the center, and the house wasn't filled with five or six kids like it usually is.

Now before you start making jokes about us Mamas being too large for the bounce house (it's rated to 600 lbs, which I assure you we did not exceed!) I will let you know that after a brief investigation, the staff worker determined that the fan's hose had not been attached properly to the house that morning and we were not to blame for the accident. She assured us that another collapse was not imminent; nevertheless, we stuck with basketball and balloon-throwing games for the rest of our time at the sports complex.

And for all you people who teased me as a child, I feel the need to tell you that I have never been happier to know that the key chain in my pocket had a freshly sharpened Swiss army knife on it, just in case we hadn't been able to find the door and we needed an emergency exit. :)

Columbus Day Celebration?

Not in our house. I would sooner celebrate Hitler Day- at least we are (mostly) honest about his character and intentions.

Toys, toys everywhere!

Now that I am a big kid, I find toys EVERYWHERE! Mama and Daddy are pretty confused most of the time, looking all over the house for their things that I deemed "toy" and moved elsewhere. One of my favorite things to do is stack. I can stack lots of things...recently I discovered that the cans in the kitchen cupboard stack even better than my blocks!


Sometimes when I am playing outside, my Isiah friend sneaks out to play with me. I am always sure to give him a big hug when I help Mama round him up and bring him back inside the house.


Our neighbor kid outgrew this cool wheelbarrow, so I've been spending a lot of time wheeling my toys around the deck.


And if all those toys weren't enough, Daddy ordered this cool Gentle Giraffe for me when he bought our camera online. He has four buttons on his back, and I can press them to make him play dancing music, insect noises, waterfall noises, or a heartbeat sound. I love playing with him! I carry him wherever I go, and like to sleep with him, too. Mama and daddy laugh when I fall asleep to the dancing music instead of the rain sounds.

Eplegaarden, year 2!

It's October again, and that means that it is time for the family to take our annual trip to the orchard with the Albrechts. The big change was that this year we took Baby Simon with us! How fun!



I showed him how to eat apples like a big kid, and then I shared my milk with him.




We rode on our daddys' shoulders.



Mama wanted me to take a picture in front of the "How tall this fall" sign like we did last year. I wasn't interested, though, so Daddy had to stand with me (here's the pic from last year, too!).




I got to look at goats and horses.





We even walked through the pumpkin patch and picked out a pumpkin for my first jack-o-lantern.




What a great day! Can't wait for my first taste of Mama's apple pie tomorrow at Uncle G's!