Playing in MN

Mama and I had a great time playing at Auntie Manda's house last week. Cousin Campbell is getting so big! He had lots of fun toys to play with- we especially liked his toy car. One of us would sit on it backwards and the other would push- the only problem was that that meant no one was steering. Oh, well! A few crashes and we figured it out...mostly.

Reading time is especially fun when there are two of us in Grandma RJ's lap!

Campbell really likes to throw Uncle Matt's golf balls around the house! Did you know that baskets can make really silly hats?



I had a GREAT time refining my jumping skills in Campbell's "Office":


It was nice to have someone my size to play blocks with.

Mama made those cute pants for Baby Campbell. He has trouble with pants squeezing on his tummy, but I think he really liked the ones Mama made because when he put them on he started dancing around the kitchen!

It was a nice sunny afternoon, so we all got bundled up and went for a walk to the park together.


Grandma RJ said we were going to stop by the bakery for a treat, so I started running. Why are we walking so slowly when there are scones to be had?!?

What a wonderful vacation in Minneapolis. I hope I can go back again soon- I miss my cousin and his silly doggies!


And here is one last picture of Campbell and me having a pajama party and sharing a midnight snack!


And just in case you were wondering, this is what was happening in my room while we were gone:

Big kid!

I am growing so much every day! Now that I am 20 months old, my days are VERY busy. I spend lots of time reading books, learning my letters (I know 5, and am pretty good with 4 others!), and JUMPING (I can get off the ground now!). I also am working hard to improve my vocabulary...I like to impress Mama and Daddy with three-word sentences when they least expect it!


I also really like to dress myself, and boy do I like to ACCESSORIZE!


My other passion these days (aside from babies and doll houses) is lining and sorting.


Every day my babies have to line up on the stairs, on the bed, on the couch....sometimes Daddy has to join the queue, too! I've even started lining up my toys in the tub!

Rollin' with the punches...and waffles.

Today Mama had a PT appointment for her knee that was cancelled at the last minute...since we'd already driven all the way to the clinic, we decided that we really *had* to go across the street and visit our favorite coffee shop for awhile so we wouldn't have taken the trip for nothing.


I had a great time playing with the pretend kitchen and all the fun toys. When our food came, I wasn't sure that I really wanted to give up playing time to eat. One taste of the delicious blueberry waffle, though, and suddenly the toys didn't seem so great anymore. I ate almost the whole thing! With my fork. Like a big kid.

Playing at the Children's Museum

Mama took me to the Museum last week. Boy, did I have a good time! The first thing I did was run to the "hut" and grab a baby to take care of. Then Baby and I played and played and played! I made beautiful music on the bongos and drums (with Baby), I changed LOTS of Baby diapers, and Baby and I climbed up and down the stairs LOTS. Oh, and I painted and built shapes on the light boxes and started to make a paper sculpture but got frustrated with the scissors and quite. Then Mama and I had a little lunch, climbed the rock wall a dozen times so I could slide down the log slide, then went home to take a nap. What a great way to spend a morning!

Running so fast my shoes are blurry!

Making music in the music hut!

Asking Mama if it is safe to have a fire going in the grass hut where Baby sleeps.

And one of many successful Baby diaper changes.

Throwing Babies!

Last night, between bouts of bed jumping, I decided that it was necessary to throw all my "babies" out of my bed. Mama thinks it's pretty funny that I took time to give them all a big hug before chucking them over the side of my crib.

One little monkey jumping on the bed!

I love to move. I love to run, climb, dance, twirl...any kind of movement, I love it!

Lately I am trying out a new kind of movement- JUMPING! I just starting to get the hang of it last week, and now I can get an inch or two off the ground every fourth or fifth time I try. Recently I discovered that it is much easier to "catch air" if I do my jumping in bed (Daddy also thinks it is a good way for me to get out some extra energy before bedtime)!

Mama thinks it's funny that I am a jumping "purist"...I know it is easier to jump higher when I hold onto the bed railing, but then it's not true jumping. I prefer to let go and do my jumping "freestyle". First I grab the railing to practice getting height, then I let go and do it on my own!

I'd already been jumping for about twenty minutes straight by the time Daddy brought out the camera to take the following video.

Dancing

A guest post from Mama

Elsie loves to dance, but is usually too excited by the sight of the video camera to let us get any of her crazy moves on film. Here's a little snippet of her dancing to "Shake Your Sillies Out" by Raffi. I caught her during the "wiggle your waggles away" section (hence the wiggling), and then she gets distracted by the camera. At the end of the song I ask her if she wants to "shake" again for me, but she decides she doesn't want to be filmed any more. Argh! Maybe next time I'll be able to catch the entire song- she knows all the choreography :)

My Big Kid Day

Today I had my first real big-kid play date. I went to my friend Henry's house and I stayed there ALL BY MYSELF.



Well, Henry and his Mama were there, but MY Mama WASN'T!


I am so big and so brave! I wasn't even scared a little bit!


Luckily, Henry's Mama, Miss Stella, is a fantastic photographer so I have these photos to share when I tell everyone about my exciting afternoon. Henry and I played and played, but we mostly spent time in Henry's "kitchen." I learned to make coffee in his percolator, we "cooked" lots of food in his oven, then we sat down at the attached "booth" and enjoyed the spoils of our efforts. Then we did it again. And again. And again! Oh, and we had a dance party and did some puzzles and read some books, too. What a fun day!

Great-Grandma's Boots

Great-Grandma Dorothy sent me these COOL second-hand boots! I was borrowing some from Cousin Claire, but those are still a little big for me and can be tricky to walk in.

My new boots are purple and warm and, best of all, waterproof! I recently discovered their amazing impermeability on a very warm day when Mama and I took a "Puddle Walk". I am excited to play in the snow when it arrives, but in the mean time, boy is puddle splashing fun!

Looking for a good puddle...


Found one!

Pottying Just Like Daddy

The other day Elsie and I were playing in her room and I needed to use the bathroom. I asked if she wanted to come with or stay in her room and keep playing, and she replied, "Stay!".

When I came back a minute later, Elsie was nowhere to be found. I checked her room, the living room, our bedroom...nothing. Finally I noticed that the guest bathroom door was closed. When I opened it, this is what I saw:


Completely naked, sitting on the potty, reading The Far Side comic book.
Just like Daddy :)

A Christmas Day Tale

Christmas Morning 2011 Elsie awoke at 5 am and decided Grandma's house was very exciting and it was time to get up. So she and Dad played for a while then decided to start breakfast. An usual event occurred when her dad had a toot - which made Elsie make her "mouth in a circle eyebrows up" face (aka surprised) and then delightedly exclaim "Toot!"

A few seconds later, after a moment of deep concentration, Elsie made a loud toot of her own and (even more excitedly) yelled "TOOT!"

The best Christmas morning ever.

-Andy

Post-Christmas!

The day after Christmas Grandma RJ and Mama and Daddy and I all drove to Cousin Campbell's house to play. Boy, was it fun! He has TWO puppies! Mama took lots of pictures- here are some of my favorites:

Sharing my lunch with Campbell:

Playing in Campbell's play room:


Mama wanted a picture of Campbell and I in our matching outfits. Campbell and I did not want to take said picture.

Campbell and I liked our matching sweaters, though...Cambell even came in for an unsolicited hug when I put mine on!




Campbell has a really cool high chair that is great for playing hide-and-seek under!

How many adults does it take to feed one Elsie? Two, apparently.


I was a little confused when Campbell changed clothes. He is so much bigger than me!

It was sad to have to say good-bye to Uncle Matt at the end of the day.

Daddy and I shared a good cuddle before we got back in the car for the long drive home.

Christmas Day!

Even though I spent the majority of the day at Papa Todd's house, Mama and Daddy didn't get any pictures of us there :( Luckily, I know that Grandma Julie took lots, and I am hopeful that she will share!

Here are some from the evening time, before Auntie Manda et al headed home. Mama did get one of Auntie Manda with Campbell's new mobile that we worked so hard on. Boy, was I sad to give that up! I think Campbell will like it hanging above his bed, though!