Family time in the backyard

I love the tub!

Bath time is my favorite time of day! I love eating my toes in the tub, especially when I kick at a washcloth with my other foot.


I am thrilled that I've gotten big enough to reach the end of my tub...I feel like such a big kid when I stretch out all the way!


Mostly I just love playing in the water...splashing makes me laugh and laugh!

Standing!

I've figured out how to stand with just a little help from mom or dad. I like to hold their hands, but I also like to chew on my fingers when I stand. That makes balancing tough, though.

Playing in the yard

Lately, Mom and I have enjoyed spending some time in our backyard when we get home from our daily walk. I love hanging out in the swing Deedoo gave us, and I especially like laying tummy-down in the grass so I can crunch leaves in my hands. I'm pretty sure they would be good to eat, but Mom won't let me try. Maybe next year...

Elsie's first Halloween Party

Elsie and I accompanied a few good friends to the Madison Children's Museum Halloween Party on Thursday. It was a blast! Elsie and I went as Farmer Catherine O'Leary and Daisy the Cow (the dangerous duo responsible for the 1871 Chicago Fire). Most of the activities were for tots a little bit bigger than Elsie, but she certainly enjoyed looking around at all the excitement. I was really glad that Elsie isn't mobile, yet...it would have been an easy place to loose a toddler! Elsie wanted me to tell you that her favorite part of the day (aside from hanging out with her friend, Nico) was wearing a costume with a tail!

Playing with Pongo

Elsie is getting big enough to be very interested in her surroundings. She's starting to enjoy watching her kitty siblings run around the house, and they are starting to get very interested in her when she plays on the floor. Here are some pictures of Elsie learning to pet Pongo.





True, it looks like he is cringing in the photos, but he was actually purring the whole time!

Rolling!

These are some of the first pictures of Elsie rolling. By the end of the first night she figured out how to roll, she had become so talented that she was able to roll over four times in a row from one side of the mat to the other without stopping. What a goofy kid!

4 months old!

Health and Growth

Elsie now weighs 12 lbs and stretches to 24.25 inches. That lands her in the 40 percentile for height, and 8th for weight- she's a skinny one, just like her daddy! She is still wearing most of her 0-3 month clothes...mom is getting anxious for her to get big enough to fit into her warm 3-6 month wardrobe. :)

Though she hasn't actually sprouted any teeth yet, the copious amounts of drool she is suddenly producing make her mom and dad think that they are just around the corner.

Elsie has been very patient with her parents while they developed a new bedtime routine for her; she now usually goes to bed between 8:30 and 9:30, and only wakes once or twice to eat in the night. She likes to get up around 7 am, play for an hour or two, then take an hour long nap. The rest of the day's sleep is less predictable, but mom and dad are excited to have even a little bit of routine back in their lives.

Elsie still needs to be swaddled when she sleeps, but bouncing on the yoga ball has been almost entirely eliminated from our sleep routine (she still prefers to bounce when eating, though!).

Activities

Elsie attends a baby-and-caregiver class with mom twice a week, and has started to really enjoy watching the other infants in the group. She also has a pretty consistent weekly walking date with her 7-month-old Paraguayan boyfriend, Nico. When Elsie gets upset on walks, watching Nico can sometimes distract her enough to make her happy. It helps that Nico is almost always smiling!

When she isn't walking with Nico, Elsie spends a good deal of time playing on her play mat and practicing her hand-eye and foot-eye coordination. She is getting very good at grabbing toys when she wants them! She has also been trying very hard to master the back-to-front roll, and finally succeeded a few days after her 4-month birthday. Now that she can roll back-to-front and front-to-back, she can pretty much get anywhere she wants to go. She still gets frustrated when she can't reach her toys, though, so mom and dad help her out every once in a while.

Personality

Elsie's happy personality is really starting to emerge now that she is getting over her colic. She greets mom with big smiles and coos after every nap, and loves to engage in "conversation" with any willing participant. At 4 months old, her eyesight is almost 20/20 and she spends a lot of her day with a very serious expression on her face, trying very hard to take in the world around her. She is content to lay by herself and play with toys for five or ten minutes at a time, letting mom grab a quick shower or bite to eat.

Mom and dad are loving the little person Elsie is growing into, and can't wait to see what each new day will bring!


One Week


One Month


Two Months


Three Months


Four Months

Autumn is here!

Elsie is enjoying the cooler weather, the chilly breezes, and especially likes the crunchy leaves flying through the air. We've had lots of fun sitting on a blanket in the afternoons, watching the world go by (and the squirrels, bugs, and birds, too!).



In other news, Elsie is starting to want to help out around the house. Recently Elsie decided to be a helper in the kitchen; she chewed on the measuring spoons, and mom made cookies. Everyone was happy!

We have a roller!

It's official- after working hard for the last week or so, Elsie Rose did her first back-to-front roll! She now rolls in both directions (back-to-front and front-to-back)...two months ahead of schedule! We suspected we were raising a little genius, and I guess this proves it :)

Look for her 4-month pictures in the next few days!

Ellen and Adam's wedding

Andy's little sister, Ellen, got married over the weekend, and we were happy to be able to help her celebrate her big day! Elsie looked adorable in her wedding dress, although we only managed to get one picture of her in it before it was time to put on her pj's.

Some new pictures...

...taken a few days before Elsie's 4-month birthday.

Velkommen til Eplegaarden! (Welcome to the apple farm!)

Saturday was a big outing for the Cooper family- our annual trip to the apple orchard with our dear friends, Alex and Abby. This year's excursion was especially fun for Josie because we found a Norwegian farm nearby and got to experience strolling through the "pick your own" orchards. There were horse-drawn buggies, friendly goats, and an entertaining folk band playing amongst the trees. Josie even found some of her favorites apples- the Minnesota Haralson! The 80-degree weather was a little strange for October, but the apples were delicious and the company couldn't be beat. A few of our favorite pictures:

Elsie is anxious to come back next year to see how much she has grown.


One of the first portraits of the apple-loving family of three.


Elsie enjoying her first taste of real food

Hands and Feet!

Elsie has spent the last week or two figuring out just how to use her hands and feet. This involves a lot of time spent staring at toys, her hands, and her toes. She prefers to do her experimentation on her play mat, where she loves to grab at Sophie the Giraffe, her rings, and the hanging Panda that Aunt Ellen gave her when she was born. She is also learning about cause and effect- she has figured out that she can kick her gym, which will trigger one of her toys with a motion-sensor to play music. What a smart kid!


A carefully aimed kick to make the music start...


Grabbing Panda...


Thinking hard about which hand to use next...

Daddy likes to try to get me to ride Pongo

So far, it's not going well. He is surprisingly fast for a cat of such generous girth.

A note from Elsie Rose: Car Ride!

It's no secret that I don't like to ride in the car. On my recent excursion to MN, I discovered a few things that make car rides more manageable:


First of all, I need Puppy under one arm and Giraffe under the other. Plus a Nuk at the ready at all times.


Then I need to make sure that I have two fists available for sucking- it would help if I could figure out how to fit both in my mouth at once.


And when everything aligns perfectly, I can usually catch some Zzz's in the car. But not too many- I don't want my parents to start thinking I like car rides!