10 Months

I am behind, once again. This was another exciting month! I'll try to remember everything.
I'll start with March.
- Started saying her d's.
- Climbs up stairs very well! And loves to be pulled down them (thank you Grandma for the stair lessons)
- Found buttons on her toys last month, but now if I ask her to press a button, she finds the closest toy and presses the buttons. Very cute.
- Throws things.
- Went to Monroe for Aunt Meghan's baby shower.
- Consistantly runs with mommy during the day, and daddy when he comes home. She goes into her room at least once a day and pushes her jogging stroller around the room...throwing hints, Elsa?
- Plays peek-a-boo with her towel after her bath. And plays with anything else that can hid her face from us...hats, toys, blankets.
- I finally started bathing her in the big bath instead of her little infant bath. She loves it. She crawls all around, eats bubbles, splashes, stands up and sits down over and over and over again, dips her face in the water....
- Went to Monroe to see Uncle Garin for a day.
- She reaches for her crib at nap times and bed times.
- Eats anything we put in front of her...nothing new there!

Recently she's been grabbing a toy and crawling around with it in her mouth. 

Ok and now onto April...

One morning I went in to get Elsa and she was sitting in her crib with her paci in her mouth, her Bunny in one hand, and her other paci in her other hand. She was trying to stick her second paci in her bunny's mouth. Ha, it was adorable. 

-G'ma and G'pa came over and put Elsa to bed for the first time while Shane and I went out for dinner. (I know, it's sad that it took us that long to have an evening out without her)

- First trip to the beach and slept in first hotel room

- First visit to Grow Zone at Port City

- Strawberry picking

- Grannie, Papa, and G babysat.

- Aunt Becca and Uncle Matthew's birthdays!

- eats turkey and cheese quesadilla

We still continue to meet up with my friend and her daughter. When we got back from our walk, they pushed the stroller around the house. 

Shane and I got some barefoot running shoes this months, which has slowed down my running. After running a few days in a row with them, I could barely walk because my calves hurt so bad. They say to start out slow...and they mean it. I guess we'll find out in a few years what horrible things they are doing to our legs. Hopefully not though. 

Elsa had her first trip to the beach in April! Shane surprised us with a weekend in WIlmington to celebrate our 2 year anniversary. We had beautiful weather. 

Elsa and I spent most of our time on the beach in the tent. I didn't want her to get burned. 

Then we went to UNCW to walk around and see the new construction. It's crazy how much the school has grown since we started going there. 

The next week a friend of mine picked us up and we went Strawberry picking! Yum. I love Spring and Summer and the fruits that are in season. 

Our most recent walk with Elizabeth, she wanted to be the big girl and push Elsa in her stroller. 

Then they came home and shared some Puffs. 

Friends of ours got married this past weekend. We got to see some close friends from college and celebrate with them. And we also got a date night out of it! Shane's parents and brother came in town and watched Elsa while we were at the wedding. It was a fun night out. 

8 of the 12 girls from our small group in Wilmington were there, and our 2 leaders. A fun reunion!

Shane and Josh being goof balls. 

Congratulations Sara and Scotty!!!

And while we were at the wedding, Elsa was playing on G's face.

Grandma and Grandpa watched Elsa the week before when Shane and I went out to dinner. They brought Elsa her first ball. And this visit Grannie and Papa brought Elsa some cute flip flips. :) So cute. 

That's all for now! She will be 11 months a week from today! And since I already wrote everything that happened in month 11, I guess all I will have are stats. Until then!

9 Month Appointment

Elsa had her 9 month appointment today. I really lover her doctor. What a blessing.

She didn't have to get any shots today, which was nice. The doctor also said she was right where she wants her to be.

She's 17 lbs 12 1/4 oz (25th %)

28 inches long (58th %)

and her head is 17 in around (23rd %)

She's eating 3 meals a day and snacking in between lunch and dinner, and still breast-feeding 4 or 5 times a day. She continues to be so easy and we have more and more fun together every day. She is so happy. She is ticklish on her neck and arm pits and giggles so much. I have yet to find something she won't eat. She doesn't like the word "no" (surprise surprise) and continues to try and play with cords, blinds, the computer, shoes, anything in the bathroom (yuck). She loves bath time! After we eat dinner, Shane goes to her bathroom to fill the bath and she darts over there. So cute. She also darts to the door in the evenings when Shane gets home from work. Melts. Our. Hearts. She climbs on anything she can. She's found the buttons on all of her toys and is very proud of herself when she pushes them. She loves her books, especially her dog book (ut-oh). She's a dare devil, which inevitably leads to bruises, bumps, and blood blisters, and surprisingly not too many tears. This morning she woke up with a snotty nose, but the doctor said she has 2 more teeth coming in up top and most likely the snot is in relation to that. She is a boogery mess.

Since breast-feeding has slowed down, I've had to pick up my running, so we run 4 miles a day now, which we don't mind considering the weather has been amazing. AND the geese haven't bothered us since I last wrote, thank goodness.

Alright, that's it for now!

Multi-Purpose Toys

These toys/objects may not be intended to be used in more than one way, but Elsa found ways...Enjoy!

To walk...

Or to climb...

To swat at...

Or to topple over...

Or stand and hit the button that changes the song...

To sleep...

Or to pull the decorations off the wall...

To sit in...

Or to crawl under...

Or walk around...

To store dishes...or to sit in. Good thing it was already empty. :)

Thank you, Elsa, for entertaining yourself with your toys as long as possible.

Happy 9 months!

It was a beautiful day today! 80 and sunny! Elsa and I ran over to Grandma's to take some pictures on the back porch, and then ran back to the house to hang out by the pool for a little while. We are so glad that Spring is on its way!

Happy 9 months big girl!

Stats and new tricks to come...

The Evil Embden Geese

Ok, here they are. Brittany helped me find them online. Watch out!

8 Months

I guess I should get my 8 month blog written considering Elsa is turning 9 months old next week...eee!

Well let's see. Elsa starting eating solids a little more consistently come January. It seems as though her favorite food is avocado. She didn't seem to care for much else for a while, but now she will eat anything you put in front of her. She's a good eater like her mommy and daddy. She eats her green vegetables a little faster than everything else, so I guess that's good.

As for everything else that has happened...

- Her second tooth came in

- She claps

- She waves

- Walks around the furniture. Goes from couch to coffee table to glider, etc. LOVES her walker.

- Got her flu booster :( but she was a champ with no tears

- Eats finger foods (Puffs, cheese cubes, banana, broccoli, cauliflower, pancakes)

- Says her "G's"

- Praises the Lord, so sweet. I have been trying to get a picture/video of it, but have not succeeded yet. I forget about the camera when she's doing it the best, I'm just savoring the moments.

We made a trip up to Monroe the first weekend of February. It was an emotional weekend with the passing of one of Shane's friend's dad, but we were thankful that we could be there.

The next week, Elsa and I met up with a friend of mine and her little girl. We met a couple other friends at Panera and then came back to the house for them to play together. They didn't pay much attention to each other, but we have met up once a week the past few weeks and they are noticing each other more and more. I've really enjoyed having Brittany to walk and talk with. Here are a couple pictures of the girls.

Elsa has definitely formed her own little schedule that she likes to stick to, and I like it to, so I'm glad we are on the same page. ;) She is still very easy and fun loving. We continue to go on our runs most mornings after her nap. The weather hasn't been consistent, which has been annoying, but on nice days, it's a fun little outing. There are these 2 horrible birds at the park that have gone after us a few times, which has been a bit terrifying. I've had to turn around and go the other way a few time because they have started running and hissing at us. The most recent attempt of an attack, a man came running down the hill with his dog to scare them away...very kind of him, but it didn't work. :( If it were just me, I'd kick them and ring their necks, but with Elsa, I just leave them be. I don't know what they are, but they are gross. Next time I'll take a picture and have y'all tell me what they are.

And here are a few pictures to end the 8 month updates...enjoy!

Elsa helping daddy with homework.

Elsa helping mommy with laundry.

Taking dirty laundry out of the hamper.

Getting ready to head out somewhere? Not sure.

Daddy giving Elsa her Valentine's day flower. She wanted to eat it so bad.

'Til next week!

Daddy's Girl