Mothers Day at F's School

Finley's school had a little Mothers Day celebration a couple of weeks ago.  Moms came to school and did crafts with the kids...

...and then the kids sang us a song...

...and then they gave us a couple of gifts they made.

It was great to get to spend some Finley and Mommy time together, because we don't have a whole lot of that 1-on-1 time these days.  But it also threw Finley off his game a bit, which I wasn't really anticipating (i.e. much more emotional-- both joy and screaming tantrums-- all day).  The excitement that day was almost too much to handle, and Finley just couldn't be confined to the neat rows of singing children.  :)

Diversity in America

This short video makes some great points, and it's hilarious.  Had to share.

8 Months Old

Our sweet girl is 8 months old now!  Here is Elise at 8 months:

• Got her first tooth this week!  (Update: A few days later, another tooth!)
• Wearing 3-6 month, 6 month, 9 month, or 6-12 month size clothing, depending on brand
• Can only wear dresses for short periods of time (i.e. church), as they are not conducive to her active lifestyle (she gets all caught up in them when crawling)
• Loves to go to the Stanley playroom and crawl around and climb on the soft toys there
• Starting to grow back her hair
• A bit of a screecher (Teething, or copying big brother??)
• Pulls up and stands leaning against something or holding on with one or both hands
• Walks holding onto our hands, but still wobbly
• Can climb up stairs...thank goodness we don't have any!
• Takes 2 naps a day (unless she wakes up super early, then 3)
• Has tried lots of different baby food purees and is now working on finger foods
• Dances to music occasionally (super cute!!)
• Loves to play with Finley's toys more than her own
• Will let us dunk her underwater in the pool without crying
• Can clap

 So hard to get them both to look and smile!

Roughhousing with Daddy  

Sweet potatoes and asparagus.  Serious business.

And just for fun, here is a flashback to Finley when he was around 8 months

Sitting Pretty

Elise has been so busy crawling, pulling up, standing, and walking (with help, of course) that she didn't really sit still long enough to learn to sit up unassisted until about 7 months old.  Once she tried it, she learned quickly and is now a pro at sitting on her bum or her knees.  

I still can't believe how mobile Elise is for her age.  We walk in to get her out of the crib after a nap, and she's standing up with only one hand holding on to the crib, the other up in the air!  At 7 1/2 months!  And this week, Elise has gotten the crazy idea that she should try standing on her own, so sometimes she'll just let go and give it a try. Of course, she definitely does not have the balance to stand on her own yet, but she sure is brave to try.  We're proud of our little go-getter!

Elise still doesn't sit still for long before she's off to discover something new, as you can see here.  I had to snap the previous pictures by distracting her with toys and being very quick with the camera!

Now this is much more rare than capturing Elise sitting still: both children being still long enough to read a book with Daddy and cuddle under the blanket!  (Okay, let's be honest-- it only lasted a page or two, but it was nice even just for that long. :)  I had to document the moment!

Peek-a-Boo with Elise

Elise was actually doing this for quite a while, but the video camera battery died.  Whoops.
I can't believe that she figured out how to hide her face in the bed and play peek-a-boo at such a young age!  Crazy!  And super cute.  :)

April Video

Click here for a little video of Elise at 7 months and Finley making phone calls to his teacher.

7 Months Old!

We can't believe our little Elise is 7 months old this week!  It sounds so old, probably because we're now inching away from birth and closer to 1 year.  But let's not think about that yet and just savor these next 5 months of official babyhood!  

At 7 months old, Elise is constantly on the go.  She can crawl like a pro, pull up on anything and everything, and is starting to "cruise".  (This means she requires a constant spotter to make sure she doesn't forget to hold on and just fall over!)  Despite being an active little one, Elise likes to cuddle when she is getting tired.  Elise can clap her hands, and has her first tooth just sitting under her gum taking its good, sweet time to come in.  Elise especially loves to get into Finley's toys, as you can see in the first picture!

And we can't forget the big brother!  Here he is reading us "The Itsy Bitsy Spider", in true teacher form.  :)