The Mother Load

Each afternoon, Elise typically goes down for a nap (and sometimes I do too). She doesn't always sleep. In fact, sometimes she'll read books or listen to music (yes, she's figured out how to work her radio and can turn her CDs on....she even knows how to adjust the volume). This afternoon was no different. Except that at 4:30 I realized that both of us were still sleeping....not good considering we're usually up and moving by 3:30. Paul said he didn't realize how late it was either and it was still quiet upstairs, so he wasn't worried.

Paul went upstairs to get Elise and before waking her, came to get me. I was struck by the terrible smell coming from her bed. But then I noticed that Elise's big girl bed was covered with all of her CDs, completely disassembled and littered around her. Cute at first, except that some of the covers were torn and ripped. As I was changing Elise's very smelly diaper, she's crying and doesn't want to have her pants changed. I'm not too concerned, as this is not all that uncommon. Then we find the mother load.....while we thought Elise was sounding sleeping, she was in fact shredding Kleenex and hiding the evidence behind her bed (reminds me of a story about my sister Beth and her underwear). We pulled the bed away from the wall and asked Elise what happened. She's now sobbing, as if to say that she knows what she's done (remorse?). Guess who got to clean up her mess. I guess that's punishment enough. :>)

Elise will be 2 on October 6th. I'm sensing that the 'terrible twos' are already in full swing!

Watch What You Say

Elise is at a very impressionable age now. She's been repeating a lot of what we say, but today's the first day that she's actually said a full sentence/phrase.....a full day after she last heard it. Briscoe, being the puppy that she is, has been a troublemaker the last couple of weeks, from peeing in the house to shredding tissue to just being a pest. At the height of her troublemaking, I've said to Briscoe, "I'm gonna beat you." Just a figure of speech, not that I would ever inflict much pain. Paul reminded me just last night that I might not want to say that anymore because of Elise's propensity to repeat things. He was so right! I've once again learned my lesson. We were riding in the car this morning and Elise is saying, "I'm gonna beat you" over and over again. I couldn't believe my ears. Now we're going through detox of that phrase!

So if you're around Elise in the near future, please watch what you say.

Thud! (Big Girl Bed Update)

Elise fell out of bed last night. Paul said it was around 12:15a (I was already sleeping, but he was still up). When he heard the thud, we went up to check on her. Although she was crying, she was trying hard to get back into bed by herself. He tucked her back in, turned on her music, and after a few minutes, she was back to sleep. No harm done! This morning she was as happy as can be. Good thing kids are resilient.

Briscoe's First Birthday

Briscoe had her first Birthday on Saturday. Sadly, we didn't do much to celebrate. I did give her some beef broth on her afternoon kibbles, but I'm not sure this made her feel particularly well.

Although she's 1 (or 7 in dog years?), she still has the energy of a puppy. She loves to play with Elise and I wouldn't be surprised if she'll be sleeping in Elise's room before too long. She knows several commands (sit, wait, down, off, roll-over and shake). She's still not great at going for walks, but that's my fault for not taking her regularly.

Today, she had her hair cut at Perfect Pets Dog Salon. Paul says he'd shave her every now and again if I'd pay him what I pay Perfect Pets....it is pricey, but she sure does look and smell better. Funny thing is, I have to take her every 6-8 weeks and it costs more than I pay for my own haircut. There is something wrong with that!

Our Big Girl

Today marked another big milestone for Elise! Grandma and Grandpa Kloosterman brought over her big-girl bed (the twin beds that the Bonner girls used as kids). And tonight, as we speak, she's sleeping on it. It took her a little while to fall asleep, but she didn't cry much. She was listening to her music, talking to "Baby" and "Ralphie" and playing with her new pillows and blankets. (...sigh...) She's practically all grown up. Where does the time go?

Our only fear is that she'll fall out of bed or that we'll wake up in the middle of the night with Elise sandwiched in between us!

Locked Out

I was outside this afternoon letting Briscoe out to do her business. Elise was patiently waiting at the front door. A few moments later, Elise said, "I want to close the door." Okay. No problem. Only when Briscoe was finished and we went to go in, the door was locked. Yes, that's right. Elise locked us out of the house. And to top it off, she kept pulling the window treatment aside as if to tease me that she was inside and I was out.

With Paul in Milwaukee, I'm thankful for remote garage door keypads....

Apple Jon

This is 'Apple Jon'. At least that's what Elise affectionately calls him. Funny....when shown a picture of her other uncle, she says 'Uncle Rudi'. I'm sure there are other nicknames for Jon that I don't know about....

The Great Houdini

Elise never ceases to amaze me. While in Memphis, we learned that she can escape from her Pack-n-play. Okay, I can deal with that. Yesterday, we found out that Elise can climb out of her crib. In fact, while in a 2-minute time out, it became so quiet upstairs, I began to wonder what was going on. When Paul went to check on her, Elise was standing at the top of the stairs. She climbed out so stealthily, we didn't even know.

Houdini strikes again. While supposedly taking a nap this afternoon, we hear the click of her door. Elise once again climbed out, went to her bookcase to get a book, and was ready to head down the stairs. I'm at a loss for words. She's going to have to work on her Alcatraz escape plan if she wants to get past me!

I think it's time to think very seriously about a big-girl bed (and maybe a lock for the outside of her door). :>)

Mud Island River Park

While in Memphis, Jon took us to the Mud Island River Walk. Libby was content pushing her stroller around the park, but Elise loved the Mississippi! Here's proof:

Libby's New Teeth

Come on, Libby.....smile for the camera. Cheese!