Elin, 20 months

Sweet Elin, though hard to believe, is already 20 months old. I'm having a hard time with that one. She is nearly two years old!  How can that be?  So much to say about her, but yet I think I have already said it before.  I think she is just becoming sweeter, more loving, more precise in her communication, and more of a joy to have in our family every day.  She has my heart for sure... and of course she has Keith's.  Now that is a sweet sight to see.  She loves her Daddy for sure.

 Some of her favorite things:

1.    Slides.  She loves them and can spot them from a mile away while on walks or in the car.
2.    Being outside ("side").  She would run and play and wander in circles outside all day if
       possible.
3.    Cheese, cheese, and did I say cheese?  A day without cheese is a sad day for Elin.
4.    Her baby. She feeds her, tells her "night night"and tells me when she is "shew wee"
       needing a diaper change.
5.    Bible. Wants it in bed with her at naps and at night time.
6.    Shoes and bows.  Her first request in the mornings. Crazy huh?
7.    Scarecrows.  She so inquisitively studies their painted on faces.
8.    Fuzzy caterpillar and Itsy Bitsy Spider (songs)
9.    Music in the car.
10.  When she hears the house alarm beep indicating that Daddy is home.  The squealing &
        laughter is intense and such a precious sight.

Love you "E."

Elin, 19 Months

“Oh SISTER!!” We’ve been saying and hearing that a lot around the house lately.  Elin, now 19 months is full of energy, independence and just plain, down right cuteness! Caution: I am about to just download some sweet, funny, and statistical things that most likely no one cares about BUT me…I just don’t want to forget this amazing stage that Elin is at right now.

                                             

                                              (Tending our little fall garden.)

So the stats first.  At Elin’s last Dr’s appt (supposed to be her 18 month check up; actually done at 19 because I was procrastinating on getting shots!) she weighed: 23 pounds and was 33 inches long, I think. Ha! I was having a hard time paying attention to the height measurement.

At the appt, she was extremely aware of her environment, which was demonstrated by the blood-curdling scream that was followed immediately with crying in horror when the nurse called her name to leave the waiting room.  It wasn’t a fit; actually, she was literally scared senseless! She screamed the entire time the nurse was weighing and measuring her.  Once we got in the room she calmed… until the pediatrician came in.  She took one look at him and let him experience the pain of your ears ringing following one of her extreme screams.  We’ll just say that the dr.’s office is not her favorite.  We also enjoyed the same response when I took her with me to a quick optometrist appt.  Who would’ve thought?  Nonetheless, she is a smart little cookie (or “key- coo” as she would say.)

(Loves to ring the door bell.)

I am amazed at her language skills & I have not done anything different with her than I did Jake; and actually if I had, it would be considered less than what I did with Jake but she is way ahead of where he was at this age.  She is using new words daily and putting 2-3 words together often.   One fun thing she repeatedly says is,“ Jake…K?, Mommy…K?, Daddy….K?” Each time she asks someone the question she leans her head forward and then shakes her head saying, “yes.”  EVERY TIME.  She also tells us that she loves us, in the same manner.  “jake… I love you.”  “I know” means “I don’t know. “  “you?” means, “hold my hand and help me down” from where she is like the porch stairs or a step stool.  “Side?” means, “can we go outside?” Words like, “baby, Bible, book, out, down, doll, ‘quack” (duck) cheese, eat, ball, water, ‘moan’ (for phone) Loa, jake, and mommy & daddy” also get strung together in some pretty interesting phrases.  I think she just likes to hear herself use all of those fancy new words. 

I would have to say playing outside and reading books are her main interests during playtime. She likes to swing but she LOVES to “lide.” (slide).    She will also often bring a few toys into the kitchen when I am cooking dinner and put them on the floor and then she says, “sit down!…. Play?”   She also still loves to try on shoes and bows when playing in her room.  Usually the first thing she requests when she gets up in the morning is her shoes and sometimes her bow (which is really a clip, she doesn’t love bows really). Crazy girl!

 

Bedtime is pretty unique with her as well.  She will not allow me to hold her while we do our bedtime routine.  She must be sitting next to me in the chair and not always am I allowed to put my arm around her.  (so opposite from Mr. “I need some holding” Jake.)  She does have some favorite books, Oh My Oh My Dinosaurs and Pajama time, both by Sandra Boynton.  She calls the latter, “DE- BOP!” Pretty cute; especially if you are familiar with the book.  Itsy Bitsy has been replaced with her new favorite song Fuzzy Caterpillar. So after I wrap up her routine at bedtime she gets in her crib and waits for Keith.  He lays by her crib for a few minutes and talks to her almost every night.  She loves to put her feet through the slats of the bed and she lets Keith rub her toes.  She occasionally puts her baby’s feet through there too for Keith to rub as well.  I am near certain he obliges.   Love you Sis!

Pre-K! Woot Woot!

(Thanks for holding the chalkboard sign Jake.  I know you really didn't want to.)

Finally, Finally, Finally Jake started Pre-K yesterday.  He has been asking me when he is going back to school since his last day of daycare last July!  This boy loves school!  Even though I have worked with him at home, he still so COULD NOT wait to go back to school.  So he is going to Concord Baptist preschool on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings for 3 hours a day. He was super excited when he woke up yesterday & he did great when we took him to his class (so great he forgot to give his momma a hug...he got reminded though.) and he was still thrilled when I picked him up. We went and had lunch with our neighborhood friend who is in his class to wrap a great first day of Pre-K!  Last night when I put him to bed, I told him that I was so glad he loved his day and had a blast at school but then I said, "but just so you know, I really missed you being with me."  He looked at me with an endearing and yet proud smile & said, "Well, this is what we will do next time I go to school.  You can hold your hand out like this (palm open), & I'll kiss it.  Then you can close your hand tight and put it in your pocket.  Then when you start to miss me, just get it out of your pocket and put it like this (placing his hand on his cheek)."  So smart & thoughtful!  I think someone read The Kissing Hand at school today.  (If you've never read the book, it is super cute.)  What a memorable day, I love you Jake!

Elin, 18 Months

Sis, here, is 18 months old as of Monday & look at that little GIRL in the picture.  Elin is changing so quickly and growing more independent every day; although she has displayed a strong, determined character for quite sometime now.

So lets see, what has she been up to lately?  Well she is pretty much constant motion; however, if I think back to Jake at this age, he definitely wins in that area.  Nevertheless,  she seems to move with complete determination, appearing to always be on a mission.  She doesn't really run all that much, but she  definitely  marches.  When she does run though (usually trying to catch up with Jake), her whole torso twists with excitement.  Love that toddler run.  

I can't even really keep up with all the new vocabulary she is gaining, but a couple of my favorites are "Jesus" and "amen" (may-men).  So precious!  She also has begun to call me "Becca" occasionally.  From down stairs, when I was upstairs, she called, "Becca?...Where are you?" Craziness, I tell you.  I so love language acquisition and I find the differences between children so fun and somewhat amazing really.  So to all my pedi SLP friends (I have no I idea if they read this), what do you think? Is it boy vs. girl, birth order, personality or what?? Another funny thing she does while communicating is, she tucks her chin down into her neck and it makes her voice a little deep and gruff...this is her serious voice and for some reason it is usually reserved for Keith.  Ha!

She still has her foot/ shoe fetish, loving to try on her shoes over and over again.  Nearly every morning the first thing she will say after I get her out of her crib is, "fwops! fwops!" requesting her flip-flops.  She also likes bringing every one's shoes to them in the morning.  Frequently she points out my toenail polish & nods her head saying, "yeah, yeah,"

 Elin is loving her books and reading times with mom or dad at nap time and bed time.  She is becoming more interactive during reading, making animal sounds, pointing particular objects out when asked and completing motions (like in Eric Carle's, I Can Do It.)  Her favorite song is still Itsy  Bitsy Spider.

Her favorite play mate...well Jake of course.  Like any younger sibling, she watches him, follows him, & tries to do all things he does like sitting on the couch like him, blowing bubbles  in the bath or pool, or initiating a game of "catch me" etc.   So far, he welcomes this & is so proud when he is able to teach her something new or help take care of her.  When we were talking about what it means to be a friend one day, I asked him who he thought was a great friend.  I was fully expecting him to say me (just being honest) or maybe Keith.  He said, "Mom, Elin is my best friend."  

We love love love this little child so much, she brings so much laughter, love, & a little extra quirkiness  to our family.  Thank you, God, for entrusting Elin Kate to us.  Love you "E."

Weekend at the Beach... Kind of

So I have really been wanting to make it to the beach since we have moved to Knox, it's only 8 hours away now!  That just has NOT happened, but this weekend we did make it to a state that HAS a beach... does that count?   We went maybe 10 miles into North Carolina to visit Lake Santeetlah.  We thought it was beautiful and had just a relaxing fun time playing on the beach and in the swimming area.  Here are a few more than a few pics.

So Jake and I started out the afternoon with building a sand castle.....

& this is what we got from Miss Priss

She just wasn't having it.... until her Daddy got her belly full.  Then she was a much happier camper. 

We all worked on sand castles on and off all day... I think we might need lessons, but it was fun none the less.  

Elin marched up and down the beach most of the afternoon, splashing in the water, playing  in the sand, and introducing herself to many strangers.

I'm a HAM..                                                      

Oh Yea, I am a HAM

No I'm not...I'm Serious

(I love this one)

                            And someone ate a few too many oreos, but we won't say who...

Jake and Keith did fish some, Keith said that Jake was quite the caster.  But no luck catching anything.  I think Jake would have stayed until dark, he had a blast playing in the water and the sand.

 And they were out within about 10 minutes of the drive home; which was great because Keith & I actually got to talk the entire way home.  What a fun day!

Elin @ 17 Months

I promise that our family does more than just celebrate Elin every other month or so, contrary to the blog posts that are all about HER!  We have been busy busy busy enjoying our summer including a wonderful trip back to TX, lots of swimming at the neighborhood pool, swimming lessons for Jake, and exploring our new city on Saturdays when Keith is up for an adventure on his day off.  Maybe I can post some highlights of the summer at a later time.

It seems that over the past 2 months Elin has left her baby days well behind and is in full blown toddlerhood!  I personally LOVE the baby stage; but love, love, love the toddler stage of development.  I love to watch the language explode, the desire for independence and thus frustration & tantrums begin!  Really, it's true because it is so intriguing to me to begin to see them problem solve, learn, grow, & then observe their satisfaction in accomplishment of even the little things (which are HUGE for them).  Some of the little things for Elin right now are climbing on and off the couch by herself, climbing up the stairs on her own, and she's still working on feeding herself (and she is oh SO proud when Mommy does not have to help!) She grins and nods her head proudly with most accomplishments.

Her language is really taking off with something new almost every few days.  She frequently puts two words together and sometimes three.  Some of her phrases are: dank you, I down, I eat, I book, I ready, where's bebe?, where's Woa (Loa)?, where's Dake, Daddy, Cwacka? (cracker: any food item.  Which has changed from "brito" last month.) She is also pointing, shrugging shoulders, and practically any other way she can carry on with her hands she will while communicating.

Speaking of "cwackas" and "britos," any ideas on where all that food is going?!? Look at that TUM!

She has taken a huge growth spurt since her last dr.'s visit increasing from the 10th percentile in weight to the 30th and the 50th in height to the 65th. (22 lb. 3 ounces  and 31 1/2 inches)

A few of Elins favorite things to do now: 

Sitting on ANY ledge or step available:

Playing in the water...even Loa's water dish

                                      

She loves her accessories:

She also loves to chase Jake's cars that go racing across the playroom floor & she loves her "bebe" and often requests her at bedtime and wakes her in the morning to go to breakfast.  So cute.  She is enjoying reading more everyday & that is not such a persuasion on our part anymore.  She also loves to swing whenever possible. Also one last thing, rather person that she LOVES; to say the very least, is her Uncle John.  When we were in TX we got to see him several days that we were there.  Let's just say that no one else really mattered too much when he was around.  I haven't seen her respond to anyone quite like this! Seriously look at this face!

Sister "E" at 15 months

Elin turned 15 months near the end of May, so it is only fitting that I attempt to record a few things for her 15th month before 16 months is here!  Oh well, trust me, this is not the only thing that I am behind on!  Here is a sweet pic of the little Miss when we took Nana and Pop to The Smokies  during their visit.

Elin's language is really picking up, with lots of new words and although I feel that her receptive skills have been noticeably progressing for several months, now she is consistently expressing that she understands with strong, "DO" for "no" and energetic head nods for "yes." New words: "Wowa" = Loa, "soos" = shoes, "bobby" = mommy, "bye, bye," "hi," "go," "down"= up or down,  "eddy" = ready, & "nummy, nummy, nummy" = anything that tastes good.   She also loves to show you her belly & find your nose and eyes. See below for proof.

She definitely has her moments of being independent also.  She does NOT want to be fed, she only wants finger foods unless you can sneak a bite from a spoon into her little mouth to entice her...then she MIGHT allow you to load a spoon for her to self feed.  She also doesn't want her hand to be held while walking, even if she's going 90 to nothing, swinging her left arm all the way down the hill of our drive way!

She likes to play with any ball, of which she will throw and say "go!" immediately followed by  her determined fast paced march to go retrieve it only to do the same routine again & again! She likes to play peek-a-boo (except she says, "bo!'), sometimes only covering one eye... or sometimes putting her hands on her temples instead of eyes.  Playing peek a boo with daddy in the morning when he gets her up has become expected. Her favorite song is Itsy Bitsy Spider  & she really loves the flap board books.

Thanks to our dear friend Janda and her girls, Elin has more shoes than the rest of the household combined & she loves them.  A favorite game to play is dress up with shoes and hair clips.  She will get a pair of shoes, bring them to you, sit in your lap and say "soos?" We put them on and then she will go get another pair of "soos."   (Unless you try to get her to wear pink furry boots, and let me tell ya, she won't have it! she shakes her head saying "do, do, do" and it might turn into a fit if ya push it.) Keith will do this with her, literally for an hour. One day I came home from doing errands & they both  had multiple clips in their hair and Elin was still trying on shoes! ( didn't get a pic of that one!)

Elin loves to go on stroller rides and be outside of course and she still loves her "dake." She is somewhat stingy with her hugs and kisses, but often now when she first sees "dake" in the morning she  tells him to come to her with her hands and then she takes both of her hands to his face and gives him that wonderful toddler open mouth smooch.  So sweet.  Love you "E."

Then & Now at Four Years Old!?!

THEN:

& NOW:

"Oh my goodness where does the time go?" has been the trademark saying of near every older person that I meet in various places when I have my children with me.  Or how about this one, "Enjoy every moment, it goes so quickly!" Or the one that makes me cringe, "enjoy them while they are young, because when they get to be teenagers..." (you know the rest of this very negative statement).  The list of these could go on but here is the scary realization that I have come to,  they are all too true!  Our time with our man Jake has gone so quickly, even though we really make our best attempt to relish the moments raising and loving him.  But guess what?  He is FOUR as of tomorrow!  Happy birthday Jake! 

Here is a little bit about Jake at age FOUR:

Jake loves most all people & rarely knows a stranger.

Jake LOVES wrestling.

Jake cherishes bedtime books and songs with mommy.

Jake protects, calms, & distracts his little sister like a pro.

Jake really wants another baby, preferably a boy, so he can name him "Jake."

Jake doctors his precious Loa.

Jake is fascinated by cartoons of Diego & stories of Maxamillion (a monkey) from Dad.

Jake often has imaginary visitors named, Joey (another monkey), Diego, & Dora.

Jake has a good sense of style & a strong opinion of what he & MOMMY wear!?!

Jake pretend plays with visits from the big, bad, wolf,  a sloth, and occasionally Goliath.

Jake frequently turns into a puppy and crawls around panting with Loa and attempts to recruit Elin too.

Jake often goes on walks or errands dressed as Superman.

Jake loves to plant flowers and dig in the back yard.

Jake is a great baker & an even better taste tester.

Jake's face falls and heart breaks when his sister screams bloody murder in his face, or detests him at all.

Jake puts his trains to bed under the couch.

Jake wants desperately to ride Jesus's horse when we get to Heaven.

Jake loves water & swimming lessons.

Jake loves picnics & popsicles on the front porch with Mom.

Jake loves to be read to & is loving learning to read.

Jake jumps, squirms, wiggles, or flies himself everywhere all day long.

Jake loves to clean, fold, and re-fold.

Jake's right arm is often an airplane and his mouth is full of little boy sound effects.

& last but not least,

Jake has, probably, the kindest heart that I know.

Love you Jake, Happy Birthday!