All The Cute Things Toddlers Do

It has been a long time since I have updated. So I am going to give you a rundown of all the cute things Elsi says and does now. First and foremost she talks. Granted it's 14 month old jibberish but she does say Mama. Alot! It has gotten Levi a little Jealous. He is always trying to get her to say Dada. Elsi also has said No a few times and Bye and Hi. Ms. Berta our caretaker has said that she also has said Berta. Which I don't know if I believe that entirely or not. Oh and she says Mae Mae. Elsi loves her Mae Mae. Megan and her friend Caitlyn were leaving one day and I told them bye from the living room and Elsi took off through the kitchen and into the family room waving and saying Bye as Megan Left. It was too cute!!
Like any toddler she also loves to DANCE!! She claps her hands and bounces up and down. She was getting down to the Black Eyed Peas last night during the Grammys.
Wow, she does so much and it's all so cute I don't know where else to go with this.
We are gearing up for Mardi Gras. Megan is marching in a few of the big parades so Elsi will be getting to go to her first Mardi Gras Parade soon. It should be pretty exciting and I will be sure to post lots of pictures. Until then Megan has brought home some Mardi Gras Beads she got at a smaller parade over the weekend and Elsi has had so much fun with them. She puts them around her neck and then of course trips on them. She also swings them around and if your not careful hits you with them!
Well I will try to post more often and I will definitely update after Mardi Gras with pictures.

My Baby is Walking

Elsi is walking now. I know I am posting this a little late. I have been so busy chasing around a One Year Old. She took her first steps a little over a month ago. Then about a week later she just took off. I was working late one night, when Levi, My Husband, calls to tell me she walked from the Sink all the way to the Hallway. She hasn't stopped since. She even tries to run. Although she hasn't quite gotten the balance and footing for it yet. It almost always ends in her falling. But she gets right back up and goes again.

Elsi is the Big 1 Year Old

You know that old saying that "Time Flies when you are having fun", Well it is SO True. My baby Elsi is no longer a baby. She is a whopping One Year Old. She's a toddler now and she very much acts like it. She walks, she talks, She gets into cabinets, She Tears things up, She leaves toys all about the house. I am still in shock that it has been a whole year. Her Birthday Party was a big hit. We had it back in Oklahoma so all our family could attend. I couldn't believe it, but they did ALL attend. The place was packed. She got tons of gifts. The big kids helped her open them. Actually after the first one, she was pretty much done. She got off a big piece of wrapping paper and she felt like that was all she wanted. We had to coax her into opening the rest of them.

She Got Lots of Wonderful Gifts. A little People Dollhouse, A big Barbie Dollhouse (that we haven't put together yet), a Pink Rocking Horse, a Fisher Price Kitchen, The list goes on and on. I now wonder where I am expected to put all these toys. Her toy rooms is already overflowing into my living room and kitchen, and we still have Christmas Coming!!! I also want to send a big thanks to Jim and Hazel Hogan for letting us use the RV Park Office for the party and Brent and Judy for the Finks Hideway Pizza and the Beautiful cake!!!

Elsi's New Trick "Bye"

My Baby girl is getting so big. As you all know we will be celebrating a birthday in 10 days. Elsi will be the big "1" year old. She even has a new trick to show off. She is getting to where she will wave and say "bye". The best moment yet with her new trick was during dinner the other night. She was ready to stop eating and I could tell because she was sighing and then taking another bite. Well when she finally had enough of it, instead of turning her head back and forth away from me she looked at me, put her little hand up and waved bye bye. Then she told me "Bye". It was like, "alright I have had enough so go away." It was pretty funny.

Happy Halloween

Well Halloween has come and gone and we still have tons of candy left over. But what a Great Halloween we had this year. Friday night before halloween we had a party at our new house. Everybody came and we had such a great time. Levi was a werewolf and I was the Lady MadHatter. Our Beautiful Elsi Bug was a Lady Bug. She was a beautiful ladybug. She had a great time at the party. Some of our neighbors and co workers have kids and grand kids and there were kids everywhere. Most of the children were older than Elsi but that didn't stop her from having fun and playing with the big kids. Saturday was a little rough for Levi and I. Our last guest didn't leave until 4:30 a.m. I took Megan shopping that Saturday for a dress for her homecoming dance and then we came home and the girls got all dressed up. Elsi back in her ladybug outfit, Megan as Pocahontas and Megan's friend Caitlyn was dressed as a bunny. They all looked so cute. We went to my coworker Mike's house and trick or treated with his family. Levi stayed home to hand out candy. Elsi loved trick or treating and his neighborhood really goes all out. One guy had a popcorn machine and was handing out full size bags of skittles and candybars and another home had a cotton candy machine and was handing out capri suns and juice boxes. I hope all of you had a Halloween just as magical as ours.

Amazing Mommas

Over the weekend I realized that it is more than just childbirth that makes moms amazing. It's all the other things we manage to do and learn after we have children. Now Don't get me wrong, I still think that a woman giving birth to a child is amazing. But it takes more than just childbirth to be an amazing mom, any woman can give birth. It takes special women to be amazing mommas though.
This weekend I learned that not only am I a Gourmet Chef, Maid, Taxi Driver, and Nurse. I am also a diaper Genie repair woman, a ribbon Mobile Maker, a toy assembler and a washer repair woman. Out of all the things I do and I have become as a mother, this weekend my most Proud moment I have to say would be repairing the Diaper Genie. Because who else can say.......I took apart and repaired a diaper genie and then managed to get it back together again without breaking it more!!!

Sick Babies, Sleeping Babies

Well over Labor day weekend Elsi was sick. Very sick. I picked her up from daycare on Friday afternoon and our daycare provider Ms. Berta said that she was a little fussy today and may be running a slight fever. I felt her and she did feel hot. As soon as I got her home, I took her temperature. Which, by the way, isn't easy to do. She kicks and moves around and it's hard to keep the thermometer in place. Anywho, her temperature was more than just slight, it was almost so high we would have had to taken her to the hospital. It was 103.7. So of course I freaked out and immediately called the Ochsner On Call Nurse. She gave me advice what to do, and said if possible keep her out of the emergency room. Because if she's not ill with the swine flu, they didn't want to run the risk of her coming in and getting it. We have had a large outbreak of it here then area. Needless to say, Friday was a very long night. First thing the next morning, I took Elsi to the Pediatrician. I told her Doctor all her symptoms and told her she may have come into contact with a boy with the Pig Flu. My friends son had it just the week before. So the doctor began checking her over before sticking the q-tip up her nose. As she was looking in her mouth, she says "well it's not the swine flu, it's hand, foot, and mouth disease" She had little ulcers in her mouth and she was breaking out with a rash. The Doctor said it's nothing to worry about and that almost all kids get it. It will go away in a few days and unfortunately there isn't a lot we can do about it, but keep her hydrated. So Elsi got to start eating popsicles that weekend, and she loved them! After our dr appointment she was feeling alot better. She did throw up some, mainly all over me. But isn't that what babies do best. Anyways, She is all better now. It cleared up by Tuesday. But since then she hasn't been sleeping through the night and being very difficult.

So as of last night we are trying the whole put her to bed still awake and let her cry. Just check on her every five minutes, but do not pick her up. Needless to say no one slept, but she did eventually put herself to sleep, while momma laid in bed and cried. It's so hard to let her cry like that. Daddy handles it much better than I do. We will see how long we can keep this up. Tonight is my night to check on her when she cries.