Baby Blog

Fun Book!

noreply@blogger.com (Josh and Liz) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:09:00 +0000

Ok, I said no more posts on the baby blog... but I found this fun site to make a book and had to share it. You can actually make a book that is up to 20 pages long and then order it for only $13. I thought this was so cool! :)

I've been trying to get it to embed in the screen here, but it won't work... so here's the link instead.

http://www.mixbook.com/books?pid=2601000

Enjoy! :)

First Birthday... finally!

noreply@blogger.com (Josh and Liz) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 12:53:00 +0000

Ok, so I realize that this post is LOOOONG overdue. But I had to sort through all of the pictures and pick which ones I wanted, and it's been a busy couple of weeks. THEN, I started trying to upload the pictures to blogger, and kept getting an error message. So then I had to go back through and resize all of the images, and THEN it let me upload them. So, as you can see, I have at least been trying to get this post done since Saturday... still really late, but, hey, better late than never! :) If I EVER had a weekend off, I might get stuff done faster!! :)

Anyway, on to the birthday festivities! As I already posted, the party really started on Friday. Since I already posted some pictures, I just found these two that were too cute, so I had to add them.

Elena, modeling the CUTE birthday hat Aunt Ruthie got her! She wasn't a huge fan, but it sure looked adorable!

Gotta love Uncle Charlie!

On Saturday, the day of the party, we actually started off with a playdate with Elena's friends Charlotte and Ella, and their mommies, my friends Liz H. and April. The girls are all 3 months apart, so it's really fun to see them all together. Extra helpful for me, because I can get an idea of what to expect over the next couple months! The other two girls were very sweet about giving kisses!

Hanging out with Mommy...

Truman was less than pleased to have not one, but THREE toddlers in the house! Especially when Miss Charlie was immediately infatuated with his tail! He looked like he had a mohawk within seconds, because she rubbed his fur backwards, too. Despite the look, however, he still lolled about in the middle of the living room, so he obviously didn't mind too much!
Yummy, yummy... nothing as delicious as a giant Lego! Check out the cute dress that Liz H. made! It's reversible, and totally adorable.
These shots just CRACK me up... so we wanted a picture of all 3 girls. Yeah, this is what we got...

And finally a good one! Or at least one where we can see all of the faces. But the girls were not very happy by this point because we took all of the balloons away!
I don't know when we took this one... but I think it's adorable! She's hugging the cow that Aunt Jessica got her for her birthday. It unfolds into a pillow, and is really soft and totally cute!
And now onto the party! The decorations were pretty simple, but looked great! Which means, obviously I wasn't in charge of them! Ellen took care of that, starting with this really cute "poster" that she made, that is actually a really cute blanket! What a good idea!
The cake... slightly more colorful than I had imagined, but still cute. And really good, even a week later (yes, we were still eating it). Thanks, Hyvee!
The birthday girl in her birthday dress. This was the EXACT dress that I wanted. And this picture just SCREAMED onery to me! I get the feeling we're in for an exciting life raising this little girl! Hanging out with Grandma Price & Great Grandma De!
This was Elena's favorite toy all evening-- it was a card that sang Happy Birthday. Unfortunately, it was so annoying that it eventually just "disappeared!"
Making faces with Grandpa Looten... and eating a club cracker, which she ate ALL NIGHT LONG. And, actually, is still eating, since we bought the Sam's Jumbo-pack! She loves them, though!
Sitting with Bro. Dave... and her new favorite drink, Aunt Ellen's famous orange koolaid. No sugar there...

Quite the social butterfly, here she is hanging out with, well, everybody!

Wouldn't be a first birthday without cake time! We stripped her down, spread a towel on the floor, and drug her high chair into the middle of the room!
She was really funny... she didn't dive in or anything. She just stuck her hand into the cake, pulled it straight out, and licked her fingers. Then jammed it back in again. It was pretty funny!
But, even if she was only licking it off her fingers, the sugar craze set in pretty quick!
Afterwards, we took her to the bathroom, stripped her down, and gave her a bath in the sink!

After cake, there had to be presents! Elena got a MOUNTAIN of presents, pretty much 90% of which make annoying noises. Don't worry, all of you who got her loud presents... your time will come! There will be payback!

A cute family photo in a moment away...
Elena passed out for awhile, so I thought she was ready for bed. I put pjs on her, nursed her, and was putting her to bed, when she was all of a sudden wide awake! So, she came back out to the party, and hung out in her PJs! She started off with learning to share with her cousin, Leila!
Showing Grandma Looten her new cow pillow...
And sharing Great-Grandma Looten's lap space with Leila! Aren't they a cute trio?!

Anyway, the party was great. It was so awesome to have all of our favorite people there... or at least most, since not everyone made it. It was very laid back, and I even got to enjoy it, despite the mass chaos of preparing for it! It's so hard to believe my little girl is one now! She has really grown up all of a sudden. She doesn't seem like a baby anymore, she really does seem like a little girl. And she has the personality to prove it! She can even talk, at least a little with sign language. She knows "please" "more" and "all done." We're working on "thank you" now. She is a good walker now, she practically runs. And she is into everything! I'm amazed at how she plays by herself- she just digs stuff out of her toy box and goes to town. She loves everything that makes music, and anything soft. One of her favorite birthday presents is a stuffed dog that Josh's Aunt Ruthie got her!

It's amazing how much our lives have changed in the last year. On one hand, it seems like she's been around forever, and we can't imagine life without her. On the other, it seems like it's not possible that it's already been a year since she was born. Becoming a wife was fulfilling for me in a way I'd never imagined. But becoming a mom has surpassed even that. And watching my husband become a father has made me love him more than I thought possible. What a blessing our little girl is, and I thank God for her, and for our family, every day.

Anyway, since my little girl isn't really a baby anymore, this marks the end of the baby blog. I'll keep recording our lives on the other blog, so make sure you check there! And be ready for another baby blog... sometime! :)

1 Year Check Up

noreply@blogger.com (Josh and Liz) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 03:27:00 +0000

Ok, so no birthday pictures yet because I didn't take a single picture the entire day, and Jess hasn't gotten the cd to me yet- she's bringing it this weekend. But let me just tell you that her party was a BLAST... so lots more details to come, when I have some time! :)

We did go to her 1 year appointment today, and the doctors said everything looked great. She had clear ears (PRAISE GOD!) and they were impressed by how well she walked.

The stats...
Weight: 18 lbs, 15 ounces, 20th percentile
Height: 28 3/4 inches, 40th percentile
Head Circumference: 18 3/8 inches, 90th percentile

So, it can definitely still be said that our daughter is a petite little girl with a big ol' head! :) But we think she's beautiful!!

She did have to get two shots today, and has been kind of a cranky mess the rest of the day. I'm sure she'll wake up happier tomorrow, and I'm just thrilled to know that she is a healthy little girl.

And I am so excited to know that I have actually made it to a full year nursing. That' something I really wanted to do, and I made it! Of course, it helps that Elena LOVES to nurse, so she hasn't started weaning herself at all. I will be sad to stop nursing her, whenever I finally do get her weaned, but I DO NOT miss dragging that horrible pump around with me EVERYWHERE I GO... I tell you what, I grew to despise that thing! But it was worth it for my little girl... she is happy and healthy!!

Happy First Birthday!!

noreply@blogger.com (Josh and Liz) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 02:55:00 +0000

Wow, at exactly 9:55 pm Elena turns one year old!! It's hard to believe... the big party is tomorrow, but she's already had a pretty busy birthday!!

We dressed up for daycare today, because Aunt Jess brought Elena this really cute dress, and the birthday girl should always look special! First thing on Elena's schedule this morning... a nap! :)

After we finally got her to wake up (no small feat, she wakes up like her mommy), and got her dressed, she got to open her first present from Mommy and Daddy! She loved tearing the paper, for awhile, but then got bored.

Mommy and Daddy got her a LAPTOP!! She loves our laptop, and is constantly pounding on it, so we thought she should have her own. She did think it was pretty cool! We also let her open a present from a guy at my work, and he gave her a school bus with big legos in it, which was also pretty sweet!

At daycare, Elena got to have her first little party! I didn't get to go :( but I left my camera, and they took some great pictures!!

I did get to take off work at noon, so we went to lunch with Aunt Jess and the whole family... Laney had a lemon! :)

After lunch we went to Sam's to finish shopping for the birthday party, then back home to get ready.

It's amazing to me that it was a year ago today that we went in to the hospital and came out parents. There's nothing like it in the world, and it has been a true blessing to watch her grow up in the last year. It is such an amazing miracle to see this tiny baby grow and develop into a toddler with personality. The littlest things point so clearly to God's sovereignty and His ultimate design. It's just amazing, and I can't wait to watch her life unfold over the next 18 (and even more) years! We are blessed to be trusted with the upbringing and care of this amazing little girl.

Week 50 & 51

noreply@blogger.com (Josh and Liz) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 02:05:00 +0000

I find it hard to believe that the title of this post is actually 50 and 51 weeks... it doesn't seem possible that a week from now our little girl will turn one! It doesn't seem possible. It's kind of like being married... it doesn't seem possible that it's already been a year since she was born.
But, at the same time, I can't imagine (or really remember) life without her.

Anyway, the last two weeks have been really busy, and full of fun new tricks- like talking on the phone and walking!! The two weeks ago we had the Fall Kickoff with the youth group, which really turned into a huge water fight! I took some great pictures of Elena playing on the playground equipment at Cosmo Park, but I think they're on Aunt Ruthie's camera, so I don't have any to put up.

Over Labor Day weekend we headed to Illinois to visit my grandparents. We had a great time. We just relaxed on Saturday, hung out and goofed off around the farm. Then, on Sunday, Josh got to preach at Grandma & Grandpa's church because they don't have a pastor. Afterwards, the whole family came to Grandma & Grandpa's house for lunch- we had 36 people there! It was crazy. Elena had a great time re-meeting all of her great-aunts & uncles, cousins, etc. Monday we went to Grandma & Grandpa Hook's house. They are my great-grandparents, so they are Elena's great-great grandparents. Elena LOVED Grandpa Hook's walker, she just pushed it all over their living room. I took some great pictures of that... on Ruth's camera, so those will have to come later. But I did take GOBS of pictures on my own camera, and here are a few of my favs...

Hanging out with Great-Grandpa Price. Check out the shoes!! Daddy decided that, since she was walking now, she had to start wearing shoes. So we stopped at the Carter's outlet on the way to IL and bought these ADORABLE brown and white tennis shoes. Doesn't she look like such a big girl?!

Driving Uncle Davids new zero-turn mower... all the guys in the family were salivating over this thing... Aunt Jane, not so thrilled! :)
Elena spent lots of time helping Aunt Ruthie with her physics homework!
At lunch on Sunday Elena got to hang out with her cousin, Addyson. Addy is actually 2 months younger than Elena, despite being quite a bit bigger! Guess Elena really is just that petite. She certainly doesn't fit in with the Price side of the family when it comes to body type!
Elena and Addy weren't too sure about each other at first... but they warmed up to each other pretty quick!

Long weekends require lots of naps... and what better way to take a nap than with Daddy?

We got to ride the Mule around the farm to look at all of the animals. We saw pigs and cows, and Elena LOVED them all!
We stopped at the lake and fed the fish, which meant there were massive catfish jumping all over the water. Elena thought that was pretty cool, too!
Hanging out with Grandpa again... she DESPERATELY needed a nap, but she wouldn't go to sleep for anyone, not even Grandpa!
ted This is back at home... apparently she wasn't done with her cereal! She has become fascinated with her bowl and spoons, trying to eat out of them and pound on them after I finish feeding her oatmeal.

Now that she has started walking so much, I'm finding that I LOVE these pictures of her walking with somebody. Poor thing, nobody loves her enough to walk with her, but I've managed to capture a few shots...

Walking with Daddy...

With Aunt Ruthie and Uncle Charlie at church...

Aunt Ruthie and Uncle Charlie again!

Grandma Price and Aunt Ruthie

I just think there's something so sweet about seeing the little girl walking with the grown ups.

Anyway, there has been much planning and preparing for the big party next weekend! I get the feeling it's going to be a big ol' party! I hope you all are coming!! If not, stay tuned for pictures in the next big update next weekend!!

What A Difference...

noreply@blogger.com (Josh and Liz) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 02:45:00 +0000

...a couple of weeks makes!!!

So, Elena's been learning to walk. This first video is from August 22nd.

And this second is from tonight (2 weeks later).

Amazing what a difference a couple of weeks makes!!

Stay tuned for an update (with LOTS of pictures) from the last 2 weeks! Hopefully tomorrow, maybe Saturday...

Week 49

noreply@blogger.com (Josh and Liz) — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 03:08:00 +0000

Well, not too much to say about this week... it's continued much like the last couple. Elena keeps growing, and her first birthday just keeps getting closer and closer... which sometimes makes me excited and sometimes makes me sad... She is getting much better at walking, too, which is fun, and dangerous! She totally cracked her head at daycare this week trying to walk between me and one of her teachers. She has been very fussy this week, mostly because she was getting another tooth. The second top tooth has just peeked through, and as soon as it did she was a much happier baby!

We got to actually spend a whole weekend home together, which was wonderful. Saturday we hung out at home, had a good breakfast, and went for a walk on the trail. But that's about the most exciting thing we did this week, which was just fine with us!

Some pictures from our refreshingly uneventful week...

My big girl, sleeping without a swaddle... this is what she does: she flips on her stomach, buries her face in her blanket, and sticks her butt in the air. She's a thrasher, though... by morning she's turned totally around and usually in the complete opposite side of the crib!

Well, in case Elena ever needs proof... here's proof that she's abused! We found this balloon, and, well, just had to have some fun with it! Check out the hair!!

And someday we'll use this to blackmail her... or maybe we'll show it to her first boyfriend... the possibilities are endless! :)And the abuse continues... maybe she will be a lion for Halloween!
During our walk on the trail... by the time we reached the bridge, which is where we turn around, she was not a very happy camper. Mostly, she was tired, but she wouldn't go to sleep in the stroller. So she PASSED OUT on the way home!
Now that we've broken her of the cd shelf habit, she's moved on to some new helpful activities... like emptying the shoe rack,
and helping fold laundry. It's important to note that those clothes were ALREADY FOLDED!
Just love this picture...
"Go ahead. Make my day."
Anyway, that's about it. A short post, but not much to report. Just some funny pictures for you to enjoy!

Weeks 47 & 48

noreply@blogger.com (Josh and Liz) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 15:43:00 +0000

Here's the promised weekly (or bi-weekly) post... although, as I went back through the pictures, I really haven't been very good at taking pictures the last couple of weeks. I still managed to find 9 pictures to put up, though... is it sad that 9 pictures counts as "not very many?!"

Anyway, it's been an exhausting couple of weeks. I had to go back to work full time the first week of August, so Elena went back to daycare full time. Of course, she came home after the first week with a bit of a cold, but (so far) it hasn't gone to her ears. I have discovered that she is MUCH better at fighting off the saline bottle, though! She starts flailing and screaming as soon as she sees it! She's gotten her 3rd tooth, it's her top right front one. I get the feeling the other top front one is coming, too, because she's still been pretty fussy, and her gum is all hard right there. She's learning to love to eat real food. She still prefers veggies (especially peas and corn) but she likes cut up grapes, too. And she loves biscuits, and turkey burgers! I think her aversion to fruit is more a texture thing- fruit is so juicy, it gets slimy and I don't think she likes that. And we still feed her baby food, but at least one meal a day she sits in her high chair at the table with us while we all eat. We think it's important to teach her how to sit and eat dinner. She definitely has all kinds of personality, and she loves the word "uh-oh," especially when we're grocery shopping. She will take whatever she's holding (she prefers my pen or my shopping list), yell "uh-oh" at the top of her lungs, and fling it on the floor. I keep trying to explain to her that it doesn't count if you say "uh-oh" BEFORE you throw it on the floor, but it doesn't seem to sink in. Regardless, I've gotten very good and swooping down and picking something (toys, list, pen, keys) off of the floor without breaking stride while shopping! :) She's also really started wanting to walk. She usually only goes 2 or 3 steps at a time, and it's not so much walking as "falling, with style" (name that movie?), but she gets SO excited when she does it. The girls at the daycare said she went 7 steps the other day... so, life as we know it is about to change! Though, I've discovered that's kind of what parenting is- you get used to something, and they grow out of that phase and life as you know it changes, and by the time you get used to the new phase, it all changes again! Guess this is what we signed up for! :) And we wouldn't trade it for the world!

Alrighty, enough of the talking, onto the pictures...

At VBS Parent night... apparently, it was so humid that the lens fogged up and we didn't realize it. It's too bad, because these were some darn cute pics of her swinging in one of the baby swings. She LOVED it. But I still thought this pic was kind of cool with the foggy look!

Her new favorite trick: emptying the cd tower. I guess they make cool noises. There has been much screaming, and lots of "NOs," but I think we've mostly stopped this really fun activity... I know, I know, we're the meanest parents ever!

We finally got our gate, and we got to move the coffee table out of the living room. Makes our living room feel much less like a corral! And it works wonderfully to keep the dog and the baby separate when we let Isa in the house. Although, they defnitely love on each other through the gate. The first time, it made us really nervous (most of you know how unpredictable Isabelle is), but they petted/licked each other through the cracks (Elena petted, Isa licked, not the other way around!) then Isa flipped over on her back and showed her belly to Elena. So we took that as a good sign. When Isa is in, it's really hard to keep either of them away from the gate! But, hey, they're entertained!

Elena got to go with us to Camp Windermere last weekend. Grandma Price came along to take care of Elena so that I could be part of the group. We were out in the woods all day, so napping happened in the stroller... and she looked pretty cute passed out!
Check out the teeth!
I love this hat on her... and she actually left it on sometimes.
Since we were at Windermere, we got to go swimming again!! Although, it was cloudy and about 70, so it wasn't the greatest swimming weather. Poor Elena's lips were just quivering, but she was smiling and laughing at the same time!
Grinning and bearing it! I felt bad that she was cold, but she was loving it!
Wapped up nice and warm on the deck... check out the hair!

Well, that's about it for the last couple of weeks. 4 more weeks until the big birthday! Pretty much anyone who reads this blog is getting an invitation to her party, and, if I forget you, you're invited anyway! September 13th. 6:00 pm at our house! :) Hard to believe my baby's not going to be a baby much longer!

11 Months!

noreply@blogger.com (Josh and Liz) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:05:00 +0000

I know I owe you all a weekly update, but work has been crazy- in my new job, it's busier right before school starts because everyone wants training then. So, this short update will have to do, and I'll do a two week update later this week, hopefully!

Today is special because... Elena is 11 months old today!

Fun things about our 11-month old...

she has 3 teeth now- two on the bottom, one on the top. She has just learned that she can clack them against each other, and is doing that most of the time now!
She has started sleeping without her swaddle. Actually, we stopped swaddling her awhile ago, but she still just looks so big when she's laying in her crib without anything wrapping her up. She likes to sleep on her face with her butt in the air. She is quite the thrasher at night, though- she is all over that crib!
She LOVES vegetables, especially peas and corn. She's ok with grapes now, but I can't get her to try other fruits.
She's a talker- like, she never stops talking!
Peek-a-boo is guaranteed to get a smile from her!
She's already a reader...
or maybe she's developing her sense of fashion, and thought it made a good hat...
SHE TOOK 3 STEPS TODAY! So, she's not really walking yet, but she's trying.

Anyway, just a quick 11 month update. I cannot believe that her birthday is in a month! It's been really weird the last couple of weeks to go back to work and remember that, last year at this time, I was pregnant! Time sure does fly!

Week 46

noreply@blogger.com (Josh and Liz) — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 18:26:00 +0000

Well, not a lot of pictures from Week 46, but we had fun anyway! Last weekend Josh's parents came to visit. They were actually heading to Quincy, IL to see Aunt Amy in a show on Saturday, but they came up Friday night for dinner at our house... and some rounds with the Wii... and some visiting with Elena, of course! We had a great time with them Friday night, especially Elena!

Saturday we broke out Elena's new pool. It's a really neat pool with a slide and everything. It even has a place to attach a hose to a sprinkler so it will spray water down the slide. Unfortunately, that part didn't work, but she still had fun play in it! It was just the right size so that she could actually crawl around without getting her face in the water. Once she figured out that she could move around, and didn't have to just sit there (like she does in her bath) she was ALL ABOUT swimming!

Standing up in the pool... what a big girl she is!

Walking to the slide... with Mommy's help, of course!

Down the slide... wheeeeee~

On Sunday we celebrated Grandma Looten's birthday with dinner out at Shakespeares and cake and presents back at Great-Grandma Looten's house. The best part, besides seeing the whole family, was Aunt Shell's new puppy! She's a shih tzu/beagle mix, and is only about 6 weeks old. Needless to say, Elena LOVED the puppy. Puppy.... not so crazy about Elena, though!

The rest of this week has been VBS at church. Elena has gone with me and stayed in the nursery while I taught. Thursday night at the program, however, she was quite the hit with the girls in my class! Check out the stylish hat they tried on her... looks pretty good!
Elena's favorite part about VBS Parent Night was the treat- ice cream floats. Not that she got to eat much, but she was quite certain she wanted some. One of the dads gave her several little bites, then left. Well, once she knew what was in the cups, it was all kinds of fussing until she got another bite. Which, since she was fussing, we wouldn't give her. Pretty pitiful face, though! :)

Well, the little girl continues to grow. She stands up by herself a lot, and has even taken a step occaisionally. We finally got the gate we ordered, so we have closed off the kitchen to her. She's not so sure how she feels about it, but at least we don't have to use the coffee table to barricade her in the living room anymore! Her new favorite thing to do, however, is to empty out her diaper bag, which has been fun. She talks tons, though she's gotten a little more fussy than normal lately. I'm guessing she's working on those top two teeth, although we haven't seen any sign of them yet. Her personality is definitely growing!! :)

Anyway, that's about it for week 46... six more weeks until she's a year! Hard to believe!!!

Good News!

noreply@blogger.com (Josh and Liz) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 03:00:00 +0000

Laney says "YAAAAAYYYYY!"

We had a doctor's appointment today to recheck her ears after her 9 month appointment (she had fluid on them then, but they weren't infected yet). The good news is... NO MORE EAR INFECTIONS!! The doctor said her ears both looked perfect, so that is such an answered prayer!

Just a quick update, because we are so excited!!! And, just FYI, she weighs 18 lbs, 7 oz, although that was with all of her clothes on!

Video Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Josh and Liz) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 01:05:00 +0000

Well, this is just going to be a fun post full of videos! I've been trying to upload these for several days, but Blogger apparently no longer likes our computer, so I'm using my work computer instead. But here we go...

Fun with Grandpa Looten- from this last weekend when they visited. The look on her face is so funny, and, well, this video really needs no introduction... enjoy! :)

Now, for a trip down memory lane, this is Elena when she was about 3 months old, and just beginning to verbalize. So, here was talking at 3 months...

And talking at 10 months... quite a big difference! :) Sometimes cuter, sometimes more annoying!

Amazing to see the difference over the last six months! I remember how excited we were when she started talking around 3 or 4 months... and now she talks so much, and is starting to make sounds that are words and actually make sense. The other day we were walking around Hobby Lobby, and she started saying "Uh oh, uh oh" over and over again. We kind of ignored her, and then, a couple minutes later someone came up to us and handed us the toy she had dropped! Hard to believe that she's starting to actually make sense!! Of course, she also just says it randomly, so it's not a perfect science! :)

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the videos!! Pretty fun to watch our little girl grow up! Just when you think she's huge, a couple of months pass, you look back and she seems tiny! They change so fast...

Weeks 44 & 45

noreply@blogger.com (Josh and Liz) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 03:17:00 +0000

As usual, life has been crazy around the Looten house! Although, if it's always crazy, does it count as crazy anymore, or is it just normal? Either way, we're BUSY! :) And Miss Laney is busy right along with us!

Two weekends ago, on July 11th, we got to do another youth event, and one of our favorites- Camp Nowhere. This is a really fun event, where we spend the weekend pretending we're at church camp- we have food, swimming, recreation, chapel- everything that makes a good church camp, only we do it in a weekend. This year we went to the house of a family at church; they have a nice lake, and a great place to play capture the flag, have a bonfire... everything we needed. We had a great time, although Laney and I didn't spend the night (not quite ready for sleeping in a tent yet).

While hanging out in the barn during Camp Nowhere, the family whose house we were at let Laney borrow their walker. She loved it, although she didn't really get the hang of it in the short time we were there! At least it kept her contained, which is getting harder and harder these days.

Hanging out with James... who decided to put stickers on her forehead while we were decorating school boxes for our service project.

Enjoying the sun with Ruth and Jordyn, next to the lake!

This past weekend, Josh and I took off a couple of days and headed to Springfield for a long weekend. We went to SDC on Thursday, and just hung out and relaxed Friday. Saturday, we went to visit Great-Grandma De & Great-Grandpa Don for dinner. We had a great time, and it was lots of fun to see cousin Leila, who is almost 4 months old now! One of the fun things we did was on Friday, we went to lunch with Grandma & Grandpa Looten to a Japanese restaurant that cooks the food right in front of you and the guy does all of the flipping of spatulas and banging and such. It was a neat show, and the food was great. Laney was FASCINATED by the chef!

At Silver Dollar City... Elena spent several hours passed totally out in her stroller... with her horsey close by, of course.

Just a few more inches until she can ride The Lost River!! :)

Blackberry topping on a funnel cake is YUMMY!

Back at Grandma & Grandpa's house, hanging out with Leila!

Grandma let Elena ride on the rocking horse that she got from Silver Dollar City when Uncle Tim was a baby. Still works great, and Elena LOVED it!

Elena was pretty fascinated by Leila... and Grandma was loving having them both together!
And so was Grandpa!
Hanging out with Great-Grandpa Don...
and Great-Grandma De... with the dog, OF COURSE.

While we were visiting Grandma & Grandpa Looten, Elena got to try out the high chair they have. Unfortunately, she decided she didn't want to sit in the high chair while we were eating, and she didn't want anything to do with the pieces of fruit or veggies that we tried to give her. Instead she fussed and cried until we took her out. Well, that told Mommy and Daddy one thing: time to break out the high chair at home!! And the doctor told me to start giving her some little pieces of table food, so we started really trying those, too. On Sunday it looked like this...

That's oatmeal and cantelope strewn about, but NOT eaten!

But, by Tuesday, it looked like that... (and, yes, that's a happy face).

So, Laney LOVES peas (much to her father's dismay, because he HATES them)! I think she mostly likes them because they're easy to pick up and eat. We gave her some green beans, too, and she hoovered those. She's not big on the fruit yet, but I think that's more of a texture thing- fruit tends to be juicier, and harder to get off of the tray. She looks like such a big girl, though, sitting in her high chair and eating regular food! It's hard to believe she's growing up so fast!

In other fun news, this week has been the week of the Boone County Fair, which means that Aunt Ruthie had to show her sheep. So, of course, we went out to watch! And visit the sheep...

Laney even got in the pen to pet them, though the sheep were not very cooperative- they kept moving away from her.

The goats in the next pen, however, were very curious about her, and she got to pet them. They even licked her hand! (After which Mommy whipped out the Purel!)
After the show, Laney even got to RIDE on Daisy, Aunt Ruthie's sheep!

Well, as you can see, it's been an exciting couple of weeks for Miss Lena. In all reality, though, the excitement has been much less about what we've been doing, and much more about how fast Elena is growing and changing. She is already starting to stand on her own for a little while at a time, although she usually tries to stand on her tiptoes and then loses her balance. She is a crawling maniac, says "Uh Oh," which is adorable, and LOVES to shred things (kleenex, paper towels, paper, you name it- not quite as adorable).

She has two teeth now, both of her front bottom ones, but I don't see any sign of the top ones coming in, which is a-ok with me. She's gotten pretty good at not biting me when she's nursing (after several head whacks and screaming sessions), which is a major blessing! And teething hasn't really been that rough on her. She's been a little fussy, and had some trouble sleeping at night (although some ibuprofen usually takes care of that), but overall she's been just a great baby even through teething. We go back next week to have an ear recheck, since there was fluid but no infection at her 9 month appointment.

Anyway, as I get closer to her first birthday (I know, I know, it's still a month and a half away, but it feels really close) I get more and more nostalgic about how quickly she changes. At the sheep show this week I was thinking about last year's show- when I was still pregnant. I remember it was on a Tuesday, and I had gotten an ultrasound that day, because I got one every Tuesday. They had pointed out all of the hair she had again (yeah, what happened to that?!), and I remember showing off all of the black and white pictures. Now it's an actual baby!! Hard to believe that she used to be inside me... now she is so much her own person, with her own (very strong) personality (God help us). We've been working on hitting, because she likes to flail her arms and whack us in the face. She sure doesn't like being told no... but I think she better get used to it!

Parenting really fills me with a whole new kind of joy and fulfillment. I was elated on Tuesday, when she started eating those peas and not fussing in her high chair. I was so excited I called Josh at work, and then my mom, and said "I WON!" I never thought I'd be so thrilled to see someone eat a dozen peas! Being a parent is definitely a perspective & life altering experience!!

Well, that's probably enough rambling... I know you guys just want the pictures anyway! :) Hopefully that was enough for you (though it wasn't the 32 like the last post). And look for another update next week... if the weather's good, we're going to break out Laney's pool on Saturday!!! :)

Week 43

noreply@blogger.com (Josh and Liz) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:57:00 +0000

Well, week 43 was certainly a busy week for us! Aunt Jess & Aunt Kate came into town from Colorado, so we spent the week running around with them! And, as always, a visit from Aunt Jess comes complete with a week of "lightning storms." But I certainly appreciate all of the good pictures of Miss Elena! Way better than I could take... however, after this week there were over 900 pictures, and I had to choose just a "few" (I use that term loosely) to put on a post... so here are the best 32 pictures of our adventures!! :)

Our first adventure was another trip to a Cardinals game... you'd think we would have learned from the first game, that this was NOT a good idea! :) But away we went... We decided to make an afternoon of it by going to "The Hill" in St. Louis to check out the shops and have a good Italian dinner. Which it definitely was that! Unfortunately, by the time we were leaving The Hill and headed to the Metro lot, there were some pretty ugly clouds rolling in. And, by the time we got to the Stadium, it was MONSOONING! Poor Laney fell asleep on the Metro, and I hadn't brought a poncho for her (I couldn't find any kid-sized ponchos) so I took a walmart bag, looped it over her feet, and hooked it to the sides of the stroller. I figured the cover on the stroller would keep the top half covered. And it worked really well... until we had to pick up the front of the stroller and carry her up the stairs, laid out with the rain falling right on her face! Poor thing... she woke up then, as you can imagine!! She looked at me like "What just happened?!" Well, you can see the look for yourself...

It did eventually dry out, and the rest of the game was enjoyable (even if we lost by a lot). We meant to get Elena a Cards hat and forgot, so she had to borrow Daddy's...
This was the FUNNIEST thing! I was feeding her, and every time I gave her a bite she would raise her hand up in the air. No reason, just straight up in the air. Sometimes she would wave her fingers, too! Babies do the funniest things...

All in all, the Cards game was fun, even if we didn't win. The next day was the 4th of July, and we mostly hung out at home, until it was time for the church party. Then we got all dolled up (well, Elena did) and headed out! It was pretty cool because Jess & Kate were there, but so were Great Grnadma & Grandpa Price. So we got to hang out with the whole family... including Grandpa Price! :)
Isn't the dress adorable? Thank you WalMart... and check out the striped headband... from Christmas! :)

Hanging out with Aunt Ruthie! :)
Elena didn't seem to mind the fireworks... as long as she had her binky in her mouth. This is what happened when we tried to take it away from her! But she didn't seem scared of the noise or the light- she just blinked real big when they went off. As long as she had the binky! :)

Saturday, the girls decided to go on a little road trip to the outlet mall in Warrenton- mostly so we could go to the Carter's outlet! To gather our strength, we started out at Rondezvous for B&G and lattes. Check out the cute shorts Miss Elena was wearing!

Shopping, shopping, shopping! It was very bright out there!
After shopping, we had everyone over to our house for bbq chicken and Wii! Here's Elena hanging out with Grandpa... and the new little horse toy Aunt Jess got her at Carters. Jess picked it up to show her, and she just grabbed it and wouldn't let it go!
One tired baby on Sunday afternoon... having company is hard work!
Stylin' and profilin' in her new overalls from Aunt Ruthie!

Monday was our biggest (and last) real adventure-- we went to Rolla to visit Ella and April!! Ella is about 6 months older than Elena, so it's always fun to visit them, talk with April about being a mom, and look at Ella and see where Elena will be in six months! They were pretty cute together!

One of our goals for the week was to get a picture of the tooth! One of our techniques was to hold her spoon above her mouth so she would hold her mouth open. She got tired of that pretty quick...
This is what we call the "old man smile" It's something new she's been doing, and it's hilarious!
Elena does not like grass... she always pulls up one foot, sometimes she tries to balance on her diaper so neither leg touches... but that doesn't usually work well for her!
She has started "giving kisses," although it's more like gnawing... but it's still awful cute...

Ella and Elena playing the piano... Elena LOVED this Fisher-Price piano. She loves all kinds of music, though, so this toy was right up her alley! Definitely a birthday idea! :) Ella was so funny, though, because April said she hadn't played with these toys in forever, and all of a sudden she was totally into them again. For the most part they played together really well, though.
Lovin' on her dog... this dog was the bane of our existence on this trip, but she LOVES it. We brought it with us, and just tossed it in the trunk when we left my house. Yeah, definitely could hear it going off all the way down I-70. So we had to pull over when we got to Hwy 63, get it out of the trunk, and put it in its own seat!!

We even got a bow to stay in her hair! I mean, it has to be stuck right there on the top where the head is thickest, but it stayed!! :)
Elena got to meet April's dog, Cooper... and loved him!

Another little Fisher-Price toy they played with... Elena looked so big standing up and playing with them!
All that playing was hard work... so she took a little nap on Aunt Jessica!

Elena is getting so big! She's getting really good at drinking out of her sippy cup! Tuesday night was Jess & Kate's last night in town, so we went out to Grandma & Grandpa Price's house to hang out. Of course, Uncle Charlie wanted to play with Elena!
And, since she is a country girl, Miss Elena had to do a photo shoot on the John Deere tractor!

Another new trick... high-five!
Sitting in her "big girl" rocking chair.
She was definitely interested in the puppies! And they were interested in her! Even Joy, who is usually pretty wary of Elena.
Riding in her new wagon... with the ever-present puppy dog!

The whole week was a great time! We loved spending all of this time with Aunt Jess & Aunt Kate, just hanging out! Can't wait to see you guys again!

Weeks 40, 41 & 42

noreply@blogger.com (Josh and Liz) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:45:00 +0000

I know I have been a horrible blogger: I haven't updated in 3 weeks, besides the Father's Day post! But it's been a busy few weeks, and it's becoming increasingly difficult to blog with Elena around- she's into EVERYTHING, and especially loves the computer. Since I'm with her the majority of the time I'm not at work, it's hard to find time to update. But, I will try really hard to keep updating every week... this time it's just been a couple of weeks! :)

Well, the biggest change in the last few weeks has been Elena's activeness... she is changing everyday, and she is EVERYWHERE now. She has gotten very good at crawling, and covers ground pretty quickly. We had to clear off our coffee table, or she would clear it off for us. Then we had to move it to block off the living room from the kitchen because she went straight for the kitchen every time we set her down, and straight for the cat food once she got there! So our livign room resembles a corral, until I can get a gate ordered!

Elena has also really started talking- instead of just being repeated syllables, she actually sounds like she's saying something- just in some language none of us understand! And, true to both her Price and Looten heritage, she rarely shuts up! :)

We had a doctor's appointment on the 30th for her 9 month check up, even though she was more 9 1/2 months. She weighed 17 pounds 10.5 ounces, was 27 3/8 inches long, and her head was 17 7/8 inches around. So, still petite with a big head, but following her curves, so that's good. They checked her ears, and said that there was fluid on them, but it wasn't infected yet... so now we're basically just waiting for it to get infected again. :( We have a recheck appointment at the end of this month, so maybe she'll make it until then. I'm awful tired of fighting her ears! I can't wait until she outgrows ear infections, though that's going to be awhile, since she started so young with them! The doctor said she looked really good, though, besides the ears, and we didn't have to get any shots, so it was a pretty easy doctor's appointment, all things considered!

The other REALLY exciting news of the last couple weeks is that on July 1, Elena got her first tooth!! I don't have any pictures, because you can't see it yet- only feel it, but it's definitely there! I was giving her a taste of some raspberry pie filling at my parents' house, and scraped my finger on it! Pretty cool!

Anyway... here are some pictures, and a few more stories, from the past couple of weeks...

Elena has discovered the cat toys...

Mom! Did you know there were all these cool toys in this box?! I know I can fit these in my mouth...
"Let me in, let me in, let me in!" "Let me out, let me out, let me out!" Timon & Pumba, The Lion King
Headed out to eat... looking adorable, as usual!
Great-Grandpa Price was driving through town on his way home (to Illinois) from Nebraska, so we went out to dinner with him. Elena thinks he's awful funny!
Can I go play with my puppy? Pleeeease???
Sweet and sleeping before church!
While everyone was out of town on the Mission Trip, Laney and I got to go feed Aunt Ruthie's sheep! Elena LOVED them, like she loves all animals!
And Mommy learned why it's ALWAYS important to strap the baby in the stroller...
Like her friend, Charlotte, Elena has discovered the joy of kleenex! She likes to shred them into tiny pieces, then, obviously, eat them. I've fished several chunks out of her mouth already! So now the kleenex box has to be shoved against the wall, where she can barely reach it. But the look on her face when she turned around this time was so funny, I couldn't resist taking a picture before yanking the kleenex away!

I noticed that Elena was tipping her bottle up when I gave her a bottle of water to drink, so I figured it must be time to start with a sippy cup! She's not great at it, but she definitely gets some water out. What a big girl!!

Daddy, why you do these things to me?
Great-Grandma & Grandpa Price came for a visit for the this week (they're actually still here) so we went to hang out with them and watch Sam's baseball game on Monday night.
And we all went to regular Grandma & Grandpa Price's house for dinner on Tuesday night. Where Grandma Price gave Laney the best present ever! This is a dog that they had in the church nursery, and she absolutely LOVES it. So Grandma Price got her one of her very own! The question is, who is more entertained- Elena, or Ruth & Charlie? :)
Hanging out with Daddy...and the dog!
Great-Grandpa Price is so funny!

Since we were out there, we had to go see the sheep again! And Aunt Ruthie even fed them sassafras leaves so they stood right over by the fence... and even tried to nibble on Laney's toes!
Laney loves sheep... but she does NOT love grass! She tries to balance on her butt so her feet won't touch and she doesn't have to put her hands down... it typically doesn't work, and she falls over and gets cranky about it! If you hold her standing up and put her feet in the grass, she pulls one leg up like a flamingo. It's pretty funny!
Look at me in my big girl chair! This is the little rocking chair Grandma Price got for her last summer, before she was even born! Really, it's for all of the future grandkids, but since she's first, it's all her's for now! :)
Grandpa Price even picked her a daisy out of his flower bed... he must love her an awful lot!

Well, I hope the pictures make up for the long absence of a post! I will try really hard to post again next week, and should have cute pictures from the Cardinals game (round two) and the 4th of July party!

Happy Father's Day!!

noreply@blogger.com (Josh and Liz) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Well, it was my first Mother's Day, and now it's Josh's first Father's Day! So, a look back at 9 months as a daddy...

Happy first Father's Day, love of my life... It has been a joy to watch you become a daddy! :)

And happy Father's Day to my dad! Thanks for helping me be a better parent!

Week 39 & 9 Months!

noreply@blogger.com (Josh and Liz) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 17:29:00 +0000

Well, the beginning of week 39 was a little rough for poor Miss Elena. This is what she looked like last Wednesday night:

So, obviously she didn't feel very good. Her Aunt Yaya watched her on Thursday, and I took her to the doctor Thursday afternoon. The verdict was not great: she had a double ear infection (AGAIN) AND hand, foot, and mouth disease. I hadn't ever heard of such a thing, but apparently it's a virus, and there had been a few cases of it at her daycare. So, the result of that virus is a mouth full of blisters. Poor Miss Elena was not doing so hot, that's for sure! So it was off to D&H to get more antibiotics- Augmentin again, this time for two weeks instead of 10 days.

The other rough part of the hand, foot, and mouth disease was that last weekend we were headed to Windermere for the annual family reunion on Josh's side of the family, including baby Leila, who we didn't want to get the virus. We just decided to keep them separate, and wash hands often!!

Other than the fear of spreading the virus, the family reunion was lots of fun with Elena along! We got to do all kinds! of fun things with her. There's a church up on a hill that you can see from all over the camp that Josh has always wanted to hike up to. So we strapped Elena to his chest, and headed out Saturday morning. It was a long hike straight up on the way there, but the view from the top was awesome.

Daddy and his little girl at the top!

Inside the church... everybody's looking a little tired!

But the best new thing we got to do with Elena was GO SWIMMING! Swimming is always one of the main attractions at Windermere, and this year was obviously Elena's first swimming experience! To put it mildly, she LOVED the pool! Poor thing was absolutely passed out when we got there- she had fallen asleep before we left the cabin, and was totally rag doll. We didn't let that stop us, though, we took her right on over to the kiddie pool! She woke right up when she hit that water, but it was awful bright!

Still not totally awake...

I like this water thing... but it sure is bright out here!

After we got her sunglasses she did much better, and she even started leaving them on! I guess she figured out they were helping her see better. Once she was pretty accustomed to the kiddie pool, we broke out her floatie and took her into the big pool. This little girl was in HEAVEN! The little float we bought her is awesome, it's a little crab that has its own sunshade, a place for her legs to go through, and a little section for toys. So Elena was set to go for swimming!

Mommy, Daddy, and Elena in the pool!

Playing with her toys... by the next day she had just the tiniest bit of a sunburn on her forearms... after looking back at the pictures, I can see why! Next time we'll have to make sure that the shade covers her arms, too!

When you're all tuckered out from swimming, what's more fun than hanging out next to the pool, chillaxin' and playing with your toys?! I LOVE this picture. Check out the mohawk, courtesy of Grandma Looten!

Well, all the pictures in the world can't show how much fun Elena really had in the pool... but a video does a much better job! Enjoy! Listen close for the giggling, it's hard to hear with all of the background noise!

Other than swimming and hiking, the reunion was filled mostly with hanging out with the family. The younger kids LOVED Elena, so she was never short for company!

Here she is hanging out with 2 cousins from Texas. This is her new thing- she is constantly pulling up and standing while holding on to someone's legs.

And telling Uncle Tim what's going on...

It was a great but tiring weekend, and we were happy to be home Sunday! This week, Elena also turned 9 months old on Thursday! I can't believe that my little girl is getting so big!! Now that the antibiotics have kicked in, I'm amazed at how much better she feels! She is way more active and talkative. Of course, she's impossible to watch now, too! She is just EVERYWHERE! And now that she's mastered crawling, she's no longer happy with moving along the floor... now she's pulling up on EVERYTHING SHE CAN SEE! Look how big she is...

The pack-n-play has been a lifesaver, because we can't always be standing right next to her- like when we're getting ready in the mornings! One morning, I had the feeling I was being watched. I looked over at the play pen, and this is what I saw...

Pretty adorable... and SOO BIG! She has definitely become a maniac with the whole pulling up thing. We had to take the tablecloth off of the coffee table because she was grabbing it and yanking it (and everything on the table) off onto her head! And now we have moved everything that isn't "baby proof" off of that same table- so no remotes, no coasters, etc! It's a whole new life now! Elena is also learning to dislike being told no... It's hard not to cave when you tell her no and she looks at you and starts crying that "you broke my heart" cry... but she's bordering on spoiled anyway, so we have to! She really bounces back pretty quick- she finds something new to play with!

I don't have any pictures, but we also got to see Great-Grandma De this week! She was passing through on her way to Iowa to visit family, so we hung out on Friday night, then again on Tuesday night when she was headed back home. It was great to see her; the last time Grandma De saw Elena she was not crawling yet, so it was a huge change! We are excited to spend some time with that side of the family in July, when we are heading to Springfield for a couple of days!

I still just can't believe that my baby is 9 months old! That just seems so big! I've been thinking about her birthday, because it's coming so fast! Only 3 more months!! FYI, you can all mark your calendars for September 13th! Not sure about much else, but we'll have the party that day for sure!

Week 38

noreply@blogger.com (Josh and Liz) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 01:40:00 +0000

Well, I was going to do the last two weeks together, but I started picking out pictures, and there were way too many for one post! So, here's last week's, and (hopefully) tomorrow I'll do this week's! I'm kind of looking forward to September, when I get to go to one blog!!

Anyway, last week was a great one for fun events... We spent Saturday at the Cards game, which was rainy and miserable, but still fun. And it was 'Lena's first game, so we had to take lots of pictures! The story's on the other blog, but here are a few more pictures of just The Lena.

All dressed and ready to go...

Hanging out at the MDA tailgate with Aunt Jane!

...and Aunt Jenny!
In Busch Stadium!! Obviously this is before the rain started!
Elena stayed the driest of all of us taking a nap on Aunt Yaya!
The days of taking pictures of Miss Elena sitting nicely are over... now she's off as soon as you set her down! This is the adorable new dress Aunt Ruthie got her!
She did pause for a moment when she found her bottle.

Kinda like a cat, babies love boxes! Elena loved playing in the big box our Wii came in. Right after this she leaned down on the front flap and flipped out of the box altogether! But it didn't faze her at all... she's a tough little girl!

On Sunday we had a campfire night with the youth. We went out to the Scott's house and went fishing, had a fish fry, and just hung out. Mary Scott LOVES Elena, so she really took care of her and Josh and I both got to fish and hang out with the kids some. But Elena did come over to check out her first fish! She wasn't scared at all. I'm just glad the fish didn't flip or flop!

Elena also got to meet her first horse! Which she thought was just like a kitty-cat or a puppy only BIGGER, which made it that much cooler!! This horse is one of the oldest that the Scotts have, so it's very well behaved...
...so Elena just decided to take a ride, too! She was absolutely THRILLED!

No real reason for this picture, except that she was totally adorable in this hat!!

Week 38 was a pretty fun week, but Elena was still feeling pretty yucky. She never really got over her last ear infection. She's an amazingly happy little girl, though, even when she is sick. She has gotten so good at crawling, she's absolutely a maniac!

It's hard to separate the last few weeks, so there will be more in the next post, but now at least half of the pictures are caught up!! Stay tuned...

Fun Videos

noreply@blogger.com (Josh and Liz) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 01:45:00 +0000

Well, I told you about Elena's new tricks in the last post, but I thought it might be more fun for you guys to see them for yourselves! Enjoy!! :)

Crawling... she's getting pretty good now!

And patty-cake!! She grins like a wild woman when you actually do the nursery rhyme with her. Especially if you do the "fast as you can" part as fast as you can! :)

Weeks 36 & 37

noreply@blogger.com (Josh and Liz) — Wed, 28 May 2008 10:57:00 +0000

This is going to be one MONDO post because I haven't had time to post, but I've taken LOTS of great pictures over the last two weeks. So, here goes...

Last weekend we went to the City Museum in St. Louis with the college class. I told the whole story on the other blog, but here are some cute pics of Elena's day!

Her first slide! These were the coolest little roller slides. The tubes rolled, so she didn't get stuck or anything, it was like a little conveyor belt.

Slides are hard work, so she had to take a nap with Grandma Price!
Hanging out with Uncle Charlie. It was really funny because all of these college kids would run off and play on all of the equipment and tunnels and stuff, then come back to hold Elena for a little while. Everybody loves her!
This is my new favorite picture, and is now the background on my computer. Elena LOVES taking a bath. She's discovered splashing and really likes to play. Mommy gets bored WAY before Elena does! In this picture she actually has her first shampoo spike, though you can't really see it.

A much better view of the spike from the side. She finally has enough hair!
Elena has also discovered the diapers on the changing table. Every time we lay her down to change her diaper she grabs one (or a handful) and flails it around. It is for this reason that half of her diapers look like they've already been worn! :)
Elena loves music, she starts grinning and bouncing whenever she hears some. She especially loves piano music, which is funny because when I was pregnant she would thrash like a wild woman during choir practice. Now when we're at church she likes to play the piano herself. It's pretty cute!
So I couldn't resist a video of it, too!

Helping Daddy give the announcements during youth.
Nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby. I know that I have a pictuer of her sleeping in like every post. But she's so adorable when she's sleeping (and NOT talking!!). This was especially cute because she was laying on her boppy, and then she rolled over onto her side and curled her arms up. She just looked so grown up!

This past weekend the Looten's came into town for Memorial Day, so we hung out with Grandma and Grandpa Looten and Great-Grandma Looten, too. Elena wore her Bass Pro Shop onesie just for Grandpa! Check out the celery on the table- she'd been gnawing on a couple of sticks during dinner!

So after church on Sunday we went to Catfish Corner for lunch, and I'd given Elena a pickle a couple of times during lunch- just cut one in half and let her suck on it while she sat in her high chair. When we were all done eating, Grandma Looten was holding Elena and we were all talking, but not really paying that much attention to her. All of a sudden we looked at her, and she was sucking on this big ol' pickle! She had leaned over, grabbed a pickle off of a plate in the middle of the table and started chewing on it. Girl knows what she wants! :)
If you live in MO, you know it has really warmed up lately. So, of course, it was time to bust out the shorts. What a big girl!
We grilled the other night, and it was so nice that I wanted to be outside, too, but not necessarily wrestling with Elena the whole time. So we put up the play pen in the backyard and let her play while we grilled. Isabelle gave her a sniff or two, then went on about her business.
"Mommy, I do not want to be in the playpen anymore!!"

Anyway, it's actually been a rough couple of weeks. Elena had an ear infection, so she's been on antibiotics, which gives her horrendous diarrhea. She always has 3 outfits at the daycare, and some days she still came home in the daycare's clothes! Her tummy was upset, she didn't feel good, therefore she was cranky. Then, even after the antibiotics were finished, she stopped sleeping through the night. She wakes up just screaming and crying, except she's not really even awake, she's just crying. It makes for a rough night. Just in the last couple of days she's started sleeping through the night again.

Elena has learned some cool new tricks, though! :) She claps now, and she is getting really good at crawling. She covers good ground, that's for sure. She's also started pulling up on stuff, and she's trying to learn to wave. She also says "mamamamama," but doesn't really know what she's saying, obviously.

In short, it hasn't been the easiest couple of weeks, but this age is really fun. She learns so much so quickly. Everyday she learns something new. I'm so glad I have this blog to keep track of everything, I'd never actually remember!! This weekend we are going to our first Cardinals game, so those should be some cute pictures next week!!

It Continues

noreply@blogger.com (Josh and Liz) — Sat, 17 May 2008 00:03:00 +0000

Well, the blogging (and video) rush continues! Couldn't resist sharing these two videos...

Obviously, Elena is not too into clothes yet... from the whole box of clothes Aunt Jess got her, this was her favorite part. Pretty much, if it's NOT a toy, she wants to play with it! She especially loves paper, though!

And, the second video is from last night in the bath. She has discovered the joy of splashing. Need I say more?

Week 35

noreply@blogger.com (Josh and Liz) — Fri, 16 May 2008 00:52:00 +0000

Ok, so looks like I am actually going to get caught up tonight on posting... write down the date, because it may never happen again! :)

Week 35 was pretty exciting for Miss Elena! We spent the weekend in Springfield and Branson celebrating the end of Daddy's seminary class. We went to Silver Dollar City all day on Saturday, and just ran around. A MUCH better trip than our last trip to SDC for Young Christian's Weekend when it was pouring rain and 40 degrees outside! It still rained Saturday morning, but at least it was raining and 60. And it got sunny and warm that afternoon. Aunt Jess, Uncle Luke, and Leila joined us, along with a couple of their friends, so we had a great time! Mommy and Daddy ate too much, and shared some with Elena. The frozen lemonade wasn't too bad, but she LOVED the blackberry topping from our funnel cake!

Making faces at Daddy through the "window" on the umbrella part of her stroller.

Hanging out with Grandma Looten... think these two are related?!

'Lena and Leila, chillin' outside the pottery shop.

The guy at the rock shop who makes jewelry gave Elena and Leila baby rings with a stone the color of their birthstones (obviously not a real sapphire). His only request was that we let him pray for the babies while he made the rings. That sounded like a win-win situation to us, and the ring is awful cute!

Besides Silver Dollar City, we spent Sunday hanging out, going to church, and celebrating the moms with lunch out at a mexican restaurant and candy (chocolate toffees for me, dark chocolate caramels for Aunt Jess) from Grandma & Grandpa Looten. For my first Mother's Day Elena got me chocolate covered strawberries... again! What a smart little girl she is... ;)

Listening to Grandpa Looten tell a story. Elena decided she was too big to sit in her swing while we ate- she had to sit up at the table with the rest of the family!

Showin' off the girls after church.

Grandma & Grandpa with their favorite granddaughters!

When we got home, we had a surprise package from the other Aunt Jess! She sent Miss Elena a couple of really cute dresses, a sleeper, and a swimsuit...

The most interesting part was the tissue paper it came wrapped in!

But she finally decided to try on the swimsuit. It looked adorable, of course.

Like every woman, after seeing herself in a swim suit, Elena decided to read up on some pointers to get herself ready for swimsuit season!

Elena is starting to enjoy the feeling of grass and different textures and that sort of thing. Last summer she was just too young to even know there was a difference. I love this picture because she's holding one of the little tiny blue flowers that I used to pick by the handful when I was little. Too cute!

Elena is also discovering some of the downfalls of crawling: sometimes you end up where you don't want to be! We heard her start crying in the living room and looked in there and didn't see her. Yep, sure enough, she had rolled herself under the table, and couldn't get out because she was too tall with her head up. Mean ol' Mommy got the camera and took a couple of pictures before rescuing her! It was too funny...

Well, the not so good news this week is Miss Elena has another ear infection. Sad. :( We were afraid it was pink eye because her eyes were just mondo-gunky and all red-rimmed. But the actual whites of her eyes weren't red. So I called the doctor on Wednesday to see what they thought, and they said to bring her in because it probably wasn't pink eye, but could definitely be an ear infection. And they were right... so we're on the 3rd antibiotic since January. But she's already feeling much better, and this antibiotic doesn't seem to be messing with her system as much (read: no diarrhea), at least not yet.
I did find out that she is about 16 1/2 pounds now, she's getting to be a porker! :) We sure do love her...

Post Script: I was so proud of myself for getting this post all done, with the pictures and everything. Then I went to preview it, and IT WAS ON THE WRONG BLOG!! So, here is take two, because, OF COURSE, you can't copy and paste pictures from the blog editor... NEAT. I may not make it to a year of separate blogs...

Week 34

noreply@blogger.com (Josh and Liz) — Thu, 15 May 2008 22:26:00 +0000

Ok, so I'm obviously a week behind... I'm hoping to get this post and the Week 35 post done today, but in case I run out of time, at least I'll get one done! This posting every week is hard work!! Especially when you are as picture-happy as I am, and when you have a little girl who has discovered that the keyboard makes a REALLY cool noise when you pound on it with both hands! She's such a helper...

Anyway, week 34 was a pretty good week. Over the weekend, we celebrated my 26th birthday with "breakfast for dinner" at my parents' house. We had a great time just hanging out. Elena was VERY interested in the cake with the candles, that's for sure! And she was happy to help me unwrap my presents! I got a bag for my new camera, a couple of movies (27 Dresses & Miss Congeniality 1 & 2), and some money for new clothes (somehow, I'm not exactly the same size or shape I was last May!). We just had a good time hanging out together and, of course, playing with Elena!!

Uncle Charlie (aka The Baby Hog) and his favorite niece! :)

With Aunt Ellen, chewing on a piece of celery. I can't stand the taste, but she doesn't seem to mind! I think she mostly likes chewing on the cool, hard texture. Teething, anyone?

Helping Mommy blow out the candles. She was fascinated, and made the funniest face when the candles were all out!

Hanging with Uncle Sam... much to his delight, as you can see!

Trying on the cute Nike sandles Grandpa Price got for her. Pretty adorable!

On Sunday the 4th we had a 30th anniversary celebration at church. We just had a special morning worship service, and then we did lunch and some reminiscing afterwards. Elena wore a new dress for the occasion... pretty cute! :)

Trying to get a picture before church. My new camera has an orange light when you push the button down to focus it. Well, Elena sees that orange light and immediately stops smiling, then closes her eyes as the flash goes off. So it took a couple of tries, and she still isn't smiling!

We're still working on that whole ladylike thing... I wasn't ever very good at it, either!

I love my daddy!

Hangin' out with Great-Grandma Looten during the lunch... and chewing on some more celery!

After the weekend, we had a pretty relaxing week. Mostly just hung out around the house. And, of course, the camera was never very far away!

I sure do love my hippo!

Let's see, I've watched Mommy read the paper... I can do this, too. First spread the ads out over here, then crinkle up the front page. Hmm... this paper makes a cool noice when I squeeze it. Let's see, oops, I missed a spot over there, better cover it up with the sports section!

Phew, it's hard work to spread that newspaper out all over the floor... time for a nap!

Well, life is rarely boring anymore... Elena is really getting mobile now, which is really fun. And sometimes a little annoying, such as with the newspaper and the fascination with the computer keyboard! Sometimes makes me wish for when she would just lay wherever I put her! But she's awful fun, and I don't think I'd trade it for the world!

8 Months!

noreply@blogger.com (Josh and Liz) — Tue, 13 May 2008 02:20:00 +0000

Well, to continue the string of videos... here's another one to celebrate being 8 months old!

So, the work towards crawling continues. This is a pretty funny new trick!

Eventually, I will put up another post. With my new camera, I have gobs of really cute pictures. But, I have no time (as you can probably tell from the six weeks it's been since I updated the other blog). So, for now, enjoy the video, and sometime I will post more pictures!

Movin' and Groovin'

noreply@blogger.com (Josh and Liz) — Wed, 07 May 2008 00:43:00 +0000

Well, I hate to overwhelm you all with videos, but I couldn't resist posting this...

She is officially MOBILE! It's not exactly hands and knees, but it's definitely moving. Nothing is safe now...