Growing & Growing

We just got home from Elise's 12 month checkup, and she is growing up. She is 23 lbs 3 oz. & 30.75 inches tall. All is well & she was so good for Dr. Valder. He was surprised at how receptive she was to him, usually at this age they start to get shy and timid around other people. We brought along her white birthday bear for comfort, and when the Dr. asked if it was her bear she held it out to him. Again, he was surprised that she knew what he was talking about! I think she's beginning to understand more than we think...

Happy 1st Birthday, Claire Elise!

Our little girl is one today! Last year at this time we were at the hospital & entering the new role of parenthood. Time flies, and every parent I meet tells me this, but until you experience it for yourself you don't know how true it is. Elise arrived at 12:09pm June 11, 2007 & we have certainly been blessed to call her our little girl. We had her 1st birthday party with friends on Saturday & Grandma June was here for the week to celebrate, too. Her party theme was pink & green polka dots. She was very dainty when she ate her little patty cake - just dipped her finger tips in the icing and tested it out again and again! (She was awake until 10:30pm that night, so we know not to give her icing too close to bedtime again.) It was about 98 degrees outside & 85 degrees in the house that day - our air conditioning couldn't keep up with the high temps and extra bodies in the house, so thank you to all our friends who put up with warm temps to celebrate with Elise!! She received so many fun gifts & enjoyed a birthday wagon ride with her new canopy.

First Steps

On Friday night, Elise took her first steps all by herself. We were so excited for her - and just before her 1st Birthday! Here's a little video clip of her practicing.

A Fun Week

We've had a full week! Last Friday morning we had breakfast with Colleen & Kata McLaren as they were passing through Charlotte - great to see you two. Also, with my mom in town we did some swimming at Curt's pool & sweet Elise even took a little snooze in the water. It was almost the most comfortable place to be with the 10 day heat wave we experienced (99 nearly every day). And Elise even wanted to help out John with the flashlight as he was fixing our kitchen sink this weekend, too!

Happy Birthday, Sara

Lots of birthdays in our family during the next few weeks. Happy 30th birthday, Sara! Hope you have a wonderful day & we look forward to a belated celebration with you in a few weeks!

Summertime

On Sunday we picked up a little pool & float for Elise. She's already been out twice to enjoy her new little backyard fun. Even in the last week or so, John and I feel like she's becoming more and more expressive & curious. She plays hard!

Happy Birthday, John!

On Friday we celebrated John's birthday by eating out at Villa Antonio's. Bruce & Marnee flew down to spend some time with us & we had such a wonderful evening of great food, eating outdoors, live music & of course free entertainment from Elise. She loves to smile at everyone & she loved to go through Oma's purse. We had a nice visit together, and had a few days to relax on the back patio with a little sunshine & some cold drinks. You can tell that we are parents: John's birthday gifts included a new baby backpack carrier to use with Elise & he also got fitted for running shoes to stay in shape. He also received some rhubarb specially delivered from Minnesota, so we will be enjoying a rhubarb pie & jam at some point soon.