11 Months Old

I turned 11 months old yesterday. I am pretty sure I will figure out how to walk in the next month. Grandma Johnson gave me this fun chair for Christmas, and today I figured out how to climb in it all by myself. I also figured out it comes in handy to reach tall things on shelves. Now...if I could only figure out how to get out of the chair without hurting myself, I would be set!

Christmas Day

I had a really fun Christmas. I was a little confused because Mom never lets me play with paper, but today she let me rip open packages. It was a lot of fun. Thank you to all my family members for the gifts. I love and play with all of them.

Playing with my toys

Grandma Olsen and I had a fun time playing with my toys on Christmas Eve. She helped me clean out my basket to make room for all the new toys my family gave me for Christmas.

Merry Christmas

Grandma Johnson brought Elizabeth a Christmas Dress. We had fun with her dressed as a little elf. She stole the show while we delivered cookies to the neighbors. We feel so blessed and loved this Christmas. Every member of our family has gone out of our way with generosity. Hopefully I can find a way to express our thankfulness in the upcoming year.

Something New--Presents

I wrapped packages for Daddy while Elizabeth was taking her afternoon nap. When she got up she noticed them immediately. They aren't as pretty now as when I finished wrapping them, but I am glad she added her personal touch!

Learning to Walk

Elizabeth is quickly learning to walk. Enjoy the video.

My Baby is Sick

Elizabeth didn't have a very good night last night. She would wake up about every hour and a half and cry. The only one who could make her feel better was Daddy. She doesn't have very much energy today. She has never fallen asleep on the floor like this. Hopefully her body will fight it quickly so she can be healthy before all of our Olsen visitors come next week.

All Day Long

This is what I see all day long. It is Elizabeth pulling on my pants trying to reach for whatever I have in my hand at that particular moment. We share everything...especially food. She loves the camera and every time I pull it out she dives for it. It is beginning to become quite a challenge to get a picture of her before she manhandles the camera.

Worn Out

We went shopping yesterday afternoon to several different stores. Elizabeth is still not used to wearing a jacket. Plus, it was raining yesterday so she had to wear her hood. It definitely felt more like the Christmas season with the dreary weather.

Our Weekend

We had a pretty good weekend. Saturday was pretty easy going since it was so windy outside. Sunday morning Elizabeth woke up with some crazy hair that was definitely worth a picture.

For church Elizabeth had her choice of two Christmas dresses that each of her Grandma's have given her. We decided to take Elizabeth's Christmas picture in the dress Grandma Johnson gave her, and wear the dress Grandma Olsen gave her to church.

Sunday afternoon we had the Trane's visit. We were so glad that they could come down and spend the afternoon with us. They are very special people. Little Julia isn't so little any more. She is such a good and happy baby.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is Daddy's birthday. We started it off really early...4am because I got hungry. Me and Mommy made Daddy a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, and Mommy made Daddy his favorite meal, steak and potatoes. It has been a good day.

Daddy received his birthday presents a little early. I had fun playing with the boxes as he assembled his new shop light and air compressor.

Busy Body

Elizabeth has a very busy body and spirit. She notices anything new in the room and immediately gravitates toward it. Today she learned how to open the cupboard door so she could explore inside. Luckily it is filled with things she can play with without getting into too much trouble. She has also learned how to lift the lid on the toilet so she can reach the water in the bowl. Who knew being a mom could be so exciting!

Spending time with my Family!

Elizabeth loves family. We have been lucky enough to have all of my family here for Thanksgiving, and have had a great time together. Elizabeth has had plenty of attention, and people to play with. She gets a little bashful around Grandpa Johnson, but it's very endearing.

Thanksgiving with the Johnson's

We had a great time in Tucson for Thanksgiving. We ate and ate and ate. Everything was so good. It was so nice to be with family. Last year it was just the two of us, so it was fun to visit. Elizabeth had a great time seeing everyone and playing with Ike's toys.

My Favorite Spot

Last week Elizabeth's favorite spot was behind the couch. She loves getting back there and tugging on the lamp. She is very mobile now. She will find a way to get what she wants.

Left Handed

I think Elizabeth might be left handed. She has been picking up her Cheerios with her left hand. And when she pulls herself up onto a chair or table, she always grabs with her left hand first. This would make her a 3rd generation lefty as both me and my father are lefties.

My Tooth

This is the first picture where Elizabeth has been smiling enough to see her tooth. She has one just to the left that is ready to break through any day. And just a note about her hair...this is it's most natural state. Anything I do to try and tame it doesn't work. We get lots of compliments when we go out.

(We haven't posted lately because E has not been feeling good. I think she got a little bug last Thursday and didn't really start feeling well until Tuesday. Thankfully she is feeling better now.)

Trick or Treat

We had a really fun night at the Trunk or Treat. Elizabeth loved seeing everyone in their costumes. She giggled all the way home.

My Zebra Costume

Elizabeth will be a zebra tonight for the community trunk or treat. Daddy is really excited about taking her around to get candy.

I'm 9 months old

Elizabeth turned 9 months old today. She has reached so many milestones in the last month. She is crawling now. She has her first tooth, and is working on her second. She pulls herself up on everything. She has had a few spills where her head has connected with the hard tile. She can pick up Cheerios and eat them, and loves yogurt. And, she babbles constantly.

I took her in for her 9 month checkup. She weighed in at 18 lbs 15 oz, and is a little over 28 inches long. She is a very healthy and happy girl. We can't imagine life without her.

Supervision

Daddy needed a little supervision while washing the car, so E is out helping him. She loves when the weekend comes around. She and Daddy do things she doesn't normally do during the week.

I love the Pantry

Elizabeth loves to get into the pantry. She has learned how to squeeze her fingers in between the door and the molding to push it open. We are going to have to rearrange things in there. After I took the pictures she managed to pull a container of rice down from the first shelf. Luckily it didn't land on her. I look back at the days where she was content to lay on her mat and reach for toys. Those days were so easy!

Messy Eater

Jeremy's sister asked if Elizabeth is a messy eater. I think this picture answers her question. If she really likes what she is eating, we do pretty good. But if she doesn't like it, she blows spoonfuls out her mouth. And sometimes she will store it in her cheeks and then blow. She also likes rubbing it all around her face with her fists.

I gave her a pear to chew on yesterday. She really liked it.

Pulling Myself Up

I am getting pretty good at pulling myself up. It scares my Mom. She thinks I am going to poke my eye out on the corner of the table. (It looks like she is crying in this picture, but she is actually laughing at the camera.)

I Can Crawl

E has grown up so much in the last week. She is mobile now!

Elizabeth's New Car Seat

It was time to move Elizabeth to a new car seat. She was getting to heavy to carry around in her infant seat. She loves sitting in shopping carts anyway. She can see better, and even grab things in the cart if they are close enough.

49 Degrees

Daddy is home today, so we decided to go for a walk around the neighborhood. It has finally cooled down enough to need long sleeves in the morning. It feels good.

Mommy and Daddy like walks because it puts me to sleep.

I crawled

Elizabeth crawled today. Her toy rolled away from her so she decided she needed to get it. She got on her knees and crawled about 3 feet to get her toy and then sat herself up to play with it. I was so excited for her. She has been rocking back and forth on her knees for a couple of days now. It has fun to watch her gain movement and develop motor skills.

In this picture she had crawled/rolled her way from the living room to the entry. She scoped out the pantry and made her way into the office doorway. I really have to watch for any little thing on the floor. She will pick up anything she finds.

This isn't Working

For the past couple of weeks Elizabeth has been begging to drink water out of my cup. Once in a while I will let her do it. I figured it was time for her to have her own cup, so I bought E some sippy cups at the store. She was excited to play with something new, but it took a while for her to figure out exactly what I had given her. She finally did get a few sips out of it, but decided shaking it and waving it around was a lot more fun. After 20 minutes she was pretty soaked, along with the carpet. Good thing it wasn't sticky juice!

Asleep Sitting Up

When I put Elizabeth in her crib, sometimes she cries and sits up, hoping I will rescue her. She must have given up and fell asleep sitting up. She was so tired from playing with her new toy.

Early Christmas

Aunt Lou from Spokane came to visit, and she brought an early Christmas present. It sings the alphebet, teaches me colors, and sings 26 different songs. I have been playing with it all morning. Thanks Aunt Lou!

Ready for Church

Elizabeth was so cute this morning, I just had to take a picture of her. She was really good during Primary. There is another little girl her age that she interacts with and shares toys with.