Monday, September 9, 2013

Elise - 4 1/2!


Elise July 2013 - Photo by Michelle Boyd

 Elise was so excited to turn 4.5 on July 23!  She counted down the days for several weeks before the "big day".

Stats:  She's approximately 44 inches tall and weighs about 40 lbs.  She wears mostly size 6 clothing (girls size S) and a 12.5-13 shoe.

Sleeping:  Elise is still a fabulous sleeper.  During the last few months, we've transitioned more and more from naps to rest time.  For some reason, she spent about 3 weeks after our Texas trip where she took a nap every other day (I keep her up on the day after a nap so that her night time sleep doesn't get messed up).  Maybe she was in the middle of a growth spurt.  Prior to that, she was down to a nap (i.e. falling asleep during rest time) 1-2 times a week.  The transition has been very smooth. On days that she doesn't take a nap, she has 30 minutes of rest time while Jack is sleeping and then goes to bed at 7:30 and wakes up around 8.  Her clock turns green at 7:30 every morning.  On days that she does take a nap, she goes to bed around 8:30.  A few weeks ago, we converted her toddler bed to the full size bed.  She loves having new bedding and a lot of space to sleep in!  In August, we moved her bedroom to another room in the house, so in this picture the bed is positioned against the bookshelves/desk in her old (small) room, but at least you can see the new bedding.  It looks great and she loves it.  Her request was for an "aqua" bed and I love how the different blues, pinks, and greens look together in her room.  This is the Pottery Barn Kids Brooke bedding.  I've added more pink accents after the switch to her new room.  As of now (early September), she also has pretty much completely dropped her nap and just has 30 minutes of rest time each afternoon.  Funny story... I laid down to have rest time with her when we were in Texas one day and put my arm around her.  After about a minute, she whispered, "Mama, we need to keep our hands to ourselves during rest time, okay?"   


Eating:  Elise continues to be a great eater.  Sometimes she has to work pretty hard to eat more than her little brother at meal time, but she manages.  Favorite breakfast foods include fruit, eggs, bacon, pancakes/waffles/bagels/etc, cereal with or without milk, and yogurt.  For lunch, we usually have sandwiches with a few sides.  She likes peanut butter, almond butter, turkey or ham with cheese and mustard, etc.  For dinner, we usually have meat (she likes pretty much everything except ground meat), a vegetable or two (she likes sweet potatoes, corn, cucumbers, bell peppers, asparagus, etc), and something like noodles, rice, beans, etc.

Favorite Activities:  Elise is very active and very girly.  She loves to run, jump, climb, ride her bike, and do anything outside.  Her absolutely favorite toys right now are her Lego Friends.  They have made the cutest little girly Legos and she loves to play with them in her new room on her new pink rug.  She also enjoys dolls right now and isn't picky about which ones she plays with.  She likes her mini American Girl dolls, baby dolls, Disney Barbie-type dolls, mini LaLaLoopsy dolls, Duplo figures, etc.

Lego girl with an Elise original bed 



She's always up for a trip to the zoo, park, aquarium, or friend's house.  She is my little sidekick and often accompanies me on errands while the boys are doing something else.  She also very attentive to Jack and enjoys playing "boy toys"  with him.  She is just as excited as he is when a construction vehicle is spotted along the road and her favorite DVD to watch is Thomas the Train.  Clothes, shoes, and accessories are very important in our house.  Elise always wants to pick her outfit for the day and packs a small purse to take with her when we go somewhere.        


Now for some pictures taken in May-June...

Organizing purses and backpacks




Last day of preschool - May 23.  She is so excited to start Pre-K in September!



Elise and her friend Anna at the preschool Mother's Tea in May 


Playing sand and construction with Jack




Someone can't wait to have a little sister :)


Backhoe loader outside our house!


With friends Maddie and Henry


Writing sample... she still doesn't like to write/draw/color, but every now and then she initiates it :)



Sunday, September 8, 2013

32 weeks

Time keeps flying by... I can't believe Miss Claire will be here in about 8 weeks!  I'm still feel good most of the time unless I have been sitting too long.  The main change since my last update is that I get full really fast.  As a result, I haven't gained much in the last month.  I'm about 14 lbs up from my starting weight and at my appointment earlier this week my belly measured 30 weeks.  The doctor says everything looks great.  I try to walk every morning before the kids wake up because it really helps loosen up my back.  Thankfully, I haven't had a problem with the dreaded middle-of-the-night leg cramps like I did with E and J.  Maybe this has something to do with all the stairs in our current house?  At any rate, I'm thankful that I can still keep up with the kids during the day AND I'm thankful that they are both usually in bed by 7:30 so that I can be lazy the rest of the night :)

30 weeks at the "beach" (Sandy Point State Park, near Annapolis) 
  

31 weeks at West Point


32 weeks at the beach


The Beach!

We found out recently that we live less than an hour from Sandy Point State Park near Annapolis.  There is a free (to military) "beach" with a view of the Bay Bridge and we've made 2 trips in the last month to meet our friends, the Schuchards, for a Saturday play date.  The kids love playing together in any location, but here they especially had a blast in the sand and water.  We collected many, many rocks and shells.  These trips were a great alternative to a beach vacation because we could leave and go home whenever we were tired :)  Here are some pictures from our two "beach trips".





Proud of her shell "collection"


John and Jack taking a quick rest in the sand



Me, Claire (32 weeks), and Sarah



Elise and John love playing together




Jack running away from the waves



John swimming


Jack and Lila (we are hoping that at least one set of our kids get married!)



Me, Claire (30 weeks), and Mike


Hunting for shells with Daddy


Friday, September 6, 2013

Trip to West Point

At the end of August, Mike and I took Elise to West Point to visit our friends, the Reclas!  Thank you, Mimi and Pop, for staying behind with our little potty-trainer.  We got to scope out the houses, parks, places to hike, and see the school where she will go for kindergarten next year.  We're not quite ready to leave Baltimore yet but we are excited to head to West Point in mid to late May.  Thanks to Ben, Kami, Austin, and Lauren for letting us camp out in their new house :)  Before we left, Elise told Jack, "Jack, I have to go to New York with Mommy and Daddy.  But don't worry, I'll be back after one night.  I love you!"

Mike and his 3 girls



On a bridge that crosses the Hudson River


Lauren (2.5), Austin (3.5), Elise (4.5)


Me and Kami



The kids love climbing on the monuments and cannons at West Point... not sure if this is good or not :)




Proof that school buses exist (Jack's favorite!)


Hugging baby Claire at Trophy Point (31 weeks)






West Point Elementary School


Elementary school playground


Delefield Pond (hard to tell but there is a "beach" and water slides)


A few of the neighborhood parks... it was raining off and on so we didn't get to try them all out.  This one has a paved jogging/bike trail that Elise is excited about.



"Jack's Preschool"


Neighborhood where we will likely live


The Reclas' House

First Day of Pre-K

Elise was SO excited to start Pre-K this week!  Jack and I got to visit her class with her and meet her teachers on Wednesday and then she had full mornings on Thursday and Friday.  She has several friends in the class that she knows from church or school last year (Kate G., Kate H., Katelyn, and Chelsea).  She will go on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9-12, which is perfect for us.  I hope that she is always this excited about school!



Silly face


New (size 13!!!) shoes :)