eloise: one year update

posted by mommy

1. nursing - nursing during the day happens 3-4 times. at night, she sleeps through about half the time, and sometimes nurses once.
2. eating - bananas have finally made it into the mix, but only if she is given a whole piece and can take bites herself! other than that, avocados are still a no go, but everything else is a-ok.
3. growth - she definitely feels like she's getting bigger, and losing some of her babyness :(
4. development - eloise crawls now almost exclusively on hands and knees! yeah! and loves to pull up on everything she can! she has also recently begun cruising around furniture and loves walking while having her hands held. she's still pretty wobbly so no independent steps anytime soon, but it'll come! she has also figured out how to climb up stairs. getting down is another matter!
5. sleeping - we are still at two daytime naps. at night, she sleeps all night about half the time.
6. overall demeanor - eloise continues to be a true joy and generally very chill and happy. mornings are usually the hardest as the boys and i are used to taking our time getting ready and getting downstairs for breakfast. she ends up being pretty fussy and likes to scream if i don't get food to her chair fast enough!
7. favorite things - pink zebra lovie still tops the charts! eloise also loves opening and closing doors, pulling out the cabinet drawer and all the CD's inside, coloring in the water wow books, and standing up and cruising around anything she can.

happy one year birthday eloise!

posted by mommy and daddy

to our dear sweet baby girl,
as i sit her writing this to you, i am in awe thinking back on the past year and just how fast it has gone. you have truly been a joy in our lives and a beautiful addition to our family. your smile is larger than life, and your excitement for playing with your brothers has astounded us. you have been loved on more than you will ever know in this whirlwind of your first year. we couldn't have prayed for a more content, happy, and "easy" baby to bring fullness to our family. true, we've had our hard moments - like when you cut five teeth in two months and had a very hard time sleeping! but all in all, you have been, and continue to be, a true delight each day. we get so excited when we see on the monitor that you are awake...so ready to be infected with your gorgeous, big smile to start our day. owen and everett fell completely in love with you before you were even born and have been amazing, protective, and playful big brothers. we know God has so many wonderful things in store for your life as you continue to grow and learn and become the young girl He wants you to be. you are a light in our lives and we pray that you shine that same light each day to everyone who meets you. we love you so so much. in the words of owen when you were still so little, "{we} just can't stop loving you."

a posing pretty one year old

my, how you've grown...

the birthday girl

posted by mommy and daddy

our sweet baby girl turned one year old this past tuesday! we can't believe just how fast this year has gone by. eloise has truly been a delight and a blessing (except when she's teething!). she is adored by her brothers, has a wonderfully wide smile, and laughs a lot!

here's the birthday girl almost ready for her big day,
now able to wear the special tutu mommy made
for her and used in pictures when she was born. 

eloise's special birthday shirt made by our neighbor beth

eloise's first taste of regular milk

apparently the straw just got in the way

the birthday girl enjoying birthday treats

brother's trying to get a bite of the birthday cake

sharing cake with daddy

diving in

of course she ate all the raspberries first

she liked the cake...
or at least the raspberries and whipped cream!

no more raspberries

a sugar high followed by a sugar nap with gampa 

eloise's 1st birthday

posted by eloise

for my 1st birthday, we invited friends over for a milk & cookies party. unfortunately, the day of the party we woke up to lots of snow that wouldn't stop (ended up with almost 2 feet!). so mommy and daddy decided to postpone the party for a few days so no one had to get out. and although we were still missing a few friends due to illness, we had lots of fun and everything was so yummy when the big day finally arrived.

my birthday streamers covering my door...
totally fun to peek through!

the decadent party treats were all homemade
by mommy and grammie

i loved all my pictures

party favors made by mommy's aunt,
super cute milk bottle and flower sugar cookies

my peach banana birthday cake

a quick update

posted by mommy

we've had a few new developments with everett in the last week or so. he took his first steps...only a couple and doesn't do it often, but walking is just around the corner! and although he may not be quite ready to fully walk, he is a big climber. he can already climb by himself all the way up the bunk bed ladder to the top. the other day, i was making breakfast and the boys were in the playroom. owen was up on the exercise ball at the office desk listening to music and watching a slide show of pictures. suddenly, i heard owen yell, "everett, no, you can't get up here. everett, no. mommy, everett, no, get everett. mommy!!!" i came running in, assuming ev was simply trying to climb up on the ball, but instead was horrified to see my little one crawling on top of the desk! he had quickly figured out he could get on one of the little kid chairs, up onto the kid's table, and then onto the desk. oh dear!

he also is now clearly saying mama (and knows what he's saying!) and nana (banana, which he has every morning). he also in the last couple days has started saying dada more, which daddy loves. everett is also doing a few signs regularly - more, all done, and let's pray (clasps his hands together).

he also loves giving kisses...but we get all wet as he leaves his mouth wide open still! no new teeth yet, but based on some very fussy days in the last couple weeks and a few too many very rough nights (we knew his sleeping through the night was too good to last!), we expect one or more any day now.

everett's 1-year update

posted by mommy

1. food - ev's eating of regular food over the past month has definitely increased. suddenly, spoons aren't so bad (depending on what's on the other end!), but variety is still the name of the game (never too much of any one thing). he has started to cut back on nursing in favor of climbing, crawling, playing, dancing, etc! we are down to 3 to 4 times during the day (more if I spend a lot of time down on the floor with him), and sometimes once a night.
2. growth - ev is still mainly lengthening out and starting to trim down a bit, especially since his mobility has really increased with him crawling on hands and knees.
3. development - this past month brought with it a number of new developments. ev began crawling on hands and knees instead of just pulling himself along. he also does a lot more supported walking (using his lion, the cart, dining table chairs, whatever!). another tooth popped through, one of the bottom lateral incisors. we are still waiting for the other one to break (which based on his recent fussiness should be coming any day now!). ev also began doing a few signs. one of our favorites is "pray" - he actually puts his hands together when we say "let's pray" (never even taught him that one, he just sees us do it with owen many times a day)!! he also sort of does "all done" and "more". still no real words yet except for an occasional "ma ma".
4. sleeping - after the last update, ev settled into waking mainly once each night to quickly nurse and then going right back to sleep. however, in the last week, he has slept all night four nights straight and then woke once last night. so he's definitely making some changes in his sleeping! now if only i could get to bed early and begin to catch up on my lack of sleep over the last year!
5. overall demeanor - after tooth 7 cut through, ev settled back down and became more fun again! he is also showing us he is very curious and becoming much more determined. He recently figured out how to climb onto our ottoman coffee table and the small kids table we have in the kitchen...oh dear! he is of course still a mama's boy and wants to be held, loved, cuddled, nursed by me whenever i'm around.
6. favorite things - something ev really loves to do is be crazy with his brother on o's big boy bed. they both get on there and roll around, bury their heads in pillows, laugh, and play together. it's hilarious to watch! he has also become quite the lover of music - loves playing with all his new instruments as well as dancing to any type of music he hears (even if it's just his brother singing his crazy songs!). some of ev's other recent favs include sticking his tongue out, making spit bubbles, yelling, and climbing.

everett's 1-year birthday: the gifts

posted by everett

thanks to all those who helped me celebrate my birthday. i loved all of my books and gifts.

notice my really fun "one." shirt? mrs. beth did a great job
and even incorporated a cow jumping over the moon
to go along with the goodnight moon book.