Elise at The Zoo

A couple of weeks ago we took Elise to the SF Zoo. After months of pointing to animals in her books and playing with her stuffed toys, we thought it would be good to show her some live ones. Whether it was pointing at the prairie dogs or squealing at the goat, she wasn't afraid of any of them (as we intially thought). At one point, she even let a goat lick her feet. Unfortunately, she was so excited she accidentally kicked him in the snout. We saw lots of ducks in the pond which she happily tried to chase but we did not want history to repeat itself (Dad fell into a duck pond when he was a kid) so we had a firm grip on her.

Elise was forever fascinated with these little duckies, probably because they were the first animals she could point out in her books.














Here's the goat that she accidentally kicked in the face.






























Elise and the prairie dogs















Dad and Elise in front of the lion's den. She would make a very tasty meal for one of these lions with her chubbiness oozing out of her clothes.















Elise is quite happy about seeing the sheep.

Happy 15-Month Birthday

For Elise's 15-month birthday, we took her to the doctor's for her 15-month check-up. She got the MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) vaccination but we decided to hold off on giving her the chicken pox vaccination. Over the next couple of days, she came down with a fever and was pretty clingy. Her measurements are:

Height: 30" (30th percentile)
Weight: 19lbs. 90z. (10th percentile)

Still a crawler, she patters through our house usually in search of one of us or picking up random pieces of dirt or hair on the floor. Funny thing happened the other day when she was scouring the floor. Elise found something tasty on the floor and popped it into her mouth. Fearing the worse, we rushed over to pry whatever foreign object was in her mouth. She clammed shut and wouldn't let us near her "precious" food find. When she was done eating whatever she found, she opened wide and showed us her empty mouth as if to say "ha, you can look all you want now!" Without any evidence to incriminate, she crawled away triumphant looking for her next treasure.

It's so strange to see her personality develop and for it to happen so fast. One day she's quiet and thoughtful, the next day she's a comedian who is a constant chatterbox. Around strangers she is very reserved and shy. She puts on her tough exterior and stares them down. This isn't the Elise we know and love but people who don't know her very well just see her non-blinking stares and stern look. There is one personality trait that she's developed we hope she'll grow out of soon. Sometimes when we are with people and they do nothing but laugh or talk, she bursts into full fledge wailing. Sometimes unconsoloble, we have to take her out of the room to calm down. We don't know why it happens to some people and not to others. She does this with both familiar and unfamiliar people so we don't think it's stranger anxiety. We're usually holding her to make her feel more comfortable and secure but still the wailing. We feel awfully bad for our friends who have to experience this because she is so upset! Maybe she's super sensitive and shy but you wouldn't think that if you saw her in her element. Our doctor reassured us that it is very common for kids around this age. They just don't yet know how to read emotional cues and sometimes a loud laugh can be interpreted as threatening. Until then we have to wait it out while this passes.

Hide and Seek With See-Thru Curtains

Our Puppy In The Window

Elise is barely tall enough to see over our window sill but she still tries anyways. Standing on tippy toes, Elise watches the cars drive by and the dreary, rainy weather outside.



















Grabbing the window with all her strength hoping to catch a glimpse of Mom or Dad coming home? One day we came home and what should greet us in the window but a forehead and two peering brown eyes. Without seeing her mouth, we could tell she was grinning with her wide 5 1/2 teeth smile because her eyes lit up with so much excitement. She was as anxious as we were to come home.

Our Housecleaner

Last week, Elise grabbed a stray towel and proceeded to wipe most of our kitchen floor! Admittedly, it was a proud moment for Mom who is such a neat-nik and can finally claim her genes. Our housecleaner may soon be out of a job. If only we can train her to take out the garbage too...

Polishing the furniture...