15 month well check

Ellison had her 15 month well check yesterday! She had 4 shots, which meant 4 band-aids! She was very fascinated by her band-aids, she liked them, but was also a little worried about why they were stuck to her. She wanted to take them off, but I told her to leave them on to show her daddy - which she did. She straddled my lap while she got her shots, and once again the worst part for her was that she was held tight and wasn't allowed to move, she stopped crying as soon as the band-aids were on and was able move again. She gained a pound and a half and grew an inch and a half since her 12 month well check!

Here are her stats:

Weight: 20 lbs (20th percentile)
Length: 30 inches (40th percentile)



The skinny on our Minnie:

• She loves to read (be read to). Elle will easily read 10 books in a row and most likely ask for more!
  
• She is very friendly out in public - waves hi, says "hello", blows kisses, and waves good bye, says "bubye" to just about anyone whether they are looking at her or not. However, is not a fan of any stranger invading her personal space.


• Naps one time a day - naps will last from 45 min. (on a bad day) to 2 hours (on a good day). Uses a pacifier only during bed-time, which she calls "pass". Gives us her "pass" as soon as she sees us come to get her.


• Night-time sleeping is pretty inconsistent. Avg. wake ups per night is 2, but does sleep through the night every once in a while. She usually sleeps for approx. 9-11 hours.


• She eats using a fork with ease. Loves all fruit, not a huge fan of veggies, likes meat and fish(chicken, brats, turkey hot dogs, tamales, salmon, haddock, and cod). Drinks a lot of milk!


• Can catch a ball all by herself.


• Loves to go to the park. Swinging is her favorite!


• Loves to go to the pool.


• Talks a lot. Repeats what we say. Words that she says daily: airplane, lawn mower, please, thank you, up, down, more, mom, dad, milk (she says "milt"), pass, out, help, noise, hippo, ball, tubby, swing, happy, clap, head, nose, hooray, yikes, wow, um (I guess I say "um" a lot)...that's all I can think of for now.
• loves to sing along to "If Your Happy and You Know It" - she knows all of the actions and does them right on cue, also likes, "I'm a Little Teapot" - likes to tip at the end. Another favorite is "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" - she knows every body part mentioned.
• She will dance when ever she hears music.
• likes to be bounced on our exercise ball.
• likes to be chased (she brings us her popper and has us chase her with it), likes hide-and-seek.
• likes to help cooking and baking (especially mixing things) as well as cleaning (especially sweeping...she has her own little broom).

Needless to say, she keeps us on our toes and we love every second of it!

Our little gymnast

Every Friday is "open" gymnastics at the Cary Gymnastics Center and we (Elle and I) go about every other Friday. We brought Jonathan last Friday so Elle could show her daddy her gymnastic skills! Ellison loves to go to the open gym to see all of the kids and to run around and have fun!

Elle and I in the foam pit

Here we are on the trampolineElle and Jonathan. She loves to hang!
Letting go is fun too!
She didn't have as far to fall here, so we let her show off her skills!
See, she can do it all by herself!

Running down the air trampoline. We love to watch her run with her flailing arms! (We call her Phoebe when she runs - "Friends" fans out there would understand)!

One little duckling and a visit from Tex

Here's Elle running around with her ducky towel after her bath, she thought she was so funny... plus she was saying "quack, quack, quack" (but it sounded more like "kaack, kaack, kaack")!

Elle out on our patio
This is Elle's new phone (we got new ones, so she got the old one), and she is sitting in one of her favorite spots. She fits perfect on the bottom step. She likes it because it's just the right height for her.
Another favorite spot to sit, her Bumbo seat! She sat in it all on her own, however her aim wasn't the best and she wasn't happy about it either.

Flashback!!!
Here she is at 6 weeks old sitting in the Bumbo!

My friend Heather (aka "Tex") came to visit from Texas for a couple of days! Heather was one of my college roommates/soccer teammates! It was great seeing her. Plus we were able to get together with our friend Jenny and her kids Reese and Chase (Jenny was also a college roomie/soccer teammate)! We had a crazy, but fun time - just like the old days!(from L to R: Heather, Reese, Jenny, Chase, Erin, Ellison)

...another new post below, keep scrolling down.

More pictures from pontooning in Wausau

We were in Wausau last weekend and had beautiful weather for pontooning! Last weekend also marked the first time Jonathan got to go on the boat!

Petting Zoo, Swinging, Stampede Run, and your look ahead at some Fall fashions

Elle and I had fun at the "Randall Oaks Barnyard Petting Zoo" last Tuesday, it's just a 12 min. drive from our house. I think her favorite part was the playground next to the zoo where she got to swing - which seems to be her favorite thing lately.

Here's some giggles from Elle on our backyard swing set one evening last week.

I've been meaning to mention the Stampede Run (in Arlington Heights, IL) that we participated in over the 4th of July weekend. Jonathan and I ran the 5k (3.1 miles) and both placed 2nd in our age groups! We each got a pint class for our efforts. I wish we would have brought our camera - darn it. Thanks to our S.I.L. (sister in law) Jenna for watching Elle and cheering us on! Also, congrats to Tim (Jonathan's bro) for placing 3rd in his age group!

Quick stats:

There were 636 people who participated in the 5k run. Jonathan placed 48th overall (20:43), Tim placed 50th overall (20:48), and I placed 104th overall (23:07)!

...and here's your preview of what Elle will be wearing this Fall/Winter. She found these clothes (the vest and boots) and just had to wear them around the house!

She should be an Old Navy model!

We are not planning on getting a real dog for many, many, years, so this one will have to do for now!

fun stuff

here are some random fun pictures!

First time using a fork! She loves turkey hot dogs.

Jonathan came home from his early morning run just after Elle woke up. She was so happy to listen to his i pod with him as he sang to her.
jamming out

Playing out it the backyard - first we (Jonathan, my dad, and I) took turns holding Elle and running through the hippo sprinkler, next, we took turns throwing Elle up in the air - here's an action shot!

Here's Elle dancing at the Barrington Library's "Ole' Sing and Play" - lately, she has been dancing up a storm every time she hears music.