18 Month Stats

Elise is now 18 months old! She is so mature for her age. It is so funny the things we expect of her and then realize, oh yeah, you're still a baby. She loves to help clean up, get shoes for everyone, and cook. She can say 25+ words, she know tons of body parts, she loves to play games, and she thinks she is pretty funny. Her nicknames are: E-see, Lee-See, and Sister.

Weight: 21 1/2 pounds (5-10%), Apparently she is a milk-aholic (we need to cut her back).

Height: 31 1/4 inches (25-50%)

Head: 48 1/2 (90-95%)

The Doctor said is doing everything a 2 year should be doing. He seemed impressed by her, which is nice since he kids all day everyday. She is once again ahead of herself. She is always trying to grow up too fast. And now she gets to start nursery. I have gone in with her a few times and she is a pro! She loves it! I am seriously so lucky to have her. I love her so much!

Watch out for the "Motivator"!

Dallin's new favorite show is WipeOut. He LOVES this show. It is so fun to see him just crack up at all the people slipping and sliding around. If you haven't seen it, you need it. It is funny stuff! He pretends to be on WipeOut and he will run around our house being crazy. It is our new family show. Even Elise cracks up!

The Boy

I seem to have a lack of pictures of Dallin lately, but I managed to get a couple of him not being completely silly. He is such a good brother to Elise. I love his sweetness and protective way that he already shows with her. It just makes me smile. But I can't help but smile when I see him.

Independence Day

Our 4th of July celebration were pretty relaxed and minimal but it was perfect. We hung out at home most of the day Saturday and Jon smoked a pork loin. Yeah, that is bacon on top!!! It was so good! And we did some fireworks, although we didn't need to do much since everyone in our neighborhood did so many. Dallin loved it though! And unlike Vegas, we can do some really cool, non-fountain fireworks. Which makes it so much more exciting! For dessert I made a homemade chocolate chip cake and it was so good! We ate pretty much the whole thing that night!!

Where has my baby gone?

Elise is now 17 months and lately when I look at her I wonder, where has my baby gone? She is such a beautiful little girl and she is independent. I just love her so much! She is talking so much more these days too! She can say: Mommy, Mom, Daddy, Brother, Bow, Ball, Baby, Bubble, Bye Bye, Night Night, Sorry, Cheese, Teeth, No-No... I am sure I am forgetting a few... And she signs: Please, Thank You, More, and All Done. At times I feel like she is hitting the terrible two already with the fits she can throw, the screaming when she doesn't get her way, and the attaching her brother when he pesters her too much. But she really is such a sweet girl. She will always say sorry and give a kiss if she did something wrong. She loves to give hugs. And she has become quite the ham for the camera. She loves her brother more than anything. She is a totally girly girly (she asks for her bow as soon as I get her from her crib) but loves to play in the dirt. She loves pink. If given a choice, she will chose the pink one every time. She has become quite the daddy's girl lately, but still loves mommy for cuddling and bedtime. I am so grateful she is mine! She is such a joy to us!

Strike a pose!

Hamming it up!
She looks so funny with Jon's huge Sonic cup!

Attack of the chiggers!!!!

Meet the chigger. This nasty little thing feed on the skin cells, but not blood, of animals, including humans. The six-legged parasitic larva feeds on a large variety of creatures including humans. After crawling onto their host, they inject digestive enzymes into the skin that break down skin cells. They do not actually "bite," but instead form a hole in the skin called a stylostome and chew up tiny parts of the inner skin, thus causing severe irritation and swelling. The severe itching is accompanied by red pimple-like bumps or hives and skin rash or lesions on a sun-exposed area. For humans, itching usually occurs after the larvae detach from the skin.

A few weeks ago Jon came up with a really fun Dallin, Mommy, Daddy date. He found a place where we could rent a small fishing boat and drive around the lake. Since Dallin (nor his mother, SO SAD I know!) had ever been on a boat, it was pretty exciting. We had a great time. Dallin LOVED the lake. We actually removed him kicking and screaming. The next day I was itching like a mad woman! Then I saw this! (this picture is from day 3!) I had been attached by chiggers! Jon and Dallin escaped without a single bite! For those of you who haven't had a chigger bite- consider yourself LUCKY! They itch so incredible bad. Mosquitoes are nothing compared to chiggers. I itched so bad I truly thought I was going to rid my skin off! I tried every anti-itch lotion, cream, ointment and NOTHING worked! I washed with lye soap and used rubbing alcohol on the spots and that helped a little. Saturday night I itched so bad it kept me up all night! To make things worse the next day I got at least 10 more bites all over my body and I was only outside for a few minutes. AHHH!