tilt head/pucker lips

"i'm what willis was talkin' bout!"

'nuff said.

"Whatchu talkin' bout Willis?" -Arnold (Diff'rent Strokes)

lions and tigers and bears.....oh my!

elena is a little obsessed with animals. she can make about every animal sound and thrives on being quizzed! she flips through books to see if there are pictures of animals in them....if there are, she brings it over for us to read to her - if there isn't, it gets tossed aside. she is able to label several animals in books, pictures, on tv, on t-shirts, etc. jason and i wanted to take advantage of her obsession and the nice weather while it lasts, so last weekend we took lanie to the zoo! we weren't quite sure how she'd react....if she'd stare in amazement, speechless or have the same enthusiasm seeing them in person as she does in seeing their pictures.

the first exhibit we went to were the bears and sure enough she called out, "bear, bear, grrrrrr, grrrrrr..." she labeled the animals and made their appropriate sounds! it was so much fun for jason and i to see her experience her first time at the zoo! elena especially loved the bears, penguins, monkeys and birds.

"bear, bear, grrrrr, grrrrr!"

a better look...

checking out the polar bears...

"the best view at the zoo..."

the penguin house

entering the primate house

"smile for the chimps..."

"i'll catch up in no time!"

"hi there...wanna come out and play with me?!"

"hey, did you see that camel's bumps...that's what mama's going to look like!"

"what's next? what's next?"

"check out all the birds...there's ducks, geese and flamingos!"

"the goose says 'honk honk' (she presses her nose while honking)!"

our first family trip to the zoo!

"ya think i can just move in here?! i love it here! i can't wait to show bubba all the animals!"


you can see all our pictures from the zoo HERE

"Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children." -Charles R. Swindoll

wheeeee

miss lanie loves her slide....

"think you can handle watching me and my super great slide moves?"

"huh? huh? ok, i'll show you, but you've been warned!"

"watch and learn. you gotta keep your feet first and then give yourself a push..."

"wheeeeeee!"

"i could do this again...."

"and again...."

"and again."

"no seriously, whattya standing around for? let's go again!"


don't you remember how that one little thing brought you insane joy?! i do. it used to be a particular toy, a special phone call, a song, a hug, etc. now? it's our little elena jae!

"You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around - and why his parents will always wave back." ~William D. Tammeus

fun in the yard

our neighbors have an owl lawn ornament that sits near our house. elena loves to go see it and 'hoo' at it....

"there's the owl!!"

"hooo, hooo, hooo, hooo, hooo..."

"what the _____? did that owl just 'hoo' back at me?!"

"oh no, talk to the hand..."

"i need to go help daddy anyways!"

"here i come daddy!"

"i'll do this half, you do that half, k?"

"i love working as a team with my daddy!"

"admiring our work...looks good dad!!!"


"Feelings of worth can flourish only in an atmosphere where individual differences are appreciated, mistakes are tolerated, communication is open, and rules are flexible -- the kind of atmosphere that is found in a nurturing family." -Virginia Satir

learning emotions

elena has been quite the emotional toddler lately (wonder if she's picking up on her equally emotional mother - hmmm)...so we are taking advantage and trying to teach and label them for her. we say that she's happy or ask if she's feeling sad, etc. the basics - happy, sad, silly, mad, etc. one of her favorite books 'I Love You Through and Through' goes through these basic ones. she loves it and tries to match her expression with the appropriate feeling. i really need to get it on video (it's priceless), but here are some pics of elena 'practicing' her emotions.

reading the book...

"i love your HAPPY side."

"your SAD side."

"i love your SILLY side."

"and your MAD side."


and no, you're not seeing things - she has three tiny bruises across her nose. her sunglasses were the only thing that broke her fall on the pavement this particular night. i'm pretty sure her feeling was sad. :(

“Feelings are not supposed to be logical. Dangerous is the man who has rationalized his emotions.” - David Borenstein

my 13 month old

i cannot believe how much my baby has grown over this past month. at 12 months, she was doing a lot. a lot. but over these last few weeks, it's not only that she's doing all that and then that much more....she understands, she reasons, she argues - but with purpose, with intellect. she's definitely still MY baby, but has for sure made the move to toddler. her learned responses and ability to predict have transitioned to unprompted labeling and initiating further growth. she loves to learn and has that incredible toddler hunger for more and more and more!

at 13 months, elena
- loves to help us and even has a few regular chores (feeding the dogs, putting toys/shoes away, etc).
- knows every animal sound from a bumble bee to a gorilla.
- is able to label several animals and objects without prompting.
- tries to repeat everything. she loves for you to give her a word for her to try.
- is getting really close to running.
- loves babies. all she does is kiss and try to play with her young friends. she's going to be a very loving big sister.
- goes up and down the stairs holding onto the railing (with spotting of course).
- gets on and off the furniture all by herself or with the assistance of her toys.
- is super sweet. she goes back and forth between jason and i to give us kisses!
- can point out her head, hair, ears, eyes, nose, tongue, teeth, belly, butt and toes. she also loves to point everyone else's belly button's out and lifts their shirt to do so.
- is starting to follow direction (go get your shoes, etc).
- is loud. she gets this from her father. ;)
- has NO patience/delay of gratifictaion. she wants what she wants NOW!
- tells us "bubble" and grabs when she's made "bubbles" in her diaper.
- loves to bring us a diaper and her wipes and put them away when done, but hates to be changed.
- tries to make a run for it everytime a door to the outside opens.
- plays with toys appropriately (puts the shapes correctly in the shape sorter; 'eats' and 'drinks' the pretend food and drink; rocks, feeds and cuddles her dolls and stuffed animals, will sit and 'read' through a book independtly, etc).
- loves to be chased and giggles and wiggles as if she's about to burst each and every time.
- would live outside if she was allowed.

this is just a little of who 13 month old elena is. our toddler.

"There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings." ~Hodding Carter, Jr.

utensils, please

a few weeks back (yes i'm behind on this blog thing) elena started wanting to ONLY eat with a fork like the bigger kids. she picked it up right away and does really well with it! it's so bittersweet seeing her grow out of the baby and into such a little girl!







"To value his own good opinion, a child has to feel that he is a worthwhile person. He has to have confidence in himself as an individual." -Sidonie Gruenberg

smarty pants

for dinner a few weeks back elena was given chicken, white potato and cauliflower. while doing stuff in the kitchen my back was turned for a few moments....and i had come to see that elena had ate ALL her cauliflower first! i thought 'what a good girl eating all her vegetables. i must've really made them good tonight or something.' quite proud of both of us regarding dinner....until i went to clean her up.


she had shoved all her cauliflower into the pocket of her bib and the side of her chair!


she then decided to feed it to the dogs.


pretty clever considering the cauliflower looked just like the white potato!

"Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie." ~Jim Davis

remember

god bless the victims and families of 9.11.01.
we will always remember.

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty." -President John F. Kennedy

baby #2, aka bubba

elena has nicknamed her little brother or sister 'bubba.' we talk about the baby in my belly all the time and at our ultrasounds she repeatedly calls for 'bubba' as if she knew who she was looking at.

we had an appt tonight. everything is great. bubba was dancing around and it took the dr awhile to find the heartbeat. but we found it, heard the miraculous swooshing and elena called out to bubba. bubba's heartrate was bouncing between 160 and 170 bpm. nice and strong. yay bubba!

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." ~Elizabeth Stone

fun outdoor pics

here are just random fun pictures of elena playing outside over the last few weeks....her favorite thing to do!



she's got the best smile!

hugs all around! that's just how sweet she is!

see! ;)

elena loves playing with her golf clubs she got from her super aunty jan! she's getting good too! daddy may have a golfing buddy soon!





i love this shot!

this one too! what a sweet face!

putting her to work! she loves to 'cut the grass!'

look at that stride!

there's nothing cuter than baby parts!

swimming with daddy...



"Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven." -Henry Ward Beecher