First Overnight Stay!

Elise is grinning all the time now, though she still hasn't felt like letting out a giggle yet. Mommy and Daddy think that they're pretty funny, but so far Elise doesn't agree!

Mommy has started playing airplane with Elise and she straightens out and enjoys herself--though this picture doesn't really do it justice!

Elise stays home with Daddy on Mondays while Mommy is at work now, and she really does love him. She stays with Grammy Vicki on Tuesday-Thursday and with Nanny or Grandma Jackson on Fridays. Mommy does NOT like being back at work and leaving her baby girl, but she's glad she doesn't have to leave her at daycare.

Aunt Rissa came for a visit this past weekend and had a good time cuddling with Elise, even though she was kind of fussy all weekend. Aunt Rissa got her to fall asleep on Saturday morning though--and enjoyed herself a little nap, too!

Elise had her first overnight stay with Grandma Rhonda while Mommy went out for her first night out on the town in a year (since she got pregnant shortly after her LAST night out on the town last February.) Daddy was on-call as the designated driver in Springfield, so Elise decided to stay with Grandma Rhonda and Papa Terry. She was a very good girl and had fun with her grandparents. Mommy had fun hanging out with her friends, too!

Shots, Baths, and Other Facts of Life

Elise had her first round of immunizations on February 5th, and it was not a fun time for anyone. She got 5 shots in her legs (2 on one and 3 on the other) and was not pleased to be getting them. Mommy didn't have a very good time trying to calm her down either!

Here's a close-up of the band-aids the nurse put on her right leg. At least they were cute!

Elise, like most babies, is a fan of being naked. Mommy had to snap this pic of her because she was talking to Mommy about how nice it was to be clean!

This is Elise confused about the hood on her head. She likes to have her hair towel-dried, but then when you stop she gets a very puzzled look on her face, wondering where this thing on her head came from.

Mac came over for a visit last week. As you can see, Elise is growing like a weed and appears to be taller than Mac, who is 7 weeks older! We didn't try real hard to stretch Mac out like Elise is in the pic, though, so maybe they're the same height. Either way, they had a good time visiting.

Elise is starting to notice toys. She's always had these toys on her bouncy seat, but now she coos and smiles at her giraffe especially. Good times.

Elise Finally Grins On-Camera!

Elise finally let Mommy take a picture of her grinning. She does it much more often now--she's a pretty happy camper most of the time. For these pics, she is grinning at Mom while hanging out in her bouncy seat on the kitchen counter--she really likes the view from there and is usually in a really good mood when she is perched there.

Elise also gets to grinning so much that Mommy is convinced that she is going to giggle at any moment, but so far there have been no sign of giggles...yet!

Elise isn't always a happy camper, though. She got pretty ticked off at Aunt Lacy's bridal shower, and even though it was kind of mean to be laughing at her irritation, Mommy thought this pic that Stephanie took of her was pretty funny.

Elise still loves to snuggle while she's sleeping. Mommy took this picture of her and Grammy when she got home after Grammy had watched Elise for a little while. She looks pretty cozy!

Elise's Baptism

Elise had a very big day January 25, 2009! She was baptized at St. Paul's Lutheran Church! Her sponsors were her Aunt Amanda and Aunt Lacy. She was very well-behaved. She was awake through the whole baptism and didn't make a peep. She just watched like she knew exactly what was going on and she knew she better behave or Mommy would get on to her! She wore a beautiful gown and bonnet, with gorgeous shoes that Grammy Vicki and Grandpa Link got her for the occasion.

The day was even more significant because it was Poppy's 71st birthday! Elise gave him grins for his present, which he loved. Speaking of grins, Mommy finally caught a really good one on camera. More on that to come!

Elise's beautiful booties

Elise with her Uncle Jayme and Aunt Lacy (her sponsor)

Elise with her Uncle Rob and Aunt Amanda (her other sponsor)

Elise with her Grandpa Mike

Elise with her Grandma Rhonda and Grandpa Terry

Grammy Vicki and Grandpa Link showing off the back of her gown.

With Mommy and Daddy on the big day (she was a little fussy from being passed around like a football at this point, so Mommy is trying to subdue her with her "stopper" :) )

Elise is 6 weeks old!

Elise went to visit Grandma Vicki and Grandpa Link's friends on Friday. Everyone thought she was very cute, though no one was quite sure who she looked like--there were votes for both Mommy and Daddy. She posed for a picture with her Grammy and Grandpa while she was there, as well as a pic with her cousin Lexi. Lexi likes to cuddle her a lot--she always helps out when we're in church!

Mommy is still trying to get a picture of Elise grinning, but Elise is still pretty good about shutting the grin down before Mommy can snap the picture. We're getting closer though:

Elise really likes to take naps with Mommy in Mommy and Daddy's big bed. She can see the light shining in from the window there, so if she wakes up she has something pretty to look at. But she usually sleeps like a rock in the big bed, so that doesn't happen real often!

When Elise isn't napping with Mommy in the big bed, she sleeps at the foot of the bed in the cradle that Poppy Stevens made whenever her Mommy was born. All of Poppy's grandchildren slept in this cradle and now his great-granddaughter sleeps in it! She thinks it's pretty comfy with Daddy's fleece Rams blanket in it for padding!

Miscellaneous Fun

Elise's announcements turned out BEAUTIFULLY. Thanks to Aubrey at Younique Photography for making Elise's first professional photo session a success! Elise was very well-behaved through the whole thing for only being 4 weeks old!
Mommy realized the other day that she didn't have many pictures of her and Elise, so she dressed Elise up in her "Mommy's Sweetie" onesie and took a picture herself. It didn't turn out too bad!

Elise met her first little friend last week. She and Mac Mohnen had a fun time at Oriental Inn while their mommies had lunch with Joni, Elizabeth, and Cheratin (as you can tell by the fact that Elise couldn't be bothered to wake up the whole time we were there!) Mac is 7 weeks older than Elise, but he sure is big!
As a parting shot, here's Elise sticking her tongue out. Mommy was trying to get her to grin for the camera, but as you can tell, she already has a mind of her own!

Happy New Year!

Elise had a very exciting New Years. She helped Daddy play cards with Mommy and the Kelbs. Daddy and Jessie won, so I guess she was a good luck charm! She almost made it to midnight--she fell asleep about 11:30pm after trying to stay awake (we couldn't figure out why she wouldn't go to sleep--maybe she just didn't want to miss the excitement!) She gave Mommy and Daddy a great New Years present: she slept 5 hours in a row (probably because she stayed up so late!) She was still tuckered out today--as you can tell by the picture below!