Mommy's First Mother's Day

Mommy had a great first Mother's Day. Daddy and Elise took her out for sushi on Saturday night (her favorite!) and Elise enjoyed some Miso Soup.

We also visited MawMaw Rhonda and had dinner with the family there for Mother's Day. Aunt Amanda, MawMaw and Daddy posed for a picture with Elise to commemorate MawMaw's first Mother's Day as a MawMaw!

The family also had lunch at Grammy Vicki's on Sunday. Elise had a great time eating some of Aunt Lacy's first Banana Split Cake. She said Mmmmm after every bite!

Elise has a new best friend! She and Monkey hang out quite a bit. She really loves him and enjoys sucking on his tail the most. Thanks, Auntie Rissa, for getting her one of her favorite toys!

Elise's First Food!

First, we practiced hanging out in the high chair for a few weeks--it's a fun place to be. Elise likes to be up high, and she can fit lots of toys on her chair, as you can see. She's a big fan of banging on the tray, too!

Elise was then ready for her very first bite of cereal. She's tested a few things before: Aunt Amanda and Grandpa Link and Grammy Vicki like sticking things in her mouth. Tonight, when Grandpa Link gave her a bite of mashed taters and she opened her mouth wide for more, we knew it was time to try some cereal.

She cooperated very well and was really interested in the bowl, the spoon, and the whole thing in general.

She might've been a mess when all was said and done, but everyone thinks she is going to be a good eater. She liked helping Daddy with the spoon, and she enjoyed feeling the spoon on her tongue. We can't wait until she'll be ready to try more foods at 6 months! Only 1 month away!

Elise is also rocking out in another walker. Grandpa Mike got this one for her so she could have one at her house and wouldn't have to haul the one at Grammy Vicki and Grandpa Link's back and forth. She can't touch the ground in this one either, but it's only a matter of time the way she grows!

Easter & Mommy's 5k

Getting all dolled up for Easter was quite taxing on Elise--as you can tell! She was WORN OUT before she even got to the first of the two Easter celebrations she was slated to attend. Of course, being as beautiful as she is takes hard work!

First, Elise went to Nanny and Poppy's for Easter dinner. Since she's still just enjoying her bottles, she was done eating quickly. Nanny made sure she stayed entertained, though! She played one of Elise's favorite games (patty-cake), but Elise was still being stingy with her giggles--at that point anyway!

Here is Elise and Aunt Sis (Ruby :)) all decked out in their Easter finery. Elise HATED putting on the bonnet, but once it was on her head, she forgot that it was there and did pretty good with it. Mommy promised her that she wouldn't have to wear another bonnet for a while. She said that sounded like a pretty good deal!

Next, Elise went to Grandma Rhonda and Papa Terry's to celebrate Easter with all her Sweaney relatives. Aunt and Amanda and her matched in their green, until Elise decided to spit-up on Aunt Amanda. Maybe she was jealous and wanted to be the only one in green??

Elise spent some time with Grandma Sweaney--showing her how good her fist tastes. She doesn't even tolerate her pacifier anymore--she rips it out of her mouth and promptly replaces it with her fist, or finger, or thumb. Whichever she is in the mood for.

Grammy Vicki and Grandpa Link got Elise a walker to play with when she comes to visit their house during the week. She can't touch the ground yet, but she loves to sit in it and play, even if she can't do much walking!

Elise and Daddy like to hang out on the couch together--Mommy snapped this pic of them last weekend. Daddy was watching a movie and Elise was tuckered out. She slept like this for quite a while--doesn't look very comfy, but apparently she was too tired to care!

Aunt Amanda and Mommy ran in Mommy's first 5k on Saturday. Elise was very proud of Mommy for working so hard, and took a pic with Aunt Amanda to celebrate!

Mommy had some good friends cheering her on and she appreciated all of their support, and was thankful for Aunt Amanda to running it with her. Next up: training for a 1/2 marathon! (Yes, Mommy is crazy!)

Trip to Arkansas!

Elise went on her first overnight trip with Mommy and Daddy this weekend. We went to see Auntie Rissa and Andrew in Arkansas. She was VERY good for the trip! As a reward, she got to ride on her first carousel. She was really only interested in the pretty gold pole--not sure if that is a good thing!

Elise tuckered out on the ride home from Arkansas. Note that she is cuddling with the Easter bunny that Auntie Rissa got her for Easter. It's the first stuffed animal that she's ever slept with. Are we starting a habit??

New Tricks!

Elise has some new tricks! She is a talker now--she coos and ahhs all the time. Mommy got the cutest video of her talking to her giraffe, but for some reason the blog won't let me upload it. She's also started rolling from her tummy to her back! She just started last night and we haven't gotten any pics or video yet, but we'll try to get some posted soon! Just wait till you see what a trickster Elise is!

Tyler, Ashley, and Lillie Porter came to visit a few weeks ago and Elise was very happy to see Lillie again. She'd missed her since the last time she saw her (AT THE HOSPITAL WHEN SHE WAS BORN!) Lillie was excited to see her too, and even got to hold her!

Lillie showing Elise how to be cool.

As most of you know, Elise's Daddy, Grandpa, and Great-Grandpa are die-hard Ram fans (despite some sad seasons as of late). Grandpa Mike got her this onesie and she is growing so fast, we figured we'd better snap some pics of her in it because it won't last till football season! Cheese!

We had Elise's Easter photo shoot the other night, and it was a bit of a challenge. She couldn't decide if she liked being in the basket or not--as you can see she had moments of fit-throwing. But we also got an adorable Easter pic that we'll post next week. Stay tuned!

Nan & Pop's 50th Anniversary

Elise went to Nanny and Poppy's 50th Wedding Anniversary Celebration today. Everyone had a wonderful time toasting 50 years of marriage for Nanny and Poppy. Elise got a little fussy towards the end, but it was a busy place and she has a LOT of family that loves her and likes to pass her around!

Daddy, Mommy, and Elise before going to Nanny and Poppy's 50th Anniversary celebration. Elise got all dolled up for the occasion!

Elise also met Aunt Amanda's new puppy today. She really enjoyed playing with him and it wore them both out, so they took a nap together! Elise really wanted to pet him and get a hold of him, but still can't make her hands work like she wants them to when she wants to grab something. It was okay, though, because the puppy just came to her and licked her hand, which got her excited!

Elise may not be able to grab for Aunt Amanda's puppy like she wants to, but she likes to fold her hands and she has also taken to sucking on her fingers. She knows how to put them in her mouth when she wants them now. She prefers them to her pacifier these days.

Elise and Mommy went strolling around the neighborhood for the first time last weekend when it was so nice. Elise really enjoyed getting out and enjoying the fresh air, and she loved her stroller. She went shopping with Grammy in it this week and didn't fuss a bit--she just looked around and enjoyed the ride! The picture above was after we got back from strolling--note her fingers in her mouth, as usual! The picture below was Elise getting ready to take off for her first ride--you can just see the excitement in her eyes!

Aunt Lacy got MARRIED!

Aunt Lacy got married to Uncle Jayme on February 28th and Elise was there for the festivities! Aunt Lacy looked amazing (as you can see). Mommy was her maid-of-honor and Elise got to wear a matching dress. She was VERY pretty, even though she refused to wear her pretty black shoes!


Uncle Jayme seeing Aunt Lacy for the first time.

Poppy took care of Elise a lot while we were getting ready for the wedding. She's Poppy's buddy. If she's fussing, he can usually calm her down!

We finally got a picture of the 3 generations of Stevens! It may have taken us 12 weeks to get it done, but at least Elise is still a baby!

Mommy and Elise posing with their matching dresses

It was a very busy day for Elise and she tuckered out a few times.


We took this picture of Elise and Mommy to celebrate that she is now 12 weeks old!