The Park!

We had such a great time last weekend at the park with Auntie Rissa, and thankfully she has an AWESOME phone that takes great pics, so we were able to get some good ones! Miss Elise adores her Auntie Rissa (if you can't tell :))



Sliding is Elise's favorite thing to do at the park. She enjoys running around and climing on the equipment like any kiddo, but when it comes time to slide, she's as excited as she can be!

We were glad to get a pic of the three of us girls--our last pic of the three of us was during Elise's first trip to AR, which was quite a long time ago! I have that reel hanging on my computer, and enjoy looking at it, but it was definitely time for an update! Too bad Elise wouldn't smile for us--she just wanted Andrew to give her the phone!

We're going to Silver Dollar City this Sunday to celebrate Grandpa Mike's birthday, so keep an eye out for exciting pictures from that adventure. Now that she's old enough to realize what she's seeing, I really hope that she has a great time (or the money I spend on Season Passes will have been wasted!)

I'm Back--and it's Easter!

I am a terrible blogger, it's true. With all the craziness that comes with being a Mommy, a wife, a housekeeper, an HR Manager, and attempting to be a fit woman, there is no time left for blogging. HOWEVER, I've really enjoyed reading all of my friends' blogs, so I am going to attempt to blog twice a month from here on. I know how much fun they can be for others to look browse, so I am going to get back into it!

Easter was a wonderful time! Elise got her first Easter Basket and had a lot of fun with it. She really enjoyed her new push-toy, which plays the drums. She gets mad at you if you try to take it away from her!

We went to church on Sunday morning, and Elise is starting to really behave well at church. She especially likes when the choir is singing and always tries to check them out. Then the Easter festivities began at Mom and Dad's with lunch and a pinata. Elise is a Stevens, in that she loved Nan's dumplings! She also loved the pinata--she wanted to ride it! Next, we went out to Rhonda and Terry's. Elise loves to ride Grandma Sweaney's walker. The faster the better! Good thing Aunt Amanda always pushes her fast!

Hope everyone had as great an Easter as we did!

Elise eats food!

Elise had her first real baby food for the first time about 3 weeks ago. We started out with the oranges, and the first orange was squash. Her first bite was a little iffy as she got used to the taste...

But after a few bites, she was getting impatient about the speed at which her father was feeding her! She says "Mmmm" after every bite of food.

Elise can be a pretty big mess when she eats, and usually gets almost as much on her as she does in her mouth, but she is always very excited when she sees that spoon coming! She hasn't met a baby food (we've cycled through all the "level one" baby foods) that she doesn't like yet!

Trip to Omaha

Mommy, Grammy, and Elise went to Omaha to visit the Lippys and attend a Dorn reunion over Memorial Day weekend. Mommy's been slow to post the pics, and she's sorry! Elise visited her great-grandma and great-grandpa Dorn's grave for the first time, and we took pics to commemorate it.

Elise and Mommy putting a flower on the grave.

The Dorn grandchildren and great-grandchild.

Elise also had her first swinging experience while in Omaha. She loved it! She giggled the whole time and even hung on like a big girl! Mommy was very proud of her. Wish we had a place around her house to put a swing up, but since we don't, Mommy can just take her to the park!

This wasn't taken in Nebraska, but it's darn cute! Elise got tuckered out one day playing with her toys and just fell over asleep. She just got played-out!

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!)