Elise is 10 months old!

Yesterday, our little lady turned ten months old. She has grown so much in the past month!

She continues to be very social, smiling at most everyone she meets. She's also still happy almost all of the time (the exceptions are when she's hungry or really, really tired or when she's being squashed because her brother is sitting on top of her. Yes, that happens often around here.)

During the past month, she has made it to some major milestones, including these:

*playing on the beach
*tasting sand
*playing in the sand
*eating finger foods
*pulling up to a stand
*standing by herself
*cruising the furniture
*taking steps with assistance
*crawling up one of our steps
*standing up in her crib

She also got her first goose-egg when Isaac fell on top of her and she either hit his head or hit the floor (it was hard to see exactly what happened). Nevertheless, she got her first head bump. She's a trooper, though. She only cried a bit and then she was ready to get back down in the floor to play. Which is another thing she loves - playing in the floor with her brother. She loves to hold and chew any of the toys that Isaac is playing with. He's not so keen on it, but we're working on sharing, which you may know is a challenge for a 2.5 year old. But Elise is very good-natured and she just smiles and laughs when Isaac grabs things out of her hands.

Over the past month, we've seen Elise's affection for Isaac really increase. She loves it when he feeds her, hugs her, kisses her, and she just lights up when we go into his room to get him up from a nap. She definitely loves her big brother.

Speaking of naps, she's still taking two naps each day. She does well to take her morning nap in her crib (unless we're on the go, and she naps in her carseat). However, she really enjoys taking her afternoon nap with me or in my arms. Which I don't mind. Although there are some days I'd love to be running around doing things, most of the time I need a nap, too, so we just snuggle together. She goes back down to sleep at night around 8 PM, eats around 11 PM and 5 AM, and is usually ready to start her day around 7-8 AM. I asked her doctor about the waking to eat at 11 and 5, and the doc said this is totally normal for her age. In fact, it's probably why she is growing so well! She suggested that I continue to feed her when she wakes to eat, and she thought she'd probably start sleeping longer stretches pretty soon. Isaac did the same thing at this age and then started to sleep 12 hour stretches soon after, so I'm encouraged that she'll give up those late night and early morning feedings in the near future. The doctor's exact words were, "I think you've got a great sleeper on your hands!" (Personally I would think a "great sleeper" would be one who sleeps 12 hours at night so that Mommy could sleep at least 8... but that's just me. [big grin and wink])

All that eating is definitely helping Elise grow well. At her last doctor's visit (two weeks ago), she was 18.2 pounds (25-50th percentile) and 29.25 inches (90th percentile).

She eats two servings of cereal each day for iron, 3-4 servings of fruits and veggies each day, and has 5-6 nursing sessions each day. She hasn't quite mastered the sippy cup yet, but we're working on it. When she does drink something, she has either water, juice, or Kefir (which is what we use if she has to miss a nursing session; it's kind of like a drinkable yogurt). We use kefir because 1) she's too young for cow's milk, 2) she hates formula and 3) I don't love pumping (and it takes me forever to get a cup full of milk!) Anyway, she doesn't miss nursing sessions very often because I'm with her most of the time. She is definitely a Momma's girl (who is also very in love with her Daddy!)

And, of course, we're all very in love with her!

Here are her pictures for this month, including all the monthly comparison shots:

Monthly comparison shots:
Birth - 9.30.09


One month - 10.30.09


Two months - 11.30.09


Three months - 12.30.09


Four months - 1.30.10


Five months - 3.1.10


Six months - 3.30.10



Seven months - 4.29.10



Eight months - 5.31.10



Nine months - 6.30.10


Ten months - 7.30.10 (She has a bit of a cold and has been a little fussier than normal, so nothing would do but for her to hold the nasal syringe during our photo shoot. She loves chewing on it.)


Here she is, standing up in her crib and crying out for the syringe:


Now she's happy! (Can you spot her bottom two teeth?)


Close ups of our precious girl:





Happy ten months, Elise! We love you sweetness!

Elise and Veg All!

Now that Elise has tried some finger foods and enjoyed them, we figured it was time to give the ole' Veg All a try. She loves it! And just like with Isaac, we can stretch a can out for about five meals, which makes it a great value. We're slowly moving away from pureed baby food to applesauce, mixed veggies, cut-up bananas, cheese, tomatoes, and other finger foods. She's loving every minute of it. Can't you tell?!

Some sweetness for your Thursday...

Elise, you smile. Isaac, you look serious.


Now switch it up. Isaac, you smile. Elise, you look serious.


We love these babes!

Splashing at the pool!

Last week, Gramps came over to take Isaac to our neighborhood pool so they could have some quality splashing time together. Steven, Elise, and I joined them a little later and we had a great time together, in spite of the bath water temperature! Gramps, Steven, and I all took turns going down the big waterslide, and needless to say, each of us had a blast. As did Isaac, who watched us all take our turns. Once Gramps got off, Isaac said, "This big man!! (pointing to himself) This big man!!" Then he indicated that he wanted to go down the slide. We put two and two together and figured he meant that since he was a "big man" he could go down the slide. I guess when we told him that he could go down the slide when he was bigger, he thought he'd just tell us he was already a "big man"! It was so cute!

Here is Isaac and Gramps:


Here is Elise, enjoying the water:

Elise cruising the kitchen chairs

Elise is definitely cruising the furniture now! When we're in the kitchen, she loves to pull up on the chairs and stand underneath the table. This is also something Isaac used to enjoy doing, before he grew too tall. :) Here are some pictures of our little cruiser:



She's growing so fast!

Our little lady ready for church!

Our precious little lady, right before we headed for church Sunday night. She's just one week shy of ten months old here:

What a sweet boy!

Isaac at 32 months old and sweet as ever!

Shopping with Nanna!

This past weekend, while Steven was in an all-day class, my Mom went with Isaac, Elise and me to the mall. We were looking to find some really good deals at Belk during their red dot sale (which we did, and let me just say for the record that it's very hard to not buy the entire rack of little girl clothes when they're super cute and super cheap!)

We used our tandem double stroller for this trip, and it worked great! The one we have is designed for using the infant seat in the front, and we've done that up until this particular day. This time, we took Elise out of her infant seat and sat her in the stroller the "big girl" way. She did great and seemed to enjoy the ride! Here is my mom, pushing her grandbabies:


Thanks Momma for coming along on a fun shopping trip (even if it was four hours long and we still can't figure out why!!) We love you!

Trying new foods!

Last week, we introduced Elise to some more finger foods! Here she is trying melt-in-your-mouth puffs: (this time around, I'm purchasing these):


Here she is, trying a biter biscuit, which she absolutely loved (and which is ridiculously messy. Now I remember why I didn't buy more than one box of these for Isaac!)


YAY for feeding yourself, Elise!!!

Look who's got the light-up sword now...

"They have no idea that I actually know how to use this. Mwahahahaha!!!"


If this doesn't make you laugh, I don't know what will!

Isaac feeding Elise!

Elise is eating three meals of solid foods each day now. Since she eats right along with the rest of us, Isaac has been studying Steven and me while we feed her. Last week, he specifically asked to feed her himself. He's fed her before, but only after our prompting. Now he loves to help feed his little sister and asks to give her at least a spoonful or two each day. Here's a picture of big brother feeding little sister last week:


Oh, and Elise loves for Isaac to feed her! She gets so excited and usually laughs after each bite that he serves her! It's so sweet.

Little tiny climber!

Along with pulling to a stand, Elise has been working hard to climb our stairs. She has successfully climbed one step thus far. She mostly likes to use them to hold onto and stand for a while. She rocks back and forth, working to strengthen her muscles. She also pulls up to a stand in her crib and can't get back down. This makes for less restful sleep these days since she'll pull herself up, stand for a while, and then not know how to get back down. However, I'm sure she'll be jumping up and down before we know it!

Elise pulling to a stand!

On the day we arrived back from our beach trip (7.10.10), Elise pulled up to a standing position on her own for the first time. We caught this special moment on camera:

You go, strong girl!

Some updates on this handsome guy!

This little man is only four months away from turning three years old!

Isaac seems to have grown so much over the past few weeks. His memory seems to be developing especially rapidly. He learns so quickly - we can teach him a 3-5 word Bible verse and he learns it right then and there. Also, he can recall things from the recent past. For example, on our beach trip, we drove by a mini golf course that displayed a huge wrecked airplane in the middle of it. He noticed the airplane but didn't say much. The next few days, he asked if we could go see the "crash yellow airplane." He'd only seen it one time and he remembered it! He also remembered that it was on his side of the road. So cool!

He's also started to really enjoy singing. We hear him singing the alphabet song (still his favorite), Twinkle Twinkle, Jesus Loves Me, and Pat-A-Cake often throughout the day. He likes to sing especially loud when we are riding in the van or when I'm on the phone (go figure!) I'm not just saying this because I'm his Mom - he can really carry a tune! Steven agrees. (And he's the musician, so it must be true!) It's so sweet to hear his little voice singing.

Speaking of sweet, Isaac is a very sweet boy. He's a strong willed sweet boy, but sweet nonetheless. He is also very helpful. He helps around the house in many ways: putting up his dishes into the sink after we eat, vacuuming right alongside me with his mini vacuum, taking clothes to the washing machine, putting them in the washing machine, and switching them to the dryer. He loves to open and close the garage door when we go on outings. He has to climb up on a little table in our garage in order to reach the button, but he doesn't mind at all! He can also climb up into his carseat and is working on putting his seat belt straps on correctly.

He is almost fully potty trained (although I think we regressed a tiny bit during our beach trip, due to the long car rides). He can keep his big boy underwear dry most days and almost always remembers to go potty when he needs to go. He does have an occasional accident, but as he said tonight about it, "That's OK!" He does still wear a diaper during naps and at bedtime, but as I said tonight about it, "That's OK!" It's working for us and we're making slow and steady progress, so for that I'm thankful!

Speaking of thankfulness - we are working with Isaac on manners. Specifically we are teaching him to ask for things instead of telling us he wants things. Like, "May I have some more bread" instead of "I want bread!" I'm guessing that consistency on our part is what will eventually produce a mannerly young man. We're trying to stay on him every time, but whew, it's exhausting! We're also working with him to say "Yes, ma'am" and "Yes, sir"; "Thank you Mommy" or "Thank you Daddy."

Another thing totally worth mentioning (not that any of our child's development isn't) is that Isaac is becoming more and more affectionate as he grows. For the past month or so he had been saying that he wanted to "hold" people. Like, "I hold Daddy" or "I hold Morgan" (Morgan is our babysitter). I think he equates "holding" someone with giving them a big hug because over the past week or so, he's started saying "I give Daddy big hug" or "I give Morgan big hug!" Or "I give Oreo (the cat) big hug!" When he's upset or hurt, he still says, "Mommy hold you!" (meaning, Mommy, hold me) And once he's over the initial shock of the fall or whatever, he often says, "I need whine!" (meaning "I need to whine", and knowing full well that he does not need to whine.) I guess when you tell your child, "Isaac, you do not need to whine," then he'll use his excellent reasoning skills and tell you "Oh yes Mommy, I actually do need to whine in this very moment." So we have started telling him that in our family, whining is not allowed. But of course when Elise cries (as babies do, you know), Isaac is very quick to point out, "Elise whining!! Elise need whine! Isaac need whine!" And to that we say, "Well, dear son, she's actually crying, which is completely different than whining. It's one of the ways she talks to us since she can't quite, um, talk, you know. But you, son, can talk, so that is why you need to talk and not whine when you're communicating with us." Yes, there is your glimpse into an everyday conversation in the Mauney household. Fun and educational. [tongue in cheek and with a big smile]

As I mentioned earlier, we are teaching Isaac some Bible verses now. Here's what we're working on now:

God is love (got it!)
Love one another (got it!)
Do to others as you'd have them to do you! (working on it!)
The Lord's Prayer (not so much, but he can repeat it after us with some accuracy, so we'll keep working till he gets it!)

Isaac is such a little sponge these days, absorbing everything he sees and hears. We are asking God to give us increased wisdom as parents and to help us in huge ways as we raise this boy because we surely can't do it own our own.

Thank you Father for the confidence that we have that with Your guidance, our decisions, words, and examples to him will display Your truth in such a way that Isaac will always desire to cling closely to You.

Elise's preferred mode of travel...

Looks like she wanted to ride home from the beach in the suitcase!

Little drummer girl!

Elise tried to play the drums for the first time last week. She did great, and here's proof:


She also tried on her Daddy's hat for the first time. She looked great, and here's proof:


Sweetness!

Check out this tomato!

My dad found this HUGE tomato in our garden last week! Beside it, you see a normal tomato and a cherry tomato. Ummmm... we're thinking that this was two tomatoes that combined into one. What do you think?!

Steven and Elise at Ella's: Photo Shoot

While waiting for a table one night at Ella's (during our beach trip), Isaac and I took a walk down the street while Steven and Elise waited for our name to be called. They also took that time to do a father/daughter photo shoot. Here are the results (with my captions added, of course):

Strike a pose!

[Steven] "Elise, let's make matching faces for this photo shoot!" [Elise] "Why, Daddy, that is a splendid idea! In fact, I give it the open-hand-thumbs-up!"

[Steven] "Let's do the "hollering to Mommy and Isaac" faces" [Elise] "Yep, that was my thought too."


[Elise] "How about a really happy face now, Daddy?" [Steven] "Gotcha sweets."

[Elise] "I've got one! Let's do the 'Speak no evil' face!" [Steven] "Perfect idea preciousness!"

[Elise] "OK Daddy, let's do the 'Don't mess with us, we're tough' faces!" [Steven] "I like it!"

[Steven] "Last one! You do one of those dramatic "save me!" faces, and I'll have a strong, manly face that says 'Daddy will save the day!'"

And didn't he, with these photos, truly save the day?! What fun!!!