Who's the boss?

Haha, what a funny title for a blog entry.
But I often find myself asking that very question around here. Who is the boss? I certainly don't know. I know that I probably am not. The truth is that Elise is the boss, I think, well, it's likey that she is. That sweet girl runs me over on a daily basis. She has so much energy, it is hard to keep up with her. She has Kenny and me wrapped around her little finger, and the problem is that I think she's starting to figure it out.
We are still having issues with her sleeping, which is a frustration. The good part, though, is that it seems to only be a frustration to me! Ever since Kenny came home from D.C. a few weeks ago (he was gone for a whole week), Elise seems to be unwilling to let him go or be more than an armslength away from him when she sleeps at night. So, consequently, she's been sleeping inour bed at night. Kenny loves it! He especially loved it at first when he got to snuggle up to our sleeping baby any time he wished. Unfortunately, we found out that Elise is probably the wiggliest sleeper ever. That girl doesn't stop! Not even for sleep!
She is getting better, though. We are working on her moving back into her own room. We got her a big girl bed, because apparently she is SO over her crib. She now takes daytime naps in her own room on her own bed again. So, I'm getting her back there, slowly but surely.
Other than our silly bedtime issues, things have been great. Elise is so funny and whacky, she cracks me up every day. She is talking alot now, which is great. We recently got a webcam so we can Skype with my sister in California. It is so cool to be able to see her and Elise and her even play games with eachother, it is awesome. I get to show off all of Elise's new tricks to her, haha!
Here are a few new pictures:



Tearing up the kitchen (July, 2008)



At the fair, collecting chicken eggs (September, 2008)



Picking apples at the fair, I think there's child labor laws against this, oh well.



Cleaning up the yard, I have to redirect her energy somehow!



Pulling out, I mean, smelling the neighbor's flowers.



Mexicaning it up at uncle Adrian's birthday party (August, 2008)



Fancy lady (August, 2008)



Hanging out with cousin Mia on the princess couch (October, 2008)



Her very own Elise-size house, thanks Aby! ( October, 2008)



My painting of Kenny and Elise, kinda creepy?

More Pictures...

I wanted to share a picture taken of my brother Adrian in an egg at the San Diego Wild Animal Park when he was about 1 year old. On our recent trip to California we got to go back and take a picture of Elise in the egg, she is about the same age as Adrian was back then.

Uncle Adrian in th egg (ca. 1998)



Elise in the egg, 2008.


Here are some more pictures from our trip.

Wrestling the ferocious Alligator.


Elise with her new friend.


Lorikeet fun


Making jokes with her Aby


Hanging out with Uncle Eloy


There's an Elise floating in that tea


Feeding juju-b


This horse better be fast. Giddy up!

One Whole Year

I can't believe how fast time has passed. Elise is already one year old. She is such a big girl. She has come so far from the little helpless baby that we met on the day she was born. She is a walking, running, talking energy machine of a little girl.

Alot has happened since my last update. For one, Elise is now an expert walker. She is still wobbly sometimes, but she is really good! Kenny actually got video of her running away from home. She walked out to the backyard, out the gate, and kept going up the hill without turning back. That girl is dangerous.

Elise turned one on May 31st, and of course, we had a huge birthday party for her. My sister flew in from California to help and join us in the festivities. Before I had Elise I never would have imagined that I would be one of those moms that gets all into the birthday parties and goes all out, but I guess I have become one. I even made Elise's birthday dress. I almost didn't put it on her because I thought it would look like monkeys had put it together, but I think, in the end, it came out looking pretty good. The party was awesome. We had a pretty good turnout of about 60 people. Elise had a blast, and (I hope!) everyone else did too. Here are a few pictures of the event:


Elise having fun in the moon bounce



Mommy let me down I wanna go break the PINATA!!!



Elise attacking her cupcake cake

Thanks to Charlotte for taking pictures. I was so out of my mind crazy that day so she took over picture duty for us.
The birthday party took place the weekend before her actual birthday. On her real birthday we took a little family hike at Martin park. We had a really good time together. Elise had fun getting dirty, climbing through the flowers, and seeing new creatures. Here's some pics:







Later that day, we went over to my mom's house where she had made Elise a second birthday cake. We were happy to be able to have another celebration just for us on her real birthday.



Elise and I also took a second trip out to California. We went along with my mom and little brother, Adrian. While there, we got to join in celebrating the graduations of my cousins Jorge and Eric. We got to see alot of family that I hadn't seen in a very long time. Elise had fun playing with new people she had never met before. She got to explore new places and things. It was so much fun to take her to Disneyland again and the Wild Animal Park where she came close to and actually woke a lion, and fed some ducks and lorikeets. It was precious. Pictures to come soon.

When we came back home, we decided to have pictures taken to commemorate her first birthday. The session was a little difficult because Elise just wanted to explore the studio. She was not interested in staying still and smiling at all. Despite our issues, I think we got some pretty good shots. Judge for yourselves:













I guess the last month or so was a little busy, but we had so much fun. Not that the fun is ending, but, well, it's all been fun.

Spring is here...

Ahhhh, finally! No more bulky sweaters, bundling up, or staying cooped up in the house, at last! I have been so excited for spring to arrive, I just can't wait to take Elise outside to play in the sunshine.

A few special things have happened since my last post.
Easter was a ton o' fun, as I knew it would be. Elise loved finding eggs for the first time and collecting them in her 'My Little Pony' basket. We went over to my cousin Lourdes' house for the big family annual easter egg hunt. Here are a few pictures from the event:




It was still a little cold that day, but we had fun anyway.

We also started Elise in a swimming class at the Y. We love it so much. Elise has loved the water since the day she was born, so we thought it would be great for her. She's still working on her swimming moves, but her splashes are pretty perfect. We both get to be in the water with her, which is alot of fun. Here is a picture of her swimming with Daddy:

The picture is kind of blurry, but that's the best I could do given the situation. That girl is full of action!

We recently took a trip out to California as well. Elise had so much fun running around with her Aunt Vero and Uncle Eloy. We got to take her to Disneyland which was very special, she loved the whole thing. We also got to see other family members that Elise had not met. It was a very special adventure. I will post more pictures of our trip once I get the all uploaded, but here are a few to start off:



On the carousel at Disneyland.



I love Disneyland!

So Much Love

I just wanted to share a few pictures of the newest addition to our home, and Elise's new best friend. His name is Big Bunny. Elise is seriously head over heels in love with this big guy. She seems to have fallen in love the moment she first laid eyes on him. She spotted him from 30 feet away in Sam's and she just had to have him. She started cuddling with this thing as soon as she got within reach. So, of course, we HAD to buy him. Every once in a while, when she's crawling around the house, she'll remember her immense love and seek out Big Bunny for cuddles. Elise is stinking hilarious.

8 Whole Months

Elise is 8 months old today! I am so proud of my big girl! I can't believe it's been 8 months already. I feel like she was born just yesterday. Amongst other milestones that she achieved this month, Elise got her first haircut. Those long curls growing out of the side of her head were getting out of control. So, here's her before picture;


And here's her after pictures;




Okay, so maybe you can't really tell much of a difference, especially not in these pictures, I just like to upload pictures to the blog, haha!

Keeping up with the little monkey

Alright, now it's gotten really tough. Elise is such a monkey! She is climbing, or attempting to climb any piece of furniture, or person, she can find. She is so funny. Elise is very happy now that she has her first pair of "big girl shoes". They don't slip when she tries to stand on our hardwood floors.
I guess alot has happened since the last time I updated this. Elise had her first Christmas and New Years, which was very exciting. She had so much fun opening her presents, she's really into ripping paper. Unfortunately, she was more excited about the wrapping than the actual gifts. Elise is now almost eight months old and weighs nearly 18 pounds, she is such a big girl! She is right in the fiftieth percentile on her growth curve, which is great.
Elise mostly likes to spend her day crawling around the house chasing cats (see picture below), eating baby food, and talking up a storm.


She still calls for her "dada" incessantly, but I still haven't gotten her to say 'mama' even once. I think she gets tired of me because as soon as daddy gets home it's "dadadadadadaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!" and she doesn't want her mama anymore! Oh well, I love her like crazy. Here are some of the latest pictures of her;


Elise trying to get that camera.



Eatin an apple.



Playing with Daddy and Emma



My big girl standing up



Our Christmas card, 2007



Checkin emails



Me and the little one

Sorry so many pictures! I'm camera crazy!