Daddy and baby girl

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After the baby stinker face post, I figured I should post up a super cute photo for good measure. It doesn't get much better than seeing daddy make our baby girl smile!

Meet baby stinker face

Watch out for baby stinker face!

Elise has a new alter ego: baby stinker face! She scrunches up her nose, squints her eyes, raises her eyebrows, and puckers her mouth to make the funniest little face imaginable. Sometimes she even sticks out her tongue and pants loudly in and out through her nose to add to the stinker face effect. For the past few days, she's been proudly displaying her mischievous little stinker face, it is absolutely hilarious and has left both mom, dad and everyone else in stitches. Mommy thinks that the stinker face may be a result of her one and only pregnancy craving; lemons! Could it be that eating all those lemons has turned little Elise into a sourpuss? :)  

The stinker face strikes again

Elise also achieved yet another exciting milestone this week; she has learned how to clap her hands! She now loves to show her excitement by clapping her hands together while smiling and giggling. It is pretty darn precious as expected.

You have to earn my applause ;)

7 1/2 months - Forget crawling...standing and walking is the future!

Crawling is for babies, I'd much rather stand!

Today, Elise crawled across the floor, grabbed my pantleg, pulled herself up to stand and then reached up for me to pick her up. It was adorable and worked like a charm. She reminds me of a little wind up baby when she crawls. She looks so cute moving across the floor in exploration. Elise now crawls out to find us anytime we leave the room. She often fusses while she’s crawling as if she’s thinking, “do I really have to do this?!?!". She is not too keen on crawling and instead prefers standing and walking while supporting herself. Every time we put her down, she will immediately find a means to pull herself up and stand. It makes us wonder if she will be taking her first steps sooner than expected! Dad predicts she will walk at 8 ½ months while mom says 9. Place your bets…we shall see.

Standing as usual

Mirrors + babies = endless entertainment

Some more exciting news, is that her top two teeth are finally cutting through. She was very fussy for the past week or so and kept biting down on just about everything she could find. In fact, just the other day she crawled up to the sofa, stood up and bit my leg! I let out a surprised yelp of pain and she responded by yelling back at me and then smiling, after that I couldn’t help but laugh!

Adorable little Elise at 7 1/2 months

An afternoon stroll through the wetlands

Watching the ducks

Elise did a bit of bird watching this past weekend. Mommy, grandma, grandpa and Aunt Darcy took her for an afternoon stroll through the wetlands in Folsom. She absolutely loves being outdoors!

Baby girl, happy as usual 

 The quackers

  

She wore her sunglasses for about 30 seconds

Cattails

Say cheese :)

Oak tree

Weekend outing in Sacramento

A little walker in the making

All smiles at the art museum

This past Sunday afternoon, we took little Elise to the Crocker Art Museum and Old Sacramento. Everyone enjoyed lunch on the river and Elise loved spending time with her grams, gramps and Aunt Darcy. Elise is quickly becoming grandma and grandpa's number one fan. They get her to laugh and smile all the time now!

Elise loved the mirrors!

Cutest work of art in the museum :)

  

The buildings in Old Sacramento

 Tower Bridge

Boats on the Sacramento River

Ziggurat building

Elise enjoying her time with family

Family photo

We love our happy little girl!

Our little celebrity

Elise got her first pair of shades to match momma! Also, grandma just taught Elise how to wave. She's been using her new skill fairly frequently now. Next up, we're teaching her to clap her little hands!

No photos please...I'm going incognito ;)

Look what I can do!

Proud of her newest achievement

Elise just turned 7-months-old on Wednesday and she celebrated the occasion by standing up in her crib for the first time. A few days later, she discovered how to pull up her body and stand, balanced against the sofa and her favorite play table.

We find it nearly unbelievable, how much she's progressed in just the past month. She went from immobilty to full-fleged crawling and standing in less than a few weeks. I guess this should be expected, but as first time parents, Elise never ceases to amaze us with her rapid development. It's made us realize that the next few months are going to be full of new milestones and surprises; the only question now is whether we will be able to keep up with her! I already had to chase her down this morning, when she crawled toward my hair dryer cord and reached out her little hand ready to tug it off the countertop. I intercepted her just in time, but it had me thinking to myself that this is just the first of many quick saves. A curious little troublemaker is slowly emerging.

Is this the face of a future troublemaker? :)

Seven-month growth update

Elise had her seven-month checkup today. She is now 27 1/2 inches (75th -90th percentile) and 17 lbs 1 oz (25th - 50th percentile). Every time Dr. Jammal sees her, she comments on how alert and vocal she is. Elise is so well behaved and seems to really enjoy being around her. We feel fortunate to have such a great pediatrician!

Elise's First Trip to the Sacramento Zoo - Daddy's Birthday Weekend

Our happy little girl on her first trip to the Sacramento Zoo

This past weekend, we celebrated daddy's birthday by taking our first family trip to the zoo. Elise got to spend the day with her two favorite people in the world plus her grandparents, aunt, uncle and little cousin Tyler. As usual she loved being out and about, and was all smiles for most of the day. It was wonderful to share in her excitement; daddy couldn't have asked for a more rewarding birthday present!

Little cousins

Tiger

Elise has an aquarium at home, so she loves the fishies

Lemur

 

Littlest butterfly

 

Red panda

 

 Elise playing around

Zebra

Having fun

 Orangutan

Daddy and Elise sharing a smile

Lioness

Her hubby Lion :)

Chimpanzees

Mommy and Elise enjoying the day

Leopard

Giraffe

Solid Foods; Bringing diaper changing to an entirely new level of unpleasantry

Since the introduction of baby food and formula, Elise's once mild and non-offensive diapers have transformed into malodorous stink bombs! Mom and dad have both become adept at breathing through our mouths during such stinky diaper changes. I love that she is branching out into the world of solids, but I now have a new appreciation for how easy diapers were before solids.

New day, new milestone

Elise sitting up in her new and improved playroom

Turn your back for a second, and you may miss something incredible. This is exactly what happened to me last night. I set Elise down on the floor in the crawl position, then turned my back momentarily, and when I looked back she was sitting completely upright and staring straight up at me. I was surprised to say the least. I had no idea she was anywhere near being able to fully sit up on her own. I was so proud, that I ran to tell daddy, who was equally delighted. What an exciting acheivement for little Elise!

She is getting quicker and more agile with each passing day, and at this point we forsee her transitioning to a full-fleged rugrat within the next few weeks. In all her newfound mobility, she has become less interested in her own toys and instead gravitates towards new and different household objects. It’s almost as if she knows that these items are off limits and therefore they’re all the more captivating. This, in particular, applies to mom and dad’s items. Everything we have is much more fascinating than what she has, which subsequently results in her immediate desire to obtain whatever it is we are holding. Keys or cell phones will always trump any of her own toys, regardless of how brightly colored and appealing they may appear.

We find it amusing how inquisitive Elise has become. Even more so, we find it remarkable that she is now fully aware of the world beyond her grasp, and is beginning to show signs of her own personal preferences. She's a little stinker and we wouldn't have it any other way!

Watch out world...I can sit up on my own

Baby friends getting reacquainted

Baby Lillie (6 mos) and Baby Elise (6 mos 3 wks) sharing a moment!

Little cuties :)