Picture Update, 16 mo

It's about time! Scroll down and skip the chitchat if you're in it for the pictures.

I remember the early days, when I would take my tiny little newborn for a walk in her carseat-stroller, and every old woman would stop me, eyes brimming with tears, "These are the best days of your life!"

Wrong! I mean, those were great days. Having a newborn is very special. Once you got past the exhaustion and the hormones and the breastfeeding struggles and the stitches in the hoo-ha... great days. But these days are SO much better! One is where it's at. We sleep through the night every night. We laugh as a family at the same jokes. We enjoy meals of more mature taste (though admittedly white color-palate), Elsie runs around and gets excited when we come home. She calls us by name. She has more words than we currently recognize and babbles happily to herself much of the time. She rarely has temper tantrums (yet). It's great. And as much as I'd do the newborn thing again in a heartbeat to have another child, It's looking forward to ONE that will get me through those long nights.

So what's new? Forgive me if I repeat stuff in this update, but here's what Elsie's up to these days:



Thumb sucking and ponytail holding, at the same time! I used to really worry that thumb-sucking would destroy her mouth, but apparently it's too young to worry about it, so suck away, Miss Elsie! This is her favorite soothing move, and she pulls it out when she is tired, upset, overwhelmed, or just feeling shy.


We go for walks, and Elsie carries herself on her own two feet! "Shadow" is part of Elsie's vocabulary, which seems rather fitting for this picture.



She LOVES being tickled. When does tickling stop being fun and start being torture? Not sure, but we're not there yet.



Hair-do! She pulls bows out as soon as they're in, so I stick to one side-sprout ponytail most of the time. Daycare's another story. It's like a salon over there. She comes home with a new 'do every day.

Chattering is the new favorite pastime, but only around the inner circle. She's gotten very shy these days and says not a word around non-family members. At home, however, she is one very chatty little lady. I only wish I was fluent in Baby!

Elsie's personality grows clearer by the moment. The shyness may be a phase, or she may take after her father. The chattiness may just be learning, or she may take after her mother. It is clear, however that Elsie is happy, fun, and has a good sense of humor. She is stubborn, just like both of her parents. She is extremely careful, patient, and focused, watching every footstep, demanding book after book after book in a single sitting, and entertaining herself for long stretches. What can I say? She is my daughter, and she is a lot of fun!