Days 266, 267, and 268

Here is a picture of Elise pinching someone besides Mommy. A rare sight indeed! November 29th:



November 30th:



We have lots of pictures of Elise smiling. Here is what she looks like crying. It's sad... but she's still adorably cute. December 1st:

Days 263, 264, and 265

More pictures from our Thanksgiving weekend! Here is Elise with MomMom, Mommy, Tigger, Papa Lee, and little doggie Chrissy on November 26th:



And later that evening at Nana's house:



Here's my whole immediate family on November 27th. Notice how Elise is waving to the camera! Back row: Thomas, Laura, Sara with James in her belly, Bret, Mocha. Front row: Elliot, Mary, Elise, Mimi, Blaze, and Grandpa.



We drove back to Tallahassee on November 28th. Along the way, we stopped for a break so that Elise could stretch her legs. She also took her first sip at a water fountain:

262: Baby's First Thanksgiving

Elise had a great first Thanksgiving-- it was a three-day long Thanksgiving extravaganza! We got to see lots and lots of family and it was really wonderful. Elise spent the morning of November 25th with her baby boyfriend, Andy, as you can see in the picture above. Then we spent the rest of the day with Elliot's dad, stepmom, Elise's cousins, and the cousins' extended family. It was a very nice day and a lovely start to our Thanksgiving weekend.

Day 261: Standing On Her Own Two Feet

During a visit with her baby boyfriend Andy on November 24th, Elise took drastic measures in order to impress him. She decided that it was time to start standing up on her own. I had to snap this picture quickly, so it's not centered, but believe me that Elise was not holding on to anything when she stood up. I think Elise might have been inspired by this cute onesie that Andy's parents got for her. Next trick: flying!

Foster Baby Yasmin

Elliot and I were recently foster parents to a newborn baby girl-- I'll call her "Yasmin." Her birth mom had planned a private adoption for her, but it was going to take a couple of days to get paperwork together and so the adoption agency needed to put Yasmin in a foster home temporarily. Elliot and I were happy to help out.

Yasmin had been born just two days earlier. Elliot, Elise, and I picked Yasmin up from the hospital. What a strange experience, going back to the same hospital that Elise had been born at and bringing home another newborn baby!

The next few days were really interesting-- we got to see Yasmin's birth parents, as they wanted an opportunity to say goodbye to her, and we got to meet Yasmin's new parents when we brought her to the adoption agency to be united with her forever family. Fostering Yasmin was a special opportunity for us to see several different sides of the private adoption process. It was really wonderful to be a part of it all.

Day 260: The Prisoner

Elise on November 23rd. At least she isn't in solitary confinement-- that's her baby friend, Deanna, in the background.

Days 257, 258, and 259

We call this one "The Anguish." It's from Elise's blue period. November 20th:



Elise trapping Radar on the bookshelf. November 21st:



Earmuffs! November 22nd:

Days 253, 254, 255, and 256

Happy birthday, Mommy! November 16th:



Grandpa thinks Elise looks like she's ready to run a race in this picture. On your mark... get set... GO! November 17th:



Looks like nap time is over. November 18th:



E is for Elise! November 19th:

Days 251 and 252

November 14th, sitting pretty:



Yes, Baby Elise, we see that you can take your socks off. November 15th:

Day 250: Celebrating Mommy's Birthday

On November 13th we celebrated my birthday by meeting my parents, my sister Laura, and Elliot's mom in Gainesville for the day. The Lubee Bat Conservancy was holding its annual Bat Festival and opened its doors to the public. We had lots of fun and learned all about bats. Then we went to lunch. Here is a picture of Elise and Aunt Laura, waiting for the food to arrive.

Day 249: Hot Wheels

Here is Elise on her baby scooter on November 12th. She can't quite reach the ground with her feet well enough to scoot around on her own yet. She loves being pushed back and forth while she sits on it, though, so we put her on backwards and let her grab on to that big yellow part. Hold on tight, Baby Elise!!!

Days 246, 247, and 248

November 9th:



This is Elise's poop face. If she ever crawls up to you and makes this face with her shoulders raised and her eyelids turning red, plug your nose. November 10th:



Elise spying on Yoink. Yoink trying to ignore Elise. November 11th:

Days 243, 244, and 245

Elise's first trip to the fair! She had lots of fun looking at all of the animals, rides, food, and people. It was a very exciting day. Here is a picture of Elise with Uncle Bret, Aunt Sara, and Cousin James at the fair on November 6th:



Elise and Daddy! Elise is wearing a super cute hat that my friend Amber made for her. November 7th:



So cute! November 8th:

Day 242: Please Stack My Cups So I Can Knock Them Over Again

Here is Elise on November 5th, playing with her stacking cups. She loves when Daddy stacks all 8 of them real tall so that she can knock them over. She's also recently discovered the I'm-going-to-drop-my-toy-off-the-edge-of-the-couch-so-you-can-pick-it-up-and-I-can-drop-it-again game.

Elise says "Hi!" and waves now!

Sometimes!

And here is a moving picture of it!


We have been saying "hi" and "bye" to her while waving a lot recently to try to give her the idea. Looks like it's paying off.

Days 238, 239, 240, and 241

Double trouble! Elise visits herself often during the day. November 1st:



Elise recently learned her first lesson in the importance of voting. She went with Mommy and Daddy early on the morning of November 2nd to watch us do our civic duty. You can see by the sleepy look on her face that the whole thing wore her out.



Elise is pulling up on everything now. She prefers to be standing up whenever possible. She's also started scooting around the edges of furniture, holding on as she walks. It'll be no time before she lets go and just walks across the room. November 2nd:



Elise protecting her friend's toy cupcake. November 3rd:



Elise and Daddy in matching brown shirts. November 4th:

Day 237: Halloween!

Elise's first Halloween! As you can see, she was a monkey. Elliot was Maxwell from the video game Scribblenauts, and I was a witch. We took Elise around our friends' neighborhood and let her look at all of the costumes and decorated houses. No candy. She's too little for that. She had lots of fun, though!

Days 235 and 236

Elise is wearing a new hat that my very crafty and talented friend Amber made for her. I wish the picture wasn't so blurry, but Elise was very wiggly when I was trying to photograph her. October 29th:



Elise and Daddy, October 30th:

Days 232, 233, and 234

October 26th:



October 27th:



October 28th:

Days 229, 230, and 231

October 23rd:



Elise took a tour of a local farm on October 24th with Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Bret, and Aunt Sara:



Elise is wearing a homemade bathrobe that one of our very nice neighbors made for her when she was born. October 25th:

Day 228: Elise of the Rings

I got Elise some linking rings to play with. They're bright colors and they have different textures. She seems to like them. Here she is playing with her new toy on October 22nd:



I actually set out with the intention of getting her a little drum or something besides a rattle that she could make noise with. Can you believe that I couldn't find anything?!? Everything that they were selling at Target for babies under 1 year old was electronic light-up craziness. The kind of thing where you push a button and the toy plays itself for you. I was hoping to find something that Elise could interact with, not just be entertained by. Elise has a couple of electronic toys, and I think a couple of them is fine... but we don't want ALL of her toys to be automatic noisemakers. Elise likes to make her own noise, too. I guess we'll keep looking...

Days 226 and 227

My sweet, unsuspecting baby, just before we left for the doctor's office to get her flu shot. (Notice the cute little baby shoes?) October 20th:



October 21st:

Days 224 and 225: So Big!

That's not how you read a book, Baby Elise! October 18th:



Look at her, standing up! She pulls up and stands so well now. She'll be scooting along the edges and learning to walk in no time! October 19th:

Days 221, 222, and 223

October 15th:



At the Glazer Children's Museum in Tampa on October 16th:



Elise was fascinated by Nana's music box. October 17th: