It’s the Dawsons!

So we’ve been working on different manners with Elliott as she gets bigger and language is being developed faster and faster.  The first success we had was with “please.”  When she would ask us for something (usually “cheese,” “apple” or simply “more”), we’d ask her, “what do you say?” and she’d reply with “PEEEAASSE?”  It isn’t perfect, but she’s getting better about it and she’ll now throw it in at the end of requests.  For example, “Gabba Gabba!  PEEEAASSE?”  She’s started to get the idea, which is fun.

We’ve also been working on covering her mouth when she coughs or sneezes.  This one is a little more difficult, but - after some reminding - usually covers the last few coughs/sneezes of each bout.  The most satisfying is when she is just going about her day, playing and talking with herself and she’ll cover her mouth in the midst of all of it.  Seeing her “get” something is extremely rewarding.  And she’s stopping the spread of her adorable little baby germs!

The latest lesson in manners is “thank you.”  Every time we hand her something, we ask her “what do you say?    Thank you.”  We do it for everything.  We are also very conscious of thanking her when she bring us something.  Every once in a while, she’ll get it, but our lessons are slightly missing the mark.  Now, whenever she brings us something, as she is handing it to us she exclaims, “Tank Choo!”  She understands that “thank you” is to be used when things are exchanged, but she’s not quite getting it.  It is pretty darn cute to her her say it over and over.

We’re getting closer.  Next on the list is “excuse me,” which is pretty useful for a fearless little kid who pretty much goes wherever she wants…

And we’re back once again!  Hopefully it will be for real this time.  It’s amazing how life can get in the way of your best intentions.  Our new year’s resolution to post more often and keep this site a place where updates are always close at hand quickly fell by the wayside.  No great excuses (some decent ones)but we’ll just ge back to it.

So while we’ve been gone, we’ve been busy.  We’ve built a deck on the house and landscaped.  Kari got a job at McDill Design, didn’t really care for it and found a new job at Real Racine.  Elliott continues to delight and amaze all who come in contact with her.  She’s a happy, healthy 20-month old who seems to learn a new word every day and leaves us wondering who replaced our little baby girl with this adventurous toddler.

Speaking of being busy - we’ve got some more exciting news - our family is going to be growing by one!  Kari and I are expecting Baby #2 in late May of 2011.  We’re so excited to give Elly a sister/brother and still have moments where we look at each other and think “holy shit - we’re going to have another one of these running around here?!?”  The pregnancy has been rough on Kari so far but we keep telling ourselves that it will all be worth it even if Baby #2 comes out half as great at Elly.

Both Kari and I intend to update this page and our personal pages more in the coming weeks and months.  We’ve both got plenty of Elly stories saved up and more seem to be written every day.  Hope you all enjoy as you rejoin this blogging journey about the Dawson family.