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.

So our little girl is motoring all over the house.  She’s still scooting, but will get up on her hands and knees in the traditional crawling position and is thinking about doing it the right way.  I’m sure one day it’ll just click.  For your viewing pleasure, check out another video of Ms. Elliott going up and down the hallway from the carpet’s point of view .

I can barely believe as I write this that our little girl has now been in this world a half a year!  I remember holding that little peanut in my arms, and now she’s turning into this little kid with a big personality.

Look at me! I'm a big kid!

Elliott had her 6-month checkup at the pediatrician on Monday. Our “little” girl now weighs 15 pounds, 11 ounces and is 27.5 inches long.  That puts her in the 50th percentile for weight and 95th for length.  She is still long and lean and is just fitting into her size 3-6 month clothes.

She's long and lean!

On that note, I still have troubles getting her into clothes that fit. Her waist fits into size 3-month pants, but they come up to her ankles. If I put her in 6-month pants, they are great in the length, but jumbo in the waist.

This last month has been a big one developmentally for Elle. She is sitting up so nicely on her own now. She is also a crawling machine. She’s not actually crawling on her knees yet, but is doing more of an “Army scoot.”  Still, that girl can wiggle her way across the room in the blink of an eye. The doctor said there’s a good chance she’ll be walking by Christmas–YIKES.

Look at me go! I'm a crawler now!

Miss Elly also has her two bottom teeth coming up. As a result, she is a drool machine.  And, as always, everything she gets her hands on goes directly into her mouth.

Now that I have teeth coming in, EVERYTHING goes into my mouth.

After her doctor’s appointment, we also started Elliott on real foods. The doctor advised us to start slowly with the variation of foods, and so far, so good. She really seemed to like the butternut squash (and kept most of it in her mouth) and had a pretty good experience with cereal and pears too. Next on the agenda:  green beans and carrots. Yum.

Mmmmmm.......squash.

Our baby is such a joy. I can’t properly describe her happy, loving, and wonderful personality. Just thinking of her warms my heart. Sometimes she’ll wake us up at 3 a.m. or throw a minor fit at night….and we really don’t care.  We just look at that beautiful little face and know that our lives are complete.  I can’t imagine what our lives were like without her in them.

Dad and Elly

It’s official. Our little baby is becoming a little girl.  We can’t believe all of the changes and progress she’s made in the last few weeks.

Elliott had her 4-month checkup at the doctor last week.  Our girl now weighs just under 14 pounds (more than double her birth weight!) and is 26.5 inches long.  That puts her in the 50th percentile for weight and 95th percentile for height! According to Dr. Dominski, Elliott is going to be one tall lady!   As she’s grown, she’s also moved on to bigger clothes sizes.  Elliott finally fits into her 3-month outfits….at least in the length…and she’s graduated to size 2 diapers!

I'm so tall! My feet finally touch the floor in my jumperoo!

Elle also had round #2 of vaccinations.  Poor kid.  She howled for about five minutes after the shots, but like last time, Dad comforted her and everything was OK…..until I brought her back home.   Elliott screamed for about an hour.  Finally, I fed her and rocked her to sleep. Infant Tylenol was also a big help.  She did well the rest of the night, but it was a little trickier than usual to get her to bed.  But, today she was back to her bubbly self.

Super baby!

I still maintain that Elliott is the happiest baby in the world. She spends 98% of her awake time smiling. Whenever I’m having a lousy day or feel down on my luck, I look at that little face and know everything is right in the world.  And she’s such a funny baby, too. Just this week she’s begun putting her toes in her mouth. (Check out the video of that.) She also rolls from front to back AND back to front….although she never lets us catch it on camera!

Elliott working on getting her toes in her mouth!

She also talks up a storm and is so loud in the morning that I’m sure the neighbors can hear her.  Oh man, just wait until this kid can actually talk. She may never shut up.

Elliott Dorothy Dawson: 4 months, 1 week

In the next two weeks, there will be a new milestone for Elle. She’s been breastfed exclusively since birth and soon she will be introduced to the wonderful world of rice cereal.   Stay tuned for video of that!

So we’ve been extremely behind on posting photos here.  For those of you on Facebook, you’ve seen some of these and have gotten too see Elliott’s progress.  For those of you who aren’t - I promise we’ll get better at updating this page with current photos.  We also need to get some more videos up, but Elliott doesn’t always cooperate.  She can roll from her tummy to her back, but refuses to do it when the camera comes out.  We have about 20 minutes of her laying on her stomach looking at us wondering what we’re waiting for.  One of these days she’ll cooperate…

So the photos in this loop stretch from 10 week - 16 weeks.  Our little girl hits the 4-month (!) mark this weekend and you can see how much she’s growing each week.  She eats well and sleeps through the night like a champ.  Enjoy the photos!

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In celebration of Homer’s very first Father’s Day, Elliott and I took him to the Milwaukee County Zoo (one of our very favorite date spots before we were married.) We bought a zoo pass this year–$125 for a year, good for four people per trip, and parking is included–not a bad deal.  We figured it would be a fun and easy outing for us and for Grandma Sue and Grandpa Gar whenever they’re watching her.

The day was overcast, which was great since I hate having Elly in the direct sun. Still, we bought her the most adorable little sun hat.  She sported the hat at least half of the day while riding with Dad in the Baby Bjorn.

Elliott sports her brand new sun hat at the zoo.

Dad and Elle checking out the flamingos.

Elle is the same size as a baby gorilla!

Daddy and Elle in front of the camels.

Dad, Elle and Sophie pose in front of the real-life Sophies!

Look at this cute kid.

It was naptime for our sleepy girl.

 Homer and I stayed for about another hour visiting the animals while Elliott slept in her stroller. I loved being there with him on Father’s Day. I love that he is the father of my daughter and am so proud to be his wife.  We couldn’t ask for a better man in our lives.

Say goodbye to size newborn clothes and diapers….our baby is quickly growing!  That’s right, at about two-and-a-half months, our little Elle weighs a whopping 11 pounds and is 24 inches long!  Woo!  AND she’s moved into size 1 diapers and 0-3 month clothes!

Elliott Dawson, 11 weeks

We took Elliott to the doctor for her 2-month appointment (a few weeks late) last week.  She’s measuring in the 50th percentile for weight and head circumference and 95th percentile for length!  What that basically means is that all of her pants fit her long legs, but are HUGE in the waist!

Elliott and Dr. Dominski share a pouty face.

And, of course, she had to get her shots during this visit.  She howled during the pokes, but was back to her smiley self just a few minutes later. As expected, it was probably much more difficult for me then it was for her.   We’ll be back for more shots in a month and a half.

Getting comforted post-shots from Dad.

The great news is that she is a healthy, happy baby. She can now hold her head up on her own, but is still a bit wobbly. I think we’ll hold off a week or two before introducing her to the jumperoo or Bumbo.  She has discovered her hands, and as a result, they are always in her mouth. But this is a good thing, we’re told.  She’s also started recognizing objects in front of her face and is starting to grab at them.  Her new favorite object is her squeaky giraffe named Sophie. (I’m sure you’ll see Sophie in plenty of photos!)

Elliott loves Sophie.

Elliott is also sleeping through the night (8-9 hours) on a regular basis in the crib in her room. Yee-hah!  She usually goes to bed around 7, wakes at 11 to eat, and then sleeps through until about 5:30am.   Last night she even went from 8:30pm to 5:30am without a wakeup!  Yay baby!

I hope we can continue this routine when I go back to work next week…

She was born a Brewers fan!  And our lucky little girl got to meet some of the players…and the Klement’s Racing Sausages… at just nine weeks old!

Grandpa Gar is a member of the West Allis-West Milwaukee Old Timers Baseball Association and each year the organization hosts a breakfast with some of the Brewers players.  Most people just got autographs, but we had connections! 

Elliott and Mom meet the Famous Klement's Racing Sausages!

Brewers pitcher Mitch Stetter holding Elliott.

Elliott with Brewers pitcher Mark DiFelice. She was very content sitting with them!

Elliott with Brewers FSN TV commentator and former Major Leaguer Davey Nelson.

Where has the time gone?  Our little peanut is now two-and-a-half months old!  I just looked at the clock and it reads 7:11pm–10 weeks ago to the minute Elliott came into our lives.  The tiny bundle we brought home from the hospital is now a smiling, giggling ball of love. 

Elliott Dawson, 9 weeks

Elliott could be the happiest baby ever. She is constantly smiling and is probably the most content when she’s laying on her back on her activity mat or sitting in her bouncer chair.  The mat is great. It has a mirror for her to gaze into and three dangling animals, which are now her best friends. Al the octopus gets all of her affection, while Morty the Moose is her punching bag.  And then there is poor Freddie the Fish.  No love for Freddie.  We noticed Elliott favors all of the animals that hang on her left side…..we’re wondering if this could mean our little girl is a lefty.  We’ll see….

Elliott on her activity mat checking out her friends Al and Morty.

The bouncer chair is a new addition. We’ve had it from the start, but until recently, Elliott was too light to sit on it.  But now….ooh man…you turn on the little vibrating seat and she is as happy as a clam.  We used to put Elliott in the swing during the day, but we’re trying to cut back a little with that. She fell asleep regularly in it, and we don’t want her to get used to that.

Elliott loves her bouncer chair.

This week is a big one for Elliott. She is making the transition from her bassinet in our room to her big girl crib in her bedroom. I’ve had her napping in the crib during the week to make the overnight transition a bit smoother. It’s taken her a little longer to fall asleep, but it’s getting better.  We have a white noise machine going, as well as her mobile overhead.   It’s funny to see that little body in her big bed. I know I’m going to have a tough time when she’s not sleeping in her bassinet next to me.

Elliott's first nap in her big girl crib. June 1, 2009

Last week we had another Elliott success story. She took a bath without screaming. I won’t go as far as to say she was smiling, but she wasn’t screaming, which was huge.  What changed?  For one, we tried Johnson’s Bedtime Bath soap, which supposedly calms babies. Two, we used this frog washcloth that I received for a shower gift.  According to its directions, you put the dry frog over the baby to keep her warm, and then when it becomes wet with warm water, the baby adapts. I must admit, I was a naysayer when it came to the frog. I’ve since changed my tune. All expectant mothers I know will be receiving a frog washcloth from me. (Of course, you could probably just use a regular washcloth for this, but what fun is there in that?)

Elliott's first non-screaming bath. We credit the adorable frog washcloth.

So, it’s been a busy month. In the next few weeks, we hope Elliott can hold her head up by herself (she’s getting close) and sleep completely through the night.

Parents are sure right when they say they grow up so fast…