11 Months

It is hard to believe that Elyse is 11 Months old. In this picture Elyse has a coaster in her mouth because that was the only way I could get her to sit still on the couch. I should have included the "outtakes" they were pretty funny- half her head, her reaching for the camera and crawling on the couch among other things.

These are somethings that we learned about Elyse this month:

• She really likes to eat raspberries
• She likes going to the pool
• She enjoys putting things in buckets (and dumping them out)
• She is starting to hand things to us ("share")
• She likes soy milk
• She likes to clap my hands together

First Steps

Today, on our 6th wedding anniversary, Elyse took her first steps. Here's how it happened: I was getting dinner ready and Elyse was in my arms. I had to put her down to get something and she started to cry. I was about a foot away from her and knelt down to see what she would do. She took three steps towards me!!!! I picked her up and Toby and I celebrated! I am so glad that Toby and I got to witness her first steps together. Hopefully I will be able to get it on video so you can see it too. Yippeee!

On Her Way

Elyse is on her way to walking. Here is a video

of her practicing with her dad.

Together Again

Like the previous post said, Toby is home. We are thrilled that he is back in the states. One of things that Toby brought with him were some panda rain boots for Elyse. They will be great for running around in the rain and splashing in puddles.

HOME

Home... there is nothing like it.

I was gone forty days.

I am so glad to be home to two smiling and happy girls

tjh

He's Coming Home!!!

Toby is coming home. I knew he would, but neither of us knew when that would be. We now have a date and a time. Friday at 1:55 PM Toby's plane will arrive in Houston. I am so excitted.

Pig-Tails

Here is my first attempt at putting pig-tails in Elyse's hair. The last picture is what her hair looked like when I took out the barrettes.

Water Baby

Today Elyse and I got a baby pool. I wasn't sure how she would react to cold water, but she seemed to love it. Isn't she cute!

Time in Colorado

Since Toby is in Korea my parents invited me to visit them in CO. I was a bit scared to go because I would be traveling with Elyse by myself. I didn't know how I was going to cart all my stuff to the airport and then I didn't know how Elyse would be on the plane. God was gracious and provided a friend to drive me to the airport and pick me up (Thanks Michelle!). This helped a lot and eased my anxiety. Then, to my surprise, Elyse did great on the plane.

While I was in CO I got to see friends and family. It was wonderful to see everyone. It also provided a great distraction from thinking about Toby being gone. Elyse enjoyed herself as well. She adjusted to the time difference and her new surroundings. She became a bit shy around some people, but handled the constant influx of people well. Elyse also developed some new skills while we were away. She can now wave, play "so big," and crawl up steps. She tried out her new skills often. She even tried to get the birds in the backyard to play "so big" and wave. One memorable moment was when Elyse actually started crawling after the birds. It was so cute.

We are now back in Texas and getting back to our routines. Here are some more pictures from our trip: