Happy Half Birthday to You!

18 months.  Elisabeth has reached the magical age of 18 months.  For those that are LDS, this glorious age means that our baby is now old enough to enter into Junior Nursery during the 2nd and 3rd hours of church, allowing mom and pop to actually learn something of a religious nature in Sunday school instead of how to keep a toddler happy and quiet without distracting the 50 other church goers.  She did not cry one tear.  She doesn't even look back to say goodbye when Lance drops her off and when I pick her up, she doesn't want to leave.  That is our social butterfly! Our baby is NOT a baby anymore.

Elisabeth's Medical Report Card:

- Height: 75th percentile

- Weight:  95th percentile

- Head:  60th percentile

Some funny "Elisabethisms":

• When we give her a choice between two things, she will say "Ummmm" as she ponders and then does a cute little smack of her lips once she has reached her decision.
  
• She loves salad, eggplant and stuffed peppers.  When we put a 1/2 of a stuffed pepper in front of her one night she exclaimed "Oh Yeah!" with a huge grin.
• She walks on her toes a lot just like I did when I was a little girl.
• She already used her "big girl potty" successfully.  We aren't potty training yet but just "familiarizing" her with the concept.  She is receptive so far.
• Affectionate is word that best describes our clever girl.  She is constantly hugging and giving sweet kisses to all of her stuffed animals and baby dolls, not to mention her parents and Sofi Dog.
  
• She loves to do that hand motions to "Itsy Bitsy Spider."
• She insists her stuffed dog do everything she does.  As a result, her dog went to church last week wearing a diaper and hair bows.  She also has her stuffed dog take her turn on the "big girl potty" every night before bedtime.
  

She is always on the move and is into everything.  This picture says it all:

We sure do adore our Chunka Munka!

All in the Family

Everyone who sees Elisabeth almost automatically says "Oh, she looks just like her dad."  I swear she has a little bit of my family in her as well.

You be the judge:

Lance and Elisabeth around 18 months

Kristi and Elisabeth around 18 months

So, she does have a lot of her papa in her.  She definitely got her chubs and coloring from her daddy.  However, there is no denying she is mine as well.  She has my mouth and maybe even my nose!

I think she takes after her namesake, Grandma Dorothy.

No question.  She is ours.

Our First Date: A Disagreement

I claim our first date as a couple was when Lance invited me to go watch the BYU homecoming parade in October 2001.  (Which, for the record, it was.)  Lance insists it was later in November 2001, when we went to watch a men's acapella group sing and then out to Leatherby's for hamburgers and an icecream sundae.  He likes to say that was our first date because he not only held my hand AND told me he loved me, BUT he also gave me my first kiss.  He figures he was pretty suave. Even though he is wrong about this being our first date - as it was cleary NOT - I remember that evening every time the calendar on our wall changes from October to November.  He told me he loved me 8 years ago on a freezing cold bench outside the HFAC (the performing arts building) at BYU before he had even held my hand.

Right or wrong, I am just so glad he finally stopped trying to set me up with his brother and decided I would be a good match for him.

Here's to a husband who works countless hours to support our family but still manages to spend quality time with our daughter every morning while I sleep in a bit, serve valiantly in his calling at church, take the dog for her morning walk, fold all of our laundry every week, make veggie platters for Sunday dinner at my neighbors, and do everything he can to help out at home so I can finish my graduate degree. 

Yup.  I would say I am very lucky and forever grateful for the support he has always given me. 

AH. . . BOO!

This is what Elisabeth calls Jack-O-Lanterns for some reason.  When she sees them she will shout "AH..BOO!"  She can also say her own version of "pumpkin" so I am thinking she bases this name on her Halloween dress.

We attempted to take Elisabeth to the pumpkin patch during Lance's lunch break earlier this week but she wasn't very happy and was scared of the tractors and large crowds of preschool children.  I couldn't get her to smile very much that day but at least her pumpkin get-up will make for some nice scrapbook pages.  She was pretty smiley after we stopped at Baja Fresh for a lunch.  Note to self: Feed the sweet pea BEFORE going to the pumpkin patch.  Better luck next year!

Tonight is our ward Trunk-or-Treat and tomorrow we will be carving pumpkins with some good friends before we take our little lamb to go visit some of our neighbors and friends so they can coo over how adorable she is.  She will even give you an enthusiastic "Baa" if prompted.

Because I am feeling ambitious. . .

My newest smocking project:

Originally, I was planning on doing a red dress but after I saw this pattern, I couldn't resist.  I mean, Elisabeth is still a baby, right?   Babies look better in softer colors.  And she won't be our baby for long so I figure there are many years ahead for me to make red dresses.  The dress is actually a light pink and my final product will have less puffy sleeves and probably a little different lace.  Wish me luck! (Because you all know I don't have anything else to do to fill up my free time!)

I love you always too, Mom.

Yesterday I was straightening out our bookshelf which had become disheveled in the last year in preparation for a baby shower for my dear friend Sam that will be held at my home tomorrow. I came across a book I had forgotten we even owned. The Queen of Cleans Complete Cleaning Guide was a gift to me from my mom soon after I was married. I think it was her way of welcoming me to the "club" of married life, knowing I would need help honing my housekeeping skills that she so desperately tried to instill in me when I was younger. Inside she wrote in her beautiful penmanship that they no longer teach in grade school:

To Kristi
I hope you find many things in here helpful!
Love you always
Mom

After reading this simple phrase, I hugged the book close to my chest with tears rolling down my face. I love you always too, Mom. What a practical gift yet so thoughtful. Thoughtful gifts were her specialty. I inherited my joy of gift giving from her.

I miss my mom with my whole heart every time fall rolls around and I take out my fall decorations. My mom loved each season and always decorated our home for each holiday. I am not sure why fall triggers the aching heart and longing for my mom's company. Maybe it is because I usually bake more and cook more in the fall and it was my mom who taught me how to do both of these things. Baking was our special thing we did together. Every holiday we made something together. Whether it was cupcakes with candy corns on top of decadent icing for Halloween, pies for Thanksgiving, oodles and oodles of goodies at Christmas time, or sugar cookies for Valentine's Day, we always had something we would do together while my dad and brothers were elsewhere.

I remember Christmas time most vividly - falling asleep to the sweet smells of cookies cooking as she stayed up late to finish a batch of something. Every Christmas we had sugar cookies, molasses cookies, "butter balls" (a.k.a. Russian teacakes), cornflake wreaths (my personal favorite), popcorn cake, rosettes, fudge, her famous Heavenly Hash and often a brand new recipe, such as peanut butter blossoms, snowman butter cookies,or spritz cookies. To this day I bake up a storm for every holiday. This is one way I can keep her memory alive. A tradition I can't wait to pass down to Elisabeth. And with Elisabeth's love of food, I am sure she will happily join in the baking fun.

My mom will be gone from this life for five years this coming January. Some days I miss her terribly and I long for her to call me to tell me all about her favorite soap opera, fill me in on the family news, or just to talk about her aches and pains or her newest illness. Lately, I want to talk to her about my struggle to have another baby. She would understand. She would tell me to "SLOW DOWN" and scold me for being too busy. And then, after I would start crying, being that I always have had sensitive feelings, she would tell me how much she loved me and how sorry she was that I was hurting.

 My mom and dad at my wedding reception in 2002.

I love you always too, Mom. I miss you forever and can't wait to see you again. I could use one of your squishy hugs every now and then.

12.5

That is how many pounds I have to lose before I am at my goal weight and how many weeks I have to do it. I lost 2.5 lbs last week, so I feel like I am on my way!

My mission: Lose 12.5 lbs before Christmas and keep it off.

Mission Checklist:
- Exercise at the gym for 60 minutes, three days a week
- Keep a food journal of everything I eat
- Eat sweets very sparingly. Which means I can't keep any in the house.
- Attend Weight Watchers meetings every week. I love WW. It really works!
- Take Elisabeth and the dog for a walk every day.

Wish me luck!