New Year, New Blog

Please note that we are changing our blog address to:

www.dowdenfam.blogspot.com

Come visit us there!

Elise is 9 months!

Wow, Elise is 9 months! Some new "tricks"

include waving, clapping hands and bopping

to music. She loves to dance! I have heard her

say "mama" and she can repeat other sounds

that we say. She is growing fast! A recent doctor's visit

told us that she is 28.5" ht. (75th%) and 17.13 lbs.

(35th%) so she gained 3 lbs. and grew 2".

She got two new teeth on top to accompany

the front two and at 9.5 months she got a 3rd

tooth on the bottom.

Elise is a VERY enthusiastic eater! She loves

to feed herself and prefers solids to liquids for sure.

This was our last month of nursing and we had a good run!

She is transitioning to formula pretty well but prefers

to get her calories from "real" food. She seems to like

everything but some favorites include puffs, cheerios

and any bread-like item such as pizza crust.

She gets very upset when its "all gone" or when it has to

be taken away for safety's sake.

Elise is not yet crawling but can get wherever she

needs to go by rolling and pivoting. Sometimes she

looks like a break dancer spinning around so fast. Here

she is stuck in a corner. She had just called me to

come help her out.

Daddy snapped this cute picture of our sweet

sleeping baby girl. She has to have her "mousie" nearby

and will automatically stick her thumb in her mouth

when you hand it to her. Recently, we were on a car trip

and I told her to find her mousie and do "night nights".

She totally understood what I said and settled down

for a little nap!

Those of you who know her, have seen this

face, and this one...

At random times, Elise will breathe in

and out through her nose and make this face.

Its hilarious to see. She has been doing it for

several months now but I finally caught it on camera.

Perhaps it is booger-related?

Merry Christmas to All!

After 42 shots, we finally got a great photo

of both kids. Merry Christmas!

Elf Yourself Video

What's one more "Elf Yourself" video??

Anna created this funny video of our family.

Check it out...

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/TIGrH7NhqaY01Ktb

SANTA!

Jackson has been to afraid to sit on Santa's lap

for the past 2 Christmases so I was HOPING he would

be OK with it this year since it is Elise's 1st Christmas.

Before we left for the mall he said he would stand next

to Santa for the photo. The week before he said "we could

just write him a letter" so I was very pleased with the change

in attitude! When it was our turn, Santa gave Jackson

a bunch of high fives and then told him to jump into his

lap. Worked like a charm! Elise was her usual serious

self and we got a great photo of the two of them. Success!

Note: this is not the actual photo we paid for, just some

shots that Bill got in.

The annual phone call from Santa (Uncle Nick)

was a hit! Jackson was in shock.

First Snow of the Season!

This past weekend we our first snow of the season

and it was a great storm! We got close to 12" in spots so

the next day Jackson and I spent some time outside

playing while Elise napped. So far, she does not seem

to be a fan of the cold weather!

Grandparents' Dec. Visit

Last week, Grandma Carol & Grandpa Rick

visited. It was great to see them! Bill & I took advantage

of the babysitters and went out for yummy sushi,

Carol & Jackson went for a long walk in the rain

one day and we also decorated our Christmas tree.

Thanks for a great visit Grandma & Grandpa and

we will see you in late January in Colorado!

Jackson piled MANY ornaments on the same branch.

Elise is 8 months!

Here is what's going on for Elise at 8 months:

She is getting more vocal and likes to make

"yayaya" sounds and shriek when she wants to be heard!

Elise still likes rolling around on the floor and is

getting more mobile each day. She is getting faster

at getting from one side of the room to the other.

While she does like to sit and play with her toys, she

prefers playing with the rest of the family's stuff.

She loves to stand (assisted) and has really strong legs.

She likes to be upside down and sometimes puts her

head back to have her chin tickled. So cute!

About 2 weeks before she turned 8 mos, her

two top teeth starting coming in. She was a little

crankier but for the most part teething has been

a breeze. Check out that space in between!

I remember that Jackson had the same space.

Behold the pincer grasp! Self-feeding begins!

She loves puffs and has just started Cheerios.

A successful drop-off!

Thanksgiving 2009

We celebrated Thanksgiving at Nana & Grandpa

George's house this year. Daddy was working so

we REALLY missed him but had a great time

with the rest of the family. It was a busy weekend!

11/28 was Aunt Anna's birthday and then we spent a

night at Papa & Grandma Bernie's.

Some silly play time on the couch.

Handsome boy

With Nana & Grandpa George

Elise hanging out with some of the family.

All dressed up!

Need to Photoshop Bill in here!

Elise wasn't sure what to do with the turkey leg.

But she quickly figured out how yummy

mashed sweet and white potatoes are!

She couldn't shovel them in fast enough.

She had a blast feeding herself.

And of course, football...

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Serious Stuff

I don't know if its just a phase, but Elise

is a pretty serious baby. When she was younger

(about 4-5 mos), she was quicker to smile at

anyone and everyone. Now, she prefers to check

you out thoroughly before deciding to smile

your way. Strangers at the store can pretty much forget

getting a smile out of her (much to their chagrin).

But don't misunderstand, she is the sweetest baby!

Like I said, its hard to make her smile...

...unless your name is Jackson.

She has tons of smiles for her big brother!

Meet Kiki

Kiki is one of Jackson's new friends from school.

As the only other boy in the class (of 9), they have

a lot in common! They immediately hit it off and

are pretty much inseparable at school. Kiki is about

9 months older than Jackson and will be going to

kindergarten next fall but Jackson is able to keep up

with him for the most part. They like to pretend

they are dinosaurs, act silly and chase eachother

around.

On a school field trip to a local farm

At the Halloween parade at school

Playing in the fall leaves

Letting off a little steam after school.