Five Months Old

 

Elyse is five months today! I really can't believe how fast she is growing. Maybe it's because I know she's my last, or the fact that she's so much bigger than the boys were at this stage. I'm not even really a "baby crazy" person, but I'm already realizing the "last" milestones. She's such a joy! I love just talking, singing, and playing with her. (So do the boys.) She seems to completely comprehend everything that goes on in our crazy lives!

She's been teething for the last month, so she drools more than a puppy. She also shoves her entire hand or at least two fingers in her mouth at all times! Strangely, I think she'll get her upper "fang" teeth first. Every day I look to see if they're in yet, and she is so cute and helpful by saying, "AHHHH" each time! They are SO close. You can see them fully, there's just a very thin layer of gum covering them. All in all, the teething hasn't taken too big of a toll on our happy little girl. She's also about to sit on her own. She rolls constantly and loves to jump in her jumperoo! She goes CRAZY in it! Tummy time isn't a "chore" anymore, but she still would prefer to stand or be on her back. (Like her oldest brother, she may not crawl much and go to the walking sooner...) She truly is an extremely happy little girl.
For her 5th Month Birthday (ha), MiMi and PopPop took us all to Santa's Workshop at the North Pole! It was a complete surprise for the boys. They thought we were going hiking, which they were excited about, too, but as we drove up the mountain, we kept seeing signs with elves on them, then signs with Santa and his reindeer, and finally a huge sign that said, "Welcome to the North Pole!"
What a great day it was! Isaac and Austin, but especially Isaac, blew us away with their courage. These are my kida, who until a few months ago, were scared to swing more than a few inches back and forth! Isaac has always been fairly timid, and fearless Austin, follows whatever his brother says and does (if he says it's scary, it must be...). Well, Isaac rode EVERY possible ride there was to ride and loved each of them. The funny part was, that we finished on the huge slide at the end of the day (which we began with, as well) and that, is what he said was the one he had to be most brave for!
Austin didn't like the fast, spinning ones. (Either did Mommy!) I'm hoping that it's not because I'm getting old, but just a hormone thing with a nursing baby...I got so dizzy, on rides I used to love!
Elyse rode the train with us, but other than that, she was a great spectator. She slept
maybe 20 minutes all day! She just couldn't bear to miss the action! Even with so little sleep, she was happy the entire time! It was a grand time, had by all. It was fun stirring up memories I had from my childhood visit!

Running Behind...

Thursday was our first official day of MOPS! We've had so many meetings and training this year, that I was really ready for MOPS, itself. The boys were excited too. I was bringing an egg dish, so I got that in at the "perfect" time, so it would be done in time, yet, hopefully still hot when MOPS started. I felt like everything was going smoothly and that the kids and I would even be early! I was quite proud of us! Well, with a few hiccups, our preparedness and timeliness quickly turned to running behind.

Austin decided to help out by doing his own hair that morning. He came downstairs, so proud of himself, and this is what I saw. I think he must have used a quarter bottle of Kurt's gel.
 
Although the photo doesn't show it very well, there is a huge "glob" of gel directly in the center of his "nest." He didn't even attempt to rub it in, I don't think! There was so much excess gell, that there was no way I could get away with just adding water and hoping it would look okay. So, after an unexpected shower for Austin, a casserole that took nearly double the time the recipe called for, and the typical mayhem of trying to get everybody in the car, we ended up arriving about 5 minutes late. Thankfully, there's a lot of grace with the women in MOPS...we've all been there! It was a great first week. I think there are some great new moms.

Little Girls

Today I had to go shopping for little tights, due the cooler weather! I'm not a shopper, by any means, but I have to admitt, it's pretty fun dressing my little girl!

A week of "Firsts"

We've had an exciting week and a half in the Eilmes household. Last weekend we brought home the "Big Boy Bed" for Austin and took down the crib. He is SO proud of his bed and makes sure to tell EVERYONE! Plus, as hard as this is to believe, the transition has been without hiccup - not a single attempt to get out of his bed! HOORAY!
There's more to the bed story, however. Austin is sleeping in his Great Grandfather's childhood bed and the bureaus in the boys' room were his as well. It's pretty neat! Every night as Austin reminds himself he can't jump on the bed, he says, "Don't jump on the bed - Pops will get mad, but not Gram."
 

The boys also started school this week. Austin is back at his one morning a week at "Love Club" and Isaac started at Broadmoor Community Preschool this week, as well. He goes twice a week. They both had a fabulous first week and Isaac is already seemingly smitten with one little girl - Caroline - who he hasn't stopped talking about!




Last weekend was the Balloon Classic in Colorado Springs, so that was a first for Elyse!
Now, granted, after having been to the Balloon Fiesta in Alb. last year, this was not overly exciting, but it was still a fun outing.

The best part, however, was watching the balloons try to find landing spots as we were driving home. (The wind wasn't quite right, so many of the pilots chose not to launch the morning we went.) As we were getting closer to home, Isaac pointed out one that looked like it was near our house. Sure enough, as we drove up the street, we saw that one of the balloons had landed two houses from our driveway! That was exciting!

We had never seen so many neighbors out at once!

COULD THERE EVER BE TOO MUCH CHOCOLATE?

There's been a lot of chocolate in our house lately.

Problem? I don't think so.

Messy? YES!

We've had a lot of fun. First, my fabulous mentor mom from MOPS last year stopped by with a bunch of goodies for us. She brought me a yummy starbucks drink, a cute decorative piece about "The Home," and a journal to start a great tradition with Elyse. (I love using other people's ideas to create traditions for my family!) She also brought the boys buckets with shovels, ice cream, and worms to make MUD! We mixed it all up, added oreos and surprised them with a super fun dessert. As you can see, they loved it! I'm so glad she brought the "fixin's" over because it reminded me to be a "fun mom" in the midst of all the "to do's."

I had to remind Austin several times that it wasn't REAL mud, as he tends to be our "sensory" kid, smelling, tasting, touching, etc EVERYTHING that he comes in contact with. So far, I haven't caught him trying to eat REAL dirt/mud...yet!

Shortly after our "mud" experience, we had some friends over for dinner. In true Erin-not-the-greatest-hostess fashion, rather than making chocolate covered strawberries, as planned, due to a lack of time, we simply melted chocolate and served globs of it on everyone's plate with several strawberries! In my opinion, it was much more fun that way, but once again, pretty darn messy. The kids loved it.

Needless to say, I don't think Isaac and Austin could ever think we've had too much chocolate! Poor Elyse...no chocolate for her yet! She just has to watch and look pretty!

 

Elyse is 4 months today. I can't believe how quickly these first months have gone. At her 4 month check-up she was 15 lbs 9 oz and 26 1/2 inches long. She's definitely not a little petite thing! She is such a happy little girl that Kurt and I are talking about making her nickname "smiley." I think she has found a "favorite" in Isaac - she simply beams at him anytime she makes eye contact with him.

She loves to make noises and "talk" to us and suck her thumb or whole hand. She's rolling over from her back to her tummy, but not in reverse yet. I think she'll be eating solids earlier than the boys, as she is extremely interested in food. She's already trying to grab forks from us as we bring them towards our mouths.

When we were in Oregon, we went to the Oregon Zoo and took a fun train ride through the zoo and Washington Park. Lisa got a photo of all five of us on the train. I honestly think it's one of only 3, since Elyse was born.

Uncle Bear

 

After Lisa and Dan's wedding we had a "mini-Malone Family Reunion." The boys had a BLAST with everybody. Austin and Uncle Ted, (aka Teddy) had a ball together the second evening. As I was showing Austin photos on the computer from the weekend, we came across this photo and I asked Austin who was in the photo. He said, "Austin and Uncle Bear." Uncle Bear?! Oh, Uncle TEDDY (Bear)! I love this stage - when they're hysterical without trying to be...