My grandmother visited for the weekend, and Elise thoroughly entertained her.  I think she enjoyed her almost constant chatter and busyness playing around the house.  Elise was very excited to have her here as well, always wanting to know where she was and what she was doing when she couldn’t find her.  We celebrated my grandmother’s birthday with afternoon tea, went to the playground, went to the family prayer breakfast, and she, Josh and Elise went out for pizza while I attended a friend’s baby shower.  Fun!

We took a family trip to the zoo today.  There were very few people there - how wonderful!  We tried out the backpack for Elise, and it worked well but she was just as happy on Daddy’s shoulders.  We also were privileged to watch part of the birth of a giraffe.  It was stuck in the first position for about a half hour (so we heard), but eventually it made a full entrance into the world.  How inspiring for a pregnant woman to witness.

Elise is 23 months old!  It’s hard to believe we’re rapidly approaching another birthday.  We’ve been pleasantly suprised with how well she is doing with manners, especially please, thank you (usually “thanks thank you”) and sorry or excuse me when she steps on the dogs or they’re in her way.  She is also very thoughtful, taking good care of her babies and changing their diapers, comforting bunny (”bunny sad, bunny crying”), and sharing her food especially with us. We are amazed at her imagination and memory.  We’re talking more about baby sister, and Elise says she is “sleeping” right now in mommy’s tummy.  She came up with that one all by herself.  It has been hot this month, so we’ve enjoyed time at the water park and at the pool.

Elise is 22 months old!  This last month was really busy with visits to both families. Elise enjoyed all the people, and now likes to look at pictures and remember who’s who.  She’s still very entertaining with her rapidly expanding vocabulary and puts up to 4 or 5 words together now.  She also loves to sing Jesus Loves Me and is getting quite good with the words.  Her favorite coping mechanism when she’s sad, hurt, or insecure is “read books.”

We had a wonderful time in Colorado this past week with my parents, brother’s family, and uncle.  All 4 cousins enjoyed each other, and it was fun to watch them play together as it is a rare occasion to get together.  We had a great time relaxing, hiking, eating, and spending time together.  Elise loved hiking, playing in the water, throwing rocks in the water, and playing with her cousins.  I was thrilled to be able to hike, though I felt like I could only go at a snail’s pace, and Josh did double duty with Elise on his back every time.  Can’t wait til next time!