Lost in Translation

(Elise posing with her 'Monkey Man')

Elise is slowing starting to say more and more words- although it may be hard for anyone other myself and Jeff to understand. She's trying really hard to say new things but most of the time the word starts and stops with the first letter. For instance, Elise loves turning on our ceiling fans each morning but when she points and says the word 'fan', it comes out as 'fffff...' .

However, the following words are definitely understandable. Mind you, 'button' and 'more' were just added to the list yesterday! Also, nowhere on the list are there easy, short words like 'dog' or 'cat'. She likes some interesting multi-syllabic words! So, the next time Elise talks to you, here are some translations!
(I'm not sure how some of Elise's words are spelled but I did my best!)

Word..........................Elise Word
Button................................ 'Bunnon'
Monkey Man.................... 'Nan Ya' - her lovey blanket
Mom.................................. 'Mum'
Dad.................................... 'Dod'
Water................................ 'Wah'
Applesauce....................... 'Ah-ple-ahh'
An Ant..................... 'A Non' - as in 'Look! A Non!'
Puffer Fish................'Puff' - a rubber fish toy
More................................. 'Moe'



I am sure that Elise knows more words. When she first debuts a new word to her vocabulary, she barely says it out loud. It's as though she's afraid it will sound wrong so she decides to just whisper it!

Today a speech therapist attended our playgroup... she visits once a month to follow all of our children since we belong to Help Me Grow. According to her, by the age of 17-18 months, a child should have 10-20 words in their vocabulary. By 20 months, they should have 20 words. Remember, even though Elise is almost 18 months by age, we still need to adjust the 5.5 weeks back for prematurity - up until age 2. So, essentially we have that much time as a grace period.



Ant wrangling. Note: No ants were harmed during the making of this film.



This is the second time that Elise used the word 'button'. Please excuse my filming- I'm holding her with one arm and the camera in my other. Yes, I am the bionic woman- you should see my biceps. Also, this was right before breakfast and Elise was hungry... you'll see what I mean!

Father's Day Weekend

We finished out our week of swimming at the YMCA with flying colors. Elise is waiting to see if they will invite her back next year as an instructor. Daddy assumed the role of pool partner when mommy went to work on Friday.











On Thursday evening, we attended Perrysburg's farmer's market with some friends. We first went to an estate sale where Elise scored a first addition Fischer Price ball popper. She was happy as a clam the rest of the evening pushing her toy around. We had dinner outside at Sloppy Joe's-- a greasy hamburger/hotdog joint. Nothing says love like eating a deep fried hotdog and fries from in your stroller!




















Aunt Amy and both sets of grandparents spent the Father's Day weekend up at Clearlake, Indiana for some fun in the sun and relaxation. Elise entertained us with some car dancing on the hour long ride! The boys went golfing on Saturday morning while the girls soaked up the warm weather outside at the lake. Elise showed off some of her new swimming moves she learned from her class-- kicking her legs and blowing bubbles. It was hard but we kept Grandma and Nana from jumping into the pool too. Aunt Amy also took Elise for her first dip into the lake even though the water was a bit chilly. We've come a long way since last years Father's Day--- when Elise rolled over for the first time and wasn't yet sleeping through the night.
Car dancing!!!



































Showing off our pool moves!

(Throwing the ball with Poppa)


(Grandpa, Poppa, and Daddy showing off their new golf shirts)


(Grandpa pushing Elise on the neighbor's swing set)


(Grandma relaxing with Elise's little peanut shoes)


(Hanging with Nana)


(First lake dip with Aunt Amy.)



(Watching the ducks with Mommy)

Swimming Lessons

Elise started her week long swim lesson classes today at the YMCA. She's in a class with 10 other 6 month to 2 year-olds... although most seem to be closer to being two. I think Elise had a lot of fun! We sang songs, practiced kicking our legs, jumping off the edge, leaning how to get into the pool, and putting our face in the water. There were times that Elise was a bit upset that I wouldn't let go of her-- she wanted to be a fish all on her own. Daddy is off this week so we'll be taking turns getting into the pool for the 30-minute class. Elise definitely realizes that her little kiddie pool at home stinks!





Also this past weekend, Uncle Rik was in town and stopped over for dinner on Saturday night. He hadn't seen his grand-niece since she had been walking so he was excited to check out Elise's new moves. By the time his visit was over, he and Elise were high fiving each other left and right!


The next day on Sunday, Elise took her first big tumble... she tripped over her lawnmower and split open her top lip. All is well even though her lip still is a bit swollen today (you can't really tell in the swimming pictures though). We had to use our frozen BooBoo Bunny that is on standby in the freezer. (Thank you Rose!)

Fore!

Today Elise and I drove to Bowling Green to have lunch with daddy. Because of the 30-minute drive each way and Elise's nap schedule, we have found it hard to catch daddy for a lunch. However, today Jeff scheduled an early
lunch so he could join his two favorite girls for some food. We went to the local country club for some chicken wraps and mini corn dogs (guess who had what). Elise felt that the best part of the outing was when we walked around outside before leaving. She spied all the little golf carts lined up. While she felt that the steering wheel was just perfect, the gas peddle seemed a bit too far away. Daddy promised that she could ride shotgun with him next golfing season.




















On a side note, Elise has started eating alone with a spoon. So far she has mastered applesauce as her yogurt is pretty runny. I enjoy watching her technique..... it's going to be just perfect for holding a bow when she learns to play the violin!

Here's comes summertime!

With much disappointment, the school year is wrapping up. Elise and I are sad to see the kids out of school for two different reasons.....




First, Elise is upset that the long parade of school buses past our home in the afternoons is coming to an end. Between the local public school and a bunch of private schools nearby, our afternoons have been consumed with welcoming the buses down our street. Faithfully between 3:25 and 4:10, Elise and I sit outside in our driveway and wave to each bus driver. Elise has trained the majority of them to either wave, honk the horn or the best of all.... one driver actually stops in front of our driveway, opens the doors and waves directly at Elise. I think that Elise dreams of the day when she can drive her own school bus. What will we do with our afternoons now that school is out? I guess we'll be taking our stuffed animal monkey for more walks.




I, on the otherhand, am disappointed to share our outings with zillions of other children! For instance, today we met the Hebekas at the Imagination Station- our science museum. In another week this place will be crawling with tons of children but today we all had a blast. Julie brought along their three children: Tommy and twins Anna and Eliza. The museum's enclosed Kidspace area was phenomenal (kindergarten and under). Elise especially loved the grocery store with the little carts. She was content to have her own Giant Eagle experience by putting whatever food she wanted into her shopping cart. What does it it mean when she packed away five roast chickens into the tiny cart?! We also enjoyed playing in the firetruck (aren't the hats cute?!) and the extra large water tables.