Moving Day

Moving day has come and gone. Phew. A stressful time that was felt by everyone- including Miss Elise who has had several potty accidents since. No hurdle that we can't get over- just a reminder for Mommy and Daddy to insist on potty trips rather than relying on Elise to tell us. Other than that, she has done remarkably well. Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Amy stole her away for a few nights so we could move without a toddler 'helping' us. Even though it was wonderful to get a few things unpacked, we missed her terribly.

Our full day home together we took a family (dogs too) walk up to a new outdoor restaurant, O'Deer, for hotdogs and drinks. It was a hot day but we enjoyed getting out together- making new memories for our new home. We took the red wagon but on the way home, Elise insisted on pulling it herself.

Needless to say, we all slept well that night.... including Garth and Brutus.

Packing Up

We are packing up for our big move from Holland to Perrysburg. It's obviously a busy time getting the house all packed up for Saturday's move. It's amazing how much 'stuff' you accumulate with a child... as Jeff and I have only moved our own stuff in the past. Eight years on Country Brook Drive has amounted to a lot more packing then in the past!

Luckily, Elise is a good helper. She's in charge of art decorations on the boxes. Maybe I should clarify- she calls them 'Presents'. Won't she be surprised to open these this weekend only to find that the 'presents' are just her old things!

In the middle of all this excitement, Elise is attending a summer camp one day a week for the next six Mondays. She goes all by herself at her speech therapy place (Rehab Dynamics) with other children to spend the morning with speech therapists, occupational therapists and early intervention specialists. The emphasis on the camp is placed on sensory, motor, cognitive, speech and language development during activities that are fun and interactive.

It's a big deal as she always is either with a family member or her speech therapist-- never with 'strangers'. She did well this past week (week #1) after she got over the initial shock that she was there by herself. By the end, she was singing with the other kids and even sported an orange mustache from their morning snack. She claims she is excited to go back-- which I believe. I am happy to see her becoming a bit independent... I think it's exciting!

A Conversation with Elise

Background semi honking...

Me: 'Do you hear that truck?'

Elise: 'No'

Me: 'Do you hear that car?'

Elise: 'No'

Me: 'Do you hear something? A car or a truck?'

Elise: 'Mommy, a horn.'

Moral of the story- you have to remember how literal a two year-old can take conversations!

Take Me Out To the Ballgame

We took Elise to her first baseball game this past Friday as the Mudhens played the Durham Bulls. We got there fashionably early so that we could enjoy the ambiance and a leasurely dinner of pizza and hotdogs.

Elise loved all the action- and clapped when the crowd got excited. If you asked her where we were, she replied 'Base Game'.

Daddy taught Elise how to take the shell off her own peanuts- a staple for every ballgame.

So, who won? We have no idea since we left early as we could only push off bedtime for so long. Oh well. Elise also gave the Mudhens bathroom two thumbs up... did I mention that it really only took 2 days to potty train?! Amazing!

Yep, Potty Training!

Well, we jumped into it with two feet! It's official, we are potty training.

This time is as good as any as we had fewer activities this week and Elise expressed interest in wearing a cute little pair of underwear. So, during all waking hours Elise is wearing BIG girl underwear! The first two days we had several accidents- however, the last two (almost 3) days we have been accident-free! I anticipate a few accidents to still pop up before we consider this a closed case but in actuality, Elise is doing fabulous! She even tells us when it's time to go... what a big girl! We are so proud of her! Now, what to do with all that extra diaper money?

I'll spare everyone (and Elise's embarrassment) by not posting a potty shot. This little smile (we're still working on it!) is post-potty. Elise is very proud of herself. I know the water looks dingy but it must be the combination of my phone and poor lighting as we really flushed the toilet prior to the picture...

Knee High By July

Knee high by July, right?! So I wonder where this corn is from! Anyways, in an effort to mix up the evening vegetable, I settled on corn for last night's dinner. This was Elise's first experience with corn on the cob... it was quite a hit. She ate 2 halves. Just wait until the corn is actually fresh and good!

Carriages and Trains

Congratulations to the William and Kate! The finer points of a royal wedding were not wasted on Elise. Nana treated us to a pre-wedding afternoon tea: complete with scones, tea sandwiches, a fancy table setting and hats. Afterall, that's what real ladies wear. We proudly displayed a flag of the royal couple's picture and talked about the upcoming nuptials and all other important 'ladylike' things.

The next day Nana and Elise watched the wedding while mommy and daddy were at work. Even though they didn't get up at 4am to watch the entire tv coverage, they did get to see the all the highlights. Elise enjoyed all the horses!

We know that most of you probably celebrated National Train Day, right? Well we did! Toledo's Amtrak station hosted the event with over four thousand people in attendance. We got to go into an Amtrak train- including the engine. Elise enjoyed eating her fish cracker snack in one of the small passenger overnight cars. Daddy had the best time of all as he loves trains...