Cousins

This is a tight group of cousins. I have always known that no matter where we go or what we decide to do our families will be behind us helping us every step of the way.
These kids are some of the sweetest, they adore Elsi and are so good with her. They also adore my husband and put up with all of his antics. :) We were so lucky in February to have us all together. It was a wonderful, sweet experience.

This girl is so cute....

This little one is so much fun. We had her into the doctors for her 6 month check up this last week, and she is growing away! She weighs 17 lbs (75 percentile) , she is 28 inches long (right off the charts). She is doing really well at sitting up, rolling over, making it known that she is not getting the attention she feels she deserves, and this week she is making faces.
I have no idea where these squinty faces came from, but they sure add to the cuteness.

Copper

We lost Copper a few weeks ago. I won't tell you the story, it is rather funny at times and is just so Copper that I will keep it to myself. I will say however that is was early in the morning, Scott was out of town, and I was petting him as he passed.
Crazy cat.... I have no more to say other then that. :)

1/2

Elsi turned six months old last week (hang on while I grab a tissue.) Please tell me that I am normal to have a birthday party when you turn six months old? Anyway, time goes by so quickly... each stage that she goes through I try and not think about the next stage (can you tell, I let her chew on tulips) I make a conscious effort to enjoy the stage we're in. I have this new mantra because I found myself wishing a few stages ago that my sweet baby would sit up so she could see the world on her own...and the next thing I knew she was, and I was reduced to a sobbing mamma because she is growing up so fast, and she no longer needed me to hold her to see things (hang on while I grab the whole role of toilet paper.) I also have felt on more then one instance that I was so unbelievably lucky to be able to see all of this.
This little one is not so little, we had her in the doctor recently and she is pushing the 18 lb. range. She is wearing 9 month clothing, and acting like she's 29 ( I am going to stop there or I will also have to go get the roll of paper towels.)
Back to the party...
We partied....the best way we know how to party....
With hats...
Cake....
And Dad...

What more could a six month old want?
P.S. She was not a fan of the cupcake...As far as eating it was concerned. :)

Comings and goings, mixed in with Mommy musings

When Elsi is 16 and reads these she will roll her eyes and tell me what a sappy mom I am, I am sure of it because she is much much like her daddy these days. Mr. Bywater is great, don't get me wrong, great enough to have a baby with, but he and his daughter in the very near future I think will be ganging up on me. We have been pretty busy around here. With our trip to Utah and our daddy at work a lot, mom and Elsi clamor to our friends house looking for conversation and other kids. This baby girl certainly loves the kids. Our friend Reagan is by far our favorite...
Not only does Regan like a good pronoun, Reagan loves to take care of Elsi, she reads to her, and is just a great little friend.
Thank you to our friends the Smiths for letting us borrow Regan so much.
We have been eating like crazy around here, which makes mom's heart happy. Although the formula budget is way, way up, and I am always amazed with how much money we actually spend on food. Seems crazy to me that a Costco size container only lasts nine days, but at least she is eating.
We have regular days of this...
Messy faces, cereal everywhere but in our mouths, and the always famous sneeze or cough in the middle of a mouthful of dinner. Elsi gets very distracted when she eats. Just like her dad...if the TV is on, you will have green beans everywhere and a child doing this...
This is a face that I see often, both from Mr. Bywater and Miss Elsi. It's cuter on Elsi, but makes me wonder what is going on in their heads.

Here are some funny stories just to prove that she is her daddy, I unfortunately am a new mother, so I was very focused on getting things, meaning my house, put back together, and have no photo's of the mess she made. I am still working on it folks...
I usually put the darling little one in her bumbo on our kitchen table while I get her food ready (I haven't grown those extra arms I need yet), one night I was doing just that and I heard all sorts of tearing and rustling. I rushed into the dining room to find the napkin holder (the very one I moved clear to the end of the table) on the ground and all the napkins spread all over and one being ripped apart by the Miss.
2nd story, Elsi is a reacher...obviously, so I am slowly learning that I can't have a thing on anything. :) I had just gotten some tulips, we (Elsi and I) had put several in vases all over the house (can we say spring fever here??) and I had just put her in her seat so that I could divy out our portion of green beans. I heard a rucus (very normal from her) and came back into the dining room to the Miss having tipped over the vase of tulips. I wish the story was over, but it's not. She was splashing in the water from the vase with her heal and had a tulip stuck in her mouth.
Both times my life flashed forward before my eyes, and I say myself as a ragged mother chasing this little one and her daddy....help me. Good thing they are both worth it.

Firsts

We recently took a trip to Utah. Elsi loved being by all her cousins, family, and friends. We have had a little bit of a tough time readjusting to life with just her and her mommy and animals. :) We apparently are quite a bore.
Here is a record of some of our firsts...
First flight without our daddy. It was a little eventful, VERY tiring for mommy, but we had an empty plane and a three seats to ourselves, who wouldn't love that!
First Time for lots of different fruits. We had a blast trying fruit with our meals...
What is with the foot on the tray? For some reason reclining is where it is at these days and this little one's feet go up on everything.
Lots of sink baths were given by Grammy, and just the general craziness. :) We love our families!