We’ve also been working on covering her mouth when she coughs or sneezes.  This one is a little more difficult, but - after some reminding - usually covers the last few coughs/sneezes of each bout.  The most satisfying is when she is just going about her day, playing and talking with herself and she’ll cover her mouth in the midst of all of it.  Seeing her “get” something is extremely rewarding.  And she’s stopping the spread of her adorable little baby germs!

The latest lesson in manners is “thank you.”  Every time we hand her something, we ask her “what do you say?    Thank you.”  We do it for everything.  We are also very conscious of thanking her when she bring us something.  Every once in a while, she’ll get it, but our lessons are slightly missing the mark.  Now, whenever she brings us something, as she is handing it to us she exclaims, “Tank Choo!”  She understands that “thank you” is to be used when things are exchanged, but she’s not quite getting it.  It is pretty darn cute to her her say it over and over.

We’re getting closer.  Next on the list is “excuse me,” which is pretty useful for a fearless little kid who pretty much goes wherever she wants…

So while we’ve been gone, we’ve been busy.  We’ve built a deck on the house and landscaped.  Kari got a job at McDill Design, didn’t really care for it and found a new job at Real Racine.  Elliott continues to delight and amaze all who come in contact with her.  She’s a happy, healthy 20-month old who seems to learn a new word every day and leaves us wondering who replaced our little baby girl with this adventurous toddler.

Speaking of being busy - we’ve got some more exciting news - our family is going to be growing by one!  Kari and I are expecting Baby #2 in late May of 2011.  We’re so excited to give Elly a sister/brother and still have moments where we look at each other and think “holy shit - we’re going to have another one of these running around here?!?”  The pregnancy has been rough on Kari so far but we keep telling ourselves that it will all be worth it even if Baby #2 comes out half as great at Elly.

Both Kari and I intend to update this page and our personal pages more in the coming weeks and months.  We’ve both got plenty of Elly stories saved up and more seem to be written every day.  Hope you all enjoy as you rejoin this blogging journey about the Dawson family.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As for Ms. Elliott, things have been changing rapidly for her.  She is developing at an alarming pace and it is hard to believe that the little lump we held those first few months is now able to do so much.  Watching her change and grow is one of the best parts of our day as she seems to learn something new every day. 

Since we last posted, she moved on to “normal” crawling after scooting around for six weeks, she’s standing up on everything and walks along furniture like an expert.  Her vocabulary is growing slowly, it currently consists of: “hi,” “Dada,” “santa,” and “baby.” If you listen closely, you’ll hear an “hi Dada” during the video.  She is an extremely affectionate little girl and gives kisses to everyone, especially her stuffed animals.  She will also dance to anything with the slightest beat and delights us with funny noises and faces all the time.

Please enjoy the video of our little Ms. Elliott showing just a bit of her new found skills.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Elly lost it.  She started laughing like a mad woman.  Total hysterical laughter.  I recoiled from the stinky socks and did the “P-U” bit again - more laughter.  Molly and Brett are in town and were in disbelief.  Kari was in the bedroom and came running in to witness it.  She then grabbed the video camera to capture some of the laughter. 

Enjoy.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Look at me! I'm a big kid!

Elliott had her 6-month checkup at the pediatrician on Monday. Our “little” girl now weighs 15 pounds, 11 ounces and is 27.5 inches long.  That puts her in the 50th percentile for weight and 95th for length.  She is still long and lean and is just fitting into her size 3-6 month clothes.

She's long and lean!

On that note, I still have troubles getting her into clothes that fit. Her waist fits into size 3-month pants, but they come up to her ankles. If I put her in 6-month pants, they are great in the length, but jumbo in the waist.

This last month has been a big one developmentally for Elle. She is sitting up so nicely on her own now. She is also a crawling machine. She’s not actually crawling on her knees yet, but is doing more of an “Army scoot.”  Still, that girl can wiggle her way across the room in the blink of an eye. The doctor said there’s a good chance she’ll be walking by Christmas–YIKES.

Look at me go! I'm a crawler now!

Miss Elly also has her two bottom teeth coming up. As a result, she is a drool machine.  And, as always, everything she gets her hands on goes directly into her mouth.

Now that I have teeth coming in, EVERYTHING goes into my mouth.

After her doctor’s appointment, we also started Elliott on real foods. The doctor advised us to start slowly with the variation of foods, and so far, so good. She really seemed to like the butternut squash (and kept most of it in her mouth) and had a pretty good experience with cereal and pears too. Next on the agenda:  green beans and carrots. Yum.

Mmmmmm.......squash.

Our baby is such a joy. I can’t properly describe her happy, loving, and wonderful personality. Just thinking of her warms my heart. Sometimes she’ll wake us up at 3 a.m. or throw a minor fit at night….and we really don’t care.  We just look at that beautiful little face and know that our lives are complete.  I can’t imagine what our lives were like without her in them.

Dad and Elly

Click here to view the embedded video.

Elliott had her 4-month checkup at the doctor last week.  Our girl now weighs just under 14 pounds (more than double her birth weight!) and is 26.5 inches long.  That puts her in the 50th percentile for weight and 95th percentile for height! According to Dr. Dominski, Elliott is going to be one tall lady!   As she’s grown, she’s also moved on to bigger clothes sizes.  Elliott finally fits into her 3-month outfits….at least in the length…and she’s graduated to size 2 diapers!

I'm so tall! My feet finally touch the floor in my jumperoo!

Elle also had round #2 of vaccinations.  Poor kid.  She howled for about five minutes after the shots, but like last time, Dad comforted her and everything was OK…..until I brought her back home.   Elliott screamed for about an hour.  Finally, I fed her and rocked her to sleep. Infant Tylenol was also a big help.  She did well the rest of the night, but it was a little trickier than usual to get her to bed.  But, today she was back to her bubbly self.

Super baby!

I still maintain that Elliott is the happiest baby in the world. She spends 98% of her awake time smiling. Whenever I’m having a lousy day or feel down on my luck, I look at that little face and know everything is right in the world.  And she’s such a funny baby, too. Just this week she’s begun putting her toes in her mouth. (Check out the video of that.) She also rolls from front to back AND back to front….although she never lets us catch it on camera!

Elliott working on getting her toes in her mouth!

She also talks up a storm and is so loud in the morning that I’m sure the neighbors can hear her.  Oh man, just wait until this kid can actually talk. She may never shut up.

Elliott Dorothy Dawson: 4 months, 1 week

In the next two weeks, there will be a new milestone for Elle. She’s been breastfed exclusively since birth and soon she will be introduced to the wonderful world of rice cereal.   Stay tuned for video of that!