February 2014

Instead of doing monthly blog solely focused on Elise, I decided now that she's a year old I would just do family updates once in awhile and include any changes or milestones she may have! 

So this month has been the craziest one we've had in awhile! Started out in Oklahoma and we are ending it in Abilene, back home! We moved back home on Valentines Day thanks (again) to the amazing help of my mother in law! 

As soon as we got home, we played host to my friend Danna and her sweet baby Max. Max is 8 months old but the same size as Elise! Danna and her husband were stationed at Dyess when we moved here and I met her through our spouse group. Danna and I worked together at the Child Development Center on base for awhile too. We've both always been fond of working with children and both wanted desperately to become mothers! Pregnancy didn't come easily for either of us, so we bonded over those issues as well as the typical military bonds we share. Her husband has since been stationed to Florida and we hadn't had a chance to meet her son or see them since she became pregnant. I was so glad when she decided to spend a couple weeks here with us in Abilene while her husband is deployed. He's actually at the same base as my husband so it worked out perfectly. 

The week was a crazy one. I didn't have any time to unpack, for one thing. Trying to clean up after two active babies is hard enough! On top of that we ALL got sick! Puking, diarrhea, congestion, runny noses, sore throats, the works! We ended up spending a lot of time at home unfortunately. Plus the babies are on opposite nap schedules. Max took two naps at 10 and 2 and Elise takes one at noon. They woke each other up a lot! We did our best to take it in stride though. We managed to visit the zoo, the museum, the mall and several of Dannas favorite Texas restaurants. 

Elise has been such a happy girl since we've been home. Playing independently, talking (even saying mama!), and really enjoying her space in her room. She reads books to me and sings songs. She picks up my phone and pushes the home button to see daddy and gets this excited squeal when she does. She loves opening and closing doors in the house and saying "bye bye" when she does. She takes her fridge magnets and hides them in the dryer. I find the strangest things in the weirdest places around the house. We've also been walking 2 plus miles a day with Elise in the ergo and Macy on the leash. It's so much easier for me to control Macy that way and Elise takes naps better on my back than she does in her stroller. Plus I get the added benefit of a weighted walk! Bonus! 

It's been quite a month and now that our guests are gone, life is slowly returning back to normal. At least for a few more weeks! Homecoming day is approaching quickly and we couldn't be more excited. I have lots on my to do list to accomplish before then and time is draining away quickly! Our whole little family is so excited to be reunited and start a new chapter together.