Over the river and through the woods...

         As soon as school was out for the summer (May 21 - astonishingly early!), I had a few things to finish up for the district and then my number one goal was GET TO TYLER! I was ready to visit with my family and to have help entertaining Elysen for awhile. 

          Elysen is a very busy 15-month-old (almost 16 months now), and she started walking just days before we left for Tyler. Well, she actually started walking about a month ago, at least. But she flat out refused to walk without holding onto the couch or the table or her walker. I knew she was perfectly capable, so I started making her walk around the house holding my hand. Pretty soon, she got the idea, and started stepping out on her own. No wobbly one or two steps for this girl, she was off! 

          We left for Tyler on July 1st. Elysen did so well on the drive - I was impressed. It's the first time she and I have gone alone in a long time. We took a couple of breaks and watched a couple of Elmo dvds and she was great!

Riding the dino at Posados 

          I was unsure how long we were going to spend in Tyler, but once we got there, and I realized that there was nothing rushing me back to Arkansas, I decided that we would stay for awhile. We ended up staying with Marmee and Grandad for almost 2 weeks! 

           We did some shopping, of course, which Elysen tolerated fairly well (except one day when we were late getting home for lunch - oops). I also had a few things that I knew I wanted to do with her now that she is getting old enough to really enjoy outdoor activities. We went to the zoo on Saturday when Daddy, Aunt Allison, and Uncle J.B. (and Ginny) came into town. Elysen liked the zoo, but even the small scope of Caldwell zoo was a little lengthy for her taste. She probably loved the penguin exhibit most because it was inside and she could look at the aquarium. She also loved the snake house for the same reason - although I was not thrilled to be there because 1- it's the snake house and 2- they recently decorated by hanging giant furry spiders from the wall. Thank you, Tyler Zoo for making my nightmares a reality. 

Ready for the zoo!

Aunt Ashley and Aunt Allison

Snack break!

Petting a goat!

Then promptly washing our hands.

              Anyway, we also spent quite a bit of time seeing Nana and Granny. I want Elysen to spend as much time as she can with her great grandmothers. 

Walking with Nana

Sitting with Granny

               We went to eat at the grocery store/deli/coffee bar Fresh with Granny and Aunt Sissy. Elysen saw the cheese cow and got so excited that she started "moo"-ing at it. People were stopping and laughing at my "moo"-ing child. She LOVES cows. She also really enjoyed the giant frozen fish in the meat section. Fresh was amazing, and I will go there again - probably every time I go to Tyler from now on. 

Giant cheese! (These are taken with my phone, so they are a little out of focus).

Cheese cow!!

             Elysen spent so much time outside while we were in Tyler. It was HOT most of the time we were there (big surprise), but she wanted nothing more than to play outside with the dogs. Mom filled up her little sandbox with water so Elysen could swim, but she wasn't a huge fan. Mostly, she loved swinging, playing on the trampoline with Marmee, and playing with Chloe and Lilly. The last of these resulted in 2 new phrases: "Sit" which sounds more like "Sa" and "Good girl" which sounds like "Guhguh" (this is accompanied by heavy patting on the head or back). I've already heard her tell Remus "Guhguh" since we've been home. 

               Aunt Ashley just started her job for the summer, so we went to eat at McAlisters several times to spend time with her. Elysen loved seeing her aunts and uncle while we were in Tyler. She was very clingy the whole time we were there, but by the end of our stay, Aunt Ashley was her new favorite person. 

             I got to see Lindsay and Daniel while I was in town, which was so nice. Baby Atticus is due in the fall, so I was excited to see Lindsay looking pregnant and cute. 

            Several other visitors came to the house to see Elysen while we were in town, and she entertained them all. 

First pigtails!

Trampoline time

             Elysen is such a big girl these days. She's walking everywhere - rather quickly now. She got some big girl tennis shoes while we were in Texas, and they give her even more freedom to roam. She is talking all the time about everything. Her favorite words are "more", "daddy", "momma", "clock", "Elmo" (this is a biggie - I hear it about 100 times a day), "cow", "duck", "frog", "cracker" (which really sounds more like "ckkkaaa"), and her very favorite thing in the whole world - "fan" (which sounds like "sha").

"Guhguh"

            It's so nice to be able to communicate with her in an easier way. Even though I can't always guess everything, she's pretty good at pointing to make herself understood. I'm so proud of her. She gives me so many kisses and hugs each day, which make me melt. She still takes a bottle at night, but I know it won't be long until that's gone as well. I feel like that is the last remnant of her time as a baby. 

              Today I took her to Battlefield Park and we ate a snack and played on the slide and swing. We took a walk and sat on a bench together. Those are the times when I have to remind myself that she's only 15 months old - she seems to be growing up so fast. She is also more and more opinionated - which may end up being a problem in a few years. I can see her personality taking shape. 

             So that's my long post about our fun trip to Tyler. Even though we were worn out when we got home, we can't wait to go back soon!

12 months...One year old!

Elysen, you are one year old! Can you believe it? We can't.

Weight: 20.6 lbs

Height:

Sizes: You are wearing mostly 12 month clothes. Some of them are a little big on you, so you still have a few 9 month things (especially pants) that fit. You are wearing a size 4 diaper.

What you're up to:
- You really have a personality, let me tell you. You are definitely stubborn, but we're trying to work on that. :) You are just so funny. You smile and flirt with people in Wal Mart when we have to pick up a few things.

- You are pulling up on everything and walking around while holding on. You use your walker like a pro, but you can't use it to turn around yet. You can stand for about 2 seconds on your own, but then you sit down. Just like everything else, you will figure out one of these days that you can do it, and then there will be no holding you back.
- You got to experience your first snow a few weeks ago. It was only an inch or so (this has been a very mild winter), but we bundled you up and let you feel it. You liked it, and probably would have stayed outside for awhile if we'd let you.

- Your new favorite videos to watch are "The Best of Elmo" and the video that I made for your birthday party (who wouldn't want to watch a slideshow of themselves over and over?).
- I think you are going to be so much like your daddy. You hardly care one bit about your baby dolls or stuffed animals. You want to always play with the toys that make noise and light up. You love music, especially when it has a good beat. But you also love to read, and that makes me happy.
- We are trying to get you to eat more table food, but you're not really a big fan.

You had a great birthday party. We had so much fun bringing all of the family together to celebrate you!

You didn't really like your cake, but you licked your hands that had the icing. You loved opening presents and getting so much attention.

I wish I could put into words what this first year of your life has been like for your Daddy and I. You are an amazing creation of God. You make us smile 1000 times a day, even when you are fussy. We can already tell that you have such a big personality. You are going to do great things, baby girl. I am so proud to be your Mommy.

Happy birthday, baby!  We love you.

Christmas!

This post is quite late, but with a little mover in our house, blogging hasn’t been a priority.

Elysen’s first Christmas was as wonderful as I could ever have imagined. She didn’t really know what was going on, but she loved the attention.

We went to Tyler a few days before Christmas and stayed until the 28^th. Anytime we get to stay in Tyler for an extended period of time, I am so happy. David didn’t take his 9 days off this summer, so he got to use them over the holidays. That meant that he didn’t have to take any phone calls or answer any emails! We spent time with the Harbersons, who were in town staying with Nana. We also spent part of Christmas day with the Burkharts. And all of the Johnson side of the family got to come over to our house for present opening and Christmas Eve dinner.

Elysen got to meet her second cousin Lainey. They are so close in age (only 5 weeks apart), but they are very different. Lainey is precious, and I loved seeing her animation. We got her a small brown bunny stuffed animal for Christmas and when Chase opened it, she started saying “Oooooh!” and hugging it. I told them that I would have paid 5 times as much for that bunny if I’d known how she was going to react. It was the sweetest thing.

Elysen’s first Christmas morning was fun. Unfortunately, we were dealing with teething and a lot of change – so we didn’t get a lot of sleep during the nights we were in Tyler. And Christmas Eve night/Christmas morning was the WORST! David and I were worn out. But we got up and had Santa. Then, Elysen took a nap while we opened our presents. Christmas morning with my family is one of my very favorite times of the whole year. I love seeing everyone’s reactions to their gifts that I worked so hard to find. There’s always so much laughter, and everyone is relaxed. I love it.

Elysen got so many toys and clothes from our family. She is truly a blessed girl. We have some of the toys put away so that we can bring them out later when we need a new and exciting distraction.

When we returned from Tyler, Dan and Janna had just arrived from Louisiana, and they came to stay at our house the next day. We had Christmas with David’s family, which was also a lot of fun. It was extra wonderful this year because we had Charlie with us for the first time. Our family feels more complete.

Probably my most favorite thing about this Christmas was putting Elysen in all of her Christmas outfits and listening to Christmas music with her. We read Christmas books, and sang lots of Christmas songs too. I know that she won’t even remember this Christmas, but I had so much fun telling her all about it. I know that someday she will love it as much as I do.

Santa brought Elysen a children’s storybook Bible. On Christmas morning, we read the Christmas story out of her new storybook.

As a parent, this holiday was much more meaningful for me. I felt 1000 times more grateful for every blessing we’ve been given, especially Elysen. I found myself getting emotional often over the last month, and I know it’s because I never imagined how happy and blessed I could be. I also became emotional thinking about the fact that my Savior came down to earth as a little baby, and the fact that He came to sacrifice Himself. Mary’s role as a mother meant more to me this year than it has before.

We had such a blessed holiday season. I know that next Christmas will be just as exciting and fun.