the Pinkerton family

Christmas Belle for Halloween

2010-10-31T19:56:00.006-05:00

I wake up from a much needed afternoon nap to find Elise had talked Daddy into being "Kita" from Atlantis for Halloween dress up. The homemade Kita outfit consisted of a swimsuit top and a blue silk dress up skirt (part of a Cinderella costume) that has been worn and played in so many times it's ripped half way up the back. (However, she did create this outfit all on her own after watching Atlantis by piecing together what she thought looked like what Kita wears in the movie.) Did I mention she has been eating spaghetti in this outfit and it had small stains all over it? She looked AMAZING, I tell you! :) Matt is an awesome Dad because he lets her be who she is - Elise - but sometimes a Mommy has to take drastic measures.

She was tired of her wedding dress and SpiderMAN, so I finally coaxed her into being Christmas Belle... with the promise of wearing some of Mommy's makeup.

I really hated to miss out on watching her enjoy the last of the Halloween festivities, but Mattix has been making his presence known more and more - and Matt and I thought it would be best for me to stay home.

Here comes the Bride...

2010-10-29T11:08:00.003-05:00

Nana found this gorgeous dress for Elise to wear at a yard sale to use for dress up and as one of her costumes during all the Fall Festival Parties at Preschool and Halloween. Elise was pretty excited to be "getting married" and took it very serious. When I first put on her dress for her Preschool Party on Monday - she told me that one of her buddies K was going to be her Prince. I thought he may be dressed like Spiderman, so I tried to warn Elise about K's costume, just to prevent her from being disappointed once we got to school. When I told her, Elise was sitting in a chair, so she props her chin on her little hand and looks up at me and says, "You mean K doesn't WANT to be my prince?" Such drama for a 3 year old.... :)

However, she had picked out two princes by the end of the day. She asked another friend of hers on the way into school to be her Prince, but since K ended up not dressing like Spiderman that day - she also decided he was her Prince too. I tried to tell her she could only pick one Prince to marry, but she insisted on having two.... (we'll tackle that battle at a later date.....)

On Friday we visited Daddy at work and then the Fayetteville Square for trick or treating.

SpiderMAN!!

2010-10-28T22:29:00.001-05:00

Elise wanted to be Spider"Man" for one of her Fall Festival Dress up Days at Preschool. She was also quick to correct anyone who called her Spidergirl by telling them,

"No, I'm a Spider"MAN"! :)

Elise and her buddy J before Preschool starts having a "web" shoot out!

(Thanks to J's Mommy for sharing her pics with me.)

She's really good at looking "innocent" after being so ornery, isn't she? :)

Peeking into the dance studio, excited to start her party at Dance Class.

Patiently waiting for her class party to start.

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-16T13:02:00.000-05:00

Elise loves to express her disappointment, all good times must come to an end when it's time to go....

Ponies and Trains... these are my Favorite things...

2010-10-02T11:46:00.003-05:00

Elise loving her some ponies and trains at the Apple Festival in Lincoln.

1st Day of Preschool for 2010-2011

2010-08-30T11:31:00.001-05:00

Elise's 1st Day of Preschool for 2010-2011

Swim Lessons

2010-06-24T13:31:00.014-05:00

Bedtime story time...

2010-02-25T19:30:00.001-06:00

Daddy captured this picture for me, he thought she may be trying to get a leg up on us... :)

Mommy and Elise sometimes enjoy a little 'storytime' before going to bed. However, tonight she thought it would be much more interesting to read Mommy's book... hee hee.

On an ironic note... The Christmas PJs she has on says "I've been GOOD all year long". :)

Spreading some Christmas cheer via Elise-isms

2009-12-16T20:16:00.004-06:00

Me: "Elise, look it's Chuck E Cheese." Elise: "Yes, it's Yucky Cheese, right there."

Me: "Elise do you want to go to Chick-fil-a?" Elise: "Yes! Chick n Play, want to go to chick n play!"

Elise: (At KDO to one of her teachers) "I hear music!" Puts her little hand on the side of her face, "Isn't it lovely?"

Elise: "Mommy, want a tail! Want in the movie! (As she is watching The Little Mermaid and standing on the couch with her arms spread wide so King Triton can use his magic and convert her into a mermaid.)

Elise: "Mommy, I pee-peed in the potty! I'm sooooo proud of you." Mommy: (wait, that's my line!)

Me: "Elise, listen, I'm serious." Elise: "I'm NOT Junior sparagus!"

Elise: "Pooty, Pooty, where's Pooty!?!? Me: "Elise, what's Pooty? What are you looking for?" Elise: "Pooty, Mommy where's Pooty?" Me: Wracking my brain to figure out what she is talking about, "Elise, I don't know what Pooty is..." Elise: "There she is, there's Sleeping Pooty!" (Sleeping Beauty)

Me: "Elise, why is your banana in the floor and not on your plate?" Elise: "It got a time-out."

Elise has a BIG potty training accident, and I tell her "Mommy is NOT HAPPY with you, look at this mess..." Well, she just cups her little hand to the side of my face, looks me in the eyes, and says, "Mommy, you need to get happy".

Elise: "Mommy where's fish?" (While she is playing with her little princesses and the play-do at her little table. Me: Searching for Flounder, a small fish toy under the couch, the floor, everywhere..."I don't know where Flounder is." Elise: Grinning really big, "In the pla-may-to!" (play-do) I look at her table and see a ball torn open and the fish inside and all her princesses doing headstands in the play-do.

Hope some of these made you smile... Merry Christmas!

Our little "Cowgirl" in her Daddy's Hat & Guns

2009-12-01T23:32:00.002-06:00

I received an email from Elise's Nana today:

"Our little 'Cowgirl' in her Daddy's hat & guns. We did not pose her. She did all that on her own. We told her she was a cowgirl but she said 'No, I'm a COWBOY!' "

Dare 2 Dance - Fall Party Dress Up

2009-10-29T17:00:00.000-05:00

Elise's Big Girl Room

2009-10-28T15:09:00.007-05:00

Here it is almost done. I plan to put up some sort of curtains and I still have one wall that is not quite finished.

The most exciting part is she slept last night from 9:10pm to 8:15am this morning - in her room!!!! WHOOP! WHOOP! (Big thanks to Nana and Granddad Pinkerton for wearing her out yesterday!)

She seems to really like her room and thinks the tent is really neat. The part that melted my heart though, is this morning after she drank her chocolate milk, she looked up at me with her big blue eyes and says in her excited little voice, "Daddy fix bed and slide cuz Daddy luvs Eweese".

Yep, sweetheart, he sure does... :)

She had to drag alllllll her friends up to her new play area - and eventually most of them tried out the slide. :)

Elise received this at her first birthday from close friends of ours, the Harwoods; I was so excited when I realized it would sit on the window ledge.

The first outfit above the door is the dress Elise was dedicated in. The next outfit is her first dance outfit we had pictures taken in at 4 months. The last outfit was supposed to be her coming home outfit from the hospital, but she was a month old before she fit into it. :)

Elise received so many beautiful blankets and handmade items at her showers that are so special to me, that I have them scattered around her room for decoration. The cross stitched blanket on the wall was made by my Aunt Kay. The yellow afghan on the corner of the bed was made by my Aunt Novel. Their are three more blankets around the armoire that were made by her Nana, her Aunt Oleta, and Grandma Snodgrass. The receiving blanket on the end of the bed was made by my Aunt Liz. The little handmade hats on the wall were also made by her Nana. We were very blessed!

The outfit on the wall behind the armoire is the clothes she wore to her first birthday party.

Elise has also really enjoyed her little chair, which were gifted to her by her Grandmom & Granddad Snodgrass.

Big Girl Bed

2009-10-27T15:49:00.004-05:00

We have officially upgraded from a toddler bed. I had been searching for a solution to make the most of the space in her bedroom, and I stubbled across this bed.

We just put this bed together last night - so please do not look at her room decor, which I'm still arranging...

She decided her toy puppy needed to slide too.

I have enough room for her toy box, which doubles as a play table, and her toddler mattress under the loft bed. The loft bed will be more for play and housing stuffed toys, pillows, etc., until she gets older.

Her tent will velcrow shut, so she is trying to hold one of our cats hostage....

Who, me? Trying to look innocent....

Playing hide and seek, by hiding under her slide.

KDO Fall Parties - Sassy Ladybug

2009-10-26T12:49:00.000-05:00

Of course, she wouldn't be a ladybug if she didn't fly around... (she just happens to be flying in a circle here)

Fall Family Photos

2009-10-24T18:59:00.000-05:00

Bike Ride Bobble Head

2009-09-28T19:52:00.000-05:00

Matt and I went for a 45 minute bike ride, and I noticed about 35 minutes into it, Elise's head started bobbing up and down like a Bobble Head doll. However, the last 10 minutes did her in... this is how she ended up.

Daddy's Little Protégé

2009-09-26T15:33:00.000-05:00

Elise's 1st Bass

2009-09-22T00:00:00.001-05:00

Dance Class

2009-09-18T15:13:00.002-05:00

Soaking the kid...

2009-09-15T19:28:00.004-05:00

Soaking the kid... same concept as soaking the dishes. After playing outside in the rain sodden grass and Mommy's flowerbeds, Elise had dirt all over her and so far under her toenails and fingernails - they only solution seemed to be a long lengthy soak in the tub. To prevent boredom and a bathtub escapee, we turned on the bubble machine.

1st Trip to the Fair

2009-09-05T23:59:00.002-05:00

We took Elise to the fair for the first time. I have to admit I had mixed feelings because she didn't take a nap beforehand, and I didn't know if all the excitement would cause meltdowns. But I had a feeling she would love it - so I wanted to try. Well, we had an absolute WONDERFUL time. It was so much better than I could have even anticipated I am still amazed. She LOVED everything, the real animals, the carnival rides, and especially the pony rides. She minded really well - we didn't have even one stubborn fit. She is a little taller than 36 inches - so she qualified for all the kiddie rides. She was such a big girl and just climbed right in or waited to be put in most of the kiddie rides all by herself. Matt and I stood next to her while she rode the carousel and we each rode the swings with her - but that was it. When she climbed into the first little train ride all by herself to ride it by herself while I watched outside the fence - I have to be honest, my heart was proud and saddened at the same time. It really hit me - my little baby is gone - she is a big girl now.... and she didn't even look back or act like she needed or wanted Mommy or Daddy as she climbed into her train car! We let her try out all the rides we thought were appropriate for her, which took a couple hours. She would have rode rides all night, but Matt and I had saved the pony ride (by the exit) as a way to lure her away from the rest of the rides. We even coaxed her into finishing her pizza so we could go ride the "real" ponies. (Full tummy in anticipation that she would fall asleep on the way home....) She rode the pony ride twice and I got her sidetracked into petting the minature pony, because she really didn't want to get off her pony. After we petted the minature pony, we started counting the tractors and cars all the way to her carseat. AND she was asleep within ten minutes!!!

Here we are upon arriving at the fair.

Off to see the animals first...

Elise's first glance at the carnival rides. She immediately asked, "go play?" Which simply means, can I go play now?

riding the Partytime Ponies... and 10 minutes later

Out for the night!

The actual time she passed out. REALLY early for her!

Little Actress/Drama Queen

2009-08-26T23:45:00.003-05:00

In case you didn't know... Matt and I have a little actress and drama queen on our hands. She has mastered all sort of skills in the last few months. To name a few, she knows how to stand in front of one of her little buddies, fall down conviningly, and then get up and tell him to "stop pushing". She loves to sing and draw the last note out loudly and with such passion while closing her eyes and shaking her head for extra emphasis. She loves to dance or mimic anything she sees that looks like dancing (and I do believe she has skills, but I'm her mom...). She is mastering the art of ninja - you should check out her flying ninja kick. She calls the hogs by doing a little cheer (Whoo Pig Soooie, Ark-an-sas Razor-backs) and then does several little jumps and somewhat kicks. Daddy recently taught her how to do a touchdown dance - pretty cute. She likes to ask me to sing a song, and once I start singing, she starts doing a fake silent laugh, which causes us both to really laugh, and then abrubtly she stops lauging and asks for the song again and when I finally gain control to start sing again, she starts the cycle over by doing her fake silent laugh... She also bangs her toys together and have one toy ask the other toy, "oh did that hurt, I'm sorry" and say it in such a sweet sincere little voice you believe her, but in the next instant bang the toys together again - and asks again "oh did that hurt - I'm sorry"... and she has also discovered a "new trick" of laying on two couches at once (which she thinks is really neat). She actually asked, "loooooook mommy, take pic-ture", but instead of her ornery grin, she was all serious at first.

2nd Dentist Appointment

2009-08-25T23:18:00.000-05:00

No cavities!!! Elise is part of the cavity free club. :) Everything looks great. She did really well for her exam and x-rays this time. We did get confirmation that her 2nd year molars are coming through - which we suspected.

We had a very fun checkup because Elise's dentist office had several razorback contests going on during the month of August. We joined in the festivities by dressing Elise up in her Razorback cheerleading outfit. She now LOVES to go to the dentist. There are all kinds of cool things to look at and do in the waiting room. She even won a little Razorback football because she called the hogs for them. (Whooo Pig Soooie!)

Here's the football she won. :)

1st Day of Preschool for 2009-10

2009-08-24T23:12:00.002-05:00

New Family Photo

2009-07-14T22:54:00.002-05:00

We just updated our family photo. Wow, it's hard to believe our little one is already 2.5! :)

Comparison: First & Last Day of Preschool

2009-05-26T22:01:00.003-05:00

First Day of Preschool - August 2008

Last Day of Preschool - May 2009

This look just melts a Mommy's heart! :)

Wow... it's amazing to see how much she has changed...

Good Music, Puppies, Waterfalls, & Fish

2009-05-23T14:31:00.004-05:00

Good Music - Puppies - Waterfalls - Fish - What more could a little girl want? :)

We happened across some sort of Adopt-a-dog Festival at the Riverfront on the way to the Oklahoma Aquarium. They also had a very good (and very young) band playing.

Elise really got into it...

Couldn't sit still any longer - had to start dancing...

After Elise performed her little 'jig' to the band -she was ready to check out the puppies.

After lunch we decided to head back to the car, only to be deterred by the waterfalls...

Next, we headed to the Aquarium. Elise was pretty spunky - ready to check out all the fish - and not rrreeeeeeaally wanting to get her picture made...

So we did the 'twirl and grin' trick real quick. :)

Her favorites were the turtles. They had them in a low tank with a wide ledge the kids could sit on - so she tried to crawl in the tank and almost licked the water - ewwh! The seahorses were a close second to being her favorite - she seemed fascinated with them. She thought a small alligator was a big 'wizword'.

She also enjoyed the touch and explore tank, probably because she was allowed to play in the water and touch things. She really liked the feeding tank, and she almost swiped two different little boys' feeding sticks. She was very sly and almost had it away from them before either of them or I knew what was going on... [sneaky sneaky]

Trip to the Zoo

2009-05-22T18:04:00.000-05:00

For the first part of our Memorial day weekend, we loaded up and headed to the Zoo! We tried to time the trip for Elise to take her nap on the way - so she would be fresh when we got there. Didn't happen... she sang and chattered all the way there. However, she did really great! I would have to say her favorites were: the train ride, the children's park, the monkeys, the elephants, and of course all lizards, turtles, and frogs (since she likes to look for those around our house). She must have had quite the day because we buckled her into her carseat about 5:15 and she was "out" at 5:17! Here's a recap in pictures...

Watch out Zoo - here we come!

Daddy and Elise waiting on the train.

All aboard - just waiting for the train to take off.

Elise is crazy about turtles and

"wizwords".

Ice cream was a quick way to "lure" her back into the stroller. :)

Elise really enjoyed looking at the playful monkeys.

Aren't they cute!

Some type of catfish - and yes - it is bigger than Elise.

Elise studying the kangaroos.

Most of the time Elise is very expressive and excite-able - but she just seeemed to "soak" all the new animals in - like a little sponge.

A little family teeter -totter action. :)

Elise imitating a lion roar.

But he was actually snoring...

"Bye Bye Elephants - See you later"

When she woke up back at our hotel room - we had quite the time telling her we had to stay in the room - because she was ready to go back and see the elephants and monkeys. She mentioned them several more times - so even though we didn't get as much reaction out of her as normal - I would say she really enjoyed the zoo. :)

Family Picture

2009-05-12T14:35:00.003-05:00

On Mother's Day, we took Baby Dedication family photos for the First Baptist Church of Springdale. We had a total of 24 babies being dedicated! :) Yeah!

When I thought the family photos were done, I retrieved Elise from her Sunday school class to try to capture a quick family photo. (Matt set the camera and handed it to one of our friends to take the picture.)

However, right before we tried to do our family pics, there was another family Matt was capturing images of when I brought Elise outside... so I immediately grab my 'toys/attention getters" to help Matt get the best look/smiles from the family. Well, Elise ALSO becomes the photographer assistant - grabbing other items and putting them over her head and squeaking them or shaking the shiny pompom. In fact, she was much more interested in doing that for me and Matt than actually being in the picture.... hmm... wonder where she gets that from... :)

Riding bikes

2009-05-04T15:15:00.001-05:00

Riding "I-cycles" are a newer activity at our house. Most days it consists of making a circuit through our kitchen, living room, and front hall. However, when it's nice outside - that is the favorite choice.

Like Father like Daughter... ;)

2009-05-02T15:43:00.000-05:00

Like Father like Daughter... need I say more? :)

Elise and her buddy, Larry the Cummer

2009-05-01T15:46:00.000-05:00

**Note** We watch and play with Veggie Tales - a lot. Larry, the cucumber is one of Elise's favorite characters - right after Junior and Laura.

As I was fixing Elise's lunch, I was about to slice up a cucumber. Well, Elise didn't want that at all - she wanted the 'cummer'. ("Cummmmer, cuuuummmer!") So, I gave her the cucumber to see what she would do. Well, she takes "Larry" for a bike ride, all the while hugging "Larry" to her chest, and then decides to watch a movie with "Larry the Cummer". However, I check back later with her, and she is eating it - peel and all! (not a very nice way to treat your buddy!) :)

I think this is a look of slight remorse - but I could be wrong.... ;)

Nana's Birthday

2009-04-29T15:55:00.005-05:00

Happy Birthday Nana Pinkerton!

Took several attempts to learn how to 'blow' out the candle.

"YEAH! I did it".

"MMMmm"

"More?"

"Okay."

It seems lately that one of her favorite games is to play "Nite nite". (Such a tease! But she is sleeping better through the night. Whoop, whoop!)

If it has wheels or will rock - you can bet she will try to ride it.... :)

Bike Seat on the "Big Bike"

2009-04-26T15:29:00.000-05:00

Elise loves her bike seat on the "Big Bike". I'm sure she thinks she is such a big girl! Below are pictures of her first, short ride, but soon after this - Daddy took her on a real ride on the Fayetteville Bike trail.

Grandmom's Birthday

2009-04-21T16:22:00.004-05:00

Happy Birthday Grandmom Snodgrass!

Spring photos

2009-04-20T22:05:00.000-05:00

Elise was dressed for her Preschool Spring portraits, so I decided it would be a great opportunity to try to capture a few candid photos as well...

Napa Bubbles

2009-04-11T00:10:00.002-05:00

Elise helped Briana wash dishes recently and she loved it. She didn't get many dishes cleaned but she had a really good time with the suds that it made. Of course she had to wear my Napa winter hat in the house while doing it. She still seems to be into bubbles and hats.
~Matt

Elise's Art

2009-04-03T15:02:00.000-05:00

Elise loves to create 'Art' on Mommy's computer. She likes to hold my Wacom tablet pen to paint or to create letters (the letters are still created with Mommy's guidance). It's not uncommon to hear "Mommy, paaaaint, piiiink" over my shoulder as I am discovered on the computer.

Here is a sample of her work:

Desires of my heart...

2009-03-25T15:36:00.004-05:00

When Elise was still in the tummy, one of the desires of my heart was for Elise to inherit her Daddy's musical talent - both vocal and instrumental. Another desire of my heart was for her to love and have the ability to dance... and so far God has granted all these desires... abundantly. :)

Daddy captured the picture below with his i-phone.
"Veggie Tale Karoake, anyone?"

Dr. Daddy & I-cream

2009-03-20T23:42:00.002-05:00

Elise LOVES Ice Cream and Popsicles. Mommy and Daddy both gives out popsicles, but it seems that Daddy is the one that has been dipping out Elise's ice cream. Today it was so cute - as soon as Daddy came home, she runs over to the freezer and starts saying "I-cream, I-cream". Daddy and I start discussing if we think she has had enough dinner (that she had been eating before Daddy came home). Well, the next thing we know she has wiggled and grinned herself down to Daddy's shoes and proceeds to kiss his shoes to coax him into giving her ice cream. Where she learned that - I have no idea! She also already has the squinted eyes/adorable smile - while saying "pweeeeease" down as well. In fact, it's REALLY hard to say 'no' when she does that...

[Dr. Daddy]
As I was about to start Elise's bedtime routine, I asked for Matt to look at a place on my side where I had an insect bite to make sure it wasn't getting infected. So I layed down so Matt could look at it with a flashlight (since Elise's room was dim lit). After Matt inspected my side, Elise layed down next to me and lifted her shirt so Daddy could inspect her imaginary boo boo as well. He took the flashlight and pretended to look at her like he had me, and then he told her she was fine. He started to get up - but she immediately said "again". Meaning she wanted to play doctor/patient one more time. We may started a new game...

Flowers and Worms

2009-03-18T12:01:00.001-05:00

I LOVE spring time and I'm so excited that some of my flowers are starting to bloom, however this year I don't know how many are actually going to stay in my flowerbeds... It seems Elise really enjoys picking them. She's also fascinated with worms or any other wiggly creature. We've already found several earthworms, catapillers, a snail, and a slug (ugg!). She's so fascinated with flowers and worms that whenever we are getting in the car, she tells them, "bye fowers, bye worrms". Or if we are actually going outside, she immediately reminds me, "Fowers, Worrms".

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T00:47:00.002-05:00

Sarah's 3rd Birthday!

2009-03-16T23:38:00.010-05:00

Elise attended her cousin, Sarah's, 3rd birthday party this last weekend. It was a challenge to keep Elise out of the cake while Sarah opened her gifts. (Sarah, we hope you had a special day!) :)

The birthday girl!

Cutie-Pie

Sarah is actually holding up 3 fingers to show Elise how old she is.

Elise was trying to imitate Sarah by holding up her fingers too... but it also looks like she is saying, "You want a piece of me?" :)

A little sweet look.

Isaiah, or "Say-uh" as Elise says it.

The beautiful big sister, Erika.

Sarah is loving shoes... watch out Joe & LeAnn!

The birthday girl with Aunt Allena and Evan.

My incredible brother and sister, Joe and Allena. :)

"Peeeeeople"

2009-03-10T23:12:00.000-05:00

Elise is becoming quite the social butterfly... :) I hosted a baby shower on the 9th and Elise and Daddy got back home before the gifts were all opened. Daddy tried to keep Elise occupied with a movie at the back of our house, but I kept hearing her crying. I went back to check on her. When I got to her, she just looked at me and said "Peeeeeeople, Peeeeeeople", in her most drawn out and dramatic voice. I asked her if she wanted to go see the people - and she did. I took her back to the living room with me and sat her on my lap. She was all smiles and looked around and waved and said in a sweet little voice, "Hi People". :)

Paci - FREE

2009-03-06T16:00:00.004-06:00

We are extremely proud of Elise to say that since the evening of her dental appointment Elise is Paci FREE - (with only one minor hiccup the following night). It went a lot smoother than I expected and I can only express my thankfulness to all of you that lifted us up in prayer to help us through this transition because Elise was VERY dependent on it. The first night (evening of her dental appointment) Elise and Mommy went on a Paci hunt looking for her Paci(s). Elise was really looking for them while Mommy was finding them and tucking them away in her pocket. After the hunt was complete, everytime Elise would ask for her "Sassssy" - we would simply say, "We looked for it - where is it?" Then she would say, "Sassy, where ARRRe you?" At first, there was a little bit of tears, but it is now a game. She still asks for it (less and less), but will usually follow her own question with "Sassy, where are you?", and then answer "I don't know". Sometimes there is even a little giggle. All I can say is "Whew!". Glad to have that behind us. :)

Next tasks on the list... Better sleep schedule and Potty Training... "Oh Boy...."

Here's a picture of Elise showing off her teeth without the Paci/Sassy.

This just doesn't seem right...

2009-02-27T11:11:00.008-06:00

First, I need to preface the following images with the fact that Elise LOVES Veggie Tales so much that we watch at least one episode a day (usually much more). She loves to dance to their silly songs, and at night we have to gather all the Veggie Tales books in our chair before bedtime to read while we "rawwk" in the rocking chair. ["Rawwk" is how she asks for me to rock her in the rocking chair.]

Okay.. so, I noticed Elise "cooking" in her kitchen, so I went over to see what she was cooking, and this is what I found. I know these are "veggies", but this just doesn't seem quite right... :)

The next time I looked - she had them in her cups ready to serve.

[what to do, what to do...] :)

1st Dental Appointment

2009-02-24T11:59:00.006-06:00

Elise had her first dental appointment today at Pediatric Dental Associates [http://www.jett4kidds.com]. I thought she did fairly well. :) We got there and she loved seeing all the bright colors, kids playing everywhere (in the waiting rooms), and the fish. She had a great time 'waiting'. :)

Then we had her x-ray. She sat on Mommy's lap and did really well while they took her x-ray picture. Then we went to the open office for her to get her teeth checked and cleaned. She noticed the TV in the ceiling and exclaimed a drawn out "Woooow". She didn't seem to mind the dental assistant looking in her mouth with the tiny mirror. Mom's thinking - hmmm... so far so good. Then... it came time to get her teeth cleaned and she realized it was no longer her idea to lay down on the dental chair. At this point - she's not a happy camper. But she survived (Mom did everything from singing to patting to distract her and slow down the tears) and at the end she got a little toy duck. The dentist thought her teeth looked great - but recommended we start getting rid of the "Sassy" soon, which we expected.

(For all you prayer warriers out there - if you want to start lifting Elise up in your prayers that she makes a smooth transition saying 'bye-bye' to the Paci - we would be very grateful.)

Impromptu Photo Session

2009-02-21T23:59:00.001-06:00

If you look closely you can almost hear her giggling... :)
(Cick on an image to see it larger.)

Some of these are a little dark - they are all straight out of the camera.)

Rockin' With Headphones

2009-02-20T21:46:00.001-06:00

Elise seems to be following the iPod trend of listening to music with headphones. She's watched her dad wear these at his desk and decided that she needed to do that also. She must think that's just what you're supposed to do because there's not actually any music being
played through them :-)

The Lights are so Bright!

2009-02-11T22:43:00.000-06:00

Elise has figured out that her luvie makes a good light shield in the
car :-)

Wrecker Service

2009-02-09T21:03:00.001-06:00

We visited the mall late last week and Elise took a liking to the wrecker that was there....once again following in the footsteps of her Granddad.

Elise's Birthday Party - belated post

2009-02-03T10:36:00.001-06:00

More Ice Storm Pics around our Home...

2009-02-02T19:44:00.010-06:00

Ice Storm

2009-01-31T23:25:00.003-06:00

The ice storm did its fair share of damage at our house. We had several trees lose limbs, but I saw other places that had much more damage than we did. We were without power for almost 4 nights!

Animal Parade

2009-01-31T19:21:00.000-06:00

I noticed this animal parade she created and thought it would be cute to document this with a photo.

Elise is very particular about the placement of her toys and people for that matter. She is always telling us precisely where to sit and will move us or have us trade seats if we are not in the exact place she wants us.

On a daily basis I can expect to hear at least once:

- "Sit down" (patting the location she determines),

- "Get Up" (she will grab your hand(s) and tug you upwards and usually right after she has you sit down or if she wants you to dance with her),

- "C'mon" (she will wrap her whole hand around one of your index fingers and tug you in the direction she wants to go), and

- "Lay down" (while patting the spot right next to her - and this is usually at night when you are trying to slip away once you have her laying down in her bed or on the couch).

Mommy's High Heels

2009-01-26T19:19:00.001-06:00

Elise LOVES to walk around in Mommy's high heels. She is pretty good at it too...

Day after birthday party

2009-01-18T19:30:00.003-06:00

Elise still had birthday spirit by wearing her hat... however it looked like she was pretending to have an ice pack on her head. :-)

Luvie Hat

2009-01-10T19:32:00.001-06:00

Elise decided to wear her luvie on her head one day. She must have a thing for hats because she seems to always like to wear things on her head.

Oreo Face

2009-01-06T12:38:00.003-06:00

I just received the following email from Nana Pinkerton and thought this is definitely blog worthy!

"Elise's first encounter with an Oreo cookie. She looked at her hands and said 'O Man'. I cleaned her hands, but she didn't want me to clean her face. I snapped some pictures, and then I took her to the door mirror so she could see her face. She said 'Oh Man, Yuck' and stood still for me to clean her up."

Elise - 1st ice cream cone

2009-01-05T20:32:00.001-06:00

While at Chick-fil-A recently, Elise saw another little boy with an ice cream cone and decided that she wanted one also. So, we got her one and she dug right in like a natural!

Elise the Mechanic

2009-01-03T21:11:00.009-06:00

It seems that Elise is following in her Granddad Pinkerton's footsteps a little. With flashlight and screwdriver in hand, she took it upon herself in this photo to repair her swing (of which she is really too big for).

2008 Favorites - Slideshow

2008-12-31T23:01:00.000-06:00

Since I am STILL so far behind on "posts", I created a slideshow of all my favorite pictures from 2008 also.

(I also created a small slideshow on the right hand column of this blog for easy reference after this "post" gets covered up.)

Enjoy!

Elise's Birthday Invitation

2008-12-30T23:46:00.006-06:00

I just finished designing Elise's birthday invitation. She's crazy about Veggie Tales - so we decided it would be a perfect theme for her birthday party!

Princess Elise

2008-12-27T20:05:00.000-06:00

Elise seemed to take a liking to the bling that Granddad and Nana Pinkerton got her for Christmas.

Christmas Eve Cookies

2008-12-26T22:07:00.000-06:00

We ended Christmas Eve by making some home made sugar cookies. Elise was actually already in bed when we made them so she didn't get to help us any. However, she did like the taste of them. This was a fun event that we may have to do every Christmas Eve!

Morning Sombrero

2008-12-24T08:29:00.001-06:00

It seemed that Elise was in the Mexican spirit this morning as she was walking around the house with this little sombrero on.

Rockettes Christmas Spectacular!

2008-12-22T21:23:00.001-06:00

We went to see the Rockettes for the first time. They were putting on their Christmas Spectacular show for three days in Tulsa. Unfortunately we didn't get a good pic but better than nothing.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-19T00:37:00.002-06:00

We hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas season! Below is our family Christmas card.

Elise decided she needed MORE crackers

2008-12-03T21:38:00.025-06:00

I left the living room with a single fish stick left on Elise's plate and a forgotten closed box of crackers sitting next to the couch. I guess Elise decided she might need MORE crackers (or more precisely - the ENTIRE box of crackers)

After my first "Oh, wow" (I grabbed the camera), and I asked her if she needed help. This was the response I got...

Can you almost hear her?

Who me?

Nope, got it under control, Mom. :)

However, I am quite proud that the majority of the crackers WERE on the plate. Not bad for a 22 month old. :)

Her favorite word... "YUMMY"

Elise Updates

2008-02-20T22:58:00.000-06:00

[2-20-2008]

Her favorite game right now is playing chase. She loves for someone (usually Mommy or Nana) to start coming towards her slowly and act like they are about to 'get' her. She takes off almost running and squealing to the safest haven she can find (usually her Daddy or Granddad). Then she has to turn around and make sure someone is still coming after her. If you give up the 'chase', she will usually come back and look at you like "aren't you gonna come after me?"

She is also into carrying heavy objects. So heavy that she wobbles back and forth as she lugs them across the room. She carried one box, weighing 3.5 pounds, to every quadrant of our bedroom before starting all over again - for at least 15 minutes. (She just barely weighs in at 24 pounds herself!)

[02-14-2008]

These aren't her 'standing stunts' on her Dora push car, but I thought they were worthy of sharing. :)

[02-12-2008]

Updates: Elise has discovered fishsticks - and LOVES them! She actually ate four of them last night. When Mommy feeds them to her, she'll ham it up a little by opening her eyes a little wider and doing a 'Yummy shudder' after most bites. The first time Daddy saw this, he laughed through most of her meal. :)

She insists on feeding Mommy some of her meals - except her fishsticks. She still likes to perform standing stunts on her Dora push car. (working on prevention... :) She loves books and enjoys sitting in your lap and listening to you read. She has also mastered twirling around in a circle, and if she's feeling spunky, she'll give you a little dance to go along with her twirl.

[02-01-2008]

First Snow

Here's our little Valentine... :)

[01-29-2008]

Today she learned she can stand up on the seat of her Dora Explorer push car. She starts off by straddling the seat and holding on to the steering wheel, then she manages to get both of her knees onto the seat. From there she stands up while bent over still holding the steering wheel. Then of course, the last step is to stand all the way up without holding onto anything. She's waving her hands excitedly, so proud of her new trick... while, I'm whisking her off the seat and standing her on the floor, thinking... here's another toy we're going to be watching her every move on!

We just celebrated Elise's 1st Birthday. Here is a recent image of her we shot for her birthday invitation.

2007 Favorites - Slideshow

2007-12-31T23:59:00.000-06:00

Since I am so far behind on "posts", I created a slideshow of all my favorite pictures from 2007. A picture is worth a thousand words, right? Well, I've selected over 300 images - so that is A LOT of words! :) (I also created a small slideshow on the right hand column of this blog for easy reference after this "post" gets covered up.)

Enjoy!

Welcome Elise!

2007-01-11T19:20:00.000-06:00

[01-11-2007]