our week (and a half) in review

We've had a fun and busy last week and a half. Here it goes:

- A couple Saturdays ago, we had a baby shower for my sister, Angie. It was so much fun and a lot of people came to show their love and support. It was all pop culture based...we had some pretty fun games and cute invitations. Well, I did make them, so, of course, I'm going to think they're cute. You should check out her blog for a better description and pictures.

- Elsie got pretty sick one night last week and was throwing up all night. We kept giving her baths because she would get so gross. I felt so bad for her. After each bath, she would just sit and snuggle with us, mainly Aaron, on the couch. It took a few days for her to get back to normal, but the throwing up only lasted that night. I guess the only good part about kids being sick is that they get very snuggly. I love that!- We spent a lot of time outside this past week since the weather had cooled down so much. One day we were out with cousins and they were taking Elsie for rides on their scooter. She was loving it and feeling like such a big girl. - One of the new things Elsie is doing is that she loves to "read" books. She'll sit there and look at the pictures and babble as she reads. We were at Hastings the other night and she was getting super grumpy. I was looking at the magazines, so I handed her a little magazine and she walked a little ways away from me and opened it up. She was standing there looking so cute and so serious. She'd look up every once in a while and smile and then keep reading. She would mouth words and look so excited for each picture. I was laughing so hard. That was one of my happiest, giddiest moments as a mom. She was so cute!

- I went over to Seattle last Friday with Angie for a Boyz 2 Men concert. We spent the day shopping for baby stuff and Elsie stuff, ate a wonderful lunch at Cheesecake Factory and went to the concert. It was so much fun!! It was at a smaller theatre in Seattle that we had never been to, and I think that made it so much better. Our seats were so close and it was like we were in our own little world. We were singing and dancing the whole time. I felt like I was a giddy little teenager again. I loved it! One of my favorite parts of the concert was the Motown medley they did. Of course, it reminded my of mom, but it give me such a happy feeling. We grew up listening to and dancing to those songs. I know all the words and love them. I just got this overwhelming sense of love and gratitude for my mom and all the happy memories I have with her. I'm so glad I had that experience.

- We've been taking Elsie to the park now that the weather is more pleasant and she can walk. She has such a great time exploring, going down the slide, swinging on the swings, and walking all around.

- Elsie has a new word. She says ba-ba or sometimes just ba for ball. She points out balls everywhere we go, or on TV, or in books or magazines. She's obsessed. We were at Wal-Mart the other night and she found a little ball while we were walking through the toy section. She kept playing with it while we finished all the rest of our shopping. It kept her very happy! When it was time to leave, I said to Aaron, "You do realize we have to buy that for her now or else she's going to be mad." I'm afraid we're starting a bad trend, but oh well! Aaron doesn't mind!

- I'm constantly amazed each day at how much Elsie really understands. When I tell her to do something, she does it. When I ask her something, she'll respond in her Elsie way. Kids are amazing!