What is going on?

It is always fun to post pictures and videos of Elisa. But, this time I will just let you all in on recent happenings - all the stuff that is going on.

Elisa is having a great time being able to go where she wants, when she wants. She is into everything! I am so thankful that the stairs in our house have baby gates installed already. They have really come in handy!

In addition to her feet being non-stop, so is her cute little mouth. She can talk it up! Most of the time her speech is just baby jabber, but she has really been working on a few words. Some examples of her favorites include: bai, bai - bye, bye; mmmike - milk; eeears - ears; da da - daddy (although I think she calls several things "da da"). I am pretty sure there are a few others, I just can't recall them at the moment.

We have been practicing the parts of the face with her this week. She is getting pretty good at identifying where her ears, nose, tongue and eyes are... well, she really has the ears down good. All the other parts of the face are where the ears are too ;).

She has always been real playful and cuddly, but I think that she is becoming more so. It is a lot of fun when I am laying on the floor and she tries to tackle me - she raises her hands in the air and then falls on me. I love that. Speaking of raising her hands: she started raising both hands in the air this week just playing around. When she did Jennifer and I started to shout out "touchdown". She loved it. Now, every time she wants us to yell out "touchdown" she lifts her hands into the air. She's a natural football fan - I'm so proud!

She now has 4 teeth - 2 on the bottom and 2 on top. She loves to crunch on Cheerios and she LOVES to brush her teeth. Her facial expressions are priceless when we are brushing her teeth. She just thinks it is the greatest thing. I am going to have to get some pictures of that on here pretty soon. It is good stuff.

She loves dogs. We know that sometime in the text couple of years we are going to have to get her one. When we go to the mall we take her by the pet shop so she can check out the doggies and the fish. Jennifer suggested that we buy a couple of fish when we get back to Brazil from furlough at the beginning of January (we leave for the states on November 1st and return to Brazil on January 3rd). I think that Elisa will enjoy have fish to look at - if she can sit still long enough!

She has started this singing thing (look out American Idol). She will ramble on in this high pitched voice for a couple of minutes. It is unmistakable that she is singing - again, unbelievably cute and something to post on this blog.

I know that there are a ton more things that I could write. Elisa is such a great child. We love being her mommy and daddy. I don't think either one of us could be prouder. She brings us joy each and every day... and a little bit of craziness.

Elisa on the go!

Sorry it has taken so long for me to post on this blog. It could be that I have needed a little break from blogging or that I have been too busy trying to keep up with Elisa. She took off walking a couple of weeks ago and there has been no slowing her down. She is all over the place! All she wants to do is walk, run and dance. She is a little ball of fun! Seriously, she is so funny to watch and play with - all we do is laugh (I assure you that we are laughing with her, not at her).

This video is of Elisa playing with a balloon that a woman gave her. We were at the mall a couple of days ago and she got her hands on this balloon and just had a great time. You would have thought it was pure gold! I love how easily entertained she is at this age. Enjoy!



This next video is of Elisa dancing to the nursery rhyme "Baa, Baa Black Sheep". I don't know what it is about that song, but she loves it (and the little book we have too). The funny thing about this video to me is how bad the singing is. It is horrible, but Elisa thinks it is the greatest!

Book Worm

One of Elisa's favorite activities is reading her books. She absolutely loves books. She will take a beat-up, 1970s book called "Kittens" over the newest toy on the market! It is really something. One of her most read books is "Baa Baa Black Sheep" from the nursery rhyme. She will pick it up and say "Baa baa" over and over again. She is super sweet!

Every now and then we will ask her "Elisa, have you read your books? Go and get your books." She will look over to the book shelf where they are put away, walk or crawl over to them, pull all of them off the shelf and sit down to read. Jennifer and I are really proud of her desire to stretch her little mind with wonderful writings on kittens, bunnies, ducks, and all other sorts of animals (those tend to be her favorites).

1st Year Photos

Yesterday we took Elisa to get her 1st year pictures done! Here are a few that we have to choose from. Remember, these are just proofs. Once we make our decisions they will sharpen things up and take out what shouldn't be there. Anyway, enjoy!

Personality Check

Here are some new videos of Elisa that show her personality pretty well. This first one is of a laughing contest that we had last night. If you provoke her at the right moment she will laugh back and forth with you for quite a while. This one is also pretty good because it shows how much she likes to hit the same button on a toy over and over again - little annoying but it is really cute.


This second video is of Elisa saying "ba-ba" which is bye-bye and waving to anyone who will pay attention. Again, cute stuff!

Birthday Party

Yesterday we had a little birthday party for Elisa. We invited 5 of her little girlfriends to come over and play and eat cake. Jennifer rented a little plastic fence and some plastic balls for the girls to play in. I think some of the adults ended up playing too!









Unfortunately, I missed Elisa's party because I was in bed with the flu. Even though I couldn't be there (which was definitely for the best) her laughter and screams (literally) of glee brought me a lot of joy.

Elisa, I am very proud to be your Daddy. Every day I want to love you more and protect you better. Just the thought of your precious ways brings a broad smile across my face. Your laughter keeps your Mommy and me in stitches! Your sweet cuddles bring us warmth. You make me love your Mommy more and more. Thank you for blessing me with so much joy and love. God is already using you. We pray that you will choose one day to allow Him to work in you always. Happy birthday, baby girl. I love you.

Birthday Girl!

Tuesday was Elisa's 1st birthday! We took it easy throughout the day, opening presents every couple of hours. It seems like we sang "happy birthday" a couple of dozen times in English and Portuguese throughout the day too! By the time we were ready to have cake (after supper) Elisa wasn't interested in the least bit. She ended up eating some of it for breakfast on Wednesday. All in all, Tuesday was a good day.

We plan on having a birthday party for her on Saturday. The 1st birthday is a pretty big deal in Brazil, but we are just going to have a small party with 5 of her little friends. I will post an update on the party as soon as I can.

Elisa checking out her mountain of gifts...

Elisa and Daddy playing with the "Leap Frog" caterpillar her Grandparents gave her.

Elisa's birthday cake with surrounding cupcakes for the adults.

"Make a wish, Elisa!"

Elisa and Granddaddy play with her puppy.

Mommy and Elisa read a new book.

"See 'n Say"

It is hard to believe that Elisa will be one year old tomorrow! I can't figure out where all the time has gone. Her grandparents (Jennifer's parents) arrived this last Saturday to help celebrate her birthday with us.

Here is a video clip of Elisa playing with her new "See 'n Say". I don't think she knew whether to hit it or eat it! Pretty cute stuff...

Walking with Elisa: Live!

Check out this video clip of Elisa walking! We are all over the place! Good times!

She's a Walker!

The following is from an email that Jennifer sent our family last night:

Hi Family,
I just wanted to let you know about a major milestone in Elisa's little life. Tonight she officially started walking unsupported! We were at the birthday party of her little friend, Ana Luisa, and she would not let us pick her up - she just wanted us to walk all over creation with her while she held one of our fingers (one-handed). Then, right as we were leaving, I put her down on the floor because she was crying as I tried to say goodbye to everyone, and I let go of her hand. She just took off walking all over the place. Ana Luisa's dad (Alexandre) got out his video camera, and she just kept on walking all around the room. She can turn and everything. It was all very exciting for us and for all of Ana Luisa's family who stood around watching her accomplishment. Even the waiters at the birthday party stopped to watch. Hopefully Alexandre will give us a copy of the video he took and we can try to post it. We just wanted to share the excitement - 16 days before her first birthday!!
Love,
Jennifer