#1

Elise is a year. ahhh
How fast this year has gone by.

She has been learning so many things and elaborated on many more specialties in the last month and a half since I last posted.  
She is teaching herself pilates.  Downward dog is her specialty, she's way better than me, she loves to get on all fours and poke her bootie in the air.  
She screeches "cAAAA" any time she sees my cats.  She loves the kitty cats even more this month.  Okay that's an understatement she has spastic, overwhelming exuberant joy when in the mere presence of those raggedy mongrels. Jara's stuffed cats are not even safe, she carries them in her mouth like a good momma kitty.  
She is crawling on her hands and knees most of the time when she prefers speed she still slithers but if she is being cautious she's up on all fours.  
When she is feeling particularly cute she will innocently smile and cover her mouth with her hand, so bashful and nice-like.  Do not be fooled, she is not as innocent as she looks.  The other day grandpa A asked her if he was her favorite person in the world and she looked at him, stuck her tongue out and spit, much to grandma A's delight.  Sorry dad, that really means I love you.  I heard her spitting at Jack in the car the other day and then laughing her evil cackle.  She knows, oh does she ever know.  
Elise did time the other day because of her naughtiness. I figured we should stop laughing at her and try to get a handle on her early start towards a criminal career and she went to baby time-out. (Isolation in the bathroom for one minute.)  Because she opened the vanity drawer in front of the bathroom door, I could not get her out, which led to even more wailing and gnashing and huge, sad crocodile tears. After that traumatic experience I lovingly hugged her and promised her she would never, ever have to go to time-out again, poor, sweet baby. sigh.  ha.
Elise is in a 80/20 percentile.  I'll let you guess for what.  She is a bottomless pit and I'm not sure why she doesn't weigh more than 19lbs, she's the bermuda triangle of food.  
The few words she knows other than baby swearing (angry complaining without words) are:  ni-ni (night-night,) mama, dada and lll n (belly button)  She's discovered this amazing body part and is very frustrated when she's wearing a onesie.
Elise tenderly loves Jara's (now Elise's) stuffed cat, she tucks it between her shoulder and ear and cuddles it oh so nicely.  The same way she likes to cuddle us.  It makes me forget that she is capable of head-butting and biting. 
On her birthday we got her a rocking chair and she has claimed it as her throne.  No one is allowed with in a 3-foot radius when she is reigning supreme.  Especially if she has her blankie and thumb.  
Elise explores objects best with her toes.  I've noticed her pick up new objects and place them in her toes turning them round and round.  It's the monkey toes, I suppose.   I mentioned it to my sister-in-law and I'm not sure she had the full picture so Elise proudly demonstrated at library reading time by rotating Auntie's turquoise bracelet through her toes.  At least she doesn't put everything in her mouth.  
Morning nap time was turning into an unproductive battle so we gave it up.  Waaaaaa.  The other two were 15 months when they started only napping twice a day, every-other-day but she has cold turkey gone to one nap a day at only a year.  Needless to say nothing is getting accomplished around here in the morning.  Or really any other time of the day for that matter. 
Elise has started pointing at objects and will use her pointing skills anytime food is in proximity or when we are reading her favorite books.  She has had much success with this skill.  

I look forward to her next milestones, walking maybe...(crawling is dirty) and am no longer in denial that she is ONE.  (Okay still in a little denial. She is still small and only has two teeth its easy to pretend she's younger.)

 Pick me up lady my dress is getting pine needles in it pose

Loving the CAT