An Elliott Family Update

Hi Everyone! Well, I've completely lagged on posting on this blog. I've been so busy lately I forgot I had it! Oh well! So here we go....

Funny Claire Quotes:

1. The other day I was changing Claire's diaper and asked her if she'd pooped. Her response was "No, just toots in there!" I could have died laughing! Where do they come up with these?!

2. Claire can now sing "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and the Elmo version of "The 12 Days of Christmas" in which she ends with "And a red monster up a tree!" So cute!

3. At Thanksgiving she was getting into my mom's bowl of nuts. We taught her to say "AWWW NUTS!" Video is below...too funny!

4. Now if you ask her what deordorant is for she'll tell you"Daddy's stinky armpits." We can thank Link for that one...

As for us, we're just busy getting ready for Claire's 2nd birthday and Christmas. We also have fun stuff going on. Today Link is going to the USC vs. UCLA game at the Rosebowl. Meanwhile, Claire and I are heading to Long Beach for Ava Feely's 3rd birthday party at Color Me Mine. After the party we are heading to Judy & Ava Valadez's house for a nap, dinner, and a trip to 2nd street in the wagon to watch the Christmas parade! It should be a lot of fun! Then, on Wednesday, Link and I are going to President Sample's USC Christmas party. We'll probably be the youngest people there, but it will be fun! Aunt Nancy & Uncle Fred will be there, too! And last, but not least, we are going to go to the Irvine Park Christmas Train at some point. This is a regional park where the light up the trees and you take the decorated train to see Santa! It looks like a lot of fun...can't wait!

We hope all of you are having a wonderful holiday season!

Love, Bonnie

Claire's Obsession with Disneyland

Like most toddlers, Claire often has a hard time staying awake in the car. If she falls asleep before nap time she won't nap later on. Therefore, I have the fun job of trying to keep her awake. Lately discussions about Disneyland do the trick! More than once this week she's been nodding off and all I need to say is, "Claire? What is your favorite ride at Disneyland?" to which she answers "JUNGLE CRUISE!" She perks up immediately, it is quite funny. So I figured I'd share the same discussion that I've had dozens of times now. Enjoy the little video! :)

Claire Cracks Us Up

She's just so funny these days! She's developing a sense of humor and finds things really funny now. Last night she was watching Bear in the Big Blue House and laughed hysterically when he "sniffed her!" I am afraid she might have inherited the Wilcox cackle..appropriate since she's going to be a witch for Halloween! Another new thing is that she's playing by herself for LONG periods of time. Yesterday she took all of her stuffed animals and blankets off of her bed and piled them on top of her froggy chair. Then she climbed in the middle! She played in her room, on her own for an hour and a half!!! I actually got some work done!

Claire is also now saying four word sentences which is pretty darn cool! She says things like "More milk please Mommy" or if I tell her we are going to Target it is "Buy. New. George. Color Book!" So funny!

As for Link and me, things are going a lot better! I got a job that pays the same and is about the same number of hours..still from home, so that is awesome! Link got a raise so we are moving in the right direction. We can put August and September behind us and look towards the future. :)

I guess that's all I have to report. I'm including a few pics for your enjoyment!





Here is some video of Claire at the USC v. Oregon game. She is trying hard to perfect her Victory Sign!

Claire's Horsey, Mo

When Claire turned one I got her a giant stuffed horse. She showed no interest in it so I put it away. Well yesterday I pulled it out during Claire's nap. I put him on the coffee table in the living room and when she woke up, I told her that I had a surprise for her. As we walked down the stairs Claire noticed the horse and said with total wonder "horsey." She then hurried down the stairs and ran to the horse, smothering it in hugs and kisses! I asked her what his name was and she said "Mo!" Now Claire and Mo are inseparable! It is so cute! Last night he sat with us while I read books to Claire before bed. One book had a similar looking horse in it and she kept pointing to the horse saying "Mo." Then, I had put him down when I stood up to sing and put her to bed and Claire said "Mo???". I had to pick him up and carry him around, too, during our songs! Needless to say, Mo slept in Claire's bed. Just had to share!

Things are getting better!

Well, since my last post things have gotten better...or let's just say they haven't gotten worse (other than that horrible loss to the Beavers on Thursday). Claire is doing great! She's become a little parrot and we need to really watch what we say. She's started to play make believe with her dolls and stuffed animals. I bought her a tea set, dining set and some baby bottles yesterday. She's a very good mommy and makes sure all of her babies are well fed. She even burps one of the babies. I told her the tall glasses are champagne and she hands Link a glass of champagne when I tell her to. Too cute! :)

Last Saturday Krista got married! She and Erik had a beautiful wedding and Link, Claire and I were all in it. I was a little worried about Claire going to down the aisle (I held her hand) but she was AWESOME! She realized everyone was watching her and marched down on her tippy toes. She did not fuss or cry once the entire day and loved dancing to the band. I was so proud of her!

On the job front, I'm waiting to hear back from one company. I'm hoping it works out because I can keep working from home. I should hear soon. Wish me luck! I also have a little work from a company called Risi, so that will help. I'm trying to remain positive. :)

Not much else to report. Link is into his football mode at this point...playing his football game every Friday night to determine the score of the SC games. We took Claire to the Ohio State game, which was fun but a lot of work for me!

I'll post again later when I have more to share! Oh, and of course, here is some new video footage of the Monkey!

It has been a tough month...

For those of you who haven't heard, I lost the baby last week. I started spotting on Labor Day (of all days) and saw the doctor the next day. They couldn't find a heartbeat or a baby on the ultrasound and I probably lost the baby about a week before. I had a D&C on Wednesday. It has been rough but we are getting through it. I think God that this happened the second time around. Claire and Link keep me going every day and I know that I can have a normal, healthy pregnancy since I've already done it once. I guess this just wasn't the right time. So bottom line, we are doing pretty well.

Onto happier stuff. Yesterday I met my cousin, Katie, and her daughter Alex at South Coast Plaza. We took the girls on the carousel and they LOVED it. In fact, we went six times because the girls loved it so much! I'm posting some of the pictures because the turned out pretty cute. Unfortunately, Claire wasn't too happy when we were all done. She had a lovely meltdown and kept screaming "More of that horsey!" I knew it was going to happen so all I could do was laugh! Enjoy the videos and the pics! :)

Oh, what a month!

Let's just say that this has been a very, very challenging month! Starting Aug. 1 Claire got sick. She ended up puking for 7 straight days. Once she was over it, Link got it. They were both starting to feel better when I got news that all of my freelance work was being pulled in-house, thus leaving me jobless. Oh, the stress! I'm still waiting to hear on a job so keep your fingers crossed for me! Well, the next day...yup, one day later, Claire developed a horrible, croup-like cough. It went on for a week and she was finally diagnosed with a sinus infection (she also has some kind of bad rash on her right thigh that is driving her nuts). The dr. put her on Amoxicillin, which she HATES! On top of all of that, on Tuesday night she decided that it was time to get up for good at 12:30 am. She did NOT go back to sleep until 8:00 am. And neither did I. Oh, and our credit card number was stolen AND Sweet Pea still refuses to poop in her litter box so we have to get rid of her. I CANNOT WAIT for September! To make matters worse, our first football game is in August. Let's hope our black cloud stays out of Virginia!

So on a happier...or more fun note, Claire had two milestones yesterday. First, she took her very first shower with me and LOVED it! I got it on video (her, not me). I also converted her crib into a toddler bed. She climbed out twice on Tuesday night and I'm too worried about her hurting herself. Last night was bumpy, but she made it through and did not fall out. :)

Stay tuned for happier posts. My next doctor appointment is next Thursday. :)