Lots of News!!

Where do we start? The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of happenings. First lets start with we are expecting our second baby! We are very excited about our new little one on the way and hoping that Elizabeth will feel the same. Our next big announcement is that we are moving to Des Moines, Iowa. So to say the least the Otts' family has been busy the last few weeks. Over the next month we are hoping to buy a house, move, sale a house, find a new ob and settle into our new life in Iowa.
Wow! That makes my head spin when I really sit back and think about it. This will be Adam's 6th move and this will be my 4th. Of course it is Elizabeht's first so this should be interesting.

I will try to keep the blog updated as we go along but no promises. Also will try to post some pics of Elizabeth in the next couple of days.

I finally posted some new pics of Elizabeth last week so I thought I would try and write a little today. Elizabeth is growing so fast! I love watching her grow and learn but then I realize that time is passing so fast. I wish I had a pause button sometimes to enjoy these times a little more.

Over the past month we have been busy. We went home to Mississippi for Memorial day weekend and stayed the entire week afterward. Our first stop was in Memphis to visit with Craig, Jess, and Addyson. Addyson was so nice and shared her car and four wheeler with Elizabeth. This was her first time on a motorized toy and she had a blast! Our next stop was also in Memphis to visit with Little David. I cannot believe that he is going to be one in Semptember. He is already bigger than Elizabeth and a looker with those big blue eyes. While we were home we were able to watch our niece and nephew play ball. Elizabeth got a kick out of being at the ball field with the big kids.

Since we have been home she has really started listening and understanding what you say to her. She knows what you mean when you tell her to put something back or up. Before she leaves a room she usually picks up what she has pulled out and claps for herself when she is done. Just this past Saturday she picked up a fork from my plate and started eating eggs. We were about to show her how to use the fork when she forked the eggs and went straight to her mouth. We could not believe it! She has never had a fork or known what to do with it for that matter. Wow time is flying and she is growing up way to fast!

She Said Momma

Yes! After months of saying daddy and dada my sweet girl said MOMMA! Oh, how I love the sound of that word!!!

I thought it was time to post a little since last time I only posted pics of the birthday party. Elizabeth had a wonderful party with all of our neighbors and her little friends. I attempted a birthday cake as you see from the pics. It was not pretty at all but lets just call it whimsical in its own way :) Ha! Anyway, it tasted very good. Lots of people came back for seconds and one neighbor even said it tasted like the cake his mom use to make for his birthday. I took that as a compliment! Although he did make fun of the way it looked.

The weather is finally pretty and we are enjoying every minute of it. Elizabeth is out in the yard almost everyday. She loves to push her little lawnmower and mow with dad. We bought her a small adirondack chair for the patio and she loves to sit out with us in the afternoons.

Hi everyone! It has been a while since we posted. These days it is not so easy just to run to the computer. Elizabeth is walking and running everywhere now. She got her first skined knee on Wednesday. You would think that would have slowed her down a little but oh no! She cried a little but hopped right back up. I did not know that wanting to be independent would come so soon. She absolutely does not want your help on anything. The other night I was about to take her sandals off for her and she got off of my lap and went into the dinning room to take them off herself. After a few minutes of trying she got aggrivated and let me take them off. I am guessing she might be stubborn. Not sure what side that would come from though. I am going to say dads:)
We are getting ready for her first birthday next friday. Where has the year gone? She is no longer a baby. I do miss the baby stage but I have loved all the other stages as well. She is so much fun now. You can't help but smile with complete joy when you see her learn something new or smile at you. I know that all parents know what I am talking about.

Kansas has had some beautiful weather the past few weeks so we have been taking advantage of it. We have visited the park a few times and are out in the yard a lot more. Elizabeth got to swing and play on the slide for the first time a couple of weeks ago and she loved it. We thought the slide may scare her a little but no our little one just turned around and started climbing up the slide. With dad at the bottom and mom up top she would climb up to me, slide down to dad and start all over again. She had a blast! There is nothing like watching your child laugh and play...

Elizabeth is walking!! Yes, I know I can't believe it! She started taking steps on her own last Wednesday afternoon. So far she is only up to about four or five by herself but can run a marathon behind her little stroller. She is so proud of herself when she does something new. You can see how she just lights up but of course mom is always right there cheering and clapping. Dad says I should limit it to big events but I am just so proud I can't help myself. If anyone ever looked in our window they might think I was some kind of nut dancing around.

Just had to Share

Yesterday Elizabeth was playing in her room while I was in the office. After a little while I saw her crawl into her bathroom. Ok, no biggie. Then I thought she is really really quiet. Uh Oh! This usually means something as all parents know. So I thought I should go see what had her attention. As you can tell by the pictures she had been busy.... I am just glad that it wasn't a whole role. Peanut does this when she is mad at us or wants attention. It just never accured to me that Elizabeth might tear up the paper. I was so sure I had everything put up! Guess I was wrong :)

Just a quick update. Elizabeth is doing great and is into everything. She can now make it to the top of the stairs all by herself. Her new thing is calling everything dada and will also say daddy. We don't think that she understands what she is saying yet but it is so sweet to hear. Here are a few pictures of our growing baby girl.

Well I finally got some new pics and the background up lets see if I can make a quick post. We have had a busy month and lots of new firsts for Elizabeth. Before Christmas we went home to Mississippi for the holidays. While we were there we had Elizabeth's dedication at the church that Adam was babtized in when he was little. This was a special day for us and the whole family. The church is small and I think once we had everyone there we made the majority of the congregation that morning. That was great though bc we loved having everyone there! Christmas was great as well Elizabeth got lots of goodies from three different houses and Santa recieved the forwarding address for Uncle Chip and Glenda's house. Wow, Santa is sooooo smart!
In other news while we were home Elizabeth learned to pull up by herself, cut her first tooth, and had pink eye for the first time. Although the pink eye she had the day we left for MS. Still lots of first. Since getting back to Kansas she has started climbing the stairs and taking small steps behind her stroller and will wave to you sometimes. Dad has also taught her to do high five. This was taught while grocery shopping in Sam's. Oh, and we have another tooth coming in now as well. Mom is having a hard time keeping up these days but we are having a blast!
Hope everyone had a wonderful christmas and new year!

Lots of New Milestones

Over the past month we have had lots of first. To start Elizabeth is now crawling and chasing the cats. I think that the faster they move the faster she learns to crawl... She has also started pulling up on the hearth and will stand a little at the coffe table if you stand her up. I am not sure that I am ready for all of this and I know that the cats aren't. Peanut spends a lot of time in the closet on the top shelf now and Kiki is starting to get annoyed with Elizabeth pulling her tail. Poor kitties I hope they make it through these next few years with hair and tails in tact.

Last week we had two new firsts. Elizabeth graduated to the big bath tub for the first time and she loves it. I was really worried at first about it being too slippery and her being scared of the water but that is so not the case. As soon as I put her in the tub she dove face first for one of her toys and started splashing. She found this to be so funny and just giggled each time she splashed the water. Last night she wanted to chew on the stopper and stuck her face in the water to get to the stopper. This was a shock to her once her face hit the water. I guess she thought since she could see the stopper she could get it without getting her face in the water. She took it like a trooper though and did not get upset. The second of our first came on Wednesday of last week when I took her for her first day of daycare. This is not something I was wanting to do but with gentle urges from dad (ha ha) I finally made it to the church with her. Can you believe she did not even know that I left! So I called back about two hours later and they said she was doing great and playing with the other babies. I know that I should be happy that she did well but it really hurt my feeling when she didn't care that I left... Adam says that I should be careful what I wish for and I know that. I just thought she loved me a little more than that :)

Six Month Check Up

Well we had our six month check up last Thursday and of course the shots that come along with it. This time she was only suppose to get three but we added the flu so she ended up getting four. I have to say she takes it like a trooper which is much better than I would do. We discussed the choking incidents again and the doctor feels that she will grow out of it by nine months but would like to keep her on her reflux medicine until ten months to be safe. Elizabeth has slowed down a little in the growing department. She made it to 16lbs about a month and a half ago and is still at that weight which is in the 50th percentile. Her height 26 3/4 is in the 75th percentile and her head 17 1/2 is in the 95th percentile.

Thursday was no fun with the doctors visit and shots but Friday was great bc Uncle Jason came to see us. Well, we say he came to see us but we all know who he really came to visit :) Elizabeth was not sure what to do when she had to sit alone come Sunday... and her little head I think might be sore from so many kisses. Don't worry Aunt Sarah he gave her a few from you and Tyler to.

October Updates

Well it has been a while since we last posted and we have lots to tell. I have to start by saying that Elizabeth just turned six months old yesterday. Wow, we cannot believe that our sweet baby has been in this world six months. She has filled our life with such joy and laughter. I can't remember what we did before her.

So lets start with some updates. I am not sure if everyone new that we had a few choking scares and ended up in the emergency room a couple of weeks ago. Come to find out she has reflux and we are now on medicine twice a day. We go back to the doctor this week and will revisit the matter to see where we go from here. So far since starting the medicine we have not had anymore scares. Thank Heaven because mommy's heart couldn't take many more scares like that.

On a better note she has started drinking out of a sippy cup. About three weeks ago she started grabbing for my glass and drinking water out of it. So the next trip to Wal-Mart we bought a couple of sippy cups to try. I figured since she was showing an interest we should try it out. Can you believe she took right to it. She knows that the cups are hers and how to hold them. I was not expecting this for another couple of months. She has also started trying to crawl. She scooted across the floor three times on Thursday by herself but nothing since then. The last couple of days she will make it up on her knees and hands and rock a little then fall over. She is trying hard just can't get this coordination together yet.

Last week my mom was here so Elizabeth got to spend lots of time with Grandmother. This was nice until Grandmother left and Elizabeth wanted to be held all the time. Thankfully it only took about a day for her to realize mommy could not hold her all day and we were back to routine. What can we say though that is what Grandparents are for to spoil them and return them :) We also of course have had Halloween and Elizabeth was a Kitty Cat. She was so cute as you can see in the pictures. We took lots of pictures and some are with our neighbors kids.

I think I might be out of info for now. So we will post again after her doctors appointment this week.

Pumpkin Patch

Elizabeth had her first trip to the pumpkin patch this weekend. I have to say that mom and dad probably had more fun than she did though. She did so good and took some really good pictures. My two favorites are above.

Growing Too Fast

If I had a magic wand I would slow time down. It seemed like an eternity to get her into this world and now she is about to be five months old. Time is flying and she is growing way too fast!
This past week we started food which she loves. So far we have had squash and sweet potatoes each one she ate very well. After a couple of feedings she decided she wanted to help. Those sweet chubby little hands reach for the spoon and not a bite makes it to her mouth. Also this weekend she started sitting up by herself. Over the past week she had sat up for a few seconds alone and would then fall over. So Saturday I sat her in the middle of her boppy pillow and she started getting the hang of it. Each time she would stay up a little longer and by yesterday afternoon she was sitting for a few minutes without help. This achievment called for a new toy so I got out an activity table I had bought for christmas. She absolutely loved it. You would have thought it was christmas anyway with the way she squilled and giggled. Adam and I were just as excited as she was watching her. I went to move it one time so I could move her around on the pallet and she started leaning toward it and crying. UMMM... I wonder if she really liked it?

Fall Fever

Hi everyone! I thought I would spruce up the blog with a little of fall. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks we can get some good pictures of Elizabeth in the pumpkin patch posted. There is a great cider mill down the road from us with a corn maze and pumpkin patch that we are planning on visiting. We also have a little party to attend where Elizabeth has to wear a costume so I can't wait to get pictures of that posted. Hope everyone is having a great week!

The Last Few Weeks

Hi everyone. Sorry it has been so long since the last post. I have made multiple attempts to post but it has just not worked out so I thought I might try again. Miss Elizabeth is asleep for the moment so lets see how fast I can type:)

Over the past few weeks we have been home to MS, to the doctor for our 4 month shots, and (drum roll please) mom had a night out without Elizabeth. The last I feel was the hardest of all. I have to give dad thumbs up though he did a great job! Thanks Dad we love you! Our trip home was wonderful. We of course did not get to see everyone we would like and time seemed to fly. As our motto always goes we will try again next time. Also we have been to the doctor for out 4 month shots and are now officially on cereal each night. Thankfully she really likes it and it usually isn't a fuss to get her to eat. After her shots she was thrown off schedule for a few nights but we finally slept through the night again last night. It took over a week to settle back down. She usually runs a fever after her shots and checking her temp during the night throws off our schedule.

She has also started grasping things with both hands. Each day she is getting more steady with her hands. She has a couple of favorite rings and toys. The last couple of days she has shown interest in her little doll and a small frog. Peanut and KiKi are now interesting to her. She loves to watch them and sometimes gets to pet them. They don't usually sit long for that.

Well my little angel is up so I have to run for now. I will try to post a few pics sometime later today.

Elizabeth has been having a huge growth spurt the last week and a half. Her sleeping has been a little off and she has been a bit fussier than normal. Not to mention her appetite has been unbelievable. It seems that as soon as she is finished with one feeding she is ready for another and is very vocal about it. Adam and I actually gave her a little rice cereal on Saturday night to see if that would help fill her tummy better and it did. She slept until 10:30 Sunday morning. We mixed it really soupy but she would open her mouth for more each time she saw the spoon coming. Everything seems to be moving so fast with her I just wish she would slow down a little. This week she seems to be falling back into regular routine with naps and eating so hopefully our rather large growth spurt is over for now.

She has also found that she likes putting everything in her mouth. I am lucky to still have a arm these days. You can see in some of the pictures that she is mouthing everything. Also you will see that the neighbors wanted to pull her in the wagon and she was having nothing of that. One of the pictures is Elizabeth with Emily and they are reaching out to each other. I thought this was too cute.

We thought we would share our little angels first video with everyone. Just ignore the noises I am making in the background and focus on her. She is so cute laughing and smilling. You can't help but smile :) Enjoy!

Well, I think I might finally have a few minutes to update the blog. The last few times I have tried just didn't work. Elizabeth is a stage where she does not like mommy to focus on anything else but her. I had no idea that this would happen so fast but it is here so it is like a circus sometimes trying to get anything accomplished. With that said though I am enjoying every minute of her. There is something new everyday that amazes me. I never thought that I would be in such of awe of our daughter. God has given us an amazing blessing that brings us such joy each and every day.
Ok, enough mushy stuff. Over the past few weeks we have been busy. Elizabeth got to meet her great grandmother and great aunt for the first time. They of course were smitten with her. She also got to see her grandmother (my mom) again. We were so excited that they got to come and visit. Elizabeth enjoyed it of course bc she was held the whole time they were here and that she loved. We have also had our first road trip this last weekend to Indiana. Daddy graduated from Purdue University this past weekend so we went to see the comencement ceremony. Elizabeth did fairly well with the trip. She did get tired of her car seat and was thrown off schedule a little but otherwise she did great. We were very proud of Daddy but it was clear all weekend who daddy was proud of. Adam was the proud dad showing off his little girl. I believe the wrapping has already began :)