Back to Indy

This weekend we took a trip back to Indianapolis to see our friends and former co-workers. We hadn't been back since we moved and were married, so we were due and everyone wanted to see Logan and meet Elise. The opportunity to head back to our old neighborhood and revisit the city where Derek and I first met is always a great time as well. I think both of us would agree that when we first drove into the city, it was still so fresh and familiar to us that we felt like we never left. As we drove by several places we kept saying "Remember we loved going there" or "Wow that's new" or "I wish they had this in Columbus", etc.

We spent all day Saturday on the go. Poor Elise was pretty fussy with all the events that took place. She's gotten into such a routine with daycare, feedings, naps and such that having a different schedule and environment isn't always so fun for her. But she made it through!

We were able to meet up with Derek's old high school friend and his wife for lunch at one of our favorite restaurants. We managed to go into downtown to take our familiar walk along the canal on such a gorgeous day. We went to watch the Butler girls volleyball game. Then, we met up with a bunch of our former co-workers and their families for a cookout later that night.

Today we attended Derek's old church for their Sunday morning service and had lunch afterwards with several church friends. It was a great time reconnecting! Our short weekend visit then came to an end as we drove back home just in time for Derek to grab his hockey gear and head over to his game tonight. Which, by the way, his team won and Derek scored a goal!!

So here it is...Several things we learned from our trip back to Indy:

1. Found at least 3 of the Starbucks that we regularly visited were closed down. :(

2. A Five Guys is now located in our old neighborhood.

3. We REALLY wish Scotty's Brewhouse would branch out and open up a restaurant in Columbus!

4. Derek's old church has a new pastor.

5. We don't miss our old employer, and although we miss living in Indy, we are glad we moved.

6. We realized how many great friends we left behind.

7. Everyone's kids have grown leap and bounds!

8. Downtown Indy is still a cool place to hang out.

First Cereal

Today we decided to start giving Elise rice cereal. She is just about to turn 5 months old, and the doctor said we could start anytime between 4 to 6 months old. Just in the last few weeks she has been hungry more often and not quite satisfied after she finishes a feeding. So, not knowing how she would respond to eating from a spoon instead of the bottle, we went for it!

The first couple bites she responded with a "sour" face like she wasn't sure about this and that it tasted a bit different from what's in her bottle. But after she took a taste, she showed her enjoyment in trying something new! And after the initial spoonfuls, she began eating like a pro! She did spit back out a good amount of the cereal we fed to her, but she ate much more than I expected she would. She even got to the point where she was ready for the next bite and opened her mouth wide open for the spoon. She's such a quick learner - for some reason I expected it to take a few days before she got the hang of it.

Logan took a turn to feed her a few times too! He was so excited about it!

She ended up eating the WHOLE bowl of cereal we made. She's such a good eater! :-)

All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth!

Logan had three very loose teeth last week, and he kept tugging and tugging on them. He pulled a tooth (#4) out from the bottom of his mouth early in the week, and his top two teeth were just about ready to come out also.

He pulled the first top one (#5) out during music class last Thursday, and then Friday pulled the second top one (#6) out at some point during school as well! He came home both days with his teeth saved in a little plastic ziplock bag so that he could put them under his pillow that night. He really cashed in - three teeth pulled out in one week!!! He kept the tooth fairy busy! :)

Now he can finally sing..."All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!" Yay!! :)

4 Month Checkup

This week we took Elise to her 4 month checkup. Of course, we had to endure the not so fun shots again. It breaks my heart when I hear her cry and cry. :-(

She has really grown since the last appointment we had at 2 months. She now weighs 14 lbs 3 oz (almost double her birth weight) and is 25 inches long! She is measuring in the 75th percentile on everything - head size, weight, and height.

While we were checking in for her appointment, I heard two kids called in to see the doctor from the waiting room and one was named Elise. At first I thought that they were already calling my little girl back, but we hadn't fully gotten through the check in yet, so that couldn't be it. Then, I mentioned aloud that there must be another Elise. The girl's mom heard me and asked if that was my daughter's name and I told her it was.

Then, her daughter came back out, and the mother proceeded to explain to her that my little baby is named Elise too. The girl was probably about 13-14 years old. She then showed me a box of these asian wafer cookies made in both chocolate and vanilla that were named "Elise". Wow! She gave me a vanilla one to try.

The back of the wrapper had the name "Elise" written in Japanese (I later found out which language it was by searching the internet). How cool is that??