Making the first move

Well Elise has pined over Brody for many months now.  A little scratch here, a little punch there...Nothing too serious until now.  She decided just to dive right in- skip the serious hand holding and plant a big one right on him!  I would like to think Brody enjoyed the action, but he played the situation pretty cool, no big fuss or excitement.  Things like that happen everyday for him I'm sure (the women flocking) but this was a big moment for Elise=)  All jokes aside, Elise really does enjoy playing with the Toone's, sometimes more than Bryan and me I think.  We have a lot of fun together and like Bry and Joey always say, we'll just have to break out the "For Strength of Youth" pamphlet a little early for these two. 

In other news- it's sunny finally. After what seemed like an eternity of monsoon's the south has risen again and we're enjoying basking in the sunlight.  We snagged these pictures after church of Elise playing in the grass- (Don't be fooled- she was dressed for church, she's not that fancy everyday.) Elise's only mode of transportation is walking now- no more of her special monkey crawling..I know..heartbreaking.  She likes to tear down our hill thinking she will jump in the creek with me unawares- but she's faster in her mind than her feet so I'm still sane at this point. The only insanity she has brought me is the new temper tantrums she throws at church and various public places, but she's learning to control her emotions (mainly anger) more and more. In between tantrums, she loves to make everyone laugh by saying "amen" at the end of every testimony and prayer- which is quite adorable.  She can say all kind of things like "ssssippee" for sippie cup, back, bath, more, eye, nose, book, toe, car, dog, woof, no, hannah and Elmo- her new OBSESSION (it started as Melmo, then went to Momo, and now she can actually say Elmo- she gets lots of practice as she says his name about 100 times a day).  She can say mama and dada like a pro and is working on Grandma, Grammie, shoe, truck, and sock.  She loves to imitate us which makes us laugh. I have to get a video of her on here where she smells something stinky because she has learned to squint her eyes, scrunch her nose, and wave her hand - Quite hilarious.  Elise is quite a happy child. She had 10 teeth now, including 2 molars which make life just peachy when they hurt=)  

She is by far the brightest spot in my life.  She is quick to forgive, kiss, hug, and snuggle.  She loves to laugh with us, at us, and all by herself.  I feel so special to be a mom.  Of course it can be stressful, sometimes menial, but it is always rewarding.  It is the right thing for me to be doing- and the best. I really do love the dedication, teaching, and self-mastery it requires.  I love being silly with Elise, watching Bryan play with her, and knowing that I have an eternal family that makes me truly happy. 

Well I am done being sentimental now, moving onto more worldly things- we got a new computer!!!! I am actually typing every letter "b" and "n" without the copy and paste function- that was a long 6 months of insanity.  We got an iMac which we are really pleased with. We also got a new computer armoire which I built myself - well from the package per the instructions - but quite an accomplishment for me..even though it took me a solid day to complete (with Elise's help of course).  

This has gotten lengthy so I will stop now- its just so liberating having all the keys!!!!!!