Elie Maitland Harpster is ONE!!!

Well, once again I don't even know where to start!! Too much emotion for me in such a short time with my "baby" turning three and then my real "baby" turning one. I have written this over and over in my head, mainly while running up in Forest Park where I have LOTS of time to reflect and think. I absolutely never could have imagined that the experience of having a daughter and second child could be so wonderful. Honestly, I did not think I even wanted a daughter. I was (and still am of course:)) scared of her being a brat, a teenager, a drama queen, and so on. But this little girl who was brought into our lives has truly brought nothing but pure joy.

Everyone told me that two children can be soooo different. What they don't talk about is how you as parents are different. We were so uptight and scared with Jack during his first year, it's no wonder that he screamed, did not sleep and needed CONSTANT attention. Well, with Elie being the second, it has been no such thing. She was mellow from the hour she came into this world. She slept 23 of 24 hours a day for the first three weeks of her life! She was a sweet, quiet observer from the get go, but has evolved into so much more.

Currently, Miss Elie is much less quiet, but continues to be a happy little soul. She wakes up happy, babbling in her crib for up to 45 minutes until we finally get her. She goes to bed at 630 pm and gets up at about 6 am. If she does wake up in the middle of the night, its just to talk to herself for a couple of minutes and then she drifts back to sleep on her own. Now, if we are away from home and her bed, she is pretty much a nightmare and will only sleep with us. She naps twice a day, but if we have something else going on she can definitely stay in a good mood with a missed nap. Tyee and I often fight over who will put her to bed because it is such a pleasant and satisfying experience.

In terms of eating, this girl is quite amazing!!!! She nursed really well for 10 months, but then was DONE and never looked back. She still drinks formula bottles about every 4 hours, but this girl could not get rid of baby food fast enough. She only has 2 tiny bottom teeth, but Elie eats whatever the rest of us are eating, and she out eats her brother most of the time!! She loves chicken, beef, turkey, all fruit, all veggies, all carbs, EVERYTHING!!! She eats Thai, Japanese, Italian, and just like her mama, Mexican is one of her faves. We are in constant awe of how much food this little lady ingests. A couple of weeks ago she weighed 19 pounds, which is really not much.

Motor wise, this girl has always been on the go. Currently, she is cruising everywhere, and her latest trick is that she stands up in the middle of the floor without grabbing onto or using anything. I mean, she has to hold onto a toy in each hand!! She has had one goose-egg from a header into the table (I was not there :)) and no other major injuries yet. She uses her hands to sign "more" on a very consistent basis and occasionally does "all done". She prefers to only finger feed and use a sippy cup. She can pick up the tiniest little piece of lint on the carpet to inspect it and then put it in her mouth. She seems right on track to me :)

I must admit my feelings were hurt when she was saying "dada" all the time and "JAA" for Jack and "DAAA" for dog, but nothing close to mama... until a couple of weeks ago!! Now she very purposefully says "mama" or "ama" when I come into the room or leave it. The first time she did it, I cried! She "talks" constantly all day long especially when she is off playing by herself. I just can not imagine what she will start to say in these next couple of years!

There are so many wonderful things when I think about having Elie as a daughter....there are the superficial things like buying girls clothes, thinking about doing her hair (which is in need of some serious front growth right now :)), and how much fun we will have shopping. But the bond that we have already built with this little girl is so amazing. I know she will give me a run for my money throughout the years, but I am ready to accept the challenge! I have already been given the reward in her short year of life so far. Thank you so much to all of our friends and family who have helped and listened as I have tried to adjust to having two young children. I could not have done it with any other baby than the Miss Els I was given. I believe that she is an angel from heaven with the best parts of both of my grandmothers. She is confident and sassy like my Blue Grandma was, and sweet and friendly like my Brown Grandma was. They would be so proud of their great-granddaughter!