The Phipps Update

Duncan is 34 weeks old

2012-01-21T17:48:00.000-08:00

Duncan turned 34 weeks old four Wednesdays ago.

He started eating puffs this week! And we were really surprised to see him use the pincer grasp already with the very first puff!

He is still struggling to make the transition into his mouth, but he certainly enjoys trying!

Yum! Puffs!

We brought out the standing block table for Duncan. He still needs careful supervision, as he often slides right off the table!

He has enjoyed being able to stand while studying the table.

And Duncan is even thinking about crawling! He just started leaning over from a standing position.

As soon as he gets the leg free, he flops to his belly (and then starts crying within the next 10 seconds). But this is a very promising start!

Merry Christmas!

2012-01-20T14:28:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve, we got all dressed up for church. Here is our little angel wearing her flower girl dress yet again!

While we were all sleeping, Santa Claus came to Grandma and Grandpa's house. He enjoyed some cookies, and the reindeer ate some of the carrots we left for them.

On Christmas morning, Duncan was the last one awake! We all waited rather impatiently in Mommy and Daddy's bed. Then it was finally time to head downstairs!

Santa brought Elsie and Duncan a wagon! They were both very excited to sit in the wagon for a ride. Elsie even got outside for a few rides, including a long one up to Leah's house and back!

Duncan was excited, but still waking up a bit!

We opened our stockings and found lots of great little things Santa brought us.

Elsie had asked for and received a black jacket from Santa, and Duncan got a cool, new jumper!

Of course, Duncan was pretty fascinated with the wrapping paper.

Elsie got a cookie set for Christmas. She really loves it! She can cut the cookies, bake them, and then feed them to Baby.

"You have to be quiet. Baby is sleeping."

Duncan was dressed in his Merry Christmas jumper from J-Ma.

And got a great should ride from Dad!

I love this picture! Our Elsie ballerina hard at work on her new tool set!

After a great Christmas dinner, Leah and Elsie had a great time playing a new game with Aunt Kris! I was surprised to learn that Elsie is old enough to play board games - she is getting so old!

And Jack helped out Grandma by washing down the counters...while wearing purple gloves. What a great son!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

2012-01-20T14:08:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Grandma Jan's birthday with her at the farm. Duncan and Grandma spent some time playing together on the floor.

Duncan even shared his favorite monkey with Grandma!

Elsie and Leah pretended to be monsters!

And after Grandma's birthday dinner the girls chased Grandma around the house roaring their terrible roars!

Duncan is 33 weeks old

2012-01-15T15:14:00.000-08:00

Duncan turned 33 weeks old four Wednesdays ago. We were all so excited about Christmas just a few days away!

Christmas Cookies!

2012-01-15T14:52:00.000-08:00

We baked many Christmas Cookies this year! Duncan isn't quite old enough to be super helpful, so Daddy strapped him into the Baby Bjorn and kept him safe behind the apron.

Elsie and Daddy kept a very close eye on the cookies!

We made fudge again this year, and did a better job this time. It gets a little tricky on the induction stove. Elsie immediately brought her stool over to the cutting board.

She found a small piece just calling out her name.

Yum!! Fudge!

Mommy's friend, Kristin, came over to help make some cookies. And Elsie showed her how to decorate them with sprinkles.

Elsie helped get the dough ready to cut the shapes. She pressed it down onto the floured surface.

And then rolled it out with the rolling pin.

So very carefully.

Even Duncan helped cut some cookies. And when I wasn't watching, he snuck some into his mouth. He didn't have any complaints, and didn't get salmonella either. Phew.

Then he got a hold of the spatula. Big shiny metal thing!

Time to wave it around!

These need more sprinkles! Elsie was very attentive to detail, making sure that every cookie was covered with sprinkles. We had a lot of fun, and the cookies were so yummy!

Duncan is 32 weeks old

2012-01-15T13:28:00.001-08:00

Duncan turned 32 weeks old five Wednesdays ago!

Duncan is thinking about crawling...and not liking the idea.

Great job pushing your shoulders up so high Duncan! He can do this for about a minute...

...before he starts crying out for help!

But he is really enjoying standing! I propped him up at the chair, and he was pretty excited! He promptly fell down as soon as I took this picture. I think we have a few head bumps in our near future!

Duncan had a lot of fun at school this past week. Playing with blue play doh.

Walking along the new texture mat.

So excited to feel the great textures on his bare feet! And he is standing!

The class also did paper mache.

The teachers told us that Duncan had the longest attention span of the class during this activity. When they finished up, Duncan was so upset.

Glue and guitars!

2012-01-15T13:06:00.000-08:00

Elsie has been using glue sticks at school for a while now. She brought home a little project they had worked on - gluing shapes to a piece of paper. Elsie wanted to continue this project at home, so we cut up some shapes and tried our glue stick...hard as a rock. So, I brought out the real Elmer's glue. Elsie loved it!

More and more and more glue!

And then stick on the shape.

We all made a guitar at Elsie's family night a couple months ago. It made its way home, and Elsie has been playing it every night. We taped it over her shoulder just like Scribble Jim (the music enrichment teach at school).

Playing the guitar.

Check out this video for some great guitar playing!

O Christmas Tree!

2012-01-15T12:54:00.000-08:00

The week after the Polar Express, we started getting all of the decorations out, including the Santa hats.

Elsie really loved wearing hers...and loved putting Duncan's on too.

We went to a local church to pick out our tree. I had these fun memories of tree shopping when I was younger, but Elsie and Duncan weren't in the mood for Christmas tree shopping. It was cold, and Elsie was not loving the snowpants I made her wear in the car. And Duncan was just too sleepy.

We just pushed the tree right into the car between Elsie and Duncan.

After Daddy put the tree into the stand, we started hanging the ornaments.

Elsie was a really big help hanging all of the ornaments. There are a lot of ornaments right at Elsie's eye level on the tree! Especially on the front of the tree!

And Duncan was excited to grab at the bright, shiny balls!

First Snow!

2011-12-24T07:33:00.000-08:00

We had our first snow of the season here on Friday, December 9. I was home that day, so Elsie asked to put on her snow gear right away!

She ran around in the back yard making tracks in the snow.

I got Duncan all bundled up in his snowsuit, then we went out to enjoy the tiny bit of snow. It only stuck around for a few days before the warmer weather melted it all away. I am sure there is more to come this winter!

Duncan is 31 weeks old

2011-12-23T20:04:00.000-08:00

Duncan turned 31 weeks old three Wednesdays ago.

Duncan is getting pretty good with his baby food, eating 3 small servings each day. He really likes to help with the feedings by grabbing the spoon!

Sometimes he helps guide the spoon to his mouth. Other times, I think he is trying to get the spoon into his ear or eye or something.

Elsie has been helping Duncan get into the Christmas spirit! Sure, the hat has sequins on it, but Duncan still loves it!

Duncan is absolutely in love with his monkey! It moves around singing, and Duncan just squeals and laughs! The monkey is supposed to encourage babies to get up a crawl. No such luck yet, but we still have a great time with the monkey.

Monkey monkey monkey!

Elsie likes to join us when we play on the ground. We all end up wrestling, tickling, rolling around and laughing.

Duncan has suck a great laugh!

And of course, hop on pop is a favorite!

The Polar Express

2011-12-23T18:02:00.000-08:00

The first weekend of December, we embarked on a journey on the Polar Express! We boarded the train in Elmhurst and set out on our one hour ride to the North Pole.

Duncan enjoyed the view, watching all of the homes and cars pass by the window.

We all ate cheese, crackers, and pepperoni on the way to the North Pole as we listed to the reading of "The Polar Express." Elsie has her special ticket ready for the conductor.

When we got to the North Pole, Santa joined us on the train. He stopped by to talk to each child and ask what they wanted for Christmas. Elsie asked for a tiger (a stuffed tiger), a black jacket, and Christmas lights. Elsie was a little apprehensive about sitting near Santa, but did a great job talking with him from from Mommy's lap.

When it was time to get her picture taken with Santa, she was still a little too nervous.

On the way back to Elmhurst, we sung carols and played with our sticker book.

We had a great time on the Polar Express!

Duncan is 30 weeks old

2011-12-23T12:00:00.000-08:00

Duncan turned 30 weeks old four Wednesdays ago. Besides having a great time and the farm during his 30th week, Duncan is really becoming an explorer! He digs in his toy basket for just the right toy.

And then it goes straight his mouth!

Hi Mom! Look what I found!

Duncan had a teddy bear picnic at school, and brought his favorite giraffe with him!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-12-16T11:55:00.001-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving at the farm this year. Some of Kris's family joined us, as well. Grandma Betty came from Utah, and Susan, Chuck, Joshua, Carson, and Lydia drove from South Carolina. The extra people gave Grandpa a great excuse to get his toys...I mean tools..out and build an extension to the dining room table.

Elsie was a little overwhelmed by all of the boy activities - Nerf gun, battle ax, and bow and arrow!

Elsie and Leah had a great time jumping on top of Grandpa! This activity was revisited several times throughout the weekend.

We all got outside for some football...

...and some hop on pop!

It was a bit too windy outside for Duncan, so we came back inside to play with Lydia, who is exactly one month older than Duncan.

Grandma and Duncan got in some good snuggle time over the weekend!

Aunt Kris's family always does a craft after Thanksgiving. Kris prepared some great crafts this year, and we got to use Grandpa's new craft room (his new woodworking shed)!

We all strung beads onto string to make Christmas necklaces.
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Elsie was really engaged by this activity. She strung on all of the beads by herself!

Duncan provided some good entertainment for the kids, and he loved the attention from all of the big kids!

Snuggles with Grandpa!

Elsie and Leah fit in some good reading time with Grandpa.

Duncan was super excited by the giant Lazarus - Maizy! Elsie, however, was scared of Maizy's licks, so Maizy had to sit outside most of the weekend. Elsie was perfectly content playing with Maizy when a pane of glass separated the two of them.

Elsie helped Grandma out at the compost pile using this Elsie-sized wheelbarrow.

Elsie is Star Student

2011-12-16T11:32:00.000-08:00

Each week, a different student in the Preschool Prep room is the Star Student. On Monday, the Star Student presents pictures about their life. Throughout the week, these pictures are posted on the Star Student board. In addition, the Star Student gets to be the "concierge" and hold the door open for the class. Elsie was the Start Student for a week in November, and here were her pictures.

At first, Elsie started so small

And now she is so tall

Elsie's favorite book is Dora's Rainbow Egg Hunt

Her favorite food is pizza

This is her favorite yoga pose.

And her favorite song is the "ABCs"

Elsie had two cats, Betty and Lazarus

Elsie's family

Elsie and her brother, Duncan

Happy Elsie playing outside

And Elsie with her cousins, John and Leah

Duncan is 29 weeks old

2011-12-10T04:45:00.000-08:00

Three Wednesdays ago, Duncan turned 29 weeks old.

Duncan is really getting good at the jumper!!

And Duncan had a fun time painting at school!

Duncan's baptism

2011-12-10T03:48:00.000-08:00

Grandma and Grandpa stayed with us for Duncan's baptism. Elsie and Duncan both got a lot of reading time with Grandpa!

On November 20, we got all dressed up for Duncan's baptism.

Elsie was so excited to wear her flower girl dress again!

The baptism is near the end of a regular Sunday service. Elsie did a good job waiting patiently with us in the pew while coloring and eating Cheerios. Duncan got a little fussy halfway through and then fell asleep.

Duncan was asleep for the entire baptism!

Even the water did not wake him up!

Congratulations Duncan!

Duncan is 28 weeks old

2011-12-09T11:37:00.000-08:00

Four Wednesdays ago, Duncan turned 28 weeks old!

He is sitting well now, especially when there is something in front of him to grab on to. Elsie and Duncan play very nicely together...when they can both use a toy at the same time!

We have brought down some new toys for Duncan. He is having a lot of fun banging on the pianos!

Sometimes he gets so excited that he tips right over!

This week, Duncan had a playdate with his friend, Anya. Anya live right next door and is only 2.5 weeks younger than Duncan. Sandy and I think they will be great friends!

Anya was very interested in Duncan and kept reaching out for him. It took Duncan a little while to notice she was there...typical boy!

Duncan is still loving the jumper! I can get a few minutes of computer work done in the office with Duncan in the jumper.

Duncan helped Daddy with the last of the leaves this week. It was warm but very windy out! It is so hard to bag leaves in the wind!

Duncan enjoyed his time outside in the exersaucer!

Duncan is still a very smiley baby at school! They have been studying the color red.

I am having so much fun painting with my red paint and red apple.

Time to get serious about my artwork!

Duncan turns 27 weeks old

2011-11-26T18:18:00.000-08:00

Three Wednesdays ago, Duncan turned 27 weeks old. During this week, he had his 6 month checkup. Duncan weighted 19lb 8oz, measured 27.5" in length and his head circumference was 44.7cm. Duncan's length and weight have moved down into the 85th percentile range.

In can now leave Duncan alone when he is sitting up. I put the boppy around him, just to be sure he is OK. This has allowed us to bring down a whole bunch of new toys that can be enjoyed when sitting up!

Duncan really likes watching the fire in our stove. He reminds me of my Papa on holidays.

Duncan loves to interact with us by laughing, talking, jumping around, or just going crazy! Check out these videos.

Duncan and Elsie have a lot of fun playing together. Elsie helps entertain Duncan when we are getting dinner ready at night.

Duncan really laughs now when he is tickled. It is so much fun!

Duncan has been learning some new things at school, including feathers.

They still like playing with clay at school, too.

The teachers have brought out a few fun activities for fall. Duncan really liked the leaves hanging from his toy bar.

Duncan is 26 weeks old.

2011-11-25T18:53:00.000-08:00

Four Wednesdays ago, Duncan turned 26 weeks old.

Duncan has started talking a lot about "Dada" lately! I have tried teaching him how to say "Mama," but no luck so far.

Duncan drools a lot when he gets talking!

Elsie got to visit Duncan in the Infant room this week. Duncan gets so excited when Elsie come to see him!

Duncan also has a lot of fun sitting at the big table reading books. His teachers say he has a long attention span for his age, and can sit for a while reading books.

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-25T17:53:00.000-08:00

Elsie got to celebrate Halloween at school this year by dressing up for the "Dress up in Words" Vocabulary word parade. She was assigned the word "bells." Elsie made her own bracelets and anklets by stringing the beads onto the elastic string.

And on Halloween morning, she got dressed up as bells!

And she was very excited to demonstrate the jingling bells.

On the afternoon of Halloween, Elsie got dressed as the princess Cinderella and Duncan became a panda bear.

It was a nice cool afternoon, so our panda bear had fuzzy green paws!

Elsie was excited to go trick or treating for candy this year.

We made it to a few houses before we came back home for our first break.

And Elsie enjoyed her first snack.

Yum! Pretzels!

Then it was time to go back out for some more candy!

Duncan did a great job on his first Halloween. Our adorable panda!

Mommy's friend, Serena, was in town and came by to enjoy Halloween with us. Go Big Red!

Autumn Adventures

2011-11-25T15:02:00.000-08:00

We have been having a lot of fun this Fall. Elsie often initiates playing "train" on Mommy or Daddy with both Duncan and Elsie piled on one of our laps for some "choo chooing."

We have been outside raking leaves. Duncan is such a content baby that he just comes along for the ride.

Elsie has gotten old enough to actually help us...when she is not running through the leaf piles.

Elsie jumped into the leaves and asked for me to cover her up and take a picture. So cute!

Our neighbor works for a museum that had a scarecrow building activity. Sandy brought over the extra materials, and we got to make a scarecrow, too!

He was prominently displayed on our front porch for the Halloween season.

Daddy cozied up with the kids for a great picture.

On Fridays, we have been having a lot of fun hanging out at the house.

We get to do something fun every Friday. This time, we went to the park. Elsie climbed up, smiled real pretty, and asked "Don't you want to take my picture?"

At a birthday party for a neighbor, Elsie learned about static electricity with a balloon!

We took this great picture one Friday to send to Daddy at work

Duncan is 25 weeks old

2011-11-23T19:16:00.000-08:00

Four weeks ago, Duncan turned 25 weeks old.

Duncan is now a grabber! He has gotten really good at grabbing his toys, waving them around, and passing them from one hand to the next.

Look at how fast that rattle is moving!

One of Duncan's favorite toys at the moment is this soft book. It crinkles when he touches it and he loves to hear the noise.

He can lay on his back and play with this book for 10 minutes at a time!

He likes to put the book in his mouth and the crinkling can get so loud!

Here is a great video of Duncan playing with his book.

The book can even keep him occupied during tummy time!

Duncan has also started going crazy for this ball.

He uses two hands to bat it around and try to grab onto it.

Here is a video of Duncan enjoying the ball!

Duncan has also started sitting up by himself at home!

Duncan has been doing great at school.

They are still getting to go outside and experience all that fall as to offer.

He is practicing sitting at school in the Bumbo. Elsie likes to pick out the Bumbo for him to use in the morning when we drop off Duncan in the Infant room.

Arranging pumpkins as part of their artist explorations.

And every one's favorite finger painting!

Duncan turns 24 weeks old

2011-11-20T14:01:00.000-08:00

Five Wednesdays ago, Duncan turned 24 weeks old. The majority of the week was spent in PA celebrating Uncle Pete and Aunt Kate's wedding. While we were there, Duncan mastered picking up his binky while in his crib.

Duncan can pass the binky between hands.

He is still working on figuring out how to get it in his mouth the right way!

Duncan had another great week at school, loving the triangle mirror.

And playing with boxes!

Duncan had his first family night. We played with the insides of the pumpkin.

And painted some pumpkins to take home. The pumpkins have become the centerpieces on our kitchen table.

Post-wedding party

2011-11-20T13:40:00.000-08:00

The Saturday after the wedding, it was time to head back to J-ma and Papa Pete's house for some relaxation and food.

Uncle Pete snuggled up with Duncan.

Two handsome boys!

Uncle Pete game Elsie a good squeeze. Elsie ate goodies all day. Every time I turned around, another family member was offering her M&M's!

Elsie had fun on a walk with cousins Kenzie and Kathleen.

Papa showed off the airplane he has been helping to build. Just a little bigger than the model airplanes he typically builds!

The family was fascinated by all of the work they have done.

Uncle Pete and Aunt Kate's wedding!!

2011-11-20T11:59:00.000-08:00

On Friday, October 13, we all piled into J-Ma and Papa Pete's van to attend Pete and Kate's rehearsal. Elsie and Baby were excited to climb into the way back to sit next to Aunt Becky and Aunt Candice.

On Friday, October 14, Elsie got dressed in her flower girl clothes, with a princess dress, shoes, tights, bracelet and headband. We even put "curlies" in her hair!

All the girls got to hang out before the wedding, taking pictures, eating snacks, and helping Aunt Kate prepare for her big moment!

Daddy looked so handsome as one of Uncle Pete's groomsmen.

And Mommy looked gorgeous as a bridesmaid.

Elsie did a fantastic job walking down the aisle with Dylan and Tessa. She looked right at Uncle Pete and walked straight towards him.

Uncle Pete shed several tears as Kate turned the corner and headed down the aisle.

The weather cleared up for the ceremony and we got to take our pictures outside.

Elsie did a great job listening and following directions while we posed for our pictures.

Say cheese everybody!

The sun broke through the clouds for Kate and Pete's pictures! Just gorgeous!

The new Bullard clan! Welcome to the family Aunt Kate!

Elsie and Tessa had a great time breaking in the dance floor. They had a lot of fun dancing around and kept the guests entertained during dinner.

I guess it is pretty typical for 2-year olds to have their hands in their mouths...

Once Elsie realized that Tessa took her shoes off, Elsie had to take hers off too! Dylan provided a helping hand as Coach of the flower girls.

Our beautiful Elsie bear!

Duncan did a great job, too. He hung out for the ceremony, cocktail hour, and beginning of the reception. Everybody pitched in and took turns holding Duncan, including Becky's boyfriend, Eddie.

Elsie didn't even spill on her dress during dinner!

Elsie and Daddy on the dance floor!

Elsie and Mommy danced with Great Aunt Viki and Uncle Roy.

And Elsie danced with J-Ma and Papa Pete. Around 9:30, she decided she was ready to go back, so she and Jack headed back to the hotel.

J-Ma, Mommy, and Becky hit the dance floor!

The Bullard women.

So proud of Uncle Pete! We were all so honored to be part of his big day! Congrats!

Fall Festival

2011-11-13T19:23:00.001-08:00

We had a lot of fun at the Elmhurst Fall Festival. It was 85F, so we skipped the official Halloween costumes. Elsie wore a tutu and went as a ballerina!

And Duncan dressed up like Daddy!

Elsie took her first pony ride.

After a timid start, she did great! Ava is on the pony behind Elsie.

After some trick or treating, Elsie painted a pumpkin to bring home.

Duncan is 23 weeks old

2011-11-13T18:55:00.000-08:00

Five Wednesdays ago, Duncan turned 23 weeks old. Not a whole lot of pictures from this week. Duncan is really enjoying rattles this week!! Up and down. Shake shake!

Look! A hand!

Where did my rattle go?

Duncan is 22 weeks old

2011-11-04T19:05:00.001-07:00

Finally a new blog post! Five Wednesdays ago, Duncan turned 22 weeks old!

Duncan's hair was getting in his eyes, so I decided it was time for his first haircut! We did it right on the changing table, and it went great. Check out the new shorter cut in these end-of-week photos!

When I am getting dressed in the morning or need to get some laundry done, I will put Duncan in the crib with the mobile on. Then I hand him this super soft giraffe all wound up playing "Twinkle Twinkle." He will normally grab on and start mouthing it!

Within the course of taking a few photos, he had flung the giraffe above his head and grabbed on to his pants instead!

It has gotten cooler outside, but we are still taking advantage of the sun to get out to the park. Duncan prefers being in the Baby Bjorn to the stroller these days. And Elsie prefers to be in the stroller.

Duncan has gotten big enough to swing! He doesn't go very high yet, but he seems to enjoy it.

Of course, he really loves it when Elsie pushes him!

After the park, Duncan was in a great mood, and we got some great shots snuggling with Daddy.

Daddy and Duncan!

I have a tongue!

I was in the kitchen doing the dishes, and I heard Elsie and Duncan playing nicely together! So cute!

Duncan is loving "the office" these days. He has figured out how to get the toys in his mouth.

And give me great big smiles at the same time!

Duncan had another fun week at school. It was time to harvest the vegetables they had planted this summer, and Duncan got to experience a carrot.

Duncan and Avery in the triangle mirror.

Duncan is 21 weeks old

2011-10-02T19:03:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, Duncan turned 21 weeks old.

He was unhappy sitting upright for these photos, so he moved into his "How you doin?" pose!

Duncan has all new tricks this week! He is really grabbing onto his toys (and my hair, face, and neck). He can push the button on the fish to make him sing. And he can bring rattles to his face - not quite all the way to his mouth yet.

His torso has gotten much stronger, and he can now stay upright in the exersaucer without slumping. He is pretty obsessed with this clear spinning ball with beads in it.

Daddy, Duncan, and Elsie enjoyed watching the Bears game last weekend with a Bears snack, goldfish. Duncan already has the belly of a linebacker!

Duncan is getting more into his food. He can eat about 5 small spoonfuls before calling it quits.

Duncan really does not like being on the boppy (or on his tummy at all) at home. It must be the gigantic mirror that keeps him interested at school!

A new younger infant, Avery, arrived at Elmhurst Academy. Duncan now has another stationary playmate!

So excited to be at the big table!

Duncan can be so serious sometimes! Here he is concentrating on the dirt, scraping his fingers through it, and trying to create mud with his drool!

Independent Elsie

2011-10-02T18:46:00.000-07:00

Elsie has become extremely independent these days. She has been potty training since July, and can make it through some days without an accident. For all of the other days, I have purchased a lot of pants for Fall!

Elsie can completely dress and undress herself...and sometimes before you know it, she is sitting naked in the living room playing! [I think this one will be a good one to show during her rehearsal dinner one day!]

Elsie is a big helper around the house. She likes to use the dust buster she gave me for my birthday, but she also likes to help with the other vacuums. This one is great, since the wand is telescoping - one size for Elsie and one size for Mommy!

The Dyson is much heavier, but she is getting the hang of it!

Elsie can now use the big girl swings at the park. Lately, though, her preference is to swing on her belly.

Duncan is 20 weeks old

2011-10-02T18:11:00.000-07:00

Two Wednesdays ago, Duncan turned 20 weeks old. During this week, we went in for Duncan's 4-month checkup. He now weighs 17lb, 9oz and is 26.25in long. His head circumference measures 42.9cm.

With the 4-month mark, we started rice cereal! He was not very interested in this new substance. Instead he opted for some of Mommy's milk.

We also started letting Duncan "comfort himself" at bed time. This means, we let him cry himself to sleep. About half the time, he still falls asleep while nursing, so the process is being a bit drawn out. So far, the worst was a one hour crying fit in the middle of the night. Fortunately, Elsie did not wake up!

When he is awake during the day, he is a lot of fun. He is a pretty content baby. He doesn't get a whole lot of one-on-one time with Mommy and Daddy, since Elsie always wants to play, too. So, we try to maximize our time with Duncan during Elsie's nap time on the weekends!

Duncan had a lot of great pictures from this week at school. Here he is exploring the blocks containing pictures of the students' bodies to correspond with the Karen Katz books they are reading this month.

Time outside!

Duncan's first painting! He had blue spots in his hair when he came home that day!

Duncan has started sitting at the big table with the older students. He is propped up and held snug with a blanket.

So many Duncans!

Duncan turned 19 weeks old

2011-10-02T17:55:00.000-07:00

Duncan turned 19 weeks old...3 Wednesdays ago! To add to the constant drooling, Duncan likes chewing on his fingers and thumbs now!

We've tried out the swing again, and he seems to like it much better. He likes staring at the mounted toy trying to make it move!

Elsie likes pushing Duncan and pushing the buttons to make music (and in the process, pushing our buttons!).

Not too hard Elsie!

Duncan has started talking. I was able to catch some of it in the video. But, as soon as the camera comes out, Duncan forgets about whatever trick he was just demonstrating!

Duncan is doing well at school. They started studying clay for a project this month. Even little Duncan gets to participate! The teachers said he was so excited to get his hands in the clay. We got to play with some clay, as well, during curriculum night - that stuff is messy!

Duncan is up to 1-2 bottles of formula at school each day. He seems to like it just fine. Expect pictures of a chubbier Duncan coming soon!

Duncan is 18 weeks old

2011-09-11T12:37:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, Duncan turned 18 weeks old.

He was super smiley for the camera!

We tried Duncan in the exersaucer again. He seems to be big enough for it now.

He was so excited, he just kept waving his arms around, looking at the baby in the mirror!

Duncan also started back at school this week. He gets to go outside in the stroller.

And play inside with his teachers!

Phipps Farm - Fall

2011-09-11T12:22:00.000-07:00

By Monday, it had turned to fall! We headed back up to the apple trees and picked some apples.

And of course, we ate some apples!

We played for a long time on the swing set. Grandma got a workout in while pushing the two girls, and John and I played soccer (with Duncan in the Baby Bjorn). The men were hard at work constructing Grandma's greenhouse.

Elsie and Leah even figured out how to swing by themselves on the double swing!

Phipps Farm - Summer

2011-09-11T11:57:00.000-07:00

We headed down to the farm for an extra long Labor Day weekend. It was very warm on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (upper 90s) so we got in some great end-of-the season pool time.

Elsie and Leah just love playing with Daddy / Uncle Jack.

Grandpa took Elsie for a swim.

And Uncle Jack took Leah.

Grandma cuddled with Duncan under the umbrella, and he fell fast asleep.

Elsie got in a lot of reading time with Grandpa.

And Grandma entertained Duncan on the floor.

At one point, Duncan rolled over while playing, and was looking very sleepy. I just let him snuggle in with his thumb and he fell asleep by himself!

So precious!

Elsie helped keep Duncan busy by setting up these books around him. She is such a great helper!

Elsie was pretty friendly with Maizy this time, giving her some nice pets.

And then Elsie would run away when Maizy got too licky!

There were many apples ready for eating up at Aunt Kris and Uncle Aaron's house. Elsie does not normally like apples, but was a huge fan of these!

We walked over to the corn and threw in the apple core when we were all done.

Happy Birthday Mommy!

2011-09-11T11:45:00.001-07:00

Because we were going to be heading down to the farm on my actual birthday, we celebrated a day early...at breakfast to ensure we made it through most of the cake before we left!

I received a lot of great gifts, like a Keurig coffee maker and ballet tickets. Elsie gave me a little Dirt Devil vacuum, and Dad ensured me that Elsie would be the one to use it under her seat after meals. We'll see...

Staycation 2011 - Trains and Watering the flowers

2011-09-11T11:23:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday of our Staycation, we rode on a train! Elsie's first real train ride! We sat on the top level one way, and then the bottom level on the way home. Elsie held on tight to her ticket during the entire trip.

We took the train to Glen Ellyn to a train restaurant! The food arrived on a train, Thomas the Tank Engine was playing on two TVs, and there was a lot of train whistles! Elsie had a lot of fun (still holding onto her train ticket).

Choo choo!

We had time in the evening to get back out to our flower beds and water our flowers. Elsie asked to help water the flowers...and instead started watering Mommy!

We had a lot of fun running around the front yard!

Duncan turns 17 weeks old

2011-08-31T19:28:00.000-07:00

Duncan turned 17 weeks old today. (I am caught up with the blogs!)

This week, Duncan learned that tummy time isn't so bad when your fingers find their way into your mouth!

Duncan has started grabbing onto the toys around him, like the giraffe.

Hi Dad!

Duncan has also started enjoying peek-a-boo with Daddy, as shown in the video. The video also shows how much Elsie loves her Daddy and wants to be held just like Duncan!

Duncan had another great week at school. Oatmeal feet!

Reading a new book on the baby blanket.

Staycation 2011 - Chicago

2011-08-31T18:15:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, we headed into downtown Chicago. Elsie has a book, "Goodnight Chicago," which lists out many of the fun things to do in Chicago. As we toured downtown, we took out the book to compare what we were seeing. Elsie loved it! Out first stop was the Children's Museum at Navy Pier, where Elsie got to be a firefighter!

Then she was a builder. Elsie really enjoyed placing the bolts in the holes, adding the washer, and then screwing on the nuts. The area was definitely geared for older kids, but Elsie had a lot of fun. It helped that we were there early on a weekday, so we had a lot of space to ourselves.

Then we dug for dinosaur bones. Elsie was less of a fan of this exhibit - I realized on this trip that she likes to be able to run around or climb up onto the exhibits. No running, no climbing, no fun.

The museum has so much stimulation! Duncan found something on the ceiling to watch in this exhibit.

After the museum, we hit some of the Navy Pier attractions. First up was Thomas the train... strategically located right next to the food court!

Then we hit the carousel. Unfortunately, the Ferris wheel was broken, so we missed our chance to ride the big Ferris wheel.

Then we went to the Ohio St. beach just a couple blocks from Navy Pier. It was during nap time, so I didn't think we would be there for very long. But I was wrong! Elsie loved it, and never once complained that the Lake Michigan water was cold! She thought the mini waves were great. Someday, we'll make it to the ocean with real waves!

We brought our shovel and pail and made some sand humps. Before they made it to castle status, Elsie patted them down!

We even practiced our swimming!

Duncan took a nap for most of our beach adventure. When he woke up, Mommy and Duncan hung out in the tent for a while nursing and playing.

Then Duncan got his bathing suit on (mostly to protect him from the sun). We had a great conversation with a German woman who was visiting Chicago for a few days, and she took a great family photo for us. So crazy to be on a beach next to such tall buildings!

Before we headed back home, we stopped for a creamy sweet treat. Ben and Jerry's ice cream...so authentic for Chicago!

Staycation 2011 - Morton Arboretum

2011-08-31T13:35:00.000-07:00

We kicked off our staycation over the weekend with a block party and a birthday party for one of Elsie's friends. On Monday, we hit the Morton Arboretum. Elsie and Daddy got a head start, and by the time Duncan and I caught up with them, they were throwing rocks in the stream as other mothers were saying "No throwing the rocks!" to their children.

We had a lot of fun over at the tree roots slide. For the first time, Elsie was able to climb up the ladder in the cave. After about 5 minutes, I asked Elsie why she was just sitting there playing with the wood chips. She said she was just waiting patiently for a boy to finish climbing up the ladder (in the background). What a patient monkey!

Pumping the water. Take a look at Elsie's left hand. Elsie does this with her hands subconsciously when she is trying something really physical. It is really obvious when she hops like a bunny.

Wading in the stream...starting to get very wet!

Elsie was a pro on the bridges this time, completely mastering the toddler bridge.

Time for a lunch break! Duncan was thrilled to see that spider bug had made the trip!

Stream number two...getting even more wet!

Mommy and Duncan hung out in the shade watching Elsie play in the stream and climb the big rocks.

Climbing all the way to the top!

Made it!

Elsie tried the ropes, but didn't make it very far. Maybe next year!

Elsie walked on the big kids bridges all by herself!

Up, up, up at the end of the bridge.

Hi Mom! One more time!

Mosquitoes, bubbles, and bikes

2011-08-30T18:48:00.000-07:00

Elsie is a mosquito magnet! She got a bite on her eyelid, and it swelled shut the next day. A call to our pediatrician assured us that it hurt Mommy and Daddy more than it did Elsie. We spent a lot of time that day with an ice pack!

We brought out a new jumbo bubble toy. Jack and I couldn't make it work at all, but Elsie was great! She made a lot of huge bubbles...until she knocked it over!

We also found out last weekend that Elsie can pedal her bike! Before I went back to work, we were going outside everyday before and after dinner. We would practice on the bike, but Elsie could really only pedal when going downhill. I knew they were practicing at school, but we hadn't been practicing at home for a few weeks. Then, Elsie surprised us, going both up and down the small slopes of our driveway!

Duncan is 16 weeks old

2011-08-30T18:22:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, Duncan turned 16 weeks old. I got better pictures by taking them in the morning! So prepared!

Its getting harder to catch Duncan's attention on the blanket. He was really engrossed in the ladybug on this day!

Duncan enjoys standing or sitting and then chomping on my finger. He just gnaws at my finger with his little baby gums, drooling everywhere.

Duncan is getting really good at rolling over when he is on his back. He rolls over to mouth the blanket...

or to reach for his favorite spider bug.

Sometimes he goes too far and ends up on his belly. He is OK with this for a couple minutes, especially if there is something fun to look at. But, he gets really mad when he ends up on his belly in his crib. Duncan wakes up 2-3 times each night, sometimes asking to be flipped over (which only requires us to help him back to sleep for 15 minutes), and sometimes wanting to eat and fuss (which requires about an hour of attention). We were so proud when our little guy slept through the night right before I went back to work. Now those nights seem so long ago!

Duncan still has beautiful blue eyes. Maybe he will end up with Phipps eyes in the long run!

Duncan has started holding rattles that we put in his hand. He doesn't really notice the rattle is there. It just goes along for the ride!

Duncan talking to me!

Duncan does a good job reaching for the frog on his seat these days, playing music for us all. Elsie gets so excited when he plays the music!

Duncan has also started razzing this week, adding to the already abundant drool! He likes to do it before bath time, and I am happy to razz him right back on his nakey belly!

Another couple pictures from school. On his boppy, sucking his fingers, looking at a sensory bag in front of the triangle mirror next to Riley. And I wonder when he is so exhausted when he comes home each day!

The teachers tell us that he is so smiley at school!

Duncan turns 15 weeks old

2011-08-30T17:50:00.000-07:00

A few Wednesdays ago (on Aug 17 to be exact), Duncan turned 15 weeks old. Its hard to take good pictures these days...he is so tired after school!

You'll notice the dark blue ring around his collar...Duncan has stopped spitting up so much, and has replaced this volume with drool. He's not teething, but it sure seems like he is!

We tried out the exersaucer. Duncan enjoyed it for only a few minutes. He likes to stand, but isn't quite strong enough to keep his body upright for longer than that. The rim was plenty full pf drool when we were done though!

Jill was in town for a shower and stopped by for a visit with her parents. Always a good time with Jill!

Elsie likes to do what Duncan is doing. This often means tummy time!

Or lifting her legs in the air just like Duncan.

Trying out tummy time on a new surface. Hi Duncan!

We got a lot of good pictures from school this week. Outside in the stroller.

Hi duck!

I have been told by the teachers that Duncan doesn't get a lot of time under this toy. As soon as it comes out, the older infants all run over and want to play with it. So when the big kids are in the table, Duncan gets it all to himself!

Exploring spaghetti during edible art day!

Duncan turns 14 weeks old

2011-08-14T18:40:00.001-07:00

Duncan turned 14 weeks old on Wednesday.

Laughing at Mommy already!

We are adjusting to our new work and school schedule. When we get home, Jack starts working on dinner and I start playing with Duncan and Elsie. Elsie likes to try Duncan in all of the contraptions we have for babies. Duncan doesn't seem to care for the Bimbo chair very much - he tells me this by spitting up every time he sits in it! But I love this picture because Elsie put her arm around Duncan as I read them a story! Such great siblings!

Grandma and Grandpa came up to do some babysitting so Jack and I could have a date at the Cubs game. Grandma did a great job taking care of baby Duncan!

And Elsie and Grandpa read a lot of stories!

We updated our family photo before heading out to the game.

Duncan rolls over to his side a lot...and almost onto his belly! I rarely find him laying in the same spot that I left him in. Elsie likes to come an tell me when Duncan has rolled over - she is so proud of her little brother.

Elsie gets to visit Duncan anytime she wants at school. Unfortunately, Elsie is typically having too much fun to go visit Duncan. At the end of the day she tells me "Tomorrow I ask Mrs. Webber to go see Duncan."

As the youngest baby in the room, Duncan gets priority seating in the triangle mirror. Everywhere he looks, there is a gorgeous baby staring back at him!

Frog goggles!

2011-08-14T18:37:00.000-07:00

Elsie recently received her first pair of swim goggles as a big sister present. She likes to wear them for going under the waterfalls at the pool!

Duncan turns 13 weeks old

2011-08-14T14:25:00.000-07:00

Two Wednesdays ago, Duncan turned 13 weeks old.

He looks so big until you sit him next to Elsie!

We cleaned off a few big apparatuses for Duncan this week. Since he loves to stand, we tried him in this jumper. He really seemed to like it! He doesn't actually jump yet, but it does allow him to stand independently. Elsie pushes her baby in the jumper like it is a swing...I'll need to keep a close eye on her when Duncan is in it!

Duncan is really reaching for his toys now. Here, he is reaching for his bug friends on his crib's mobile.

Reach!

And then give Mommy a nice, big smile!

Duncan started school this week, and I went back to work. Duncan is joining Elsie at Elmhurst Academy. His first day at school was water day!

Duncan turns 12 weeks old

2011-08-01T12:45:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, Duncan turned 12 weeks old. My smiley boy! He achieved a major milestone this week - sleeping through the night!! I am so proud of him...and so very thankful, as I return to work very soon.

Duncan is turning over onto his side more frequently...often in search of a thumb. The bib tends to get in the way, so we have started taking the bib off during playtime.

Duncan has just started reaching for items above his head, like the fish. He can't really control his arms yet, so it just looks like he is swatting at the fish.

Duncan took his first dip in the Elmhurst pool. Since he is not quite old enough for sunscreen, he gets to wear this super cool bathing suit!

Elsie continues to be a helpful big sister, showing Duncan toys when he starts to fuss.

She gets a little frustrated when Duncan doesn't listen to her. "Duncan want to hold the rattle?" "Mommy see if Duncan hold the rattle."

Elsie also practices being a good sister with her baby (recently named Duncan) by reading her books, singing and rocking her when she is crying, patting her back gently to burp her, taking her for a walk, etc. It is really fascinating to watch her learn by observing me with Duncan.

Visit with the Shorts

2011-08-01T12:33:00.000-07:00

Our friends, Gerick and Kelly, along with their two children came for a visit last weekend. They brought authentic NY bagels for all to enjoy! Yum! Gavin (5 mo) and Duncan didn't even notice each other, but Elsie and Merrill had fun running through the house. Its hard to tell from the picture below, but Merrill is only 2 years old...5 months older than Elsie!

Duncan turns 11 weeks old

2011-08-01T09:41:00.001-07:00

Two Wednesdays ago, Duncan turned 11 weeks old.

Elsie was home for picture day and requested a brother and sister photo!

Duncan's big discovery this week is his thumb! He finds it in the morning when he is waking up or when sitting in his infant seat. He uses the other hand to stroke his hair. Of course, Duncan sometimes yanks his own thumb out, which makes him go hunting for it again.

Sucking his thumb helps Duncan fall asleep when the pacifier is not around. On this day, Duncan and Mommy were making chocolate chip cookies, and he started to get a little bored.

Daddy's arms were getting a little tired while holding Duncan during a long nap. So, he took a little break on the couch!

Duncan is ten weeks old

2011-07-18T07:10:00.001-07:00

Duncan turned 10 weeks old on Wednesday. During his tenth week, Duncan had his two month checkup. He did great with the immunizations - in fact, they helped keep him asleep during our crazy airport and airplane experience later that afternoon (3 hours on the tarmac, flight cancellation, sprinting to another terminal to try to make a flight on another airline, loaner car seat, and another night at home before finally getting on a 6:00am flight the next morning to PHL). Our big boy weighed in at 15 lbs (97.5 percentile), measured 24.5 in (95th percentile), and his head circumference was 41.1cm (~80th percentile).

Daddy and Duncan have been practicing with the bottle for a few weeks. We had some rough attempts, but this week Duncan consistently took his daily bottle with minimal fussing. This allowed Elsie the opportunity to help me give Duncan a bottle for the first time!

Duncan has 3-4 very social periods throughout the day. Duncan lays on the blanket giving me big smiles and coos, moving his legs and arms around like crazy. Within a few minutes, he will have the bottom of the blanket all bunched up under his legs from moving them around so much. He likes to look at the toys we hold up for him and likes to read books with us - his eyes open very wide each time I turn the page! When he starts to get a little fussy, he likes to have his legs massaged and see his Mommy again. He is my big cutie-pa-tootie!

Kate's Bridal Shower

2011-07-16T12:35:00.001-07:00

We got all dressed up in our tea party finest for Kate's bridal shower while we were in PA.

G-G-Ma looked gorgeous!

Becky got to be the one we dressed with toilet paper for the bridal shower game.

Two seamstresses at work on Becky's dress!

Kate was thrilled with the gift from the Bullard/Campana/Phipps ladies - a new dryer!

Visit to PA to meet the Bullards

2011-07-16T12:10:00.000-07:00

Duncan boarded his first and second planes on his way to PA, thanks to a cancelled flight! Duncan got to meet many relatives during the trip! Aunt Becky, our baby lover, immediately scooped up Duncan.

Papa Pete helped us get Duncan to take a nap.

Curled up with G-G-Ma!

Enjoying the beautiful hot weather with Aunt Kate.

Good morning! J-Ma and Papa Pete watched Duncan and Elsie for us in the morning...and Mommy and Daddy got the sleep in!!

Elsie was a little fish in the pool. Back-to-back weekends at houses with pools have rally bolstered her confidence!

Jumping in to Papa Pete

Swimming with Uncle Pete.

Crazy Uncle Pete.

Swimming with Candice, Kate, Pete, and Kathleen.

Crazy Elsie with Aunt Candice.

Wearing Papa's Phillies hat.

I love how the future married couple is sitting the same way!

Uncle Rob stopped by with some gifts. Elsie was thrilled to model her new purse, bracelets, and shades.

Duncan turns 9 weeks old

2011-07-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

A couple Wednesdays ago, Duncan turned 9 weeks old.

I think Duncan is doing really well during tummy time. He lifts his head up nice and high, and can make it a good 10 minutes before he starts to cry! My brave little man! He also enjoys watching the toys I wave above him. So far, he likes Leo the Lion, the crazy bug-spider, and the round rattle the best.

Elsie stays home from school a couple days each week to hang out with Mommy and Duncan. On this particular day, nobody else was at the park when we arrived. So, Elsie got to go to the big kid side without fear of being pushed over. She climbed up all of the different ladders and found a great bar for swinging.

July 4th at the Farm

2011-07-16T11:13:00.000-07:00

We spent July 4th weekend at the Phipps Farm. Unfortunately, Grandma and Grandpa were off enjoying their cruise...so we spent a lot of time enjoying their pool!

Elsie has become interested in the "big trucks" performing some major road construction near her school. So we made sure to spend some time on the big trucks (tractors, combines, and forklifts) at the farm! Daddy took Elsie out for a spin on the new tractor.

Mommy's forklift certifications expired a few years ago, so we just pretended to drive this one around.

Elsie and Daddy climbed up to the back of the new combine.

Elsie had fun showing off her new brother to her cousins, instructing Leah to be gentle with Duncan.

The four cousins had a lot of fun playing together!

On July 4th, Aunt Kris brought out the poppers to help us celebrate. I am pretty sure they are not approved for kids under 3, but Elsie still had fun throwing them and hearing them "pop."

Uncle Aaron led the big fireworks display at the farm with fireworks that Grandpa smuggled in from Indiana. They were huge and loud, and Elsie just kept asking for more! Duncan even cooperated by sleeping in his crib during the show! Our patriotic Elsie!

Phipps visit

2011-07-15T12:17:00.000-07:00

Grandma Jan and Grandpa John came up for lunch before heading to Rome for their cruise. We had lunch on our back patio in the most gorgeous weather of the summer so far!

Duncan turns eight weeks old

2011-07-15T12:09:00.000-07:00

Several Wednesdays ago, Duncan turned eight weeks old.

During his eighth week, Duncan started partially rolling over from his back to his front. Now Elsie is full of encouragement when Duncan is playing on the blanket saying, "Duncan roll over?"

Often when Jack comes home from work, he gets Duncan, and I start working on dinner with Elsie. On this particular evening, neither Duncan or Daddy had slept enough in the last 24 hours, and they zonked out together on the chair. So cute!

Duncan turns 7 weeks old

2011-06-27T09:21:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, Duncan turned seven weeks old...and now he is finally starting to smile a bit for his weekly photo!

My friend, Serena, stopped by for a visit while on a trip to Chicago from CA for work. We had a lot of fun catching up, and she enjoyed meeting Duncan. He actually slept during dinner, so we got to have a nice, peaceful dinner!

In his seventh week, Duncan discovered his hands! During tummy time, Duncan was no longer interested in picking up his head and strengthening his neck muscles. He was either chowing down on his hand or tasting the blanket.

Duncan is six weeks old

2011-06-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

A couple Wednesdays ago, Duncan turned six weeks old. (A bit behind...I am blaming it on the 2-day power outage in Elmhurst last week).

Rereading the blog entries about Elsie, I remembered that Elsie used to be really pleasant on the changing table. So, this week, I gave Duncan some time to hang out with me on the changing table instead of rushing through the diaper change. It worked! He was really alert!

During his sixth week, Duncan also started smiling!! So adorable!

Brookfield Zoo

2011-06-27T08:49:00.000-07:00

This year, we have a membership to the Brookfield Zoo. With our membership, we can go with guests for "free." We have gone twice so far, and the membership has certainly paid for itself!

The first visit to the zoo was with J-Ma and Papa Pete when Duncan was only 3.5 weeks old. We found a nice bench for us all to enjoy a snack - Elsie and Mom first, and then Duncan followed shortly after.

Elsie really enjoys the Children's Zoo, where she gets to pet the goats.

Wolf girls!

During both visits, the weather was cool and overcast. Great for two reasons: 1) there were no crowds at the zoo and 2) the animals were very active and available for us to see. In the Great Bear Wilderness, this huge grizzly bear was just taking a nap right next to the viewing window! The head and paws were huge!

The second time we went to the zoo, Uncle Aaron, Aunt Kris, John, and Leah joined us. The Little People were also there!

This buffalo was just right up next to the fence for us all to see. This animal is much bigger up close than had expected!

When Leah and John came to visit, they were on vacation. So, we turned it into a Phipps vacation...enjoying donuts for breakfast! You'll notice that Elsie's donut is upside down - she does this with all foods that you eat with two hands. Makes for some messy pizza-eating, too!

Duncan turns 5 weeks old

2011-06-15T12:18:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, Duncan turned 5 weeks old. He also had his one-month checkup at the pediatrician. Everything looked great! Duncan now weighs 13 lbs (yes, this is large - he is in the 95th percentile) and measures 23in long. His head circumference is 39.5cm.

Duncan is more alert these days, and we have some good times hanging out on the floor. We like to practice following a toy (or mommy) with our eyes. Duncan has not yet learned that he can move his head to watch the toy go all the way around to the other side, but he can get his eyes to about a 75-degree angle.

We also like to exercise our arms and legs!

Duncan's preference is to look into the light - either the outdoors, the TV, or the overhead ceiling light.

He also likes watching Elsie. And Elsie likes doing whatever Duncan is doing. Its a good match!

Duncan dislikes tummy time, but he is definitely getting better! His head is getting higher for longer stretches of time.

We all enjoyed a visit from our friends, Jill and Scott, who swung by on a quick visit to Chicago.

Elsie has reached a few milestones herself. She can now put on and take off all of her clothing (mostly) by herself. The shirt is often the most difficult, requiring some guidance and some reassurance that she can do it. And the socks are often put back on inside out.

She has also figured out how to climb up onto the bar stool. This drives me crazy, because she just can't sit still. I can only imagine her chin hitting the counter as she plunges to the ground.

Elsie has also started replacing her beautiful smile with her "CHEESE" grin for the camera!

Duncan is 4 weeks old

2011-06-09T11:50:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, Duncan turned 4 weeks old. I was sure to put him in all of his super cute 3-month outfits, since they are getting awfully small.

Still working on motor control!

The highlight of the week was certainly the visit from J-Ma and Papa Pete. The low point was Duncan's new routine of crying from 4pm - 10pm each night. At least we had extra hands to help keep us all sane!

Duncan is becoming more alert and can follow my face around. His eyes now open nice and wide - they are a gorgeous blue!

Elsie is still doing great as a big sister. She wants to see everything Duncan does - she wants to watch us change his diapers, see his spit-up, read books next to me when I am feeding him, and so on. It is really adorable!

Happy Memorial Day!

2011-06-01T12:05:00.001-07:00

Memorial Day started with pancakes - Elsie and J-Ma made them from scratch!

We took a long walk and enjoyed the Elmhurst Memorial Day parade...in 90F weather! After lunch and a nap (for the kids and Mommy!), it was time for gardening with Papa Pete.

Elsie helped put the flowers in the right spots in our big flower beds out front.

After dinner, it was time for some sprinkler fun in the backyard. Elsie was so excited to put on her bathing suit, especially since it had been fleece weather just a couple days prior!

Elsie was all smiles!

Duncan skipped the sprinkler fun and opted for some fussing and a brief nap with Dad.

Then it was on to J-Ma for some more cuddling.

J-Ma and Papa Pete with their two grandchildren!

Duncan turns three weeks old

2011-06-01T11:28:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, Duncan turned three weeks old. When Duncan was first born, I was excited to see that he had thin, long fingers with nice, long nail beds like his Daddy. In Duncan's third week, I noticed that this had changed - Duncan's fingers are now round and full, more similar to Mommy's. A good sign that Duncan is eating well. The eating has led to growing. His 3 months clothes are feeling pretty short - check out the arm length on this long-sleeve shirt!

We are also very fortunate that Duncan sleeps well at night. Once 10:00 hits, he seems to know that it is time for bed, sleeping for 2-4 hours between feedings. Most importantly, he typically falls asleep pretty quickly after the nighttime feedings.

When Duncan is awake during the day, we try to get in some good tummy time.

Lift up that head!

And turn it to the other side! So strong!

Duncan is two weeks old!

2011-05-25T07:14:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, Duncan turned two weeks old.

Our first attempt at the weekly picture with Elsie was not so successful. Duncan was in no mood.

Elsie and Duncan both like admiring each other. Elsie asks so nicely "My hold Duncan please?"

Great Aunt Kaye and Great Uncle Wally stopped by for a visit. Duncan did his best to woo her, while Elsie acted shy.

The big highlight of the week was Elsie being sick. Elsie stayed home from school all week with a fever. On Monday after I picked Elsie up from school and stopped by the doctor's office, it was time for lunch. Before I could make Elsie a sandwich, she had fallen asleep on the couch!

And Duncan had fallen asleep with the fishies! This gave me about 10 minutes to eat my lunch before Duncan woke up. It was quite stressful managing two crying children at once, but we all made it through!!

Elsie did her best to keep herself entertained when my hands are full with Duncan. Here, she is browsing the gossip magazines I bought for the hospital. She would comment that the female models in the adds were "so pretty." Uh oh...

Doing my best to make Elsie feel better - she got to wear her tutu and carry around her puppy all day. I even let her keep her fleece on after we came back inside!

My little man all dressed up in his first tie!

Posing for the camera in the sweater J-Ma crocheted for him.

Getting a little bored of this photo shoot.

OK Mom. Stop taking pictures and come pick me up!

Duncan turns one week old

2011-05-21T07:27:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, Duncan turned one week old. Duncan did a great job in his first week. He slept quite a bit and kept his fussy times to a minimum. He is a great eater, which just really makes things easy.

It was a big week for all of us. Elsie was very interested in our new baby Duncan. She often wanted to know where he was, and asked very nicely if she could touch or hold Duncan. Elsie will be a great big sister.

Grandma got a few breaks from hanging out with Elsie to hold Duncan, too.

We took our first photo as a family of four. We've looked better, but we were all running on little sleep!

Duncan seems to enjoy sleeping in his chair in the living room. We had some wild weather swings - it was 90F on this day! Duncan's first weather record.

Ducnan spent a few moments in the jungle gym. Lazarus was pretty bummed that he had to give up his prime spot right in the middle.

Like Elsie, Duncan spits up a lot. Here he is wearing the last clean short-sleeve onesie. It says "Born in 2009." I figured that was better than pink shirt. At this point, we also remember to start using bibs! We made it almost a whole week before breaking out the bibs - this one is a freebie from the hospital. Time to go out and buy some boy shirts and bibs!

Duncan actually enjoys being held like this!

We received our new double stroller, too. After two days of working on it, Jack had it ready to go!

Elsie was very excited to test out the new stroller.

Gardening with Grandma

2011-05-11T18:17:00.000-07:00

Grandma stayed at our house to shower Elsie with love and attention and to insure Jack and I remained well-nourished. It was great having the extra set of hands for the first few days as a family of four. Elsie and Grandma did their best to spruce up our yard with some flower bulbs.

Duncan's Day 2

2011-05-11T18:00:00.000-07:00

Daddy and Duncan bonding at the hospital on our last day.

So nice and sleepy. Wonder how long that will last once we get home...

Duncan enjoying the sunlight coming through the big bay windows of the hospital room. He had a gorgeous view of the parking garage!

Mommy getting Duncan ready to go home. Elsie kept telling us that we were going to have a green baby. So, Elsie and I bought the baby a green going-home outfit. This cute outfit is a size newborn, and it was already too small! Fortunately, babies like to curl up quite a bit on their second day of life!

Duncan is home and well

2011-05-06T17:58:00.000-07:00

We made it home yesterday and are having fun getting to know each other and our new routine. Grandpa took a great picture of Big Sister Elsie holding Baby Duncan! Beautiful!

Duncan joins the family

2011-05-04T15:27:00.001-07:00

We've got a new member of the family!!! Meet Duncan Jack Phipps. He was born on May 4th @ 1:33 pm. Knowing that he had a big act to follow in Elsie, Duncan managed to top her birthweight by 3 oz., weighing in at a hefty 10 lb. 2 oz. (and 21 inches tall, with a head circumference of 34.5 cm). So far, after about 6 hours of life, we have figured out that Duncan's likes are napping and eating, and his only dislike is sponge baths.

Kristi did a fantastic job in labor, and needed only 15 minutes of pushing to deliver Duncan. They wasted no time in getting acquainted.

Jack opted to start immediately conditioning Duncan to be a fan of the correct sports teams.

Grandma Jan and big sister Elsie stopped by for a visit later in the day. Elsie was interested to see how Duncan would respond to a friendly poke on the nose.

After some initial shyness, Elsie eventually worked up the courage to hold her new little brother (just long enough for a photo).

Time to have the baby!

2011-05-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

I am 39 weeks pregnant with Baby Phipps, and we have decided to induce on Tuesday night / Wednesday morning. The baby is measuring quite large this time. Considering Elsie was 9lb 15 oz, and measured average, we are nervous to see just how big our baby will be this time!

For a photo comparison, here is a picture of me at 40+ weeks with Elsie. http://phippsupdate.blogspot.com/2009/02/overtime.html

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T19:52:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Easter at home this year. With the due date only 2 weeks away, we decided it was best to stay close to the hospital!
Elsie was excited to see the Easter basket from the Easter bunny. New bubbles for the warm weather!

Elsie found the candy pretty quickly. "M&M's!" she shouted!

The Easter bunny brought a bunch of bows, and Elsie tried them all on at once.

Time to find the eggs!

Elsie asked for candy all day. "My see basket on floor," she asked, since the basket was being kept on the counter. After each meal, she got a few M&M's or jelly beans from her basket.

"My got a brown one."

Elmhurst Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-24T19:32:00.001-07:00

We left Elsie's gymnastics class a little early to get to the Elmhurst Easter egg hunt. Daddy skipped basement duty in the morning to join us at the hunt.

It was a cool, wet day, so I was not expecting a huge attendance. The swarm of 1-3 year-olds and their parents was amazing...and slightly terrifying for Elsie.

Elsie and Daddy found a couple pencils and some bubbles by hanging out in the back. Elsie even shared a pencil with her friend, Emma, who arrived just a couple minutes too late to get anything from the hunt.

Elsie had fun playing with the bubbles until she tried to eat them. No wonder the bottle says not for children under 3!

The best thing about the Easter egg hunt was that Elsie finally stopped being scared of the Easter bunny. Its amazing what some chocolate eggs will do for your reputation!

The sun came out after the hunt, and we moseyed on back to the car. Elsie did one of her favorite things on the way back - walking on the curb.

Spring!

2011-04-24T19:22:00.000-07:00

We finally experienced a warm, sunny, 80F Sunday! Elsie was confused about why her short sleeves would not roll down and why we did not need to wear coats outside. But after a few minutes, she was loving that it was "warm outside."

Elsie is getting pretty good at saying "cheese" for the camera.

Mommy took the opportunity to wear some cute sandals to church in celebration of the warm weather. They came off as soon as we got home, and Elsie was quite excited to give them a try.

"Wrong foot" she told me when they didn't fit quite right.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2011-04-24T19:17:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Daddy's birthday with his favorite cake - yellow with chocolate frosting. Elsie was hoping for an Elmo cake, but was not disappointed once she got to try some.

Probably not a surprise, but Jack was unable to blow out all 34 candles this year in one breath. I guess that is a combination of getting older and having so many candles on your cake!!

Getting ready for the new baby!

2011-04-24T19:05:00.000-07:00

Elsie had a good 2-year checkup. She checked in at 34.25 inches and 28 lb, 12oz. The doctor confirmed that Elsie is a good eater...and that it was time to give up the pacifier.

So, after Elsie turned 2, we started working on getting ready for the new baby. First was ending the pacifier use at nap and bed times. It was shocking how well Elsie did!! We just explained that she was a big girl, and big girls don't use pacis. Elsie did so well, that after a few weeks, we decided to move on to the next milestone...the big girl room and big girl bed.

Elsie had been helping us get her new room ready for a couple months. We started moving more and more toys into her new room, and then it was time to move Elsie! The first night in the big bed, I think she was asleep within 5 minutes! We had one night were she fell out of bed and multiple nights of Elsie taking off her jammies. But, Elsie now knows that she has the room with the big bed and that her old room is for the baby. So smart!

"My sleep big bed like Mommy and Daddy."

Post-party relaxation

2011-04-24T18:58:00.000-07:00

J-Mas and Papa Pete were a big help with the party clean-up. After nap time, the boys got to work in the basement, and the girls relaxed upstairs.

As the winter wears on, Elsie has been getting more comfortable with being out in the snow! We still had plenty of snow left over from the blizzard, and Elsie wanted to play! Elsie stayed right on top of the snow, but Mommy sunk in with every step!

Elsie's 2nd Birthday Party

2011-04-24T18:33:00.001-07:00

Elsie had a birthday party with some friends from school, Ava, Lucy, and Kati-Anne. All were excited about the Elmo theme, the balloons, and seeing each other all dressed up. The girls enjoyed playing at the table and in the kitchen with the food.

Elsie has started drinking coffee and sharing with Mommy and Daddy. Yum!

Then came time for the real food. Elmo pizza for the girls!

The big girls got to eat at their own table. They just thought this was normal, since they do it at school every day. But, this was new for the parents!

Time for Elmo cake! J-Ma and Grandma helped Mommy mix all of the bright colors for the cake.

Elsie struggled to focus on blowing out the candle. It was too much fun being the center of attention with everyone singing happy birthday to Elsie.

"My eat Elsie's birthday!" Elsie has chosen to abbreviate this sentence. There were quite a few red mouths, hands, and dresses after the cake. I think we may have added a bit too much food coloring... It came off on the sheets during nap time!

Daddy did a good job managing the presents. Difficult with four excited girls!

Elsie was very excited about the tutu she received from Ava!

Celebrating Elsie's Birthday with Grandma and Grandpa

2011-04-24T18:12:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa came up for a night to celebrate Elsie turning 2! Time to open another present!

"Like Mommy's vacuum!" Elsie was pretty excited about her new vacuum. And I was pretty relieved that she associated the vacuum with me and not the cleaners that come every couple weeks!

Happy Second Birthday Elsie!

2011-02-10T19:15:00.000-08:00

Our little baby is two years old today!! Elsie had a great birthday, starting with pancakes, continuing with lots of "Happy Birthday" singing at school, and the arrival of J-Ma and Papa Pete! We had celebration part 1 today.

I thought I wasn't supposed to be near candles? After a little coaching, Elsie started to figure out how to blow out the candles. We'll get some more practice over the weekend at Elsie's birthday party.

And then she got to enjoy her pink cupcake!!

"E, Elsie!"

"Two E, Elsies!" Followed by several rounds of jumping off of the stool!

Chicago Blizzard 2011

2011-02-10T19:04:00.000-08:00

We had a real blizzard and real snow days for Mommy, Daddy and Elsie last week! The snow was up to Elsie's chest at the back door!

Elsie chose to celebrate the occasion by sneaking off to the mud room, removing her pajamas, and putting on boots. She then grabbed her stroller to go for a walk! You will notice the extension cords in the photo - we actually lost power the night before and had to get the generator all hooked up. Fortunately, the outage only lasted 1.5 hours...we left the extensions cords out just in case!

Time for Daddy to shovel!

Elsie and Mommy went outside to make sure Daddy was still feeling OK after a few hours of shovelling.

So much snow!!

Elsie is starting to enjoy the snow more and more as the winter carries on. She really enjoyed being at the top of the piles like this one!

Grown up toddler

2011-02-10T18:58:00.000-08:00

Like all kids, Elsie enjoys mimicking Mommy and Daddy. Here is out grown up Elsie sitting at her new table using (safety) scissors!

Elsie has a lot of fun going on walks with her stroller. The necessary components typically include a doll or baby (and it must be securely fastened in the seat belt), her purse, and her keys. This day was really special, since she also found Mommy's gloves to wear!

"Matches"

2011-02-10T18:48:00.000-08:00

Elsie is very excited these days about things that "match" or are "the same." For example, Mommy has the same shoes as Mrs. Bomkamp and the same coat as Ava's mom. Here, Elsie is modelling the dress and hat that Aunt Becky made - they are "THE SAME!"

"Big belly"

Cheese!

"Hat matches"

Back home!

2011-02-08T19:38:00.000-08:00

I got a great new cookbook filled with one-dish recipes from Becky for Christmas. We tried out a few recipes before we headed back to work. Elsie and Mommy hard at work making sausage and peppers!

Fun at PHL

2011-02-08T19:33:00.000-08:00

There is a great little kids play area right next to our gate at the Philadelphia airport. Elsie showed Aunt Candice the plane, pointing out that the plane flies up in the air. We had an uneventful trip home. Candice, on the other hand, was stuck in Philly for another few days, due to weather-related delays.

Dinner at G-G-Ma and Papa's

2011-02-08T19:25:00.000-08:00

We had a great dinner at G-G-Ma's house. Then we played our family car game - Liverpool Rummy. We had a lot of fun...can't you tell from the picture?

Elsie played with Papa while the rest of us enjoyed the "stupidest game ever." Elsie enjoyed bringing Papa all of the little snowmen from around the family room.

By the end, Elsie had filled Papa's lap!

Pennsylvania "Blizzard"

2011-02-08T18:26:00.000-08:00

The forecasters predicted so much snow for Philadelphia that the Eagles game was postponed. Well, we only got about 4 inches in Schwenksville. But, the sun was out and the temperatures were relatively warm, so we took Elsie out back for some sledding! Elsie started out with both Daddy and Aunt Becky, but wasn't a big fan.

Elsie took a break with Papa Pete to look at some animal tracks.

Meanwhile Aunt Becky and Daddy improved the sledding path.

Papa Pete didn't have too much luck on the sledding path, but Elsie was enjoying the snow more and more.

We capped off the day with Elsie sledding by herself down our little hill a few times!

Enjoy the sledding video!

Lounging about in the Go Bears dress

2011-02-08T18:18:00.000-08:00

J-Ma made a great Bears dress for Elsie a while back. Uncle Pete hosted the family to watch the Bears game, so we got to show it off. Elsie enjoyed reading her new books with J-Ma and playing "train" and "getting thrown onto a bean bag" with Aunt Becky.

Elsie played her first game of hockey...air hockey. Surprisingly, she didn't break anything!

Christmas Afternoon

2011-02-07T19:49:00.000-08:00

Elsie took a nice, early nap in preparation for the afternoon festivities with the extended family. It gave J-Ma plenty of time to loosen up Elsie's Christmas dress...I guess Elsie had been enjoying the Christmas cookies, as well.

Playing with Aunt Becky and Mr. Potato head. Then getting some assistance from Uncle Pete with her new puzzle piece flash cards!

Uncle Pete and Papa Pete had been teaching Elsie how to load the Nerf dart gun. Fortunately, she still was not strong enough to actually shoot the gun, but she loved fetching the darts and loading them back in!

Look Mom! More presents!!

Christmas Morning

2011-02-07T19:34:00.000-08:00

Santa left many beautiful presents by the tree and filled the stockings by the toasty coal stove!

The children and grandchild waiting to come downstairs.

Wow! Santa brought Elsie an inflated jumping horse!! Elsie was sure to check it for defects before getting on.

Wee! Jump, jump, jump, jump!

A cow hat from Aunt Candice and a flower hat (complete with matching dress) from Aunt Becky!

Elsie got wooden food from Mommy and Daddy. She thought the fish was great, and just started swimming it around. We'll save the lesson about how we EAT that fish for another day... A Mr. Potato head from J-Ma and Papa Pete - Elsie was so excited when she saw the same Mr. Potato head on the TV while Toy Story was playing!

Go Eagles!?

2011-02-07T19:29:00.000-08:00

It didn't take long! Shortly after we arrived, the Bullards had Elsie wearing an Eagles hat and saying "Ge Eagles." Daddy was horrified!

Playing with Aunt Becky!

The traditional reading of "The Night Before Christmas" in J-Ma and Papa Pete's bed. This was the first year Kate joined us for this quality family bonding time. She is still engaged to Uncle Pete...so she must not be too scarred from the experience!

One more pre-Christmas present

2011-02-07T19:21:00.000-08:00

We opened our presents from Grandma Jan and Grandpa John before we left for Pennsylvania. Elsie needed to first make sure we had plenty of light. Elsie loves turning this "ite" on and off, thanks to its easily-accessible pull cord!

"Elsie do"

Elsie was very excited about her new stroller! Both Elmo and Abby got rides. Elsie just went around and around the house - going for a walk just like Mommy!