Oh the joy of year one...

We can only blame adventure and fun for our lack of posting this year! Elyse is about to turn 2 and we want to share some of our fun this year with you...

The year began with a bang- the Olympics trip to Vancouver and Whistl

er BC. Scott and Em joined friends to experience the journey of a lifetime. For more on theOlympics adventure... www.bobsledfever.blogspot.com.

Elyse has had a big year. Learning to walk, talk and eat just about everything in a year is enough to tire anyone out! She is a wonderful, kind, and spirited little girl. She constantly looks for ways to make us laugh and certainly keeps us on our toes.

In April, we lost a loving member of our family, our yellow lab Fletch. It was by far, the saddest thing we have gone through as a family, he was our first baby. If you knew him, you understand what a special little guy he was. We will miss him always and know that he came into our lives to teach us, about love, life and loss.

Elyse loves the water and boats, which as you may know is a good thing as we spend most of our summer on the water. She likes to dangle from the edge of the boat (don't call CPS, she's safe) and despite the temperature of the Columbia River in May (burrrr) insists on being "dipped" at regular intervals.

Summer rounded a corner and we decided to upgrade our old trailer in the Crescent Bar TrailerPark (the lease is expiring in 2012) for a new townhouse in Sunserrra. You will have to come and visit for some fun in the sun! Amazing views of the entire Columbia Gorge. Emily continues to waterski her brains out and Scott spends every minute of his spare time on

his bike.

Speaking of spare time, Scott got a new job this August at Amazon. He is enjoying the challenge of a new project and the camaraderie of working with people he respects and by whom he feels supported.

Emily continues to help athletes and others eat to compete! Her company Momentum Nutrition has grown significantly in the last couple years and keeps on helping the Huskies win more games! Emily also spends a significant amount

of her work time helping people recover from eating disorders.

Here are a few more pics of Elyse throughout the year...

We are loving life as parents and taking on the challenges that life brings each day. We feel so fortunate to have such a supportive and unconditionally loving family and friends. 2011 is shaping up to be an amazing year! Come visit!

Let's Party

Turning one is so much fun! We had a fabulous joint party for the THREE E's. Elyse, Emery and Emily. What a great time! A chocolate fountain, candy buffet bar and fabulous food, there was barely room for cake.

Speaking of... cake eating by Elyse wasn't some crazy cake throwing fest. Not even any smashing her face in it, just a little taste a smile:)

We all had a fabulous time!

Elyse is not yet walking but can move out while crawling. She is talking a lot, saying da da, duck, dog and bye bye. She is becoming more and more opinionated (imagine that) and seems to love singing and dancing to just about anything! This week she learned how to get into just about

every cuppoard we own and take everything out. Which prompted a call to GPa Merv to come and baby proof!

Elyse wanted to help...

We are having so much fun just loving our little one and smiling a lot and just enjoying.

My First Christmas

Santa is very popular with our little one. She must have that feeling that he brings good things! G'ma Beth and Elyse went with mommy to sit on Santa's lap (well really she sat on his belly) and she just loved it! Especially all the new friends she made in line.

Elyse is a little social butterfly. Loves to sit in the center of the room and look around. Loves lights, loves her daddy (follows him around) and just loves being ALIVE!

Merry Christmas friends...love and hugs to you!

11 months. WOW

I am almost ONE!

Elyse is getting ready to celebrate her first birthday in just a few weeks. What? She is already turning one? Our sentiments exactly!Everyday we pinch ourselves to see if this little miracle w we are living is real. What a joy each day is, watching little Elyse discover life. The joy of crawling under the dogs legs, the pure delight of eating berries, the amazing fun you can have tickling, laughing and just being silly!

Elyse has 6 teeth now. She eats almost anything except carrots. Her recent samples include:

Spicy Thai

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Fresh Chilean Sea Bass

Cilantro and Chicken Potstickers

Milk, cheese, yogurt, anything dairy

Our recent trip to Whistler was truly wonderful. Elyse was slightly unsure of all the cold

white stuff and spent one day not sure if she truly loved her new snowsuit but never fear, fun was had by all. Elyse is shown here sitting with the 2010 Olympics Characters. Scott and I will be going to the Olympics at the end of February and Elyse will spend the week here with MaShar and G'pa John. Our first trip away, a little scary. She will be in good hands!

So excited for Christmas to see her tear open wrapping paper! I am wrapping up some of the things she has not played with yet rather than buying new stuff. Somehow, I have a feeling Santa will be coming with goodies!

WOW...Time Flies

Little Edi has really grown up since our last blog. We keep wondering where all the time goes... Hard to believe almost 8 months have passed since she was born! They say time flies but I had not idea how fast it could really get rolling. All those exciting moments mixed with a touch of sleep deprivation makes the days seems to melt.

Elyse Jean is now 7 months and 3 weeks old! Lots of milestones have been reached..we love sharing them with you. I suppose catching you up is easiest with the most recent...

Two days ago, little Edi took her first crawling moves forward. Shifting into reverse has been

no problem for quite some time (she can really move out going backwards) but forward is taking some time. She does a dramatic arm lift, with a big swing up and then....one small inch of forward movement, usually to see Fletch (her best friend). So exciting, and very Elyse in fashion. She really seems to do things her own way, we like it!

Fletch and Elyse have become best friends. She makes the most interesting sounds when she sees him (ba ba ba ba and lots of giggles) and if there is any crying going on...just find Fletch, and instantly it stops.

Her vocab has expanded to the most recent "motor boat meets YZ250" type noise. SHe does it when she is getting frustrated, and it makes us

laugh (or wonder what the heck she is doing).

She says "ma ma ma ma" and "da da da da"

although usually not while actually looking at an avocado on her plate rather than either one of us!

Feeding Elyse is an exciting time for us!

She seems to like most everything (except carrots, sorry G'pa Merv). From apricots to squash, yams to yogurt, she seems to dig it!

If you haven't met her, she will make you believe in love at first sight! Just ask any of the grandmas and grandpas. What a lucky girl! Life really has its way of making us happy...one little giggle at a time.

Four Months...Elyse finds her voice

The noise level in our house has gone up to ELEVEN with Elyse and all her new sounds. She does this babbling thing that sounds like she is having a conversation with someone, only the person must be seriously hard of hearing (like we all will be if she does not learn to turn it down).

It is very funny because each day there is a new sound. She has a low sort of gravely voice...some say just like her mom. She has recently learned to laugh, just a few chuckles here and there but we are certain she has her dads sense of humor!

Mothers day was a huge success! Scott made an amazing brunch for the moms and we

enjoyed a relaxing day as a family. Until you are a mom, it is hard to understand why there isn't a "kids day". Now I am sure that every day is kids day!

Elyse has learned to sit up pretty well and loves to stand up with your help. She is not fond of "tummy time" but we remind her that it is an important skill to master and with that we are sure she is trying harder...right. We went out and purchased the mother of all "bouncy saucer things" and Elyse lights up when you put her in it. One friend called it the "neglect-o-saucer"...I call it the way to get a shower around here.

Solid foods seem to be right around the corner. She is certain to be a foodie because already if you aren't careful she will swipe a piece of food right off your plate. Mom and Elyse planted tomatoes, peas, squash, and herbs in the garden so far. You should see her with the shovel. We are looking forward to the bounty of amazing fresh foods this summer to share with her.

Life has this amazing way of putting happy little moments in just the right places.

WOW...3 months!

She's not graduating from college yet but we are pretty proud we made it 3 months! And we're still standing (and talking to each other).

A little story for a good laugh.

At work Wednesday I sat down to pump and eat lunch

(not your everyday combo but hey). So I go and grab a cup of milk (all we have at UW is green Gatorade cups) to have with my PB and J. Then I remember I forgot an extra storage bottle for pumping breast milk so I pour the milk from one storage bottle into a cup (green gatorade cup) as a holding tank while I pump. (if you have never used a breast pump this may be hard to follow but hang in there). So there I sat eating my pb and j, answering email and pumping. As my thirst increased I reach my busy multi-tasking hand for my cup of milk and gulp gulp gulp, until i look down and realize YEP that was my breast milk I just drank. Funny thing, the first thing I thought was DANG IT, I just wasted 2 good ounces of breast milk. Now thats funny.

News from the Edison front:

We hired a nanny- Her name is Mandi and she is fabulous. Elyse and Mandi are still getting to

know each other but we are confident that the bond will continue to grow and they will become good friends. Mandi comes two days per week to be with Elyse while mommy and daddy work. They play games (not Monopoly or anything but hey its something), go on walks with Fletch, and the basics (eat poop sleep). We are so happy to have her!

Elyse is sitting up in her Bumbo chair unassisted or with the help of your fingers. She also

rolled over from tummy to back on Easter. Twice, so I figure it wasn't just an accident. She has begun to reach out for things and occasionally actually catches something!

Elyse had her first boat ride last weekend at Gpa and Gma Warks in Shelton. As you can see she was awake for about 2 minutes but we are sure she really loved it! We saw seals and jellyfish and the SUN, what a miracle.

Drooling and blowing bubbles are apparently signs of teething (or just a sign of being 3 months old because all of her little friends are doing the

same thing, they are like little crabs. Little spit bubbles everywhere). Occasionally she is exceptionally fussy so we now blame it on teething instead of gas.

Easter was a riot watching Scott (representing Elyse) hunt Easter eggs

with Emory. In the end, Emory won but we are still missing two eggs so in my eyes no one is a winner. We had a wonderful brunch and enjoyed Elyse in her darling Easter dress for about 15 minutes until she pooped the whole thing out (actually pooped on daddy too, oops) and had to be changed. A crappy deal for all.

Onward we go. Learning, growing and finally understanding why our friends would get SO EXCITED when their little one first reached out, or first tried to sit up, or first rolled over. It is truly a little miracle every day! I hope you enjoy reading this as much as we enjoy writing!

Fletch says he misses you!

A smile is worth a thousand words...

We have all seen them a million times but the smile that came from this little angel about 2 weeks ago, lit up our world! Such a little thing, such a BIG impact. It only happens once and a while but boy oh boy (or girl oh girl) is it amazing, wonderful, the bright spot in the day.

2 months are gone and we are not sure where they went. Nights are getting easier (especially for Scott, hee hee) and Elyse is finding her way into a bit of a routine (at least for today). With the stories I hear on the street (really from my mommies group) little Elyse is doing really well and seems to be a fairly easy baby. She is certainly spirited and loves to watch her mobile and talk to the little animals.

A couple things we have learned:

1. This girl is going to be on the move. She is constantly kicking her legs (cycling Scott calls it) and moving her arms in a domo aregato kung fu fashion.
2. And this girl is probably going to be tall, with some long feet. At her check up today, she is 97th%tile for length (Daddy) and 80th %tile for weight. 24 inches long, 12 pounds. If they had a measurement for feet I am sure she would be off the charts!

3. She is infatuated with her mommy (or is mommy infatuated with her?). A bit of a mommy's girl right now, we are incorporating evening feedings and morning play time with daddy to keep the whole family involved and remove the shackles from Mommy's ankles from time to time.

Some Elyse stuff:
Daycare. One day we realized, to find someone to love and care for your child as you would is an almost impossible task. But we begin the search anyway. Amazing to me there are waiting lists for daycares a mile long and very few openings for infants. We are searching for part-time help with a very small child to provider ratio (like one on one or so). Wish us luck. Guess I better get her registered for preschool soon.

More Smiling and a Giggle. There was ONE giggle, one day about two weeks ago, and that was it. She looked at herself in the mirror and giggled. We wait...

"I found my hands..." Elyse's new toy is her hands! She will stare at them, suck on them, kung fu them around, poke herself with them, anything to keep her little hands in motion. A very exciting and funny discovery. The first of many we are sure.

Most of the day is still spent eating, sleeping and pooping, but in between we see little glimpses of this fun loving, spunky girl we are sooo excited to

be with today and watch grow tomorrow (but hopefully not too quick on the growth part or we will not be able to wear all the darling outfits).

One month down...what a journey!

Hard to believe 5 weeks have passed since our little Elyse entered the world! What an exciting trip it has been.


She is really quite amazing. She is learning to stabilize her head (has been holding it up since day one), we have seen a few smiles (g'pa John says it is just gas hee hee), some chattering and most recently she has been following us with her eyes (listening to our voices we think). Only a few short months ago we certainly would not have gone crazy at a little thing like a smile, but now it rocks our world!

Most of the day is spent eating, pooping and sleeping...and Elyse does about the same. We are constantly amazed at the power of the poops that come out of this beautiful darling. Mom and Elyse attend a mommy and baby group twice a week, that is really fun and supportive. It is a great place to compare notes and ask lots of questions of the other moms. Scott continues to work from home and try to stay focused around the screaming, laughing and overall mayhem. Pretty sure she already has him wrapped around those little tiny fingers.

We are excited for Elyse's first trip across the border. We will spend the next week in Canada at Whistler. Apparently you can't put her in ski school until she is a bit older, but we are sure to have some fun anyway. Maybe snowshoeing will be more appropriate!

We thank you for your continued love and support. The calls, visits, food, gifts and love are all appreciated more than you know!!

A beautiful little girl has joined our family

On Tuesday, January 13th at 8:40PM Elyse Jean Edison was born. The event was nothing short of miraculous and left everyone in the room (hospital staff included) in tears.

Emily was in labor for about 12 hours and managed the considerable pain with grace. Little Elyse measured 21" long, eight pounds, and has long primate-like digits much like her father. Luckily her other features are more like Mom.

We were surrounded by enthusiastic grandparents before, during, and after the event, with Emily's mother Sharon providing us with lots of help during birth and afterwards at home.

Emily was understandably exhausted after the big event and we all slept a fair amount on Wednesday, taking advantage of the great care and services Evergreen Hospital offered us. We decided to stay at Evergreen Wednesday night and were discharged around 10AM on Thursday.

It struck me as odd that we were encouraged to take a tiny one day old child home with us, but had to wait eight weeks to bring our dog Fletch home from the breeder...I digress.

Since arriving home we haven't done much other than stare at our gorgeous little girl, feed her, try to decode her various cries, and stumble around sleep deprived. Today we plan to go out on the first outing which may include a stroller. We'll let you know how that goes.

If you haven't seen photos of Elyse, please feel free to check out this slideshow which is growing every day just like Elyse.