This picture (above) was actually taken a couple of months ago. Eric had taken the kids hiking in the San Bernardino National Forest to an aspen grove. This picture was taken in a meadow where they stopped for a little snack break. A couple more recent ones appear below:
The above picture was taken at Forest Falls, just a little under a month ago (11/25/09). (And, yes, that is Jake under there!) This next one of Elise was taken on the day she turned 22-months-old (12/2/09).
Alright, so here's the scoop on what we've been up to...First, as you can see, the kids have been growing like crazy! Jake is now about 6 ft 1, has surpassed his uncle Tim in height, and is now officially the tallest person in our family. As you can imagine, he's quite pleased. With regard to our recent move, I must say, he has handled the move to Redlands much better than what I would have at his age. He's a real trooper. Since we've moved here, he's taken up playing bass and is pretty darn good at it! He's made it half way through his sophomore year of high school - it's been somewhat of a struggle for him, but I think he's finally buckled down and taken on a more serious (and studious!) attitude. We'll have to keep you posted on that one! I am proud of him, though, and I am hopeful that he'll keep it up!
Elise - well, she hasn't been to the doctor lately so I don't know how tall she is or exactly how much she weighs, but I can tell you that she has definitely been growing lately. Eric has tried to weigh her and estimates her weight at around 30 pounds. I know she's gotten taller, but I haven't been able to get her to cooperate and stand in the doorframe so I can try to mark her height. Her 2T pants, which still require rolling the pants legs up some, are no longer 6+ inches too long for her to wear (at least not comfortably -and safely! - navigate in).
She's definitely made a lot of progress on the talking front - especially in the last few weeks. She's still pretty much in the "holophrase" (one-word) stage, but has been putting 2 words together more and more often. Jake, Eric, and I have been keeping a list of all the words she says, including: doggy, wa-wa (water), hat, shoes, up, baby, dubbily (her bear, a.k.a. bubbily-ubbily), tub, bubbles, book, seat (to refer to both a chair and the act of sitting down), bib, help, etc. etc. for a total of over 40 words.
She's also been trying to dress herself lately and is much more successful at the undressing part. She's getting better at putting her shoes and socks on, but still tends to get both legs in the same pants leg hole when trying to put on her pants. Shirts pretty much just get draped over her head or around her neck, but every once in a while she'll get her head through the neck hole.
Eric and I have been super busy since graduating and moving to Redlands - hence, such a long hiatus from blogging. I just finished my first semester teaching at University of Redlands. It still surprises me that I like teaching as much as I do. I never really thought I would. Anyway, overall, I think my first semester went pretty well. I have to say, though, that I'm definitely relieved to have made it through and am looking forward to filing grades and taking some time off to hang out with the family. We rented a cabin in Big Bear and are leaving for the snow-covered mountains in just a couple days. It should be a great time - Eric is looking forward to finally getting a chance to ski again, Jake wants to learn how to snowboard, and I'm looking forward to going tubing with Elise and spending some time in the jacuzzi!
Finally, saving the best news for last...Eric recently got a job offer from Chapman University! He starts in January and is pretty excited about the opportunity. It is a post-doc position conducting research alongside some experimental ecomonists as well as teaching a class in the psychology department. Overall, they (i.e., both the economists and psychologists) seem very interested in what he has to offer, so it bodes very well for him and is definitely well-deserved!
For more pictures of Elise and the family, check out my picasa album at: http://picasaweb.google.com/jahehman
I couldn't resist just one last thing before I go...We had the pleasure of having the Patricks (my brother Tim, his wife Liz, and daughter Brianna) come visit us for Thanksgiving. Here is a picture of Elise (on the right) and her cousin, Bri (on the left), giving each other a hug on Thanksgiving morning.
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