Elizabeth Ann Hart

The Nursery

Elizabeth is nine months old now. She has spent much of her first summer in the back yard. The swing and the swimming pool are favorite places to play, but she enjoys crawling in (and eating) the grass, too. She has spent hours (it seems) walking with Dad in the garden, and eating every raspberry he could find for her. And she's even tried some of the flowers we sometimes use in our salads.

Her first two teeth arrived the monday after the July 4th weekend. We had wondered why she was so fussy during the family reunion that weekend. Besides raspberries and flowers, she's been using them on peaches, cucumbers, and tomatos in the garden. Cheerios, jelly sandwiches, and graham crackers get lots of attention when she's in the house.

Elizabeth loves to play with her big sister. They swing together in the back yard almost every day. In the house, Elizabeth follows Abigail as fast as she can go on hands and knees. And she can crawl fast! She goes up stairs easily (but not down yet). We now must be sure that doors and gates are kept closed.

Elizabeth also enjoys teasing the dog. She will hold one of her toys that she knows is not for the dog in front of the dog's face, as if to say, "this is mine and you can't have it." Elizabeth and the dog do enjoy each other's toys. One of Elizabeth's favorite toys recently was one we bought for the dog.

Elizabeth has learned to do a few new thing over the past few months. First, as described above, she crawls very well. She can also easily stand up if she has a leg or a chair to grab. She'll be walking soon! Next she has learned to say a few words. She said her first word one day as Dad returned from work. Seeing dad enter the kitchen, she crawled acrossed the floor, saying dadadada... Now she has added Mama, Abbie, and Dog to her vocabulary. She has also just started waving goodby to Dad as he leaves for work in the morning.

Here is Elizabeth swimming with Abigail. Abigail looks like she might prefer a pool with more water and a diving board, but Elizabeth is certainly enjoying her "swim".

Elizabeth is now 28" long and 18 lbs, 6 oz at 9 months of age! Over the summer her hair has turned quite red and as you can see from the pictures, she still smiles much of the time.

There is no change in the status of Elizabeth's kidney. A test this summer showed that her kidney's were working adequately. We have more extensive tests scheduled for this fall at about the time of her first birthday.

Here are earlier pictures and the story of her birth, if you haven't seen them yet.

The Front Door

Last Updated: 9/1/98

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