Josh, Ashlee and Elsie: I Think She is Perfect

August 10-13 was the Washington County Fair. I have a lot of people that always tell me I should put Elsie in pageants, commercials, anything and everything to show off how cute she is. So Josh and I decided to enter Elsie in the fair baby contest. She is at the age of not wanting to hold still, but we did it anyway because she is so stinkin cute!!! We registered her on Wednesday (Aug. 10) and she was supposed to report for back to the fair on Friday. We got there on Friday and they called her group, she was in the 10-18 month girl group. The judges were the princesses from each of the cities in Washington County. They met the kids in groups of 6. So Elsie and I and 5 other little girls and their moms (there were other groups of 6, I just didn’t count how many there were) sat in chairs in a half circle in front of the 3 princesses judging them. It was awkward because Elsie was the oldest one in the group and she would not hold still! It was pretty funny, she was all over the place. She was supposed to sit there and smile and be cute so the girls could judge her, but she wanted nothing to do with that! I was trying everything I could to get her to sit still. I sang “Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree” 3 times, I put her on my shoulders, I hung her upside down (all of which, she usually LOVES) I let her sit in her own chair….she was being a crazy girl. The entire time they judged the girls was about 4 minutes…Cute crazy girl that just wanted to explore the room we were in. They told us they would be calling the 6 finalists in each category later Friday afternoon. I won’t lie that I was kind of expecting a call…afterall, I do think Elsie is the cutest baby ever!!! I did get a call telling me Elsie was a finalist and that we needed to show up at the fair at 11:30 Saturday morning (Aug 13). Earlier on Friday, they gave us a shirt Elsie had to wear (it was difficult for me to put together an outfit to make the t-shirt look cute) she told me that Saturday she could wear whatever she wanted. Anyone that knows me, knows that I am obsessed with putting together outfits and making sure Elsie is always dressed perfectly for any and every occasion :)…this was a big task for me…I can’t lie that picking the perfect outfit for a stupid competition caused me way too much anxiety. It was ridiculous. I wanted her to look perfect. I wanted her outfit to match her cute personality…I was stressed. I picked the outfit I wanted her to wear, told Josh and he said she needed to be dressed up more than the outfit I had picked. He thought she needed to be in a dress…oh the stress. I didn’t want to have to buy anything new…after much stress, many phone calls and picture messages to my friends on helping me pick the perfect outfit…we decided on the cute yellow and green :) She looked perfect. The part I loved most about it is this is an outfit she wears every day. This was just another day for Elsie. I did nothing special to make her any cuter…no strange outfits or makeup…none of that! (NO TODDLERS & TIARAS here!!!) When we got there, Elsie was sitting nicely in her stroller (for about 5 minutes) and then wanted to run around. I wanted her to be happy, so I let her. She ran around, smiling and waving at any person that made eye contact with her. She was super cute! She was crazy. She never held still. If I picked her up, she would arch her back and scream SUPER LOUD and throw a fit…so fun for me. It took all I had to keep her off the stage :) Then it was our turn. We lined up at the side of the stage, Elsie was first. They announced her name, and we walked to the center of the stage. Elsie was perfect. She saw everyone and smiled so big. She automatically waved at the crowd. I bent down to her and told her to blow a kiss, she did it perfectly, with a huge smile to follow. It was flawless. For a minute. Then we had to move to the back of the stage while the other 5 girls came out. I was supposed to stand on a stage and hold Elsie for the next few minutes? Ya right! Elsie immediately wanted to be put down. I put her down, she immediately ran to the front of the stage and smiled. I went and got her and tried all I could to keep her holding still and not screaming. Fun for me. I put her down again. She ran to the front of the stage again. This happened a total of 3 times. When all 6 of the girls had been called, they announced that there was a child in this group receiving a special award. “Elsie Christiansen wins an award for The Overall Cutest Smile. Congratulations Elsie.” I was so excited! I think everything about Elsie is perfect, it made me so happy that someone else agreed. Elsie Lynn Christiansen (OUR DAUGHTER) has the cutest smile in all of Washington County!!! I LOVE HER! Then we had to wait while the rest of the contestants were called, then they went back through and called the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in each category. This whole time, I am trying to keep Elsie happy, quiet and still. I wasn’t very successful. It was right at her naptime. She was so tired, it was hot and there was a lot she wanted to see and the room was big. It was pretty stressful for me. I had run out of tricks. I was glad Danielle, Sam and Macy were there to help me out. They started calling the winners and they got to Elsie’s group. They announced the 3rd place first. Then 2nd place. Then 1st place. I was pretty confident that Elsie is the cutest baby girl ever! I was ecstatic to know that other people agreed…”The first place winner of the Girls ages 10-18 months is #41 Elsie Christiansen!” When they called her name, she was in her stroller, almost asleep drinking some milk. I fought back the tears that instantly came to my eyes and got her out and headed to the stage. The Washington County Queen was in the middle of the stage with her trophy (don’t get excited, the trophy is nothing fancy…it is actually so awful that it is funny!). Elsie saw her and got a big smile on her face. The queen bent down and gave it to her. Elsie looked at the crowd and waved and blew a kiss. Again, it was perfect. SO CUTE!!! I was so proud of her! She also got a big, vinyl growth chart to hang on her wall (if we decide to put it up). We exited the stage and took pictures with the newspaper. Don’t worry, Elsie didn’t smile for the picture…We hung around there for awhile after and had lunch, then we left. Elsie was so exhausted. She fell asleep in her carseat before we even backed out of our parking spot, seriously. I am so proud to be Elsie’s mom. I love everything about being a mom! I am so grateful for Amanda for making the decision she did. Amanda deserves all the credit of Elsie being so cute! I love telling people that Elsie is adopted. Josh and I are so blessed! Thank you Amanda! Elsie has the cutest smile of all the children in Washington County and she is THE CUTEST 10-18 month old girl in all of Washington County! We are 2 proud, bragging parents :) Enjoy the pictures….

This is the outfit I constructed for the t shirt :)
I think she looks pretty darn cute!

The first day of the contest wore her out :)
This is a close-up of the awful t shirt :)

Entering the stage for her first "performance" :)

She was so excited to see everyone looking at her. She immediately waved at the crowd :)

Blowing a kiss to the crowd

I was supposed to stand at the back of the stage and hold still while the other 5 girls in her category came across the stage.

Someone wanted to stay the center of attention :)

"And the winner is....Elsie Christiansen, Overall Cutest Smile Award"

Standing in front of the judges
Elsie wanted down so bad!

Good thing I brought Elsie a sucker :)

Even princesses throw a fit :)
She was running around smiling and waving at everyone and this is what happened every time she went somewhere I didn't want her to go :)