Nothing Ventured - Nothing Gained

Today was a lovely day.
We started off the morning attending church and enjoying the sermon about salvation - such a precious gift.
When we got home we realized we only had an hour left before we had to leave to attend our nieces birthday party.  To be honest we were dreading it a bit - I mean who wants to drive an hour for an hour long party and then have an hour long drive home on a Sunday before starting the work week?
The roads were a bit slick still but we tried to "ignore" that.
We went and had a FABULOUS time!  We were so glad we went.  We had a great time socializing with family and sharing in the celebration of our nieces birthday...she's 10 already...I can't believe it!
Definitely a time of gain!

December 2nd

Wow - I can't believe it is December 2nd already!  Has time really gone by this quickly?
Eloise stood up on her own last night - she was eating goldfish and just staring at me as though she was saying, "Yeah what of it?!?!" It was cute!

Christmas Card 2010

Colorful Frames Christmas

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Impatience

I am currently feeling impatient!
My nephew Harrison is supposed to arrive ANY day and he just won't budge! 

When will he come?  What will the experience be like for Ea?  Will her water break?  Will she get through childbirth without any drugs?  She is an amazing woman and know she will be a phenomenal Mommy - I am just so anxious for her to be that Mommy! 

All of you know how very patient I am...so this is of course killin' me!  But I know he can't stay in there forever!

Does anyone even read this??

She sits - She sits

Eloise sat on her own for the first time today!  YAY!   Allison sat at exactly 6 months - so I guess Eloise is a little early :) HA!

Same old...

I know...I know...another eating picture.  But, who could resist this photo?!?!  She loves her peas and today she decided she would be adamant about using her right fist to help the peas get into her mouth...as you can see she made a bigger mess...but hey who doesn't want to make a mess while they eat? :)

In other news Allison is in Lutsen with Grandma Jennifer and Grandpa Mike.  I heard she talked the entire five hour drive up there and would scream if there was a pause in conversation - that's my girl!

Sweet Dreams

On Sunday when I came home from running errands both girls were taking a nap in the living room - it was too sweet not to take a picture...

All I want for Christmas...

Eloise now has TWO teeth coming in right next to each other.  They are both on the bottom...so all she wants for Christmas is her two bottom teeth I guess :)!  She has been an excellent baby and the only reason we know she is teething is because EVERYTHING goes in her mouth and she drools a lot...other than that she has been sleeping great and in a great mood!  God has truly blessed us with such great girls.

In other news she is now grabbing BOTH feet.  She used to only grab her right foot.  Today I was able to catch it on camera - I think I have a picture of Allison that is quite similar...

Eloise 5 1/2 Months (June 2010)

Allison 5 1/2 Months (July 2007)

More baby food, Peas

Tonight I discovered that Eloise LOVES peas...Allison loved peas too - so I shouldn't be too surprised!  Just started with the cereal yesterday but thought I would try peas today - and low and behold she LOVED them...she opened wide and smacked her lips...mmm mmm good!

Mush

We fed Eloise her first bowl of mush today.  When Allison was little I could not wait to get to all the next steps...the first food, the first time she sat up, the first time she crawled, etc.  But with Eloise I find myself wanting her to take her time...but I knew she was ready to "eat" - she looks longingly at us when we eat or drink anything...so I figured I should try it.  She did pretty good.  Obviously there was more on her bib than in her mouth...but she isn't an expert yet.  She will get the hang of it quickly I am sure...We know her digestion works because right after she was done she filled her shorts - so much it made Ryan gag :) HA!  Glad I didn't have to change that one...

Bowling...

We decided to go bowling for Ryan's birthday...it was a fabulous time...Allison did a pretty good job!  I think she even had a higher score than me :)

Trying to chat...

Ryan caught Eloise trying to chat on video the other day - it was quite entertaining!

5 Months

I can't believe Eloise is 5 months already! Time goes by too quickly...

All weekend I have been thinking that I need to update my blog - and get better at blogging...so Eloise turning 5 months is my new starting point...we will see how it goes!

I caught this picture late at night as I was putting her to bed...she is a very easy baby and I can not complain. She loves her bed and loves her musical light up seahorse...5 minutes after laying her down - she was out!

Sometimes...

A foot just gets stuck in the wrong place...

Don't worry - Daddy saved the day and got it out - no one was harmed or injured in this event!

Friends and Butterfly Wings

Ryan and Mike had a fantasy football draft last night so we invited Amy and Lauren over for dinner and playtime. The girls had a great time as usual...Allison was barefoot outside and Lauren wore Allison's shoes - another usual at our house! :) Lauren loves shoes!

Allison had some butterfly wings that both girls put on and they "flew" around the yard. It was a gorgeous evening and we all enjoyed every minute of it.

Mmm Mmm Good!

We have had an abundance of tomatoes in our garden and Allison of course wanted some...she got mad at us when we said we would cut it - she said "I want to eat it like an apple!" Sure enough she did...

A Walk (or run) through the Garden

My mom and I took Allison to the Munsinger Gardens in St. Cloud and enjoyed a fun day in the sun. Allison enjoyed running through the individual gardens!

As you can tell she also enjoyed the water fountains - I think she could have stood there for a few hours. She did keep asking for her swim suit and silly me kept saying I forgot them :)

We stopped and posed for a picture by my favorite - the hydrangeas - they were so pretty!

Allison kept looking in the Wishing Well and singing Snow White songs - but I don't think the prince was in there :)

Bonnie Beach

Once again we went to Bonnie Beach at good ol' Clitherall Lake for a week of fun and sun! We went with the Witter's again and had a fabulous time! Allison wasn't too sure of the water but totally loved playing in the sand and building many sand castles!

Allison also felt totally relaxed on many boat rides...

She even enjoyed fishing with Daddy and thinking the worms and fish were "soooo cute!"

It was a fabulous vacation and we were all quite tired by the time we got home!

Naked in a tutu!

Allison received a tutu for her birthday from my talented friend Jana. Alli loves wearing it - especially when she wants to dance to music. The other day she was running around naked - which is a regular occurrence in our household - and she wanted to put her "princess tutu" on...well she did and briefly danced before being distracted by my purse...she didn't find much in there of course :) but she had fun!

What a great day...

We went to the MN Zoo today and had a wonderful time. Andrea, my Mom, and Ryan's Mom all came down and we arrived at the zoo about 9:30. Allison had a great time! She enjoyed seeing all of the animals and walking around and leading the way - I think her favorite part was the many tunnels and caves to crawl in :) Ea was a great sport and climbed with her - what a great Auntie! Needless to say she was quite tired when she came home - so I let her be spoiled and nap in our bed today...she is still enjoying that nap! :)

Just thought I would post a few of our favorite pics...enjoy!