December

We weren't so busy this month. Which really was a welcome change to things. As I mentioned in the last post we are expecting baby number 2 in May of 2013. So really, I have spent a lot of time on the sofa, and in bed. Which I know sounds great, but it does make the month of December a little more stressful. Still however, I am so grateful for a little one, and a half a little one in this house to make the holiday's so magical. I wouldn't trade our simple, unhurried holiday for anything.

I have such a good helper...fast forward to the next photo....

This is us, a week later, still working with an empty tree. I got home from Utah and got the flu. It was the best week of my life....

We went shopping, which was all sorts of fun with this little stinker.

Took several spills on the concrete. This doosey was one of the worst.

We bundled up and went with some friends and the rest of Chicago to see the lights at the zoo. Not really Temple Square, but it was still fun.

Did I mention we went shopping this month? Meet Christmas present number one...

We actually got a little snow just before Christmas, and by little, I mean little. It was still snow and still magic to Elsi.

This is where we ended up on Christmas Eve. With a fever of 101, three molars coming through, and a sick, but still happy child. Dad had a little scare while Mom was out, it was almost enough to end us in an emergency room. But, due to faithful nurses that work on Christmas Eve (with their kids yelling in the background) we got things settled down and were able to make her comfortable.

Christmas day was merry and simple, and a little overwhelming for this little one.

Santa brought a new bike, with a really long handle so that this prego mommy can stand to push her through the house for hours and hours.

This baby is well loved.

Finally some time to just play!

We even got to go out for our anniversary this year. Grandma and Grandpa Bywater came and made that all possible. We loved it!

November

This catch up is so long overdue that I forgot my password to log in. Did I mention I was pregnant? :)

November was busy because we weren't home. We left the first week, and then didn't come back until the last week. We spent our time in Utah with the family, Seattle for a show, and then back to Utah. Here are just a few things we did...

We played and played and played with cousins, friends and everyone else we could meet up with. AND we spent a lot of time in the car going back and forth. This girl is a trooper though and was always patient and happy.

We played at the Children's museum. Always a fun outing.

Sink baths with Grammy, still a go even though we don't fit very well.

First encounter with snow, so we built a snowman.

I feel like I was in the air more then I was on the ground this month. Flying to and from Utah and then the Seattle show in between all of that made me more of a frequent flyer.

We rode a train at the mall, built for little kids...mommy was a bit uncomfortable.

We spent more time on this little bike then anything! She loved it and would push herself backwards all the way around Grammy and Papa's driveway. She also loved that her Daddy gave her several pushes on the push bike.

This little brother of mine received his mission call while we were there, and I was so grateful for the opportunity I had to be there and be with him. He leaves in January for the MTC to serve a Spanish Speaking mission in Everett, Washington.

We of course squeezed in some bowling.

We got lots of new jammies...and lots of new cousin's to play with.

We enjoyed many a meal with friends and family. Elsi even had a thing or two to say about how and what she ate. Which was entirely new for her, and myself.

Here we are checking out the house that Papa is building. He uses this lovely fixture for light as he cuts molding. :) He removed it from someone in the wards house. One man's trash is Papa's treasure. I love that about him. 

No further caption needed. I was in HEAVEN.

We helped with the decorations and getting ready for Christmas, as you can see, it was a good thing we were there.

October

Yes, I am playing catch up...three months of it actually. :) We have been busy, sick, busy with the holidays, and then just plain exhausted after that.

October was a great month for us....

Went and toured a little of the city with some co-workers after our first ever Chicago show.

Made lots of cookies and other treats for Halloween.

Had a wave of coldness sweep our area, and decided to visit the farm in the middle of it.

A visit from my sweet sister made this month one of my favorites. We chatted and laughed and visited a few of our favorite places in the area.

Scott was so put out at having to do the dishes he forgot to use the correct soap.

Made my first award winning pie...EVER.

Carved pumpkins with this cute pumpkin.

This cute little witch visited our house. She walked around poking everyone with her broom and saying "Hee, Hee, Hee, Hee, Heeeee... ( No tree was harmed in the making of said broom. The only thing that was harmed was my pride in the making of the cape. Yes, the sewing machine still has a home.)

One Awesome Birthday

 Where do I start as we celebrate this milestone. This sweet girl blessed out lives a year ago on Labor Day. Labor I did to get her here and the weeks following were not so easy either. Well, lets be honest, the whole year has been one of change.



However, I would not trade this little monkey for the world. She is such a blessing to have in our lives and in our home. The day of the party we had a torential downpour in the morning, and I was a mess. I had rented a pavilion at a local forest preserve to have cake and ice cream at and I was sure we would be celebrating in a hurricane, or smushed in our small home with the cake table in the master bedroom and the toilets would have to act as the finest chairs.

We spent the morning celebrating with birthday pancakes for breakfast and then made a quick and short job of opening the Birthday presents that Grandma and Grandpa Bywater had brough the night before when they arrived.
She loved the princesses and the books, and the cute little dress. She also will not get off the trampoline from Grandma and Grandpa Bywater. The jumping is endless and the buttons that make noise more so.

Not sure how I captured this face...it's her dad's.

  

 I then ran (well okay, drove) to the airport to get Grammy and collect the cakes. We enjoyed the day chatting and watching the little munchkin jump and play. We also made four kinds of homemade ice cream for the party.
I found this great link with some perfectly simple recipes for homemade ice cream.

We headed over to the forest preserve later that day and had a gorgeous evening to work with despite the not so great forcast.


My fantastic friend Aimie made this cake for Elsi. It was a checkerboard on the inside and a delight of sprinkles on the outside. It was fantastic!

Ice cream flavors included chocolate (soupy chocolate anyway), Strawberry, Oreo (by far the leader and champion of the night), and vanilla.





 


Elsi wasn't sure about the cake and at first just really liked brushing the sprinkles off, and then when I gave her her own piece (yes, she is independant and worried about having her own thing...drives this mom nuts some days!) she dug right in. Loved it...


We are so grateful and lucky to have so many wonderful friends, the party was so fun and we loved having family and those that are our suragot family around us.


 
The party was such a big hit that I caught Grammy cleaning sprinkles out of the tred of Elsi’s shoes later that night...I couldn’t ask for more.

A one year old party in the hat for this mom.

Camping

We did it in style...

For some reason my thought process was a little off that day...obviously, a skirt and flip flops. I would roll my eyes at my daughter. :)

We went to the Indiana Dunes (on Lake Michigan) and had a great time with friends.

 First time in the sand- checking it out in her fingers

 The first morning that we went to the beach the water was very calm. Later that day the wind had picked up and the waves were rolling.

Elsi loved the water, she ate rocks, and sand, and dirt. Yes, I did survive...barely. Elsi was not much of a fan of the sleeping arrangements and had a hard time going to sleep the first night, it was pure drama. When Scott and I woke up the next morning neither of us knew when she actually succumbed and went to bed. Hope we didn't wake anyone up. Our eight person tent worked snugly for the three of us and the dog, and the air mattress, and the pack and play. I could go on...you should have seen the car. 

The weather was perfect....and then we came home to the rain, and higher gas prices...sigh.

The End

Growing In

We all have to do it, and we are doing our fair share at this house. I am amazed that we are celebrating our Sweet Elsi’s first birthday in the next few weeks. I remember the last few weeks of my pregnancy...no, lets not go there. :)
This....

 Leads to this....


I am in St. Louis currently on my way to Tulsa, OK. to trade these cute cards!


That is all I do at my job, you really can’t call it a job. If you like the stamp like I do, my friend and fellow scrapper Kelly Purkey sells them here. She has some great catchy phrases. Enough of that...

Lately we have been drawn to parks, and as the area we live in is full of them we really don’t have to go far. Elsi is fearless (pray for us) when it comes to stairs, tubes, slides, etc. We took Scott a few nights ago and he just stood there as she went backwards down a tall twisty slide.


Check out the swing. Soon she will be able to see over it.

Scott and I got an opportunity to have a date night and go to a White Sox game. No, I am not adding my hat to the White Sox pool, I am still Switzerland when it comes to all things sports. When you are this close to the field though, it's hard to ignore the players running towards you and the ball coming faster.

 We were invited to our first birthday party. I almost killed over with anxiety (chalk it up to a REALLY bad experience when I was younger) for Elsi. She didn't notice though because there was a pit of plastic balls...she didn't want to get out

Another thing about growing up...she is starting to thin out, get taller and reach for the door knobs (pray harder for us.)

I feel like I need to mention my milestone as well, I don’t relish announcing this is in public, but I want to go back and read this when the next baby comes along and I feel like it will never happen again. I finally wore my pre-pregnancy pants. I did a little dance and moved on (I had to because Elsi was just about to jump off our bed.)

We are headed into several weeks of business with a summer trip to the Indiana Dunes and a Birthday to celebrate. I hope to get another post in, but may disappear for a while.
Love to all!