Vacation - Round 2

Here are some pictures and a video from our most recent vacation with my parents and brother and sister-in-law. We travelled to Destin, FL. Elise did great in the car, and we had terrific weather. Elise would get in the pool and not get out for hours. Thank goodness for water wings - they gave her a lot of freedom to paddle around the water without being held the whole time.

While there, Wes and I celebrated our nine year anniversary. My parents graciously watched Elise, so we could enjoy a night out just the two of us. Josh and Rachel teased us for our early dinner (reservations at 6), but we've gotten used to eating early with Elise. We also enjoyed a nice walk on the beach together.

Pregnancy is moving right along - I look and feel huge (see picture below). Definitely getting to the point where I can tell I wear out easily. I pretty much have given up holding Elise - she's just too heavy sitting on my belly. Lilah has gotten very active. I head to the doctor tomorrow for a check-up, which is happening every two weeks now. If the time wasn't slipping by quickly, going to the doctor every two weeks makes it go even quicker. I'm 31 weeks now, and I believe at 35 or 36 weeks, I start going every week. It actually seems a little excessive to me, but I'm not a medical professional.

Enjoy the video of Elise paddling around the pool. I'll post one of her at the beach soon.

Vacation

Okay, I had some pictures of our family on vacation, but for some reason, they aren't showing up anymore.... But, I don't feel like going to the other computer and re-loading them, so all you get are these beautiful shots of the Smoky Mountains! We had a really great vacation with Wes' family, however, recovering from vacation is quite a process - I'm trying to make up my work hours from last week and Wes is out of town for work. It's been a little tiring. Good thing I have another vacation in two weeks :).

We spent several days enjoying the Smoky Mountains - I tried with all my might to not let my pregnancy hold me back. I hiked, I biked. But, ultimately, I just couldn't make the whole 11 mile hilly bike ride we took - I was out about half way through, and then I was so tired the next day. I am choosing to blame this on pregnancy - it is possible I wouldn't have made it not pregnant, but we'll never know :).

The Wedding

We had a great vacation last week. We kicked off the week with Wes' cousin Holly's wedding. Elise was a flower girl, and she did such a great job. I was very proud of her. She had a great helper - Tess - one of three kids that Holly used to nanny. Elise warmed up to Tess very quickly and was eager to please her. Tess was great with Elise and coached her down the aisle. Halfway down, Elise ran out of flower petals - she wanted to turn around and pick some up. But Tess kept her on task. Here are a few pix from the day.

Short post

I've been slacking on posts, so I need to get something up, but there are probably a lot of other things I should be doing right now to get ready for our weekly dinner group (at our house this week). So, I'll keep it short. Elise had her first real haircut today - need to get her looking good for her flower girl debut. I wanted to get a picture in the chair, but she ended up sitting on my lap. She was pretty scared at first, but a sucker and mommy telling the Three Little Pigs story calmed her down. Afterwards, we went to the candy store and she picked our a gummy centipede as a treat (which is what she is eating in the picture).

Funny story I don't want to forget: I pick Elise up from school yesterday and she says, "Mommy, Jesus takes away our sins."
I reply, "You're right, Jesus does take away our sins."
Elise says (in a very distressed voice), "Mommy, why would Jesus take our sins?!"
I'll admit, I didn't know how to explain this one - at two, anything being taken from you is a bad thing....

Wes and Elise on a daddy-daughter date to the Indy Zoo last Saturday

Between Wes and my genes, Elise got the straightest hair known to man!

Easter

We had a terrific Easter celebration yesterday. The true meaning of Easter may be lost on Elise for now, but we enjoyed reading stories of Jesus' life leading up to his resurrection over the last week, and we're reading about after his resurrection this week. So, until she understands, she did learn that Easter is a very special day!

My grandmother sent Elise this dress - she picked it up at a thrift store (thrifting runs deep in my bloodline :)) for play clothes, but it was just too darling not to use for Elise's Easter dress. I got a sash for it from Hobby Lobby and then used the bow from the back of the dress as a hair bow. Pretty crafty, if I do say so myself!

Elise had fun hunting Easter eggs with her friend Nick. Boy did they both devour the candy. Here they are eating and then looking sadly as a piece of candy must have fallen to the ground.

Fort Wayne Trip

We had a fun trip to Fort Wayne last weekend. Elise loves visiting her Nana and Papa J. She received some early Easter gifts including an umbrella and some gardening supplies/seeds to plant. We had a nice sunny day when we got back to Bloomington, and Elise enjoyed planting her seeds. Now, the idea of waiting for them to grow has been a little difficult, but she'll be thrilled when they pop out of the soil. She also enjoyed riding the carosel. She has ridden it before, but was mostly scared. This time, she was scared at first, but really liked it once it got going.

Reading

Our daughter loves to read, particularly to be read to, but the other day, she started "reading" a Sandra Boyton book. She has looked at books and told a story before, but this is the first time she actually said what was on each page. No, I don't think she is a genious - it was just a simple book that she could look at the pictures/colors and remember what the pages said. But as Elise's mother, I was still tickled by it. Enjoy!