First Post of the New Year!

Happy New Year! Since I neglected to write for the last month or so of 2010, the first post of 2011 will be a long one recapping the latest happenings in our lives!

Where should I begin...Thanksgiving, I suppose.
We spent Thanksgiving in Florida this year visiting family and while we were there we got a chance to meet the newest addition to our family, Baby Cooper - our new nephew - and celebrate Elise's 2nd birthday (again!)

WELCOME BABY COOPER - we are so glad you're here!



Elise opening a birthday present with Aunt Jillian.



Enjoying her dress-up clothes!







We of course found time to enjoy the warm weather - such a welcome change from the cold at home!
Taking a little dip in the pool - I think the water was a little cold.





We managed to have a play date with Ross and Sam, the cutest boys that belong to one of my best friends from college who now lives in Boston! SO FUN!





We had a professional photo shoot done as a surprise for Greg's parents as part of their Christmas gift.
Here are some of the unprofessional shots we got - the ones Greg and I took! :)





Let's try that one again!









We had a great Thanksgiving and an even better time spending time with family! Next up, the month of December and Elise's visit with Santa.



Maybe next year will be better!



Elise had her Christmas program at school! I couldn't get good pictures of this with all of the chaos - I mean, performing going on! :)



And finally, Christmas! I couldn't get a good picture of all of us dressed up before church but here are a few from Christmas Eve.





My beautiful sister and I.



The best gift ever!



Santa stopped by for a visit. He was looking for a little girl named, Elise!



But he found GiGi instead!



Getting a new dolly from Santa!



Christmas morning!



Someone likes her new sleeping bag!



We had a white Christmas - once in a lifetime in Atlanta - so my dad made Elise a snowman!




My parents' snow baby!




Three days after Christmas was my 30th Birthday! We stayed in since I wasn't feeling well - we all had a horrible cold - and Greg cooked us a delicious dinner.


Had to get a pic with the chef!




Love you, mom!



See what I mean when I say I can't get a good picture!? NO SMILE FOR ELISE! :(



Here's a little grin!




My awesome dad!



Phew - I think that's all! Now I know why I try to stay up-to-date on the blog...it's too much work to do it all at once! ;) Happy New Year! Someone is glad that the holidays are over and things are getting back to normal!

Elise's 2nd Birthday!!

Elise had a great 2nd Birthday! She started the day with a trip to Dutch Monkey Donuts with Gigi and Grandpa! Here she is enjoying a chocolate covered donut with sprinkles! :)



Since Elise's birthday fell on a Wednesday, we waited until the following Saturday to have her birthday party. Greg and I decided to make it a small family affair this year and wait till Elise is a little older to have a party with friends. Since Greg's side of the family is in Florida (we're celebrating with them over Thanksgiving!!), it was just my parents and sister but we had a great time celebrating and showering our little angel with lots of birthday love and attention.


Elise loves butterflies so I had to make her a butterfly cake. Don't look too closely - I'm an amateur and I ran out of frosting!!



Hamming it up for the camera during her birthday party!




Blowing out her candles!



Dancing with her new 'dance with me ballerina doll'!



Playing with her new art easel!



Even the grown-ups liked the art easel - here's my dad showing Elise how to draw!



Family pic!

Two Years Old!

It's hard to believe that we went from this, Elise at 3 days old:


TO THIS, Elise at 12 months old:


TO THIS, Elise at two years old:













(We didn't intend to take this picture but we think it's hilarious and such a good representation of our little goofball!)


Happy Birthday to our sweet baby girl who turned two on Wednesday! We're having a small family party this weekend so stay tuned for pics of the celebration!

Halloween Recap

We had a great time getting ready for Halloween and celebrating the big day! First stop, the pumpkin patch. October was such a crazy month with a lot going on that by the time we made it to the pumpkin patch the selection was a bit picked over. We had fun nonetheless and picked a great one!



>








After visiting the pumpkin patch it was carving time! Greg and I concentrated on carving the big pumpkin while Elise decorated her miniature pumpkin with stickers!












Next up was the Halloween party at Elise's school. All the children & teachers were dressed up in their costumes and there were games, candy, a haunted house, face painting, etc. for the kiddos to participate in.

Our little cheerleader!





After that we had some friends over for dinner. Elise got all dressed up for her best buddy, Jackson. :)




On Halloween night, we went to my parent's house for dinner and of course some trick-or-treating. We made it to four houses before Elise wanted to go back to GiGi and Grandpa's house - she was such a good sport and is enjoying all of her candy and treats!

Elise's First Haircut!

Elise will be turning two next week and believe it or not, we haven't gotten her hair cut yet! It was getting a little mullet-like so we knew it was time.

Here she is anxiously awaiting her haircut (I had already taken her pony tail out):



She's a little unsure but doing well!



Looking like she's going to fall asleep.



The hairdresser loved her!



Showing off her new do!



Being silly and not smiling for the camera!



The sucker was the best part, of course!



She loves her new haircut and was so excited to go to school today and show her friends and teachers! :)

I'm Back!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately - Elise and Greg are on round 2 of antibiotics for nasty sinus infections so it has been doctor appointment after doctor appointment, followed by pharmacy pick-up after pharmacy pick-up around here. Hopefully the worst is over and we can stay healthy (at least for a little while!).

Elise has successfully transitioned to her new class at school. She's now in "Get Set" with the older kids where they're continuing potty training, learning how to drink out of regular cups (no more sippy cups), etc. I can't believe how fast she's growing up - where did my baby go?! She's talking in sentences now and we can actually have conversations with each other which is one of the best things about this age. ;) She has also become such a good little helper - feeding our dog, putting her shoes on all by herself, loading the fridge with water bottles, and picking up her toys and putting them back where they belong after playing.

This past weekend we went apple picking, one of our family's Fall traditions. Greg found a good one for Elise:



She didn't want to put the apples in the bag after picking them off the trees. Here she is running away with one! :)



Pausing for a quick picture. I have so few of just Elise and I since I'm always behind the camera but we're slowly changing that. :)



Showing off our apple!!



We managed to pick a good mixture of fresh apples and used some of the Granny Smiths to make an Apple Crisp when we got home - YUM!