Almost Two?!

In about two weeks, Elise will be 23 months old - 1 month shy from being a 2 year old! I can't believe that we're going to have a 2 year old - it makes ME feel old! :) I'm so amazed at how much she has grown and changed over the last (almost) 2 years. She's now talking up a storm (I wonder who she gets that from?!), saying her ABCs, counting to 10, and singing all of her favorite songs - Twinkle Twinkle, Old McDonald, Row Row Row Your Boat, BINGO, etc. She feeds herself with her own spoon (and makes a mess in the process!) and as of a couple days ago, she has started going to the bathroom on the potty! One day she just started telling us that she had to go, so we sat her on the potty and she did her thing. We'll see if it continues and if it does we'll get serious about potty training because she seems to "get it." She's thriving at school and always talks about her friends and teachers - which makes me a little nervous because she will most likely be moving to the next class once she turns two and meeting a whole new set of friends and teachers. Elise never ceases to amaze us so I'm sure she'll handle it just fine.

Last Saturday, we went to see Sesame Street Live which Elise loved!








And on Sunday, our church had a kid's carnival and while my mom and I manned one of the booths, Greg and Elise got to play!

Here they are catching fish:



Elise is enjoying a sucker while daddy's trying to stay cool.



Our little jumping bean in the bouncy house!

Labor Day!

We had a great Labor Day weekend complete with a fun play-date, a cook-out, and a trip to the Callaway Gardens! It was our first time being at the Callaway Gardens and to be honest, we probably didn't choose the best time of year to visit, but it was fun nonetheless. The weather was perfect so we had a picnic right when we got there and then spent the rest of the day exploring the gardens, butterfly center, trails, etc.

Elise and I enjoying the swing!


Trying to catch a butterfly


The butterflies were so beautiful!






My two favorite people!


Smelling the flowers. :)


Taking a break - figuring out where to explore next!


The only way I can get Elise to smile for pics these days is to tickle her!


I can't believe summer is over - Fall here we come!!

"No One Needs a Vacation as Much as the Person who just had One!"

Now that we're back from our Lake Tahoe & San Francisco vacation I need to get back into blogging - and what better way than to blog about our trip!! My parents took Greg, Elise, my sister, and I out west for the week. It was a first-time trip to Tahoe and San Fran for all of us so we spent a lot of time planning things to do and places to see. Wouldn't you know, Elise came down with a super high fever the night before we left. Thankfully we had time to go to urgent care before our flight and we got some antibiotics for her ear infection (yes, another one!)! She did pretty well on the flight; I was worried considering the pressure during take-off and landing. By the time we went to bed that night it was around 1:00 AM ET and Elise hadn't had a good nap ALL day! Thankfully, her fever broke at the end of the following day and she was healthy the rest of the trip.


Lake Tahoe was by far the most beautiful lake I've ever seen with the most amazing clear blue water.


We got a really good feel of just how HUGE the lake is when we took a boat ride on the M.S. Dixie! :)



We took a gondola ride up one of the moutains and saw this amazing view of the lake:


Elise zonked out on the way down the mountain - it must've been the mountain air!


After Elise's cat-nap, it was pool time with her daddy!







After a couple days in Lake Tahoe, it was time for the San Fran leg of the trip!

In the lobby of our hotel in San Francisco!


We had to get a pic on the trolley! :)


We visited the Famous Ghiradelli Square for some yummy Chocolate, every girl's favorite!


We drove down Lombard street, America's Crookedest Street!


We had lunch at the World Famous, Boudin Restaurant on Fishermans Wharf!


Elise loved walking in downtown San Fran!



The first night there Greg, my dad, and sister visited Alcatrez while my mom, Elise, and I had a girl's night-in!!





We had to see the famous "painted ladies" - remember these from the show, Full House?!



We walked the Golden Gate Bridge!






And we finally managed to get a quick family pic in the Heavenly Village.



We had a great time and made great memories, but it's good to be back in reality! Well, besides coming home to a sick dog and a popped breaker that shut off our fridge and freezer while we were gone. :( I need a vacation from our vacation!!!

Casts, Pacifiers, and School!

We've been going non-stop since we returned from Vail. The first thing we did was get Elise's cast off!! Surprisingly, she sobbed once it came off - she definitely liked all the extra attention she got with it. We had one more x-ray taken after the cast came off just to make sure the fractures were healed and thankfully her new bone growth looked great! The doctor told us not to be surprised if she walked with a limp for up to 8 weeks after getting the cast off but we're happy to report that she is limp-free!









The next thing we tackled was Elise's pacifier. She took a pacifier the night she was born and has had it ever since. After doing some reading and talking to other mommies, we decided to take it away completely - COLD TURKEY! A couple days prior to 'Operation No-More Pacifier' we explained to her that pacifiers were for babies and she was now a little girl who would be starting school soon and couldn't take a pacifier with her. As much as she seemed to understand what we were saying, the day we took away the paci she was not going along with us and screamed and cried for her pacifier. :( By Thursday she was adjusting to life without her paci really well and we haven't looked back since!


To help take Elise's mind off of her pacifier (or lack thereof!) we had a playdate with a friend and played on inflatable slides and had lunch!








Onto the biggest news yet, Elise started school today! My mom has been watching Elise pretty much since she was born, which we are so thankful for, but we wanted to give Elise the opportunity to be around kids more, as well as give my mom a break! So a couple months ago, Greg, Elise, and I started touring schools to educate ourselves and find a school that Elise would love. We succeeded because Elise had an absolute blast today! I'm so relieved! This morning was rough - for me, not Elise - when I got back into my car after dropping her off the tears just started rolling down my cheeks. She had a great day and only cried for a minute during naptime. When I went to pick her up I asked her if she was ready to go home and she said No. I think it's safe to say she really enjoyed it and is looking forward to going back on Thursday! I am really looking forward to seeing all the new things she'll learn by going to school a couple days a week. :)

Vacation Recap!

We spent the 4th of July in Vail, Colorado this year and had a great time! The weather was beautiful and such a nice break from the hot & humid weather in Atlanta. Elise was so excited to see her grandparents, aunts, and uncles from Florida and to spend an entire week with them! We celebrated the 4th with a parade in Vail Village and fireworks at dusk. It started raining so the grand finale was cut short, but all in all it was a great 4th!! The rest of the trip was spent doing a lot of outdoor activities...fishing, white-water rafting, mountain-biking, and playing at the park. An outdoor concert, a visit with a college friend, a moose-sighting, several card games, and some shopping rounded out the week nicely. It was sad to say goodbye both to the mountains and to our family but we made some great memories that we'll remember forever!

A family picture!



I'm in love with the mountains!



Elise is enjoying her balloon while we wait for the 4th of July parade.



Stopping for a picture while shopping in the Village.



Grammy and Aunt Jodie took Elise to the park while the rest of us went white-water rafting!



The moose we saw while driving up a mountain!



Elise and daddy relaxing in the lawn at the outdoor concert.



This was the best we could do for our family picture.



My favorite picture...thanks for being such a great photographer, Aunt Jill!



Thanks so much Geep and Grammy for a fun-filled vacation!



Loving life!!!