The Davison Family Blog

Our Year in Review: 2011

2011-12-28T10:41:00.003-06:00

Where did the year go!? I was horrible at posting to our family blog this year! But this 8 minute video will recap everything I didn't get a chance to share! Instead of a Christmas letter to accompany our cards this year, we decided to put together a photo slideshow with highlights from the entire year. So check out our 2011 Year in Review!

We can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for us! Happy New Year!!

First Day of School 2011

2011-08-22T08:04:00.002-05:00

How can it be that summer is already over?! Today is the first day of school for Thomas and Claire. 1st and 2nd grade!

I can tell that Claire is a ball of nerves. She's been pulling, twisting, and holding her hair again for the past week. This was a problem last fall when she started Kindergarten and it got better as the year went on, so I'm hopeful she won't pull ALL of her hair out! Despite the anxiety, the only tears out the door were from Elise!

I'm not sure if she was sobbing because she wanted her picture taken too or if it's because her playmates are leaving her behind! There's no doubt that she wants to go to school too...she just has to wait three more years!

Anna Plays Peek-a-Boo

2011-06-09T16:19:00.004-05:00

I know I need to catch up on posting a lot of things -- like our cruise to Alaska and Anna's 1st birthday. I hope to do that soon, but in the mean time, I just had to share this cute video of Anna playing peek-a-boo. She just loves it! She's such a playful girl! Here are two photos and the video at the end.

Where's Anna?

Peek-a-Boo!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-26T22:26:00.002-05:00

It was hard not to feel truly blessed this Easter with our four beautiful children and such beautiful weather to be outside! We didn't get to church as early as we had planned, and it was starting to get crowded. Not full yet, but enough so that I asked the usher to help us find a place for the six of us. He asked me "front or back" and I responded "middle". (The big kids like to be able to see, but I knew we may need a quick exit for antsy little people.) We ended up in the very FRONT row. Front and center. Jim gave me "the look" as we were seated and I know we were both wondering if we would survive. The kids were great though and the little people stayed put...for the most part! After church, we came home and took some pictures. Getting four kids to look AT the camera at the same time AND smile is well...nearly impossible!

After "opening" our Easter baskets and having lunch, we played with our (brand new!) Wii. Grandpa, Juanita, and GiGi (Great Grandma Irving) came mid-afternoon. Grandpa tried Wii bowling and chased the kids around the backyard after our egg hunt. The kids found all 87 candy-filled eggs and we opened them to put in a family candy bucket. With all that candy and the chocolate gifts from Grandpa and Juanita, we just might have enough candy to get us through next Easter!

Click here to view more pictures of our fun-filled day.

2010 in Pictures

2010-12-25T10:38:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas!! I hope you are enjoying time with your family this Christmas and making many happy new memories! I'm a little behind on posting to the blog, so if you are checking us out after receiving our Christmas card in the mail, be sure to stop back again to see more pictures! I have several updates for Anna, including a video of her crawling! In the meantime, scroll back through the archives for a review of 2010!

Snow Day

2010-12-22T13:31:00.006-06:00

A couple weeks ago, we got 9 inches of snow over the weekend. Even though it was really cold the next day, the kids were thrilled to get to play in it! We bundled them up wrapped them in scarves and sent them out to play in the yard.

It's wasn't good packing snow, so they didn't make a snowman, but the very first thing they did was lay down and make snow angels!

This was Elise's first time to really play in the snow since last year she was only 1 year old. She loved it!

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-16T23:46:00.004-06:00

Halloween came and went quickly this year. We did manage to pick out pumpkins at Curtis Orchard and carve them the night before Halloween. Thomas and Claire each drew faces on their pumpkins and Jim carved them out. Then, they added some extra decorations with the different colored Sharpies.

Claire colored a dress, a crown, hair, and tattoos (a party hat on one side and a caterpillar on the other!). When she was all finished, she exclaimed: "Now my pumpkin looks pretty for the squirrels to eat!" [She remembered well the fate of our pumpkins last year...we have very hungry squirrels in our neighborhood!]

(I didn't get a close-up of the pumpkins, but Elise did a great job drawing a face on her pumpkin. Her eyes and nose were perfectly placed and I helped her draw a smile.)

On Halloween, we had pizza with the Traficantes, endured a windy costume parade, and hit the streets for some trick-or-treating. Well, Jim did. I stayed back with the baby. I did remember to take a picture of the big kids right before trick-or-treating, but I forgot to put Anna's costume on to take her picture.

Thomas was Spongebob Squarepants, Elise was a good witch (wearing a purple dress up dress and a black witch hat), and Claire was a bumblebee.

The kids got quite a haul, which I am ashamed to admit is nearly gone just two weeks later!

Navy Pier Trip with Uncle Bud

2010-10-26T01:21:00.003-05:00

We finally got back up to Chicago to visit Uncle Mark (aka Uncle Bud). We decided to go back to Navy Pier since it was a little rainy that day. But we didn't plan very well because we arrived at the Chicago Children's museum at 4:30 pm. And they closed at 5:00 pm. (Can you believe it -- 5:00 pm on a Saturday!?!) We made the most of our half hour and tried to see as much as we could. It was really fun and I know we could spend an entire DAY there!

After the museum closed, we went outside and purchased a family ride combo ticket. The grown-ups took turns sitting out with Anna as we rode on the carousel, played mini golf, and rode the big Ferris wheel.

I have to say, the Ferris wheel, at dusk, was pretty awesome! That is, until we reached the very top (150 feet in the air!) and Elise decided she wanted to get off! I had to physically restrain her as she screamed for me to let go. Needless to say, I didn't enjoy the 7-minute ride as much as I had hoped!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Elise!

2010-10-12T12:07:00.001-05:00

It's her party and she'll cry if she wants to!

Unfortunately, Elise wasn't feeling her very best on her birthday. She had a slight fever, which happens every 4-6 weeks when she gets a new tooth. I'm not sure if it was that or just the volume, but when we sang "Happy Birthday", she burst into tears! We didn't even finish the song! She was much happier when we served a slice of cake.

Here she is earlier that afternoon, playing in Grandpa Davison's backyard.

Sometimes it's hard to believe that Elise is only 2. She's been doing her best to keep up with Thomas and Claire all year that I sometimes think she is older. She's talking a lot more in the last couple months and her vocabulary has really grown. Sometimes it's startling to hear her! Several months ago, I asked Claire to share something off her plate with Elise at dinner and Elise pushed her fork away and said, "No. I don't want that." She definitely has her own opinion and knows how to voice it!

She loves to play with dolls and the play kitchen. She tries to play with Thomas and Claire, but they often dismiss her because she "ruins" what they are trying to do. At 2 years old, Elise can be a little precocious, but I've found now that Thomas and Claire are back at school, she is a lot better because she gets more one-on-one time with me.

She still loves climbing. At the indoor playground, she has mastered climbing the "bridge" (low monkey bars to walk across with a hand rail on each side) and she can climb all three slides.

Like her siblings, she's a snuggler. She loves to curl up on the couch for story time before bed. And I hate to admit this, but she still takes a bottle of milk before bed. She likes it warm and as much as I try, I can't get her to drink it cold at meals.

Elise is a great big sister. She often fetches toys or diapers for Anna and likes to talk to her and show her things. They are going to be great play mates when Anna starts moving around more in a few months!

Here's a little video of Elise "reading" her Baby Signs book. She is turning the pages and making each sign. (If you are reading this via email, click here to view the video.)

Happy 7th Birthday, Thomas!

2010-09-28T23:30:00.004-05:00

Seven years old. Wow!

We had a great time celebrating Thomas' birthday last weekend. We invited his friends to join us at Curtis Orchard for pizza and play. We were worried about the weather, but the rain stopped and it dried out (for the most part) in time for the party. We started out in the new playground with a 5 hole mini golf course, took a break for pizza, cider, cake, and presents; and then finished up with the inflatable slide & obstacle course and pony rides for the girls.

The highlight of the party for Thomas was opening presents and getting his surprise package: a Nintendo DS. Here's a video of him opening his gift. (Email subscribers, click here to view the video.)

It wasn't quite as animated a response as I had been hoping for, but he did have an excited freak out moment after the camera stopped rolling. And I was touched by his unprompted hugs and thank yous to me and Jim separately. We sure raised a sweetheart!

At 7 years old, Thomas is starting the first grade this year. He's lost 4 teeth total. He loves sports (baseball, soccer, and basketball), is still working on riding his bike without training wheels, and enjoys running and playing outdoors. He's also a video game fanatic and thinks, dreams, draws, and breathes Super Mario. Thomas got several Star Wars Lego sets for his Birthday, which has been enjoying and playing with. He seems to make friends easily. He's sensitive, temperamental, modest, helpful, loving, and goofy. He's Thomas (or Tom, but never Tommy). And we love him to pieces!

Elise's First Haircut: Before & After

2010-08-30T22:53:00.001-05:00

Last weekend, Elise had her very first haircut! Both girls were getting a little shaggy, so we had them trimmed up and evened out.

Claire & Elise Before Haircuts

Claire & Elise After Haircuts

Elise did good for her first haircut. She was a little wiggly, but didn't fuss much.

First Day of School

2010-08-30T22:43:00.003-05:00

Thomas and Claire are back to school. They have already had their first week. Here are some pictures from the first day, on Friday, August 20. Claire was thrilled to start Kindergarten. Thomas was a little more reluctant about staring 1st grade. He said he wanted to stay home and play all day. But I reminded him about the week before when he kept asking me what he could do because he was so bored! I think he is adjusting to being back on a schedule and is enjoying it!

Claire is excited to have Thomas' former Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Risken (pictured below with Thomas on his last day of Kindergarten in May).

Summer Fun: Highlights of Summer 2010

2010-08-30T21:59:00.004-05:00

I wished summer to go quickly because it was hard to juggle four kids on hot, hot days. And it did go super fast and we didn't take nearly enough photos. Thomas and Claire enjoyed a week-long soccer camp in June. We had several visitors that month too. Truman and Talia came to celebrate Claire's birthday followed by Aimee and cousins Lexy, Miles, and Maddy. The kids had so much fun in the short visit. I wish we lived closer so they could play like that more often!

In July and again in August, Thomas and Claire got to visit Truman and Talia for extended sleepovers to celebrate their respective birthdays. They looked forward to these visits and would ask every day how much longer until they could go back. They both say they wish that Truman and Talia were their twin sister/brother!

Claire and Talia at the American Girl store in Chicago.

Mario buddies: Thomas and Truman enjoyed a minor league baseball game (complete with fireworks!) later that night.

In July/August, the Thomas and Claire took two weeks of swim lessons, during which time Elise also enjoyed some play time at the local pool. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the big pool much this summer. (Once with Auntie Yo in June and again for a pool party in August.) We used out kiddie pool in the background to stay cool. And to beat the heat of summer parks, we played several times a week at the indoor playground at FCC, a local church.

After lots of practice in the field across the street, Thomas participated in a "T-ball for fun" league sponsored by the park district. He'll be ready for team play next year!

We did make it to Prairie Farm (with Claire's pre-school friend Izzy) and to the Henson-Robinson Zoo in Springfield, on the same day as our block party with old State Street neighbors in Springfield. And in July, we caught up with some college friends at our annual picnic, this year held in Jacksonville. Gosh, now that I write it all out, we really did have quite a summer!

Anna: 3 Months Old

2010-08-30T21:11:00.004-05:00

It's hard to believe Anna is already 3 months old. She's growing so fast! On the day she turned 3 months (August 23), she rolled over for the first time (from her back to her belly)! Now she does it all the time. And this new development has really helped her sleep better during the day. She often rolls over and sleeps on her belly, napping in her crib for up to 2 hours at a time! She continues to also sleep well at night, although she has had a few nights when she woke up earlier than 4:00 am (which had become a norm last month).

Anna loves to watch what's going on. She likes to be held to face outward so she can see everyone. (Although she also likes to lay her head on my chest and snuggle.) She is starting to get easily distracted while breastfeeding, which is not fun for me. She may not have teeth yet, but...ouch! Her hair seems like it's starting to come in a little more (but it's still just fuzz) and it still looks red! It's hard to tell in these photos, but her eyes are still blue. I think they will stay blue, but it's too early to know for sure. A baby's eyes can change even as late as a year or two after birth!

Happy Baby Anna

2010-08-08T22:29:00.000-05:00

I finally got some good pictures of Anna smiling. And even giggling! We love to make her laugh. Usually a silly face or funny noise will get her going, but we also discovered she is ticklish at the top of her chest, just under her chin.

Anna: 2 Months Old

2010-07-30T21:30:00.006-05:00

At 2 months old, Anna is discovering the world around her. She is reaching out to grab and bat at toys. She also loves to put her hand in her mouth and suck on her fingers. (She doesn't take a pacifier.) She's smiling more, but I haven't been able to catch a good smile on camera yet. Thomas and Claire love to talk to her and make her smile.

At around six weeks, Anna started sleeping consistently from 8:30 pm until 4:00 am! I am thrilled to be getting more sleep at night, but also the extra time in the late evening to get work done.

At her 2 month check-up, Anna weighed 12 lbs 14 oz and was 23-3/4" long.

Anna: 1 Month Old

2010-06-29T04:37:00.002-05:00

It always amazes me how fast little ones grow and change! Last Friday, Anna had her 1 month check-up. She's doing great! She weighed 11 lbs 3 oz and was 23 inches long. She's filling out nicely. I want to just nibble on her thighs, but I'm careful not to so that another little cutie doesn't catch me and try it herself! (wink!)

We have enjoyed Anna's increasing quiet alert time and the kids have enjoyed holding her, singing to her, and showing her toys. In the picture above, Anna is distracted by Claire and a dangling toy.

We don't put her on the floor as much as we probably should. The floor is a dangerous place at our house! In the short time I had her on the blanket to take photos, the girls literally ran circles around her (I thought for sure she was going to be trampled!) and couldn't resist snuggling right up to her (which is not a bad thing, except Elise doesn't know boundaries and will keep snuggling until she's on top of Anna!).

Anna is a great baby and has been sleeping well. The past couple nights, she's gone down between 8 and 9 and slept until 3 or 4 am! And we're starting to fall into a good sleep pattern during the day too. I hate to use the word "schedule", but she's getting more predictable and that makes it easier to get out and about.

Proud Papa

2010-06-20T23:58:00.002-05:00

We love the weekends at our house because that means Daddy's home! To say the kids just adore Jim is an understatement. And it's a mutual feeling! From the day Thomas was born, Jim just stepped into the "job" of being Dad like he had been doing it forever.

Here's a picture of Jim and the kids on Father's Day before we went out for dinner. Earlier in the afternoon, Thomas and Claire treated Daddy to an afternoon at the theater to see Toy Story 3.

Happy 5th Birthday, Claire!

2010-06-20T23:43:00.005-05:00

I can hardly believe that Ms Claire Bear turned FIVE last week! She is such a big girl! She's a great help with Elise (helping to get her shoes on, watching her for me, or sharing a precious toy even when she doesn't want to). She loves hugs and kisses and snuggles on the couch. You'll often find her singing and dancing around and she loves to show off when she knows she has an audience. She plays well on her own and has a fantastic imagination, but she also loves to role-play with Thomas or her other friends, whether it's with stuffed animals, princesses, Mario toys or whatever she finds to love. Claire still loves to draw and create and will ask us how to spell words to write on her pictures.

For her birthday party last weekend, we played at Zahnd park with friends (Nicholas & Daniel, Sarah & Abby, and Truman & Talia). We had sandwiches and chips for lunch and red velvet cake (decorated heavily with sprinkles by the birthday girl herself!).

Claire and her friends each decorated a t-shirt using fabric markers to take home.

Thomas and Truman both drew Super Mario scenes, of course!

Even Elise got to decorate a shirt!

Big Sister Elise

2010-06-09T16:10:00.005-05:00

I've been concerned about how Elise would handle being around the new baby. I even joked to a friend that the only thing we needed for Anna was diapers and a protective bubble to keep her safe from Elise! She definitely has her moments and isn't gentle enough -- trying to climb on my lap while I'm nursing or poking instead of gentle touching baby's head. But she is also filled with such curiosity and pride for her new baby sister. She's often concerned when Anna cries and says "goodnight" to Anna before she goes to bed. This morning, Elise cozied up to Anna on the floor after a diaper change.

I realized then that we had not yet allowed Elise to hold Anna. She has asked at least once already and I knew that she wanted to, so I told her to sit on the couch and gave her the Boppy for support. Even though Anna was already cranky, I lowered her down into Elise's arms. She was SO proud! She beamed for the camera. "Cheese!"

Anna was crying, so I picked her up. Elise didn't like that and asked for "more" as she gestured to have Anna back on her lap. I let her hold her for a few more minutes. Elise tried to comfort Anna by shushing her. I love this photo which perfectly captures the "sshhuusshh" on her lips. She's going to be a great big sister!

It's a Girl!

2010-05-27T20:34:00.003-05:00

We are thrilled to announce the birth of Anna Rose Davison, born at 2:10 am on Sunday, May 23, 2010. Anna weighed in at 8 lbs 13.5 oz and was 20.5 inches long. It's hard to tell, but we think the fuzz she has for hair may just be red!

We chose the name Anna to honor Jim's mom, Sharon Ann Davison. And her middle name Rose is for Julie's mom, who had a dream when Julie was pregnant with Claire that it was a girl and we named her Rose. She's been campaigning for the name Rose ever since and we thought it was a pretty middle name to pair with Anna.

The big kids were so excited to meet Anna!

Check out more pictures from Anna's birth day here.

We came home from the hospital on Tuesday and are getting settled into our new routine. We are so thankful to have Nana and Pop-Pop (Julie's parents) here to help take care of us: running the kids around to school, making meals, and entertaining Elise!

Painted Cookies

2010-03-27T15:30:00.002-05:00

We had a pretty good Spring Break this past week. Most days we were able to go out to the park and play outside. Thursday was wet and yucky, though. So Thomas and Claire stayed in their PJs and we spent the day painting! First they painted watercolor pictures of Spring, which they cut out and we hung on the wall by the foyer. Then, in the afternoon, we made sugar cookies and "painted" designs on them. I found this variation in my Betty Crocker cookbook. After you roll and cut the cookies, paint on them with a mixture of 1 egg yolk, 1 teaspoon water, and food coloring. The kids loved decorating their egg and butterfly cookies and we just as delighted to eat one after they cooled.

Peek-a-Boo

2010-03-25T15:33:00.000-05:00

Where's Elise?

Peek-a-Boo! (Or as Elise says, "Peek Boo")

Playtime at the Park

2010-03-17T15:42:00.002-05:00

Spring has sprung! We are so happy for warmer weather! Last month, we transitioned Elise from two naps to only one. And now that she is awake in the afternoon, we have been taking trips to the park after Thomas gets out of school. Here are some pictures from one of our first park trips of the season.

Elise loved the swings, but also enjoyed climbing and going down the slide by herself.

Claire ran around with Thomas and then took a break to swing. She likes to be pushed "highest of all".

After playing in the sand with Claire, Thomas made some new friends and ran around playing Star Wars with them. He wasn't still long enough for me to take another photo!

Showgirls

2010-01-26T10:44:00.003-06:00

There is always lots of singing and dancing going on at our house. We make up words to our own sings, sing our favorites, and dance to any beat.

I caught Elise singing yesterday and was able to get a little video. I think she's singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", but mostly I hear her singing the same words over and over: "Up above the world so high". You'll love the little yawns in there too. She was fresh from a nap, but obviously still a bit tired. (If you look closely, you'll notice she's trying to color at the same time.)

And once I had the video camera going, Claire insisted a get a clip of her. She singing: "There's no trouble in a bubble as you're floating along" over and over. It's a song from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse I guess. She was watching it while I took a shower, so I didn't catch the original context or lyrics.

Claire: 4-1/2 years

2010-01-25T21:03:00.004-06:00

Claire had a well child check-up last week. Somehow we got off schedule from her birthday, so I'm not sure if this was a late 4 yr check-up or an early 5 yr visit. I guess a combination of both. But since she won't have another check-up before she starts Kindergarten this fall (Wow! I know!), she got all of her pre-K shots. Including the H1N1 vaccine, Claire got FIVE shots that day. She was so brave and whimpered a little, but didn't cry. I was so proud of her!

My little "Claire Bear" is getting so big! At her check-up, she weighed 38 lbs and was 42 inches tall.

She still spends lots of time creating: cards, pictures, books. That's her latest thing: books. She and Thomas will illustrate a story and then dictate the text to Mom or Dad to write down. I love to see what her imagination comes up with! She is very inquisitive and is always asking questions about how things work or what they do or where they are. She keeps me on my toes!

She also loves to sing and dance and always has some song stuck in her head. She's always talking about something, even if no one is listening. She loves attending preschool at Faithful Friends twice a week and attending Creative Movement dance class in the middle. When there's no where to go (Mondays and Fridays), she begs me to take her "somewhere special" (usually the mall). She likes to be out and about and keeping busy.

Elise: 15 months

2010-01-25T20:39:00.005-06:00

Some days we just look at her and think, WOW! She has been growing so fast! It seems like she got really big all of a sudden. She is no doubt a full-fledged toddler now and her baby days seem like so long ago! Her 15 month check-up was great. She weighs 25 lbs 2 oz and is 31-3/4 inches tall. I'm not sure where that puts her on the growth chart as far as percentiles, but she's a healthy little girl, so I'm not so worried about the numbers.

Look at those front teeth finally starting to come in! That brings her up to 5 total and I know there are more to come! Elise has been gnawing on EVERYTHING, including and especially her little fist. She's always got her hand in her mouth.

This is Elise posing for the camera. When I say, "Elise, say cheese!", she turns to me with an open mouth and squinty eyes and says "ahhh!"

She continues to stay busy, chasing after her siblings, climbing the furniture (we can't keep her off the kitchen table or the coffee table and she climbs freely on Claire's bed and the couch). She has been singing and dancing. She loves to scribble with a pen or crayons (trying to imitate Thomas and Claire). Last night, I found her coloring on the living room end table. Don't know where she found the crayon up there...she is full of mischief, but in an innocent and curious way.

She talks a lot, but doesn't have a lot of words yet: Mama, Dada, Claire, Done, Ba (for bottle), Hello, Bye, Up. She has often repeated words, but doesn't use them regularly, like: Uncle Bud (soooo cute!!), dog, cracker, and (I swear!) Tylenol (she's been getting a lot for her teeth)!

Climbing to the Top

2009-12-26T14:19:00.000-06:00

Elise is a climber. She climbs on everything she can reach and she has no fear. Earlier this week, she figured out how to climb up on the kitchen chair. And from there, of course the kitchen table. Later that afternoon, she figured out how to climb something else: the ladder to the top bunk! She's been working on the ladder for awhile now, but never made it past the first step or two. Now that she knows how, all she wants to do it climb up and play on Thomas' bed. We're working on detaching the ladder so we can put it up during the daytime. In the meantime, I allowed her to have one more trip up there and caught her feat on camera for you. She's so proud of herself!!

Here's a video of her entire climb up the ladder to the bed. And her victorious playing afterwards. She's got a lot to say, but doesn't have very many words that actually make sense yet.

Christmas Morning

2009-12-25T23:48:00.003-06:00

We celebrated Christmas at Grandma Irving's house on Christmas Eve and enjoyed visiting with the Suttons. We got back home pretty late. The kids helped me set out cookies for Santa and went straight to bed. They must have been pretty wiped out because we got to sleep in a little and didn't get up this morning until 6:30 am! The kids waited for me to turn on the Christmas lights and grab the camera and then they came down the hallway to see what Santa brought. Claire was so excited to see a princess tent!

And Thomas was thrilled with his Bakugan and Pokemon gifts!

Finally, at 6:45, I went to check on Elise (who normally wakes up at 5:00 most mornings). I woke our snoring baby up so she could join in the fun. She fell in love with her giant bunny rabbit and didn't seem to care that Thomas and Claire opened the rest of her presents!

I love the magic wonder of Christmas morning through a child's eyes. I hope your day was filled with such magic and many happy memories! Merry Christmas!

Baby #4 Update

2009-12-25T23:44:00.000-06:00

I had an ultrasound on Wednesday and the baby looks good. All measurements are on track for a May 16th due date. The sonographer checked for boy/girl parts and sealed the answer in an envelope. We opened it together on Christmas Eve. And this is what we found:

The ultrasound picture with the card points to the area between the baby's legs and on the bottom, she wrote "?Girl". I'm not sure what the question mark means, but I'm going to hold on to the boy stuff for now, just in case they see things a little differently on my next ultrasound! Here are some more pictures. I like the one of the hand (top left corner)! The baby was waving at us!

Our Little Art-tiste

2009-12-23T22:54:00.004-06:00

In the last few months, Claire has really come to love drawing and creating anything out of paper and crayons or markers. (She loves to stamp too, of course!) I think she brings home more art than anyone else in her preschool class. I keep joking that I'll open a little gallery in a hallway, but that's not a bad idea! I really should photograph more of her artwork. Here's a little sample of her latest creations:

She drew this self portrait for her dance teacher. She signed her name and I wrote down what she said she was doing in the picture: "doing twirl spins in dance class". She is quite shy in class, but absolutely loves it! Oh! And any time she draws a picture of a girl, she includes eyelashes! One picture she drew of the family included eye brows only on the boys and eye lashes only the girls. The eye lashes are not always, but sometimes, coming right from the eyeball.

This next picture is a cow that she made last month. She has made several other animals and even a "church person" in the same manner. She draws the body part, cuts it out, and glues it all together. My favorite part of this one is the huge spiky udders that are almost as big as the cow's legs!

Holiday Happenings & Portraits

2009-12-12T10:36:00.004-06:00

I'm slacking on my posts, but we've been busy decorating and getting ready for Christmas. The kids are so excited for the big day! We have a special visitor at our house this year. Max (our "Elf on the Shelf") is watching over the kids for Santa and reporting back to the fat man each night. Which means that every morning, Max is "hiding" in a new spot around the house and the kids have to find him. Besides their hide-and-seek game with Max, they are thrilled to check the advent calendar each morning for a new treat and to add to our Nativity scene from The Usborne Advent Navitiy Book. Elise is oblivious to all of this, but has appointed herself the official tree un-decorator. I should take a picture of our tree. Each day, the ornaments get higher and higher and the top half of the tree is now very full with Christmas trinkets.

We took the kids for their first every professional portrait together and ended up spending much more than we had planned. But as you can see, they were too cute to resist! Portrait Innovati ons did an amazing job and I highly recommend their studio!

Busy Body Baby

2009-11-09T07:37:00.005-06:00

Elise is such a Busy Body! She just keeps going and going and going. Just like that Energizer bunny! Here's a video I took of her last week doing two of her favorite things -- at the same time! She loves to climb up on the rocking horse that Grandpa Davison made for Thomas when he was young. She tries to rock back and forth, but doesn't go very fast. She also LOVES books and often wanders back into her bedroom and pulls them all out to look at them. She brings us books to read her and is not happy until we cooperate and sit down to read. Her favorite books are Maisy Plays and Maisy's Fire Truck. I don't know what it is, but she loves that little mouse! Here's the video clip:

Happy Birthday, Pop Pop!

2009-11-04T17:27:00.003-06:00

Thomas and Claire have both been quite the art-tists lately. I will have to photograph some of their artwork to post later. The best part is the story they tell about their pictures. Claire's birthday card for Pop Pop has multiple layers, so I took a video of her explaining the card to Pop Pop. Happy Birthday, Dad! Your cards are in the mail!

(Make sure to click over to the blog to view the video; it doesn't show up in email.)

Halloween & Pumpkin Patch Pictures

2009-11-04T17:11:00.003-06:00

We had a very happy Halloween! Thomas dressed up as Batman. Claire was a pumpkin. And Elise was a little lion. They were so cute! We went to a Halloween party at the Traficante's house and all the kids went trick-or-treating together. I think we made it two blocks before we decided we were done. It was cold! And we got quite a haul! Contrary to the picture below, we did NOT allow Elise to actually eat any candy! She enjoyed gnawing on it and pretending though. She's still working on those teeth (she only has two so far!)...

A couple weeks ago, we went to Curtis Orchard and Pumpkin Patch to pick our pumpkins. You just CAN'T go there without treating yourself to their famous Apple Cider donuts. And after our snack, we played a little. Thomas choose the inflatable obstacle course and Claire opted for the pony ride. They also took Daddy through the Ruby Slipper Maze and then back again.

The kids picked small pumpkins, which we let them paint. And everyone helped to carve the big pumpkin. Jim always picks the biggest pumpkins! This one was a whopping 34 lbs!! The squirrels are feast on the remains of "Jack", who is still sitting on our front porch.

It's a Bird...It's a Plane...No, it's Super Kids!

2009-11-04T16:49:00.002-06:00

Uncle "Bud" gave us this awesome Super Man costume. It has a fan that blows air into the costume to inflate the muscles. So fun! Thomas and Claire loved showing off their new inflated bodies. And Jim wants to know if they make these in adult sizes! Thanks again, Uncle Bud!

Queen of the Remote

2009-10-23T15:21:00.001-05:00

I'm behind on posting my 11 & 12 month updates for Elise, but I couldn't resist sharing this photo from this morning real quick. Elise has become very steady on her feet and now runs around the house like she's always been doing in. She also LOVES to climb up and sit down and Thomas and Claire's little chairs. (Most of the time, she tries to even STAND on them!) So here's a picture of Elise chillaxing with the remote in Claire's chair.

Happy 1st Birthday, Elise!

2009-10-12T09:36:00.002-05:00

We celebrated Elise's 1st birthday on her actual birthday, Saturday, October 10th with family and friends. GiGi (Great Grandma Irving), Grandpa, Juanita, Great Uncle Tom & Kathy, the McKendalls, and the Willsons came over. The kids enjoyed playing with toys, Jim squeezed in one last cookout on the grill, Tom & Kathy helped assemble Elise's new pink car, and Elise soaked up all the attention! She clapped and cheered when we sang "Happy Birhtday" and then everyone watched as she devoured her very first cupcake. From the looks of it, I'd say she really liked it!

Here's a little collage I put together for my stamping blog.

I used the Stampin' Up! Princess Party Kit for Elise's invitations, party favors, and decorations. The big kids made their own crowns at the end of the evening, but I forgot to get pictures of the finished crowns before everyone started melting down. We also did a book exchange for the big kids. Instead of gifts, we asked our friends to bring a wrapped book for each of their children. At the party, we traded packages and each child got to take home a "new-to-them" book.

Water Park Fun at Great Wolf Lodge

2009-09-25T14:54:00.005-05:00

We took a mini-vacation over Labor Day weekend and drove to Traverse City, Michigan to attend Cory & Fabiana's wedding. It worked out especially well because the reception was at the Great Wolf Lodge (where Cory works). We stayed a couple extra nights and even had Yvonne & Anthony come up to join us. We celebrated September birthdays, did a lot of swimming, and enjoyed our date (to the wedding) without the kids tagging along.

Click here to see more pictures from our vacation.

Happy 6th Birthday, Thomas!

2009-09-20T11:28:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was Thomas' s 6th birthday! We celebrated with a party at Chuck E Cheese. Thomas had lots of fun running around and video games, like Mariokart.

That was especially appropriate since his party theme was Mario. We made Mario invitations, had Mario stickers in the goody bags, and even had a Mario cake! (We bought the printed icing sheet on ebay.)

And of course, Thomas came out like a bandit with great gifts from friends and family. It felt like Christmas morning today as we tried out his new toys and games.

First Day of Preschool

2009-09-03T15:23:00.000-05:00

Every since Thomas started school, Claire has been so anxious to start her new preschool. She had a half day (yes, just one hour and a half) on Tuesday and her full morning today. She absolutely loves it! The playground it her favorite part, but I just love the classroom (I want to play it in!) and the teachers are terrific!

Toothless Grin

2009-09-03T15:11:00.000-05:00

Thomas lost his second tooth on his second day of school. (The first tooth came out on his first day of school!). I kept forgetting to take a picture until this week. His big teeth are already started to poke through!

"Hi Da-d" & More Videos

2009-08-30T22:39:00.006-05:00

Elise cracked us up this morning. I was holding her and Jim was standing next to me. I can't remember if he was making faces or playing peek-a-boo or w...but she leaned over and said "Hi Da-d". That's her new word: "Hi". We were visiting our old neighbors at the annual State St block party yesterday and Elise was telling everyone "hi"!

Here's a picture from this morning of Elise. She looks so tall in this high-waisted romper!

I took a cute video of her "rocking" that baby doll, but I accidentally deleted it. I tried to capture the moment again after bath time tonight, but it wasn't quite the same:

Also, here's a couple more videos of her drunken stupor:

First Steps

2009-08-23T21:28:00.005-05:00

Elise is walking! Earlier this week (on Grandma Davison's birthday!), Elise finally got the confidence to step out on her own and took 4-5 solid steps straight out in the the room (from standing at the gated stairs). Of course, I didn't have the camera in hand, but watched in awe from across the room. She's been practicing her new moves and is very pleased with herself! She is still holding on to furniture and crawling (it's still faster that way!), but she's getting quick on her feet even holding my hand. Here is a video of her and her new moves. I'll keep trying to getting a better one. The camera distracts her and she ends up crawling over to grab the lens cap!

A Day of Firsts for Thomas

2009-08-23T20:43:00.006-05:00

Thursday was a big day for Thomas! It was his first day of Kindergarten. He did great at school all day, learning about his new school and classroom routines. He even at lunch at school! Here's a picture of Thomas in his classroom.

And if that wasn't exciting enough, Thomas lost his first tooth that night! His front two teeth were very loose and one came out when he brushed his teeth. "Mom...there's something on my finger!" Here's a picture of his new smile.

I don't expect the other tooth to last much longer (you can see it leaning in the middle of the gap already)...so be watching for an even bigger gap in that smile real soon!

Pool Play

2009-08-17T21:09:00.001-05:00

Summer is winding down and I finally remembered to bring the camera with me when we visited Shloem Aquatic Center one last time.

As always, the evening ending with us having to drag Claire (our little fish!) out of the water!

Elise: 10 months

2009-08-11T21:13:00.000-05:00

I'm a little late at posting this and will back-date it to appear in the right order. Elise is 10 months old now! She is on the verge of walking and has been cruising around the furniture and anything that is stationary for at least a few moments. She is sooo close to walking and maybe already has taken a first step, but it is mostly little baby step, step, lounge and not a purposeful maneuver yet.

Elise has become increasingly social. She wants to be where everyone else is and do what we are doing. She has started to show affection to baby dolls (Claire is being great about sharing Baby B!) and loves to play with all other toys. She seems to be doing more with them now. And loves to play with the big kid toys when she can. She's especially fond of Whack-a-Mole with it's funny noises and plastic hammer.

This past month, she started taking baths with Claire (and sometimes Thomas).

Don't you love those blue eyes?! We get lots of comments from strangers about her beautiful baby blues.

This month, Elise has also started to rebel against her baby food! She loves "real" food and wants to eat whatever we are eating. We indulge her as much as possible, but still give her a little bit of baby food to supplement. She is also completely weaned and transitioned to formula. (Freedom!!) And this month, we started to give her a little bit of juice at lunch or snack.

Video of Elise "Cruising"

2009-07-29T21:15:00.004-05:00

Elise gets in to everything now! I wish I could take a longer video and just follow her around to show how she gets into drawers and pulls things out and grabs things off the table and pulls up the vent covers...she's so curious and loves to explore everything around here. Here's a video clip of her cruising around the coffee table. She loves to go from the table to the couch and usually giggles in amusement of her feat.

Baby Signs

2009-07-29T21:14:00.001-05:00

We have been doing a couple baby signs (sign language) with Elise and just this week, she has started signing to us! I brought my camera to the park yesterday and asked her to show me these signs. Here' a photo of her saying "More".

And here's one of "All Done".

Isn't she the smartest baby in the world!?! (wink!) Now I have to find my Baby Signs book so we can teach her more signs!

Elise: 9 months

2009-07-13T14:34:00.003-05:00

It has been a very busy month for Elise. Not only did she finally cut her first tooth last week, she's also been moving around EVERYWHERE. She's climbing the stairs, cruising, (pulling up to) standing with anything and everything, and finally CRAWLING with her belly off the floor. She steps forward when holding our hands and has even let go and stood on her own for a few seconds. I feel like she's morphed into a completely different baby this past month. She just seems so "big" now!

She's "talking" and tries to respond to us or "yell" to get our attention.

Friday night, we were at a restaurant. She kept pulling the napkin over her face and taking it down. I'd say "Where's Elise?" and she pulled it down and I would say "peek-a-boo" and she would do it again. It was the cutest thing! I wish we had had the camera with us!

She had her 9 month well baby check-up today. She weighs 20 lbs 8 oz and (I think) is 28-1/2 inches long! I can't remember if I noted this in other updates, but she is wearing size 9-12 clothes (and has been since the end of May). She is wearing the same clothes that Claire wore the summer she turned one!

Bike Riding

2009-07-12T20:20:00.007-05:00

Summer is breezing by and we're not taking enough pictures! We had a great long holiday weekend in Michigan. Auntie Yo took the kids to the zoo, Mark took Jim golfing, Nana took the kids to see Ice Age, Jim and I enjoyed a date night, we had a great big steak dinner with the ENTIRE family, Mom and I enjoyed some stamping time, Pop-Pop and Uncle Josh took the kids to play at the park, Nonie & Grandpa had everyone over for Belgian waffles....it was a seriously action packed weekend and we don't have any pictures to show for it. (Oooh! Wait! I think there is one of the entire family on the front porch! Can someone send it to me?)

Well, when we came home, I realized it was time to break out the camera and record some summer memories before summer ends. So here are some pictures of Thomas and Claire on a bike ride last week. They love to ride the bikes. We like to go for a ride/walk after dinner and always stop at the front of school to race down the walkway.

Elise, in her stroller, loves to participate too and cheers everyone on form the sidelines when she's not in the race.

Pixie Cut

2009-07-12T19:57:00.005-05:00

Claire decided it was time she got her haircut and she decided she would just do it herself! I caught her with the safety scissors post-haircut. She cut off a good portion of one side and I took her that night to get the rest trimmed up to match. She seems to like her new 'do and I have to admit, the pixie cut is a bit cute on her. She won't sit still for pictures, so this is about as good as I could get

Another Free Cruise

2009-07-02T20:10:00.002-05:00

Last week I received a special delivery -- an Edible Arrangements fruit bouquet, from my Stampin' Up! upline (the person who recruited me), Kim Peck. It was such an unexpected surprise. But not a surprise without a purpose. Kim sent this special gift to congratulate me on my recent Stampin' Up! achievements. I promoted to a higher title (Executive) and on the very last day of June, earned my third free incentive trip!

I am most thrilled about this trip because Mom earned it too! So, next May, Mom & Dad and Jim and I will be cruising for FREE courtesy of Stampin' Up! to the Southern Caribbean! Stampin' Up! pays for the cruise and our airfare to San Juan, Puerto Rico (where we depart from) -- not to mention all the gifts they give us and things they spoil us with on the trip. I have to say, I'm getting kind of addicted to free vacations!

Happy Birthday, Jim!

2009-06-27T07:01:00.005-05:00

Jim celebrated his birthday yesterday. He had a little flu bug earlier in the week, so he's still recovering from that. We had a quiet celebration at home. We made him cards and paper balloons and of course, his favorite cake: Confetti Angel Food cake with Funfetti frosting. Yum! Here's a picture of Jim and the kids on Father's Day.

It has become a tradition for Jim and the kids to get matching flag shirts each year. (It started the year I was pregnant with Thomas.) And each year, we take pictures of everyone in their matching shirts. Aren't they cute?

Elise's New Moves

2009-06-27T06:44:00.004-05:00

Elise is getting much more confident as she is learning all the places she can get to. She goes everywhere and will often follow me around as I bustle from room to room cleaning up in the morning. She loves to crawl under things and I often have to get her "unstuck" from a chair that was too low -- or even the plant stand that doesn't accommodate her hips.

Thursday morning, she tried something new and pulled herself up to standing using an inanimate object -- the kitchen chair. There's no telling what she'll get into now that she knows how to gain height! Here's a picture of her pulling herself up.

I tried to capture it on video, but she just played around instead. There's lots of baby talk in this clip, so be sure to have your volume on to hear her.

New Discoveries: The Stairs

2009-06-22T23:23:00.007-05:00

Elise has been crawling for a month now and she finally discovered the stairs. We have a gate at the top, but I haven't been putting one at the bottom because she never went over there. Well, it's time!

I sat and watched her as she tried to climb. She didn't get very far, but was very vocal about her effort. Check out the video:

Elise: 8 months

2009-06-16T02:03:00.005-05:00

It has been a big month for Elise! (I forgot to report last month that Elise finally started sleeping through the night at the beginning of May. She figured out how to roll over in her crib and sleeps so much better on her belly.)

This month, Elise learned to crawl -- it's more of an army crawl, but in the last few days, she's been getting up on her knees more and just since the weekend, she has started sitting from a crawling position. She is pretty quick on the floor and gets in to EVERYTHING that looks like it's not for her -- especially paper! I have lost count of the things I have had to remove from her little mouth. She finds every little piece of fuzz and lint!

Elise has also been practicing pulling up. She's very wobbly, but loves to pull herself up and stand. Mostly she is just using me or Jim to hold on to. She hasn't started pulling herself up against the couch or table...yet! I'm sure it won't be long before she's cruising!

Another major milestone this month -- Elise starting taking a bottle! Now she gets bottles during the day and only nurses first thing in the morning and before bed. (I feel such a sense of freedom!)

Elise's personality is really starting to come out. She's still a very happy baby and loves to "talk" (and blow raspberries!) and be part of whatever is going on. She wants to be a part of the action and is very vocal about when she wants more attention! Here's a cute video of her blowing raspberries. (Remember to click over to the blog if you get this update via email so you can see the video.)

Happy 4th Birthday, Claire!

2009-06-12T06:26:00.004-05:00

Today is Claire's 4th birthday! We celebrated two weeks ago with Grandpa Davison and I made Claire a Barbie cake!

The ballerina Barbie that I bought for the cake had REALLY long legs and my glass bowl cake seemed to shrink after it came out of the oven, so Barbie ended up kneeling in the cake instead of standing! AND I had to build up the skirt a little with a banana bread muffin so it would reach her waist! It still turned out cute and didn't taste too awful!

We're sticking with cupcakes today because they will be easier to serve at her birthday "playdate" at the park. I'll post some pictures later of Claire with her friends. We're also looking forward to a visit from Great Grandma Irving later this afternoon. Hooray for birthdays!

Thomas' Preschool Graduation

2009-06-02T09:18:00.001-05:00

Today is Thomas' last day of preschool at the Champaign Early Childhood Center. On Friday, his class had a little graduation ceremony and the class sang the color songs they have been working on all year. The songs have helped Thomas learn to spell all of his colors. We are so proud of Thomas and how much he learned this year. He's not quite reading, but recognizes many words and is always asking us how to spell things. He does well to sound it out and identify the sounds that make up each word to figure out how to spell them. While he's looking forward to Kindergarten in the fall, I'm sure he'll miss all of his preschool friends. Each one will be at a different school this fall!

American Idol Jr: Preschoolers Rock Out

2009-05-24T15:07:00.008-05:00

Today I enjoyed music by a couple of up-and-coming musicians. Here is a peek at their performances.

(Note: If you receive updates via email, you will have to go to the blog to view the video clips.)

Elise: On the Move!

2009-05-23T15:17:00.005-05:00

It time to start cleaning again! Elise has figured out how to scoot/army crawl and is on the move! She started picking up speed on Wednesday and while her belly it not off the ground yet, she can get where she wants to go and reach anything and everything that's left on the floor. You know...every little piece of fuzz. Every paper. Every game piece. She especially loves anything that looks like it's not for her. Which reminds me...we met a baby in the park the other day who had a real-life spatula as a toy. Not a bad idea...

Here's a little video of Elise on the move:

Touch-a-Truck 2009

2009-05-23T15:06:00.002-05:00

Every year, the Champaign Park District holds a "Touch-a-Truck Day". Children get to see, touch, climb in, and explore various trucks, including fire trucks, monster trucks, police cards, school buses, utility trucks, big rigs, backhoes, even a Hummer limo!

Despite the VERY loud horn-honking, Thomas and Claire enjoyed some hands-on time with the trucks. Of course, once they found out there was a bouncy house, there were SO over the trucks! We enjoyed a picnic lunch with Cindy and the girls before heading off to preschool.

Thomas in the monster truck wheel.

Claire in the cab on the big rig.

The 3-D Experience

2009-05-13T08:20:00.003-05:00

On Mother's Day, we took the kids to see Monsters vs Aliens in the theater. They loved it! It was the first time we went to see a 3-D movie. I was expecting little cardboard 3-D glasses, but we got these nice plastic ones instead -- of course, they charge $2.50/person for the "3-D experience". While I was happy to see the theater was being "Green" by providing a recycle bin for the glasses, I wouldn't let Thomas & Claire dump their glasses. We're saving them so that the next time we enjoy a 3-D experience, we won't have to shell out another $10! Plus they just look too darn cute in them!

Elise: 7 months

2009-05-10T12:05:00.005-05:00

Another month flies by and today, Elise is 7 months old. I'm not sure how much she weighs, though she has looked much bigger to me over the last couple days. I actually measured her fat thighs on Friday and they were the same size as Claire's!!! They were both 11-1/2" around. Wowzers! She's been wearing size 4 diapers since we got back from Hawaii in March, simply for the fact that size 3 will not fit around her hips/thighs anymore! What a chunk!

I have noticed many changes this month. Elise has been much more playful and curious about everything around her. She sits up very well on her own and has started scooting on her belly, rolling, reaching, whatever she can do to reach toys and things around her. We have to start being careful about what we leave out because she will get her hands on anything she can reach!

Elise has also been eating more. She eats baby food three times a day at the table with us and now that she has figured out how to get those poofs in her mouth, she's chowing down on those. I switched to Cheerios because she eats so many so quickly! Here's a video of her eating. I know it's not very exciting, but I just love to watch her! There's just a little bit of "talking" at the end when she runs out of poofs to put in her mouth.

And I think she is starting to have some separation anxiety. I left the room on Friday and even though she was sitting and playing with Jim, she started crying when I went upstairs. She also gets very excited to see people she knows come in the room. She's usually hopping and bopping when Daddy comes home from work!

Making Banana Bread

2009-05-03T12:32:00.000-05:00

Thomas and Claire just love to help me bake. One of our favorite recipes is banana bread. I love the way it makes the house smell and the kids love the smashing part!

Here's the recipe we like to make. It's an old family recipe. Not our family, but someone's family! ha ha! I found the recipe on the internet and have been making it for several years.

Banana Bread

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1-1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Fast & Furious

2009-05-01T13:55:00.000-05:00

Maybe that's why I don't have many pictures -- things are moving fast and furious at our house! It's almost impossible to catch some moments on camera because the kids are moving so fast; they hardly sit still!

Favorite Fingers

2009-04-30T14:49:00.000-05:00

Besides all the baby food, Elise has become quite fond of nibbling her fingers and sucking her thumb. She's been doing this for at least two months now and I just know there's a first tooth in there ready to come through. No sign of it yet!

She still falls over and isn't very steady sitting on her own yet, so she spends lots of time on her belly and rolling on the floor when she plays.

Yummy Nummy Baby Food

2009-04-29T17:41:00.004-05:00

I realized the other day that the days are flying by and I'm not taking enough pictures! So I took a bunch on Sunday and will post them over the next couple days. Since I haven't posted any yet, here are some pictures of Elise after finishing off a jar of green beans. She seemed to really like them and her appetite for solid food is growing!

She very intently watches us eat now and has tried to grab my food when I'm holding her. So we started her on some of those "poofs" -- kind of like Cheerios but they dissolve more easily in her mouth. She can pick them up and brings them to her mouth, but still can't quite get it in there. We usually help her so she can gobble it up. Sometimes, it's just easier to get it with your mouth anyway:

Elise: 6 Months Old

2009-04-13T15:08:00.000-05:00

Good grief, the days are just flying by! I can hardly believe that Elise is 6 months old already. I feel like I just posted her 5 month update. She's doing more of the sample -- more eating baby food (we started on some vegetables) -- more baby talk -- more playing -- more laughing -- more pooping (wink!). Her big thing this month was our trip to Hawaii. She was such a good baby! Everyone on the plane kept saying, "She's so quiet, I forgot she was back there." She was a trooper and cooperated wonderfully!

After our trip, we went in for her 6 month check-up and she weighs 17 lbs 10 oz and is 26 1/2 inches long -- 85% percentile for both height and weight. That's my girl! She's such a little chunk. I just love it!

Unfortunately, I missed getting photos of her first pool play. I forgot to bring the camera when we met Cindy and the girls at the indoor Urbana pool. Although she wasn't thrilled to be in her bikini in Hawaii, she loved splashing in the water at the pool. It should be a fun summer!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-13T14:47:00.003-05:00

This morning, Claire asked me if it was still Easter. It was a whirlwind holiday weekend, but it is indeed over. And then she asked me when the next holiday was. I think they have figured out that holidays = candy. And we have lots of it after this weekend! But nothing could be as sweet as these three faces, dressed in their Easter outfits before church on Sunday.

We spent the afternoon in Mackinaw with Jim's family. It was a perfect day: egg hunt in the backyard, yummy ham dinner, and bunny cake for dessert!

Hawaii Vacation Pictures

2009-04-02T15:25:00.005-05:00

Jim and I enjoyed another free vacation compliments of Stampin' Up! -- an incentive trip I earned for my personal sales and downline promotions in 2008. We went to Maui on our honeymoon, but this was our first time to the Big Island (Hawaii). And we had a tag-a-lag, Ms Elise, because she still won't take a bottle. Actually, Elise was an angel and although it would have been more ideal traveling without her, it wasn't hard to take her with us and it was still paradise! We took turns snorkeling and Jim golfed while I did some stamping projects. And we were in bed every night by 9:00 pm (which I have to say was one of my favorite parts of the trip!) At home, I end up staying up late all the time to work on this or that. It was so nice to have nothing to do and to have the freedom of going to bed early.)

Click here to view our photos from Hawaii.

Thomas and Claire spent the week at Nana & Pop-Pop's house. Auntie Yo took the week off work to play with them. Their adventures included a trips to the Children's Museum in Ann Arbor, Calder's Dairy Farm, and the park. They also, planned a tea party -- stamped invitations, made cookies, and enjoyed "high tea" with great grandparents and other family. Thomas and Claire are already asking when we're going back to Michigan next!

Elise: 5 Months Old

2009-03-14T20:45:00.003-05:00

Elise is 5 months old! The days are just flying by! In the past month, she has started playing with toys -- grasping them, holding them, bring them to her mouth. She has been playing with soft rattles and books mostly. She loves to grab her toes when she's lying on her back.

Just today, we got out the exersaucer for her. She loves it! She is reaching for the toys and spinning the little ball.

She of course still loves to be on her belly too. A couple weeks ago, she rolled over from her back to her belly. And for a day or two, she would roll over immediately ever time we put her down. She scoots a little (mostly on her belly in a circle) and has made the "swimming" motion. I won't be surprised if she was an early crawler like Claire.

We started giving her rice baby cereal about a month ago. I try to give it to her each morning, but she's still pushing it out of her mouth with her tongue and not eating much of it. She's been watching us more as we eat our meals, so I'm sure it won't be long before she gets it figured out.

Pigtails!

2009-03-03T16:34:00.001-06:00

Claire doesn't have much hair, so we don't put it up very often. Sometimes she'll ask for a ponytail (which is accompanied by barrettes to keep the sides up) and it usually gets taken out within the hour. She actually let me put pigtails in this morning and they lasted through preschool till this afternoon! She's just too cute with pigtails, don't you think?

Pretty Awesome

2009-03-02T22:29:00.004-06:00

"I feel pretty, oh so pretty..." Last weekend while Jim and I were working around the house, Thomas and Claire were playing dress-up. I walked in to find Thomas dressed up all "pretty". Of course, I immediately grabbed the camera. Thomas was happy to pose for me. Jim, on the other hand, was horrified when he walked in the room and found me documenting Princess Hula Butterfly Fairy Thomas.

To be fair, I had Thomas take off his dress-up clothes and give me some "dude" poses. Well, he calls it being "awesome" because, in his book, "awesome" is the boy equivalent of "pretty". Note the much more serious expression on his face here.

As we were putting away the mess of toys you see in the background, I found Thomas' socks. I asked him why he took his socks off and his reply: "So I could wear the purple glass slippers!" (hee hee!) Pretty Awesome, indeed!

Things I Never Thought I'd Hear #223

2009-02-24T09:30:00.003-06:00

I'm enjoying Sarah's "Things I Never Thought I'd Say" posts and have decided to start something similar: Things I Never Thought I'd HEAR.

Here's one from yesterday: while I was wiping Claire's bottom in the bathroom, she said: "Hey! That poop looks like a telescope!"

To her credit, she had just been reviewing a pirate look & find book...

Rolling Over!

2009-02-18T16:51:00.004-06:00

I almost missed it as I was reaching for a toy, but from the corner of my eye I saw Elise's first roll over this morning! From her belly to her back. She didn't seem surprised or upset and continued to play as if nothing happened.

I grabbed my camera in hopes of catching another roll on video, but she didn't do it again (of course!). I got this cute picture instead.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T10:49:00.006-06:00

We wish you lots of love today!

I asked Thomas what Valentine's Day was all about. Here's his answer. (The first part is cut off, but he starts by saying that you wear red on Valentine's Day. His shirt has "Hunk of Burning Love".)

Making Valentines

2009-02-13T14:10:00.002-06:00

We have been working all week on making valentines for Thomas and Claire to exchange with their preschool classmates. It was quite a process, but they turned out great!

While coloring Valentines, Thomas asked me:

Thomas: How to you make hunt?

Me: What?

Thomas: Hunt.

Me: What do you mean?

Thomas: Hunt. You know, like, when it's a holiday. So it's Valentine's Day and you get a Valentine's deer and shoot it and put it in the oven and it turns into cake. How do you spell it?

First Day of Preschool

2009-02-12T14:34:00.006-06:00

Claire started preschool on Tuesday. She will go three afternoons a week (Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday). She's been so excited to start. I had promised her in the fall that if she started going potty like a big girl, that she could go to preschool after Christmas. She, of course, did not let me forget this! (And since she recently decided that she's done with naps, I've been extra motivated to get her out of the house for a few hours in the afternoon!) She had a great first day and was very hyper when I picked her up and anxious to fill me in on every little detail -- like who was wearing Batman shoes and who had a Spiderman backpack. (Hmmm...wonder who she took notes on those for!)

We were rushed to get out the door and I forgot to take pictures when I dropped her off, so we took a couple when we got home.

Here's Claire to tell you more:

Elise: 4 Months Old

2009-02-10T14:33:00.004-06:00

Elise is four months old! As of last Wednesday, she weighed 15 lbs 7 oz and was 25 inches long.

This month she found her hands and has been sucking on her thumb and fingers...and well, her whole fist! She has started grabbing things and trying to pick things up. She also has found my hair and hangs on for dear life when I'm holding her. She enjoys being on her belly and likes to roll when we help her through the motions. She's also holding her head up better and I have started to hold her on my hip.

Although she's not very smiley in these photos, she is a very happy baby and smiles all the time. She coos and "talks" to us and loves to be involved in our playtime with Thomas and Claire. This month she has also started noticing the TV and seems to watch with interest.

Sixth Photo Challenge

2009-01-30T09:22:00.004-06:00

Stacey tagged me for a fun photo challenge. "Go to where you store your photos on your computer. Go to the SIXTH folder and pick the SIXTH photo. Post that photo on your blog along with a SHORT story about it. Tag SIX people and leave a comment on their blog or email them letting them know you chose them."

I keep my photos in folders by year and month. I don't have six years worth, so I went to the 2008 folder and picked the sixth folder (June 2008). The sixth photo in the first folder was this photo of Claire from June 10.

This was 2 days before Claire's 3rd birthday and I was taking random pictures of her since it had been awhile. She was so cute in that little rose dress. She loved wearing dresses over the summer -- but she also loved getting messy playing outside, so usually she wore shorts underneath and we saved the nicer ones for days when we couldn't go outside (because of rain). This picture was taken 7 months ago, but I look at it and think how "little" she looks. she has grown so much in those 7 months and is so much more of a "big girl" now.

Ok, now it's your turn! If you are reading this, consider yourself tagged for this challenge! Post a link to your post in my comments so I can check out the photos that you dig up!

Tummy Time

2009-01-23T22:23:00.003-06:00

Elise is doing great with "Tummy Time" and has been holding her head up so well. We practice the rolling over moves with her, but she hasn't done it on her own yet. Claire & Thomas both love to get down and "play" with Elise when I put her on the floor. They try to make her smile, coo, and laugh and show her how to do things. She's usually very amused. Here is a picture from last week with Claire and Elise on their tummies.

Family Loss

2009-01-12T22:27:00.002-06:00

Sharon Ann Davison
August 18, 1947 - January 12, 2009

Jim' mom passed away late last night. She had bypass surgery in June and after complications, was in ICU for nearly three months. She came home in mid-August. In October, she was able to see Elise in the hospital when she was born, but in November, she was back in the hospital with pneumonia for three weeks. Her heart was weak and she got worse after Christmas. We saw her last Sunday to celebrate the holiday and the very next day she was admitted to the hospital again with pneumonia. She came home after just a day or two, and died peacefully there last night.

Please keep us in your prayers this week.

Psalm 34:18
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Elise: 3 months old

2009-01-10T21:36:00.000-06:00

I realized when I posted the 4 month update that I never did post a 3-month update. So I'm back-dating this so it appears in the correct order on the blog. This picture of Elise is from January 10th in Orlando, Florida.

Elise took her first plane ride to accompany me to the Stampin' Up! Leadership Conference. I joked that I felt obligated to go this year because I had taken both Thomas and Claire to the same conference when they were babies and I didn't want Elise to feel left out! (wink!) She was great on the plane and slept almost the whole time from Indianapolis to Orlando. Thankfully we had a great travel partner (Ms Jessica) to help us and I am proud to say that we carried on all of our luggage and didn't check any bags (I was NOT paying $15 to check a bag -- how ridiculous!!) I managed to take only one small suitcase and a diaper bag for me and Elise. (It did help that there was a washer/dryer at the condo we stayed in.) Here's a picture of Jess and Elise at the seminar:

Jessica has all boys at home and says she's not much of a baby person, but she was certainly gaga over Elise!

So was everyone else at the conference! She attracted lots of attention from other moms missing their kids and baby-lovers in general. Several people even asked to take her picture! Even Shelli Gardner (the co-founder and CEO of Stampin' Up!) got her hands on Elise and insisted on keeping her while we were stamping!

Baby Blues

2009-01-02T11:34:00.000-06:00

Elise has big beautiful blue eyes. While they could still change and become darker over the next year, I have a feeling they will stay blue. I think they have gotten brighter since she was born and they look very much like Jim's blue eyes. Here's a picture of her with Uncle Mark from last week.

The Whole Fam Damily...almost

2008-12-30T21:16:00.000-06:00

We had the whole family together last week...well almost! We were only missing Anthony in this family picture from Saturday. We'll have to Photoshop him in. (Yvonne, send me a picture of Anthony in front of the tree! We'll squeeze him in between you and Josh.)

Back Row: Jim, Mark, Yvonne, Josh
Middle Row: Julie, Nana, Pop-Pop, Alexys, Aimee
Front Row: Claire, Thomas, Elise, Madilyn, Miles

Here is a 4-Generation photo with the women, including my mother's mother in the middle. When my older sister was born, Nonie wanted to be called "Nona" -- which is Italian for Grandma. Yvonne couldn't say Nona and called her Nonie. So here is Nonie, my mother, my sisters, my daughters, and my niece.

Elise's Baptism

2008-12-27T21:35:00.004-06:00

Elise was baptized today! We had her baptized at my parents' church while we were here in Wyandotte. My sister Aimee and her husband Josh are Elise's godparents. It was really great having so many extended family members be able to attend. I really wish Jim's family could have been here too!

My aunt made the christening gown 33 years ago for my older sister. It was worn by her, and me, and my sister and brother... and now 4 or 5 of our children.

Elise was awake for most of the ceremony and wasn't too fussy. She promptly fell asleep when all the fuss was done.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T11:49:00.005-06:00

We are enjoying the week with Julie's family in Michigan. Here's a picture of us before going to church last night. We clean up pretty good, don't you think!?

And opening presents this morning....

We hope that you are having a very Merry Christmas! May the true spirit of Christmas fill your heart with peace, your home with love.

Christmas Card Photos

2008-12-14T16:20:00.004-06:00

I'm working on our Christmas cards and letter today. Earlier this week, we got the kids dressed up in their Christmas outfits and took some pictures in front of the tree. The pictures turned out great and I'm thrilled that we got the picture-taking done in just one "session" this year!

An update on Jim's mom -- she's out of the hospital and back home. Thank you for all your prayers over the last couple weeks!

Cute Little Dimple

2008-12-10T17:43:00.004-06:00

Elise has been flashing us more smiles lately and we just love to see her cute little dimple! I caught it on camera this morning. Claire put the green hat from Thomas' Peter Pan costume on Elise's head. Elise was very amused by Claire!

Elise is 2 months old today! She had her well-baby check-up this afternoon and weighed in at 12 lbs 9 oz and measured 23-1/2 inches long.

Claire had a late 3-year check-up today. (She's already 3-1/2!) She weighs 34 lbs and is 40 inches tall. Here's an outtake from our Christmas card photo shoot last night.

Naked Baby Alert

2008-12-03T18:08:00.004-06:00

Elise LOVES taking baths. I have never seen a baby who loves a bath more than Elise. Even if she's fussy, as soon as she gets in the water, she's calm. Not a peep. Maybe a little cooing. Here's a picture of her from last Sunday (Nov 23) in the bath. (Check out the rolls on her thighs!!)

I'm working on a video of her laughing. She's laughed for us just a couple times and of course the camera is never handy. This morning, Jim was changing her diaper around 6 am. I was laying in bed across the hall listening to him talk to Elise. I could tell from the timing that it was unlikely that he had a new diaper on yet and Elise totally let it go. You know the sound -- that unmistakable SQUIRT! Sure enough, she was between diapers and there was poop everywhere! I went in and helped Jim clean things up. And just as he was fastening the new diaper, Elise let out a little toot. "Don't you dare..." Jim started. And Elise just laughed at him. Seriously. It was so hilarious!! I wish I had the camera for that one!

Thankful For...

2008-11-28T15:30:00.005-06:00

Great grand-parents! And grandparents...okay, the whole family!

We feel pretty blessed that our children still have 4 living great-grandparents. Yesterday, Great Grandma Irving met Elise for the first time. (If I'm counting right, Elise is great grandchild #10.)
Jim's mom is still in the hospital, but is now off the breathing tube and out of ICU! We felt like Thanksgiving wasn't Thanksgiving if we didn't spend it with family. So, we celebrated at Great Grandma's house this year. Before dinner, Jim and his dad went to see visit Mom in the hospital while Great Grandma played The Ladybug Game with Thomas and Claire.

Busy Weekend

2008-11-24T21:29:00.006-06:00

We had a busy weekend! Tina, Truman, and Talia came to visit and keep us company while Jim was hunting with his dad. The kids had lots of fun playing, especially Thomas & Truman, who are Mario buddies. Almost everything they did this weekend somehow involved Mario. Various toys were different levels of the game for the smaller toy figures and they also role-played as Mario and Luigi with their costume hats. They were in heaven!

The weekend came to an end with a super play-date when Cindy, Sarah, and Abby joined the fun. I still can't believe we got this picture with everyone looking straight at the camera! (From top left: Thomas, Claire, Abby, Sarah, Truman, & Talia)

In other family news -- Jim's mom is back in the hospital. She has pneumonia and another infection. Please keep her in your prayers this week that she may recover quickly.

First Smiles

2008-11-16T19:21:00.005-06:00

Elise has started smiling at us this week -- and it's not because she has gas! We still haven't seen the huge toothless grins I know are coming, but it's nice to catch her with a happy face. She's also starting to coo a little. She has smiled at all of us now, but it's hard to catch it on camera. This was as good as I have gotten so far.

Chunky Monkey

2008-11-11T17:38:00.000-06:00

Elise had her 1 month check-up today. I knew she was gaining weight well, but I was curious to find out just how well. I was proud as a peacock when I picked her up off the scale and the nurse told me she weighed 11 lbs 1 oz! She gained 2-1/2 lbs in 2-1/2 weeks!

Here are some pictures from tonight.