HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELISE!

I am having a really hard time believing that my baby is 2 today! She is the sweetest thing ever!

Fun things that Elise LOVES:

• Fruit, especially clementines, grapes, and bananas
• Singing her ABC's
• Her brother
• Playing hide and seek
• Elmo
• Her blankets, bows, and babies
• Milk
• Soda (when daddy gives in)
• Her Grandparents
• Books
• Fruit snacks/ candy
• Baths
• Princess shoes (really any shoes)

Her Stats:
Height: 34.5 inches (60%)

Weight: 24 lbs (15%)

And the doctor said she is PERFECT- but we already knew that!

Every morning Elise wakes up and wants a bow in her hair. She takes her favorite Care Bears blanket from her crib and goes downstairs to get her milk. She will play with Dallin or by herself. She is very content playing in her room by herself. She is a very good mommy. She takes care of her babies everyday. She can be VERY feisty but also very sweet. She is always willing to give a hug and say sorry. She has definitely hit the 2 year old tantrums. She will eat just about anything we are eating. She isn't as much of a tv bug as Dallin is. She has an awful cheesy camera smile that over powers her beautiful blue eyes. She is easy-going and fun-loving. I just love her so much!

For Elise's birthday I wasn't feeling great (I get allergies every year at this time) so we did a very simple pink party. Jon decorated for me, we made Chili for dinner, had family over, had cake and ice cream, opened presents, and played the wii. But Elise loved it! She got lots of great gifts from everyone too. She was a very happy girl on her birthday! Happy Birthday Elise! We love you so much!Elise started her birthday with brownie batter. mmmmm!!!Daddy had a lot of fun decorating/ playing with the kids. Elise's Cake.

I made Elise some new hair bow and she was so excited.

Aunt Katie got her a Fur Real dog which she loves.

Nothing like a little sibling competition on the wii.

My Big Girl

Oh Elise, you have grown before my eyes. You will be 2 on Sunday and I can't believe how fast time has gone by! You are turning into such a beautiful girl- you are no longer my baby! I just love you to pieces!

Her first birthday present (Thanks Aunt Cheryl!)

I couldn't resist trying to do 2 french braids. I am a beginner braider (I don't have any sisters to practice on) so between that and working with baby fine hair it was cute!

I love my girl with a ponytail.

Vote for Jon!

Jon and I have talked about making the blog private for awhile now, but recently we have felt like it is the right time. A huge reason for that is because Jon has decided to run for City Councilman (2 year term). We are really excited about it! The election is in April so we don't have a lot of time to campaign. Luckily we have a lot of supporters already and several people who can help us figure this campaign stuff out. I will keep you posted!

Christmas 2009

My mom and I spent the Tuesday before Christmas baking. It was so fun having her here with me to do all the candies. We made so many yummy treats! If you haven't had the honor of trying my mom's english toffee and peanut brittle you are missing out. It is the best, and I'm not just saying that because it's my moms. It is to DIE for! We had a fun time with Jon's family on Christmas Eve. His dad is so good to always get a little program together for the kids with the felt board. And Aunt Katie bought all the kids their Christmas PJ's and they were so stinkin cute! I love this picture (minus the chocolate mouth). This is my Elise. So happy!Cousins Karaoke
We had a really nice Christmas this year. A VERY white Christmas! It snowed SO much! (Do you see the street? I couldn't!) The kids loved it, but all of us adults weren't such fans when we had to shovel and drive in it. Some years we are so rushed to be from one place to the next that we don't have time to just enjoy the moments, but this year we did just that. We were still busy, but we made time for us. The kids actually slept on Christmas morning (the one thing I asked for!) till 7:30 am. I know this doesn't sound like much, but in this house that is golden. I was shower dressed, had breakfast in the oven, and Jon had the driveway shoved before our children got up! Then they both got dressed and ate breakfast before we started opening presents. They just took their time and opened and played as they went. It was a lot of fun. It was really nice having my parents here this year too. My kids are so spoiled to have them here!

Jon's mom made Dallin a VERY happy boy! She made him an astronaut costume and bought him a bunch of space toys!

Jon got more leather tools!

Dallin got this in his stocking and Elise thought it was the funnest thing!

This year Dallin asked Santa for a mommy and a daddy for his favorite stuffed doggie. He is such a sweet boy! He really wanted his little buddy to have parents and I thought that was so selfless of him. He also requested a doll for his sister. He really is the sweetest kid ever! I just love him to pieces!

I need to post about Christmas, but I wanted to send out one last reminder that I will be making my blog private on Friday. So if you haven't sent me an email to get an invitation and you want to continue reading my blog, please don't delay.

Christmas Season, So far

Don't you love the Christmas season? I do... For so many reasons. We always end up doing lots of fun stuff as a family. We had a great start of our Christmas season. Dallin has really been into trains for awhile now so when my parents found a Santa train ride only 10 minutes away, we were sold! It wasn't anything fancy like the Polar Express rides, but it was a lot of fun. It was a 45 minute train ride with lots of singing and Santa time. The train only seated 60 people so it was small and cozy. It gave each child lots of time to talk to Santa. Afterwards each child got a small gift from Santa and got to sit on his lap and tell him their name and what they would like for Christmas. Then we had hot cocoa and cookies. Dallin was in heaven. Elise admired Santa from afar. Dallin actually sat on Santa's lap and talked to him, a first. I was shocked!
Last weekend was Jon's company Christmas (oh, I mean "Holiday") party. It is downtown at the convention center and it is always really fancy. They serve the BEST food! It's a great excuse to dress up and go on a date! But I am not a dress shopper, so thankfully my SIL Katie let me borrow one of her cute dresses. Thanks Katie! We had a blast even though we didn't win any raffle prizes. Maybe next year we will win the first class round trip tickets to Hawaii. I won't hold my breath. :) These two seriously crack me up! They were getting such a kick out of wearing mommy and daddy's shoes. The best two kids ever!