baby is...

A little boy, measuring at 20 weeks today; a little ahead of schedule.  Or maybe it's a sign that he will outgrow Elise in the first year:)  We are excited beyond words and cannot wait to meet our little man.  Elise is excited to be big sister; has no idea what's in store, (neither do we, but we can't wait).

Cabin Memorial Day

These wonderfully amazing friends, joined us for a weekend of relaxation, delicious feasts, wineries, bike rides and sunshine at lake Chelan.  I cannot even begin to say how special these gals and their husbands are to us; from the way they know just by looking at you how you feel to the pure and honest self you can be around  them at all times.  Elise absolutely adores all of them and it melts my heart to see them love on her as if she was their own.  It truly was a weekend that filled my heart with so much happiness that I am still smiling, despite the sniffles and congested headache the three of us came home with.  Can't wait for next time.

Delicious feast (ribs and broccoli salad to feed an army) made by Allison & Travis followed by another fest the next night of dill Salmon with corn and asparagus made by Jaclyn & Aaron.  Yummy:)

A pellaton style bike ride to the state park and back was a first and one that we all want to repeat from now on!

                                  

So many pictures; I never have it in me to leave many out.   This one I probably should... but since I'm putting it all out there here is a photo of baby bump at 19 weeks which has just all of a sudden grown 100 times in size in the past two weeks I can't even beleive my eyes or my pants, yikes!  Tomorrow we shall see if Elise will have a little brother or sister:)

1.25 years old

Here we are fifteen months later, almost to the hour, from the beginning of my favorite journey in life. 

Elise Ana, you are the joy in all that we do - from the way your Chiclets like teeth grin when you smile and your eyes sparkle to the way you say "socks" and "shoes" articulated almost perfectly.  From the way your two callucs twirl in opposite directions and make your fine strawberry blond locks stand up like messy feathers to the way your growing belly pokes out of every tee shirt only to reveal the cute belly button that you now can identify.  From the way the game of chase is a highlight, especially at the store, but has to be accompanied by pulling everything out of the shelves first to the joy you get from running around naked after bath time only to conclude with tears brought on by getting dressed and saying night night.  Above all, I love the way I feel when I race home every day from work, with my 12 minute commute that feels like forever, to find you covered with dirt and a wide grin from playing with all your friends... or the way your daddy feels when you run to him when he pulls up in front of the window.  We feel spoiled and so blessed to have the most perfectly sweet and rascalous girl to call our own.  Love you so much love bug.

Loving the trial run in her bike seat... so much that in fact Elise had to see how good it felt to take a snooze while biking:)

mother's day love

It gets even sweeter with time... a mother's love. 

Had a special weekend with family, outdoor fireplaces, lake Chelan and lots and lots of snuggles from this little gem.

Someone's little piggies are growing:)

At Vin du Lac winery.

Looking more and more alike every month.



Maui

Aloha ~ We just got home from an amazing getaway to Maui!  The sunshine, the ocean, the pool and living on island time for a week was absolutely divine.  Elise was a trooper on the plane, though didn't nap much more than 30 minutes; she was excited to get to the beach. 

We relaxed, swam, and enjoyed Maui... with modification as we found ourselves taking turns going back to the condo for aftenoon naps with Elise, turning in for the night at 8 (and that was pushing it) and avoiding the beach as it turned out to be more work than it was worth (Elise was terrified of touching the sand with her feet or getting anywhere near the ocean water - had no problems walking barefoot on lava rock:))  We were more than happy to adjust our vacation mode, as all of those things will be waiting there when we return and perhaps then she will have grown into loving the beach!  Of course we took hundreds of photos so I may go overboad on posting.

No fun, mommy... please don't keep trying to make me like it:)



We have a some scrapes and broozes as souveniers;  including this almost split eyebrow.