Goodbye 2008...

...the year that changed our lives forever.

Oh how I love this child, from the deepest part of my soul.

First Christmas!

What a wonderful Christmas!!!  It certainly is different when you have a little one to celebrate with.  My brother, Bryan, came home for Christmas from where he's currently stationed in Mississippi and we spent Christmas Eve with him, Jennifer and the girls, as well as my parents, of course.  Grandma and Papa got Tonka trucks for our girl, and she loves them!  She got her very first tea set from Aunt Jen, Uncle Bryan, Brooke & Cassie, too.  All kinds of toys and books as well, but the ribbon, wrap and boxes got equal play.  Santa brought Elsie her first doll, which she was afraid of at first.  Fortunately Elsie and Chloe (her dollie) have become friends...but on Elsie's terms of course.  Two bunnies in her stocking made her absolutely ridiculous and giddy.  She ended up throwing herself onto the floor with laughter and excitement!  Christmas Day we shared with the Billington fam, and once again our girl was showered with amazing presents.  Grandma and Grandpa brought fun new toys and made a contribution to her savings.  Auntie Kel and Uncle Ed brought her an adorable scooter she can push around when she walks, as well as books and noise-making toys (thank you very much).  Elsie got an adorable Little People school bus that also makes noise (can't get enough of those noise-makers), which she adores.  Elmo was tied to the top of the package and she likes to have Elmo ride in the bus with the Little People students!  What fun it was watching her open all of her gifts and discover what each of them does.  She's enjoying all of them very much - thank you all!! 

I've been remiss...

It's been a very long time since I've updated...and I've been scolded by many so here's what we've been up to.  Elsie started (and finished) her first swimming lessons.  The first lesson did not go well.  She either didn't like the water (very different from bath time) or she didn't care for the other children's screams of excitement as they bounced up and down in the water!  By the second lesson, she was smiling and having fun.  We unfortunately had to miss a couple of lessons in the middle of the eight week session because we were all plagued with the nasty cold, so when we returned for swimming it was like starting over.  I think in the end she will love the water, and we'll enroll her again after the first of the year.

First lesson...not so happy.

Second lesson with more smiles!

These pictures were taken during our photo shoot to get the perfect Christmas picture for our Christmas cards.  It's just not fair to plop her down in the front of the Christmas tree she's not allowed to touch, then walk away and expect that she'll stay put.  She was a good kid though, and we got some cute pictures.  Happy holidays everyone!

First Halloween!

I'm tardy with this one...I meant to post these pictures sooner but, well, I just didn't.  For Elsie's first Halloween, she was a Seahawks cheerleader.  Yes, it's a tough year for us Seahawks fans, but we're still fans and Elsie is no exception!  We had great fun on Halloween.  There are SO MANY kids in this neighborhood that our cul-de-sac is like one big party outside, all the kids running to all the doors while the parents stand and visit.  Elsie's daddy and two grandpas took her to the neighbors' houses for trick-or-treating.  I realize that she's not old enough to actually eat the candy she obtained, but I certainly am and I enjoyed every piece..well, both pieces.  Our girl wasn't too sure about the chaos that once was her quiet little neighborhood, so she didn't last very long.  She was in her jammas and sleeping soundly by 7:15.  She even slept right through a visit with the Jewells!  Tricia and Jim brought their queen kitty by to add a piece of candy to her candy bucket.  She was adorable!!!  I am very sad to report that I do not have a picture of her to post here - you'll have to check Livvin's blog for that business.   

Pumpkin Patch!

We took Elsie to the pumpkin patch at Fall City Farms for her first pumpkins.  What fun!  There were doggies running around, two horses in the pasture and chickens!  She liked the animals but she didn't like the feel of the pumpkins when she touched them.  Too funny.  We found some good ones though, and we have some cute pictures of her first trip to the pumpkin patch.  We haven't carved yet, but you can bet I'll post pictures once we do.  

Our Anniversary....with Elsie.

Well it's been over a month so there's lots to tell, but I'll try to keep it short.  We all suffered through the flu, Elsie's very first sickness.  It was horrible, but she was a trooper, smiling and laughing when she wasn't throwing up.  I'm sure she found our incessant worry very amusing.  Charles and I, however, did not smile and laugh our way through the flu.  Nor did Grandma Sandy when we shared it with her.....oops, sorry.  But thank you for your help when we were sick!  

Elsie said her first word - "mama"!  But don't ask Charles about this because he refuses to acknowledge it was a word (I do realize, of course, that she has no idea she has said a word, or that the word refers to me, but I really don't care - she said MAMA!).  So after a consensus of the grandmas, Charles caved.  It helped him along when she followed a day or two later with "dada".   

Fully recovered from our flu bugs, we were off to Cannon Beach to celebrate our second anniversary.  Having decided easily that we were not ready to be that far away from our girl for three nights and four days, we packed my parents (yes, that's right....my parents....for our anniversary trip).  Charles and I stayed at the Stephanie Inn, a beautiful place on the beach that doesn't allow children or pets.  It's really an amazing place.  Next door to the Stephanie is the Ocean Lodge, perfect for people like us who bring their kids and parents to romantic weekends away.  My parents stayed there with our girl.  What a wonderful thing!  Now you would think with Elsie right next door, that we would sleep peacefully knowing that all we had to do was walk across the parking lot to see her.  Oh no, not at all.  The first night was rough.  I'll admit it...I cried.  I didn't fully understand the frequency of my visits to her room at night until I couldn't have them, and I didn't fully appreciate what those visits do for me.  I also realized that I am not alone.  Elsie's daddy was a bit lost.  We managed and really enjoyed our time exploring around with her on the beach.  Charles and I did enjoy some time alone together, too.  I am so in love with that man...  On the way home (10/7, our anniversary), we went to the lighthouse at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center and had lunch at the Shellbourne.  Elsie was a great kid, as usual.  

The day after returning (10/8), Elsie crawled for the first time!  It wasn't pretty.  She was wobbly and unstable but she managed to get across her bedroom floor to her books and proceed to pull them off the shelf.  She's refined her skills a bit over the last couple of days and she's very proud of herself.  It's so much fun to watch her learn and explore.  

Some photos from our trip:

We went to a wedding on Orcas Island this weekend and Elsie had her first ferry boat ride!  Bob and Lisa Rivers' son, Keith, married his girl, Leanne and we were among the fortunate few to be invited to attend.  We left at 6 am on Saturday morning to catch an early ferry out of Anacortes.  It was a beautiful, clear day for the crossing.  When we arrived on Orcas the sky was overcast a bit and there was a chill in the air.  By the time the wedding began at 4, the clouds had disappeared and it had warmed up nicely.  They exchanged their vows in a romantic ceremony at the Rivers' house with an amazing view of the water framing them and large pine trees rising up behind us as we watched.  The reception that followed was on the beach near the small airport on Orcas.  The sunset was absolutely amazing, turning the sky to the west bright orange, then red.  Breathtaking.  We turned in early and rose at 5 to catch the 7:15 ferry home.  We pulled in to our driveway at 10.....just in time to watch the Seahawks game.  Should've slept in!  The kicker of the whole weekend - we forgot to bring our camera.  Fortunately, my phone doesn't take horrible pictures so I've put together a little slideshow:

She let me take a picture of her teeth!

Two teeth now, and here they are!  

We've been so busy...

...over the last week so I'll try to keep it short.  Elsie went to her first wedding with us on Saturday and she was a great kid, only fussed toward the end of the ceremony, which was just about an hour long.  Sadly, we had to leave the reception early but she certainly enjoyed the attention she got while we were there, being the only baby in the place!

Elsie's now holding her own bottle!  Very exciting, though it takes longer for her to eat now.  She doesn't always want to do this herself, and that's fine because I still enjoy feeding her.

Grandma and Grandpa B bought her a jumper, too.  

She had to scope it out closely before deciding to like it.

Yep, she likes it.

Just had to share this picture.  I could not be more in love...

What is this funny stuff?

It's grass....and she loves it!  Another first for our girl.

First Tooth!

Like a little razor blade poking ever so slightly from her bottom gum, Elsie has her first tooth!

Finally, Elsie's Blog!

Here's our girl!  Six months old now...I can't believe it.  We wanted to get this blog going much sooner so that we could capture and share everything about her as it came at us, but figuring out how to be her mom was all I wanted to focus on for a while.

We've just returned from our annual family vacation to Long Beach with the Searings - Elsie's first BEACH TRIP.  Lots of firsts for our girl on this trip: first road trip, first time seeing the ocean, first time feeling the wind on her face, first overnight away from her own room. She was a champ.  Happy all the time, she fully enjoyed everything we threw at her - even the beach fires!

The three of us in the cold wind on the beach.  Is it really July?

With her daddy.

At the Jetty.

With her....uh, second cousins?  Maybe it's first cousins, once removed.  

I don't know, we'll have to ask Katie.