Finally, Christmas!

We finally got all the decorating and presents wrapped for Christmas. After a while, the tree didn't look so funny with its cage around it and Elise enjoyed another object to pull up and stand on. Daddy and I told her all about the big day that was approaching. Elise was eager for the festivities!





On Christmas Eve, Grandma and Grandpa Kaiser, Aunt Amy, and Uncle Chris came over to our house for dinner and presents. Elise donned her 'babies first Christmas' Santa outfit and enjoyed being called 'Miss Claus'. After a dinner of garlic mashed potatoes and beef tenderloin, among other things, Elise got to open her presents. She enjoyed carefully unwrapping each of her gifts. Some of her favorite gifts were her Fisher Price lion riding toy, red wagon, and ball popper.
















On Christmas morning, we drove to Medina to spend Christmas with Nana, Poppa, Uncle Rik, great-grandmother Granny, Uncle Kevin, Rachel, Amelie and Santa Claus! Before opening our gifts, the doorbell rang and there appeared Santa Claus! Luckily Elise wasn't afraid to visit with him this time. Santa gave Elise a Tickle-Me-Elmo. After dinner, Elise opened her remaining gifts-- a sled, Leap Frog musical table, blocks and other goodies.





All-in-all, the Christmas season was a ton of fun! What can we say, Elise loves a good party! Hard to believe all this gift opening is just a warm up for her family birthday party next weekend. Our little girl is about to turn 1!

Christmas card picture

Our Christmas cards have finally hit the mail.... now we can post our family picture with Santa.

Thanksgiving and Santa Claus

On Thanksgiving Day, our family drove to Medina to spend the holiday with the Nilsson side of the family. There was quite the full house at Nana's and Poppa's- Uncle Kevin, Rachel, Uncle Rik, both of Elise's great-grandmothers, and Elise's beloved Penny (Nana and Poppa's dog). Of course our little chow hound loved the turkey and all its fixings. Who wouldn't love a holiday that's all about food?! While Elise didn't wake up in time for Black Friday shopping the next day with Nana and Mommy, she was up in time for breakfast out at Buelhers-- her first taste of pancakes before hitting the road back home.














On Saturday, Elise celebrated Thanksgiving with the Kaisers in Maumee. Grandma and Grandpa hosted dinner for everyone- Aunt Amy, Uncle Chris, Uncle Dick and Aunt Jean. This marked the first Thanksgiving where all three brothers (Grandpa, Uncle Dick and Uncle Chris) have been together for a holiday since Uncle Chris moved back from the South and Uncle Dick and Aunt Jean had moved to Hawaii. Elise was thrilled to have another meal of turkey! She ate everything on her plate-- obviously not worried about consuming extra calories since she's been burning them off with all her crawling and standing!


With Thanksgiving over, it's full steam ahead to Christmas! We've put away all of our Thanksgiving decorations and have decorated the house for Christmas. The outdoor lights are up-- including a lit snowman that sits on our deck for optimal Elise viewing. She loves our transformation into a Christmas wonderland and all the festive Christmas music that we sing together. At first, when we set the white lights on the mantle, Elise would just sit on the floor and exclaim 'Hey!'--- as if we might not know they were up there! We've also put up a Christmas tree in our living room-- surrounded by a dog fence so little hands won't pluck off ornaments or topple over the tree.

Yesterday we went to have our family photo taken with Santa Claus. Elise was terrified of the jolly old man. First, we tried photos on Santa's lap-- which proved unsuccessful. We then got a few non-teary pictures with Elise sitting alone in the snow with Santa leaning down towards her. She seemed fine with this compromise. Our family photo turned out perfectly. In fact, it will be part of our Christmas card this year so no sneak preview! Maybe next year won't be so upsetting for Elise. But, I must say that she looked beautiful in her red Christmas dress and black patent leather shoes!

Standing and the Library

Elise always continues to amaze us! Since learning to crawl, life has seemed to have just taken off! Elise is learning to pull into a standing position. She's mastered objects that are lower to the ground but with some help, can pull up on taller things. Today she mastered climbing the one step that separates our greatroom and kitchen without any help. In fact, we haven't even tried giving her the idea that it could be done since up until now, the greatroom was its own little 'playpen'. Now with her explorations, we're quick to pick up the dog dishes (or other contraband) when she makes a beeline towards them. She giggles and laughs as she heads towards them. Elise even crawled up into our coffee table.. of course Garth observed to make sure all was well.




Yesterday I took Elise to the downtown Toledo library for her first of two H1N1 vaccines. Since the line was almost nonexistent, we spent some extra time checking out the children's library on the second floor. The toddler's room had thousands of board books on shelves along the floor-- making it so much fun to pull one book after another onto the ground. She also enjoyed the salt water fish tank so much that she threw a fit when it was time to go. Elise could have stayed all day! It was a fun adventure.

Elise has also begun turn taking. She'll play with a toy and then offer it up to whoever is nearby to engage them. It's very sweet. I've even starting 'training' her to give me fuzz and hair that she finds on the ground (rather than eating them!). It's much appreciated. With all the crawling and fuzz collecting, I'm even vacuuming more than my usual once a day! Maybe I should purchase a Roomba! On another side note, we are getting our fifth tooth!

The Tooth Fairy

Jeff's office had a candy buy-back program this past Monday from 5-7 pm where they bought Halloween candy from children in order to send it to the troops. Each pound fetched a dollar plus a goodie bag that had a free meal at McDonalds, Sponge Bob Square Pants toothpaste and other goodies. Jeff's whole office dressed up for the event....Jeff as Brutus the Buckeye and Elise showed up as the tooth fairy. Surprisingly the tooth fairy was in a wonderful mood even though she had to skip her afternoon nap for a flu shot.... a double bummer! Elise loved her tutu- something that a friend made for her. Aunt Amy hooked her up with her sparkly wand which created a problem when I took it away from her for the car ride home. She didn't understand that eating tinsel may not be a wise idea! The event was a big success and daddy will probably plan to make it a yearly tradition. Elise would have traded in her four pieces of trick-or-treat candy but it wouldn't have fetched more than a penny or two-- plus mommy had already eaten it!


The article that ran in the newspaper about the candy buy back (Oct 28):
http://www.sent-trib.com/stnew/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6479:sweet-deals&catid=1:fp&Itemid=115

The article that ran after the event (Nov. 5):
http://www.sent-trib.com/stnew/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6892:candy-buy-back&catid=19:local&Itemid=34

Happy Halloween!

Elise celebrated her first Halloween today. We started the festivities with carving the pumpkins we picked several weeks ago. Daddy carved the small pumpkin to look like Elise...complete with two lone bottom teeth. It was so cute and Elise approved!

After some crawling and play time with Garth, we changed into our lady bug costume. It was complete with wings and a hat with antennae. We planned to only go to several neighbors homes as it was a bit cold (48 degrees) and was time for Elise's bedtime. She had a blast particularly checking out some of the Halloween decorations that she had been admiring from the street. We are hoping that all the fresh air will make Elise sleep an hour long since we are changing the clocks back tonight. We're keeping our fingers crossed that she won't be expecting breakfast at 5:30am!

Loving Fall and Food

Elise is loving fall! We've been taking advantage of these warm, colorful afternoons by playing in the leaves and taking extra long walks. Of course the dogs are also benefiting from our strolls around the neighborhood. With Halloween being this weekend, the neighbors have their homes decorated with pumpkins and blowup decor-- which Elise rates by how enthusiastic she waves. Big inflatable pumpkins usually get a big wave while homes that only have cornstalk by their mailbox may only get a passing glance. Watch out Martha Stewart!

(below- first known picture of Elise's two teeth!!)

With all the crawling, Elise is burning extra calories and she's excited to try out new foods. Today for lunch she scarfed down a jar of mixed vegetable baby food, peaches, a handful of Cheerios, a few 'puffs', half a yogurt, part of a Panera bacon turkey bravo sandwich and one pickle. The pickle was quite the hit until she bit off several huge chunks and swallowed them whole. Mommy had to intervene and take the pickle... the fun was over (see below before/after pictures!). On a side note, we are down to two naps a day. We are quite the big girl now! Plus Elise's top two teeth are coming in. She has discovered that she can grind her teeth and drive us all crazy....

She's Crawling!

Saturday night, Elise started crawling! Watch out world because here she comes! Elise finally got sick and tired of having a stationary life and decided to do some about it-- she popped up on her knees and took a few wobbly movements forward. Today, she was back at it-- practicing and having fun with her new mobility. It's tiring and serious work! After several feet, she's ready for a little break. Elise has also figured out to go from crawling to sitting- which isn't yet always successful but it's a work in progress! This week Elise and I will have to go on an outlet plug shopping spree! We are so proud of her...it's exciting to see her growing and exploring her own world. Parenthood is so worth it!

Daddy's Dental Exam and Pumpkin Patch

If there was any doubt in the past, we know now that Elise will be a dentist! She's been giving us (and anyone else who will open up!) dental exams. Unfortunately she doesn't have a gentle touch yet nor does Elise know that if you stick your whole hand in at a time it can become a bit gaggy! We do have a few years to whip her into shape before she's needed at the office. By then, Elise should be walking ... or at least crawling. She doesn't have a problem getting up on her knees to dance and sway. Maybe she's just looking for some motivation to take off!



Sunday afternoon we went to Graham's farm to pick out our pumpkins. It was a cool and windy day but sunny. Perfect pumpkin picking weather! Elise opted for a small round pumpkin-- with a cute little 'butt' crack on the backside. She does have a sense of humor! We'll wait a while longer before carving them. Until then, our treasures are sitting on our front steps, anticipating trick-or-treaters.