Christmas Photos

About a week ago we had our picture taken with Santa Claus for our Christmas cards. Since we were waiting for our cards to arrive (and for me to get them out), I hadn't yet posted our pictures. They turned out so cute and there isn't much room for all the pictures on our Christmas card that I wanted to post them on our blog.... plus we didn't want to bore our friends and family with our card either!

This was the first year that Elise wasn't terrified of the big guy in red! However, she was cautious and a bit quiet. After a few family pictures, she posed with Santa alone and told him what she wanted. We had been prepping Elise at home that Santa would be asking what she wanted for Christmas. So, when Santa asked her 'What do you want for Christmas?'... Elise answered with the word 'presents'. After a bit more prodding, she told Santa that she wanted a 'Boppy'. If you recall, 'Boppy' is her little stuffed lamb who appears in a lot of our photos (and has to be present for all naps and bedtimes). Well, we will see what Santa can do...

I love how her little hands are holding her dress!

I can hear it now... 'I want a Boppy'. Santa was like 'a what?!'. Then
I reminded him that it's her stuffed lamb.

On a side note, Elise and I went shopping at a local store uptown that has toys and children's shoes. She found a little lamb (a Boppy replica) and carried it around the store the entire time we were there. When it was time to leave, I feared a temper tantrum as I knew we wouldn't be buying the lamb. Instead when I told her to put it away, she carefully gave it a sweet kiss and placed him back on the shelf. So cute.

And our sweet little boys. They are starting to look more and more grey. Poor
Garth was too tired to even sit up and pose.

Bring on Christmas!

We are off and running with the holiday season. Frankly this is my favorite time of year! In light of missing Christmas last year (remember, Elise was sick and therefore we didn't celebrate Christmas with our families), we've started Christmas early. That means I broke my only Christmas rule... which is 'No Christmas before Thanksgiving'. But this year I took down the Thanksgiving decorations early, put up my Christmas decorations, and listened to Christmas music the week of Thanksgiving. Jeff was polite and put up with my early Christmas spirit....as he has the same Christmas rule too.

Putting up some outside decorations.

Elise at Levis tree lighting ceremony

Me and Elise

See what I mean about loving Christmas?! I've totally neglected to talk about Thanksgiving and the weeks leading up to it. While it was fairly uneventful, we did get to celebrate my grandmother's, (Elise's 'GG') 87th birthday.   Happy birthday GG!

We spent Thanksgiving in Medina with the Nilsson family. My brother Kevin and his wife Rachel (up from Baltimore) then drove to our home to spend the night and catch up. It was good having them over. They brought their two dogs so it was a full house. I included the picture below because none of the dogs would look at the camera (nor Elise). Plus, Elise insisted on wearing her yellow/green socks with her Ohio State outfit. Need I mention this was the day that Ohio State lost to Michigan?!

We had an impromptu Thanksgiving with the Kaiser clan the day Kevin and Rachel left. I mean impromptu because Jeff's mother suddenly took ill with kidney stones on Thanksgiving night. Luckily Bob was there to help us out... yes, that's Bob Evans. Do you know him?! He's a good cook. Love those rolls.

Enough Thanksgiving talk...  back to Christmas! We attended the Perrysburg Holiday Parade the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It was very rainy-- but luckily warm. Donning rain gear, we watched the parade and waited for Santa.

Now squint really hard... you can just make
out Santa!

After the parade, we kept the Christmas party train rolling with some tree decorating... of course there was Christmas music galore.  I give Jeff (and now Elise) an ornament every year. Elise got her very own 'Boppy the lamb' ornament. Here she is showing it off- notice how she is wearing some Christmas pajamas too. So cute!

Genius tree decorating at work...

Elise got to have the privilege of placing the star on top
of the tree. What a treat!

A boost from Daddy

Someone is proud of their work-
Guess who that is!

Here's the final result. Notice all the 'extra'
ornaments on the bottom. Elise
did a good job!

Ok- so I didn't dress up for the occasion either but
we sure had a good time! Bring on Christmas!

Preschool Assessment

Yes, I'll say it a again... Preschool. That sounds so funny to say....like I actually have a big kid in my house! But then again, Elise will be turning 3 in January. 

Since we have been a part of Help Me Grow (for children with developmental delays or who are at risk for delays), we had to have a preschool assessment with our county to see if Elise will continue to need intervention and help in school or if she will enter school as a 'typical' child- one without delays. Each county in Ohio does this assessment for their Help Me Grow children- but it may vary a bit from county to county. Wood county does a play based assessment where Elise played with a few other children who were there for observation. During this playtime, she was assessed by a preschool special education teacher, a child psychologist, and a speech therapist. All this was completed without us parents participating. 

Several hours later, we were briefed by the team. It was determined that Elise needed more intervention with her speech and therefore qualified for a spot in Perrysburg preschool program. All children who qualify with a speech impairment (or other disability that requires intervention and help) are required to have a spot in the public school system. So, as Elise turns 3, she will be going to preschool each morning- Monday through Thursday. This program is an integrated class of both typical children and those with delays.

I have to say that I am surprised. Elise has had such a burst of language- she says such complex sentences sometimes that she makes me smile and laugh. However, I don't doubt that she has articulation issues. She qualified strictly because she 'fronts' her speech-- meaning she doesn't produce many sounds from the back of her throat (such as 'K' or 'G'). Instead of saying 'Garth'... she'll say 'Darth'. But, with help from a speech therapist in school (her current therapist is on maternity leave), she'll learn to produce those sounds in no time.

Jeff and I will sit down with Elise's preschool team (those involved with her assessment) next week to work on her IEP (individual goals for the next year). It is our hope that we will get 'caught' up and enter Kindergarten without any impairment or delay. This is a very realistic goal. 

I guess when I look at the below photographs, I realize Elise is getting to be a big girl!

The playground near our house

Looking so big!

Nice boots!

A grasshopper we found in our backyard.

Elise's first 'face' picture. I drew a circle on the left... she did the rest.
Pretty impressive. My girl is so big.

Trick or Treating 2011

Perrysburg had their trick-or-treating on Halloween. Actually they had two trick-or-treating events. The first one we went to was given by the area businesses from 11-1 earlier in the day for the little kids. The weather was miserable- cold and wet. But we decided to brave the elements.

This year Elise went as 'Boppy'- her ever infamous lamb (he's in most of the pictures!). Nana once again made the award winning costume.

 All that candy... and Elise loves the lollipops the best.

Daddy took the day off and joined us too.

Luckily, the rain stopped and weather warmed up a bit before the evening festivities. The Hebeka family once again joined us for the night.

Ready to go!

Tommy, Anna, Elise and Eliza- getting ready to head out

Our first house- Elise was pumped!

George posing with his kids. He obviously

didn't need a glow stick when it got dark!

The good news is that Elise doesn't remember getting a stash of candy! Then again, she hardly knows what candy is. That means that Mommy and Daddy reap the benefits of all that hard work. Surely next year will be different!

'Highway to Hell'

Elise and I just got back home. We had walked our dog, Garth, uptown to get his nails trimmed so he wouldn't be tap dancing around the house. On the way home, a motorcycle had stopped next to us at the stoplight. The guy driving wasn't like your brother or father... AKA a 'regular guy'. Instead, it was a rough looking motorcycle guy- complete with long beard, tattoos, and black leather. He was blaring 'Highway to Hell' (or something similar). Elise stopped walking immediately and broke into a dance-- legs moving, arms flailing, and a grin soooo big. That rough looking motorcycle guy started laughing and honked his horn. He had apparently approved of our 'tiny dancer's' show. And Elise enjoyed an impromptu performance. What's that phrase? 'Dance like no one is watching?'. Don't worry because she'll dance even if you are! That's my girl!

Pumpkin Carving

It was pumpkin carving time at the Kaiser house yesterday evening. We each came with a pumpkin, an artistic idea and a sharp knife. Ok. So some of us came armed with just a spoon for scooping but you get the idea.

The before picture

Elise had previously picked out a small, knobby pumpkin. 

Scooping seeds

Elise directed Daddy on her design idea.

Elise's pumpkin

Elise looks quite happy with her final jack-o-lantern.

Here's our finished project.... Ok. Just kidding

These are our pumpkins. Whatever one you like the best...
is the one I did. Ha!

Later that evening, Daddy and Elise made pumpkin seeds.

Getting ready for the oven...

It takes a long time when you are excited about your snack!
The final product was definitely worth the wait.

Now we just have to wait until tomorrow night to see our pumpkins in their full glory.