Enjoying the Snow

Since we never made it outside yesterday we took full advantage of going out this morning. Elyse LOVED it, she was walking all over the place, wrestling with Nate, playing on her slide and of course, eating the snow. Her smiles really did make the 7.7 inches of white stuff on our ground a joyful thing.

White Thanksgiving?

Woke up to this. Weather forecast is estimating 7-9 inches by tonight.


I know it's beautiful, and actually makes me want to go decorate for Christmas, but really, we haven't even had Thanksgiving. Needless to say we have spent our morning inside the house. Elyse has had a smile on her face all morning and keeps saying, "Baby brother here it's winter time". That's because we have told her snow means winter and winter means brother. Oops, should have figured snow would make its appearance early this year. Anyway, hopefully it will stop snowing so we can go out and play after nap.

Not A Typical Thursday Night

A typical Thursday night for Nate and I includes, dinner, playing or reading books with Elyse, tucking her into bed and vegging out on the couch while watching television. Last night involved non of the sorts. That's because, I joined my good friends and headed to the city to enjoy our annual (I know it's just the second year, but I have a feeling this tradition will not die) fondue desserts at The Melting Pot. We spent the night talking, eating wonderful food and laughing a lot. While the men headed over to our house for some good male bonding time. Meaning they spent much of the night interacting with the kiddos or getting in some video game playing. Overall, tonight involved two totally different ways Nate and I spent our evening, but yet, we both went to bed saying, "What a blast tonight was!"

The ladies: Stephanie, Angela, Jill, Kelly, Kristi, Nicole and Jenny
(We did miss you Sarah.)

The gentlemen and kiddos: Nate, Elyse, Tom, Aiden, Joren, Seth, Mariana, Jeremiah and Dieter. Not pictured, but did attend, Nick

We LOVE our friends from church and feel so blessed. Thank you all for a great and perfect Thursday evening.

Boy or Girl?

The 3-D ultrasound of our SON, looking strong and healthy.

Making Her Wish List

Due to time change and Elyse being set in routine (I know, like her Mama) we were up earlier than normal this morning. Therefore, Elyse thought she would take sometime and read her section of the newspaper ads, the toy ads, and lucky for us, there were much more than normal this weekend.


Speaking of toys, I have come up with a list of somethings I think Elyse may really enjoy. Problem is I feel like toys for two year olds are limited. Therefore, if you have any great suggestions, I would love to hear them!

SOS Need More Good Books

Every week Elyse and I go to the library to check out new books. I LOVE that she enjoys being read to so much. I never object spending time sitting together and reading. I often even catch her reading to herself. The book in the video is Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson. I don't know what it is about this book that brings her so much joy, maybe the simple pictures, the creative story line or the book is thick and small, but for this week, it ranks #1.


My friend Jenny posted this once and I thought it was a great idea. To list some of Elyse and my favorite children's books and then have you comment listing some of yours. There are many wonderful books out there that I often have not heard of. So would you please take a moment and let me know some of yours or your child's favorites?!?!

Here are just a few of our favorites:
-Bear's New Friend (and other Bear books) by Karma Wilson
-Maisy Goes to the Library (and other Maisy books)by Lucy Cousins
-Tiny Baby Jesus by Dandi Daley Mackall
-Fancy Nancy books by Jane O'Connor
-Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney
-If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffee Numeroff
-I'll Always Love You by Robert Munsch
-In Case You Ever Wonder by Max Lucado
-Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? by Bill Martin, Jr.
-The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
-Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
-Hugs and Kisses by Christophe Loupi
-Corduroy by Don Freeman
-There's An Alligator Under My Bed by Mercer Mayer
-Olivia series by Ian Falconer
-Curious George series by Hans Augusto Rey

Mini Picasso

Elyse received a paint set from her Nana and Papa for Halloween. She has spent many hours painting pictures. She really doesn't ever get tired of drawing, coloring or painting. I don't foreseeing her having any trouble not getting an "A" in art class while in school.