Santa's Helper

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Brothers

I love this picture of Joshua with his sister. Most of the pictures I have with the two of them, he is always looking at her and smiling. He loves his sister and is always very concerned about her well being. When she wakes up from naps and he hears her crying he runs straight in her room to see her. He notices when she is not around. If I load Joshua in the car before I put her in, he reminds me that she needs to be in the car too. I am so excited that she will have an older brother to watch out for her.

I have been blessed in my life with two amazing brothers. They are my closest friends. My older brother is kind, generous and a great Dad. My younger brother is optimistic, smart and so funny. I am grateful for their love and support.

Firsts

It has been a week of firsts for Miss Elise.

She started clapping.....

She started moving. Not exactly crawling, but dragging herself across the floor on her tummy.

She started pulling herself to a standing position....

Her first tooth came in with a second close behind. Which was cause for celebration, so she ate her first cookie....

Way to go little girl!

Elise

Our little girl will hit her 8 month milestone next week. I wanted to post some of the most endearing things about our baby.

10 things I love about Elise;

1. She is so sweet and patient

2. Her big bright eyes are always happy

3. She is so calm and you can't help but feel peaceful in her presence

4. She adores her Dad (and her Dad adores her)

5. She adores her brother (and her brother adores her)

6. Her bald head is soft and fuzzy. Her Dad thinks she is so cute bald and hopes her hair grows in slowly.

7. She dances when she hears music-the cutest little bop of the head

8. She is a lunch mouth. Yesterday, I caught her struggling to reach something under the couch. Victorious, she came out holding a cheerio that she quickly popped in her mouth. She is always grabbing food out of Joshua's hands. Her favorite right now is graham crackers.

9. She is so happy when she wakes up in the morning - always giggling and smiling.

10. She very curious about her world. Always watching people and things around her.

Did I say 10? I don't think I can stop yet- just one more.

11. For being so sweet, she can hold her own around her brother. I have seen her push him out of the way to get to a toy she wanted. I love that about her.

Elise has been a great blessing to me. I have to remind myself that she has only been a part of my world for 8 months- it feels like I have known her much longer. Since becoming a mother, my gratitude for my own mother has increased. She is my best friend. I can only hope that one day Elise feels the same way about me.

Trick or Treat

We had a fun Halloween. Joshua was Superman and Elise was a lion. It was our first Halloween in our new neighborhood and it did not disappoint. Joshua had a blast playing soccer with the big kids at a block party and running from door to door in search of candy. He managed to lose a shoe in the process, but came home with a bag full of M & M's (his favorite). Elise's costume was a showstopper (thanks Mom!) and she was all smiles through the night.