Cute Pix

A rare moment of Paul and the 3 little girls....

Happy New Year!

December proved yet again to be a crazy month. From choir practices/performances, Christmas shopping, and haircuts to cooking/baking, traveling and Christmas parties (count them...we had 6 family Christmases!), we've been moving non-stop. Mix in stomach bugs, coughs and colds....oh what fun!

Our Christmases in Michigan were enjoyable. Elise had a great time opening her presents (and everyone else's). Julia loved playing with the wrapping paper and packaging, and benefited from a lot of fun toys. We had a great time seeing our families and Elise had a blast playing with her cousin Libby, as well as her extended cousins from Uncle Jon's family. Julia mostly went along with whatever the rest of us were doing, but she too seemed to like 'playing' with her cousins Kendra and Reagan.







When we returned to Illinois late on the 26th, we decided that it was time to reclaim our bedroom closet and move Julia up to Elise's room (closet). I was a bit concerned that they would wake each other up, especially when we let Julia cry herself back to sleep, but so far we've been pleasantly surprised. The first night she cried for about an hour at 3a, but Elise slept right through it. After almost 8 months of interrupted sleep, Julia finally, yes finally, slept through the night (7p to 8a) on Sunday!! 2008 is looking better already!

We had hoped to take Elise bumper bowling on New Year's Eve, something our church sets up with a local bowling alley. Sunday night she came down with an eye infection (red, blood-shot eyes and goop). I thought maybe it wasn't such a good idea to share this with other kids, so we stayed home. Elise and Julia were both in bed by 8, fast asleep. Paul and I enjoyed the evening together, celebrating the east coast New Year at Times Square. We then watched the Chicago broadcast....did anyone else watch? Talk about a sad, sad celebration. You'd think for a big city they could do a little better. Anyway, Happy 2008!

We started to take down the Christmas decorations yesterday. Sadly, the house looks so bare now. Back to the boring white walls. And while the Christmas celebrations are over, it's nice to have a little time to kick back and not go anywhere.

Next on the agenda is preschool. Stay tuned....

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

December has been unusually snowy here in the windy city (at least from what I can remember). WGN reports that we've had 21" of snow since September, but if I remember correctly, the first snow fall was right around Thanksgiving (the 7th snowiest year since 1928). Last Friday, we had the best snow and sunny, mild day for building a long awaited snowman.

Elise doesn't have much tolerance for cold weather (she doesn't like to wear sweaters and hates to wear a coat), so she doesn't last too long outside. The snowstorm that came through on New Year's Eve / Day brought even more snow to play in, yet it's SO COLD (negative wind chill today). I think we'll be staying inside.

The Elves have been busy....

It's been at least 3 years since I've done any significant baking for Christmas. Here's what's cooking (I mean baking):

*Peanut Butter Blossoms
*Magic Cookie Bars
*Ginger Snaps
*Buckeyes (NEW!)
*Cappuccino Crinkles (NEW!)
*Brownie Biscotti (NEW!)

Yum! You'll have to come to one of the Christmas celebrations to get a taste....

Great Investment

I love my new food chopper from The Pampered Chef. It's one of the best investments I've made as of late. Chopping nuts for Christmas cookies has been a piece of cake. It's true that a food processor would do the job, but this is so easy and it can all be washed in the dishwasher. Love it!

First Haircut

My apologies to my family and friends for the lack of updates. It's been one cold/flu after another here....

Julia had her first haircut today. While I was sad to see her long locks go, she looks so much better. And now that she's determined to scream every time I comb her hair, this should make things easier. Here are the before and after pictures:

BEFORE (Shaggy-do)

AFTER

By the way, in stereotypical 2nd child fashion, the hair stylist (also named Julia) had to remind me to collect a few locks for the baby book. I forgot!

Our 6-month Old

It's hard to believe that Julia is 6 months old already. Where has the time gone?!

Here's a few things about her:

* She's 17 lbs and 28 inches long (off the percentile chart for her age).

* She's rolling in both directions now and actually enjoys spending time on her belly. Sitting on her own is a completely different story....she's not interested in this in the least.

* The days of beautiful sleep are over (at least for now). She's determined not to go through the night without waking at least 2-3 times. And good naps are harder to come by.

* She's a good little girl when she's well rested. She loves to play in her exersaucer and Johnny Jump-up. And she's working hard on her fine motor skills, using both hands to reach for things and hold them.

* Julia looooves solid foods. She's become a big fan of rice cereal and she tried peas for the first time today. She ate the whole container without any arguments! She also likes chewing on the hard crusts of bread. Yum!

You know you have a 3 year when.....

....it doesn't matter what you use to bribe your child and she still won't smile.



Fun times! We may go back and buy an 8x10 to put at Elise's open house for her high school graduation.

Cranky, Crabby Girls

Well, we're not off to the best start. Paul is gone for the afternoon today and then will be in Vegas all next week for a conference. Julia continues to be a terrible sleeper. In fact, she did not nap this morning and after a 20 minute snooze this afternoon, she's back to screaming once more. I'm at a loss....crying it out doesn't seem to work. She has the endurance of an Energizer bunny. It would not be an exaggeration to say that she can cry for hours....

If you think of it, please send up an extra prayer for us this week.

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Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Elise Finally Forgoes Pesky Pull-ups
In a bold move two weeks ago (I'm a bit behind in my blogging...), Elise decided that she was done with pull-ups. She's now in big-girl underwear 100% of the time, including at night. When asked by Daddy to get her panties on, Elise kindly corrected him by saying, "Daddy, they're not pan-nies, they're pan-ties!" She can be pretty cheeky....






Sleep Therapy
Researchers say it doesn't matter which position you sleep (or what you sleep with) in order to get a good night's sleep. Elise is living proof.



Big Sister Strikes Again
Elise continues in her quest to be crowned the best big sister in the world. From wiping bottoms (not the poopy ones, of course) to cleaning toes, she's on her way to earning this accolade from her (sometimes) appreciative parents.



Imagination Hard at Work
In a current episode of storytelling to Julia, Elise began, "Once upon a time, there was a king who lived in a soft-boiled eye." Hmmm....not sure what to make of that. In other news, did you know that if 5 Cheerios are arranged in a certain way, they look like a gingerbread man? Ask Elise. She'll show you.

Fall Family Pictures



Paparazzi
Child by day, budding photographer by night. Here are a few of our favorite Elise shots:



It's a Bird, It's a Plane...It's Julia



It's Grrrrr-eat!
In a desperate attempt to make nights go a little more smoothly, we finally threw in the towel
and gave Julia her first bowl of Rice Cereal. First attempts were not too successful, but now she loves it.


Raspberries
There's not a whole lot to say about this one. You have to see it for yourself.



Frog Legs
Julia has taken on her sea...I mean frog legs. She is learning the joys of jumping. Unfortunately for her mom, this has resulted in 3 explosive and very stinky diapers. The 'super-wash' cycle of the washing machine doesn't seem to do the trick either.



Ta Ta for Now!