Noah

Update

Well...obviously it's been a LONG while since I posted on our blog. We have been very busy with our move to a new place in a new city & state! We thoroughly enjoy living here.

I really enjoy my job, the hours are very flexible and allow me to work as little or as much as I want. Elise likes her babysitter (from our new church) which is GREAT as I can go to work knowing that she is having fun and I also get some time away from the house!

We are all excited about Baby LeValley, who is expected around December 4th. We expect to be scheduling an ultra sound in the next week or two, and yes I plan to find out the gender if possible!

Elise is growing so tall! She's very busy and always on the move. She has started copying our words...so far she says Amen, Thanks, No, Cream (for diaper creme) and Hot...of course, they are not clearly articulated, but it is clear in what she's trying to say. In between these words she speaks Elise language and talks ALL the time!

Here's a few recent pics so you can see how cute she is!

...upcoming birthday

Elise will turn one on March 3rd!

Christmas...

Christmas 2007 was the first for Elise...she was too cute playing with the bows and paper. As most children her age, she was not interested in her gifts...though she did receive a gift from her uncle that interests her and also one from Mommy & Daddy. The others will be appreciated as she grows older.

Here are a few updated family pics from my grandpa's 75th b-day party! In case you're wondering about the very ugly pine cone Elise is holding...it is a family gag gift that gets passed around from one poor unsuspecting family member to the other. It mysteriously disappeared for a while, but has surfaced once again in honor of Elise's first Christmas. This ugly pine cone was her very first Christmas gift...of course, Elise will wait patiently until the time is right to "re-gift" this pine cone.

Outdoor Exploration

Elise was quite fidgety this afternoon so I decided a trip to the backyard was the cure. At first, she only wanted to walk around (holding my hands, of course), however she soon became confident and eventually sat down in the grass.

After touching the grass with her hands she did not touch it again! Guess she didn't like the feel of it...however, she did enjoy the leaves! She began by stroking the leaves with one finger and then later became brave enough to pick up a leaf using her index finger and thumb...which eventually led to picking up the leaves and lovingly smashing them.

The scratchy, dry leaves brought huge smiles to her cute face and, much to my relief, she didn't even try to eat them! Before she picked one up, she would look it over very carefully and only after it passed the eyeball inspection did she pick it up...she was way too cute! Here are a few pics of the leaves...

and here is what's left of them...
Elise's first time playing in the leaves...what a precious moment!

On the move...

Once again I have been lax in updating our blog...I really do have some good excuses but I won't "sport with your intellect" by telling them to you all!

Our Baby Girl has been crawling for a while now and is currently walking herself around the coffee table, trying to stand on her own and when holding onto our hands likes to walk/run. She is even cuter now than before...I have posted a few pics so you can see for yourself.

I don't have time to post much today and I can't promise you when I will post again, but I hope it won't be too far into the future when I can post some more pics and info.

Beach Time!!!

Just thought I'd share some of our family beach trip pics for you to see. As Elise is the cutest person in our family right now (and not to mention the only one who doesn't mind a picture of themselves in swim wear being posted on the internet) she will be the star of the show!

Elise loved the waves. As the water came up to her feet, she would smile and laugh...then when the water receded she would cry. She also enjoyed the pool. I think we have a beach girl...she obviously inherited it from her father (enjoys surfing) and not from her mother who enjoys land under her feet a whole lot more than floating around in the water.

All in all, the trip was fairly relaxing for the whole family and a nice get away before my brother took off for college again.

Here's the pics...notice her hair in the first two photos...it's so cute!

L-to-R: Paul, me holding Elise, my little brother Jeremy, my father Marc and my mother is behind the camera (conveniently enough).