Saturday, December 13, 2008

First visit with Santa...what a scary beard!

Elise had her first visit with Santa last night at our ward Christmas party. I didn't know how she'd do with him, especially since she seems to be afraid of facial hair. A bearded or goateed man comes near her and she clings to us and screams. Once, her uncle came to visit with his new goatee and she cried every time he looked at her. It took almost 2 days before she'd play with him. So, I didn't have very high expectations for a happy Santa experience. And I was right. The beard was just too scary. Elise jumped out of Santa's arms and back into James' arms just as fast as she could. Here's some pictures.

(Sorry I couldn't get this turned the right way...just tilt your head and it works fine!) Elise is trying to figure out why she's being taken over to this strange man in a red outfit.

A split second after being placed in Santa's lap, she's out of it again as she lunges for the safety of daddy's arms.

Elise would talk to Santa as long as she didn't have to TOUCH him.


Or...not.

But Santa has to be okay since he DID give Elise a crinkly bag with candy in it...Elise loves crinkly bags. Maybe in a few more years she'll figure out what this Santa thing is all about.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Thanksgiving updates and more...

It's been a long time since I posted to the blog...life has been crazy. James has been busy with school, I've been busy at work, and Elise has been busy learning a bunch of new skills--she can now get to a sitting position on her own, pull herself up to stand, tries to walk when holding our fingers, has 3 teeth that have popped through, and loves to explore. She's growing up fast! We also went to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving for a week, and it felt so nice to have a good long visit.

Here are some pictures to catch up on what we've been up to lately:

Elise talking to her grandma on the phone-as soon as she hears her voice she smiles so big!

Our first day in Wisconsin it snowed 4 inches, so we had to go play in it. While Elise liked the cold, she did NOT like riding down the hill on the sled!

Elise and her dad out in the snow.


Elise and Grandpa watching the boys play in the snow.

We went to a meat market and bought beef sticks...Elise decided it looked yummy and stole Julie's and enjoyed it so much she refused to give it back! She sucked on that beef stick for 45 minutes!

Elise hanging out with her dad, uncles, and grandpa.


Elise, grandpa and Julie on Thanksgiving.


Grandpa, grandma, and Elise before we left to drive back home.



We set up our tree and decorated for Christmas. This is Elise on her first Sinterklass Day that we celebrated (the Dutch christmas). She loved opening the presents!










Tired out and sleeping in her crib.