SANTA

( our Black Friday picture....Happy girl)

GOOD NEWS....Elle LOVES Santa!

Nick and I took her to see him last Tuesday and it was a riot. She got all gussied up for the big guy...hat and all! She did as we thought she would....she would not take her eyes off of him. She is so much like Nick, checking things out before diving in. She must have looked at him ( without blinking I might add) for at least a minute. She then put her death grip onto his jacket...a mere 1/2 inch away from his REAL beard! I didn't even get a real Elle smile....she was so concentrated.

I took her again today...Black Friday....and she did a little better as far as relaxing with the old man. She even let out a giggle...which was the cutest thing ever! I really want her to learn to love Santa and not be afraid of him...so far it is going GREAT!

( checking him out)

( ALMOST got the beard!)

The CAVE

So, our new favorite thing for Elle is a Cozy Cover aka....THE CAVE! They are the best invention for cold places for babies. Putting a big jacket on her is so uncomfortable for her to sit in her car seat....so this is a GREAT alternative. And little did we know, it is a magical cozy cover. Whenever Elle is put completely in the cave, she falls asleep. It is pretty funny, she knows how to unzip it and punch her hand out of the top....our smart child! But yes, the cave is awesome!

( Now you see her......)

( Now you DON'T!)

Thanksgiving and Black Friday

Well we have had an awesome past two days! We were invited to our friend's the Walker's home for Thanksgiving dinner and it was so fun! Great food, great company and a gorgeous house to be in with the snow falling outside! Thank you Walkers!

The best part of Thanksgiving was having Nick be with us all day! No distractions, no studying....the perfect day! He made his amazing apple pie...one for the Walkers house....one for only US! :) That puppy was gone this morning! I was able to ichat with my family in AZ.....such a GREAT blessing for me to have a Mac computer. I really missed them!!!

BLACK FRIDAY....I decided to be daring and drive in the snow for the very first time ( I have literally been holed up inside for a week in fear of driving in the snow). I got some new snow boots which were desperately needed. What a difference it makes! Don't ask me why my first adventure out driving in the snow was on the busiest shopping day of the year....but it was and it went GREAT! I had so much fun walking around the mall with Elle. Looking at the lights....seeing SANTA again. Even though we didn't buy anything....it was fun to feel the energy of others and the excitement in the air of the Holidays! We went to the firework show in Coeur D'Alene,Idaho! It was amazing. I would rate it my number two favorite firework show...next to Disneyland! Elle was wide eyed looking at the lights....pretty neat to see! We are having a blast!

( light display over the lake)

( Nick and Elle by Santa)
( Mommy and mini)
( the only pic of Elle on Thanksgiving)

Busy!

We have been pretty busy here lately! Nick is constantly on the go and enjoying his time spent at his second home...aka...the library! We miss him, but know this will be worth it in 3 years when he is DONE! One semester ALMOST down!

I am staying busy with my little energy bunny! She is constantly on the go! Here are some fun facts about our little Elle!!!

- Elle's best friend these days is Stella, her pink elephant that sings twinkle twinkle little star

- Elle rolls over!!!! She would roll around the whole room if we let her!

-Elle started eating rice cereal. She does pretty well....one more month until solids!

-Elle sleeps through the night. She wakes up for a feeding at 5, then sleeps again until 7:30... WONDERFUL!

- Elle laughs so hard she starts to yell. She can't contain her happiness in that little body! It is hysterical to say the least. Nick and I have toooo much fun with her!

- Elle will laugh at ANYTHING I do. I was telling her that the Mickey Mouse Christmas Carol looked like a cute movie to watch....well she thought that was the funniest thing in the world. She is definitely my daughter...laughing at things that just are not that funny! :)

- Elle will NOT laugh at Nick. We don't know why....he can do the exact same thing I am doing and she won't even flinch. I really think she just soaks him in. She has started crying when he walks out the door....breaks my little heart!

- Elle loves movies. Particularly Baby Einstein and Charlie Brown!

We are getting her weighed in a couple weeks! The last time she was 13.9 lbs.

We are really enjoying Spokane. We had our first snow the other day and it was so refreshing. It is nice to walk outside and take a deep breath and feel clean air!!! We are excited to have our first Thanksgiving with Elle!!!