Thursday, July 2, 2009
Yes, I know that it has been ages since I've updated. I confess that I'm now a "facebooker" and find keeping up with fb and a blog impossible. But, for those of you who still check Elsa's blog and are not on fb, I'll continue to post now and again.
Elsa has been busy. She took swim lessons and was not happy about it. Greg and I were quite disappointed as Elsa loves anything associated with water...baths, the beach, her sprinkler, helping Mommy with the dishes, the dog's water dish...you get the picture. The swim lessons were at the YMCA. It was a noisy, chaotic environment and that ruined it for her. We look forward to more mellow pool time at Greg's parents' pool this summer, though.
We took a trip to Illinois so that Elsa could get to know my side of the family. She LOVED it because she was the center of attention. Grandpa, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends ALL absolutely doted on her. It was lovely. And Greg and I actually got a bit of a break because we had babysitters! Greg and I went to our nephew's house for dinner. Without Elsa. Don't get me wrong, we ADORE our daughter and thoroughly enjoy being with her, but it is nice to go out on a grownup date once in a while, too.
I got to spend my 1st Mother's Day in Illinois. It was made truly memorable as Elsa was dedicated to the Lord that day. Elsa's cousin, Aubrey, is a children's pastor and she officiated. It was wonderful. My entire family came up to the alter in support of Elsa...it was lovely. I also turned 40 while in Illinois. That was quite a day. There were celebrations from sun up to sun down. My sister, Vickie, arranged a surprise lunch for me with friends, a fun filled girlie day that included mani-pedi's, lemon martinis and movies. Then my whole family took me to dinner that night. My sister, Mary, even got me a birthday cake. It's good to be loved!!
As if Elsa and I weren't spoiled enough, my sisters and our friend, Ruthi threw a spectacular shower for us. No kidding, it was gorgeous and fun. The food was amazing and there was the best lemon cake that I've ever had. Elsa was showered with love and gifts. It was special and wonderful to be able to share our dream come true with the friends and family that prayed and believed with us that Elsa would be ours. What a day!
Elsa is quite the busy girl this summer. She is now seeing a speech therapist and an occupational therapist. They each come to the house once a week. Elsa was very frustrated that she couldn't communicate her needs and relied on screaming to get her point across. Her speech therapist was referred to as "a magician." After only one session with her magic speech therapist, with Greg and I applying the techniques he taught us, Elsa's screaming decreased about 75%. Now, I'd say that it is about 90% better. She is learning sign language and it is adorable to see her "babble" by signing. She just waves her hands all over. She does know a few signs now and communicates her desires that way. Such a blessing!! Her OT, Lisa, is great, too, and on top of getting therapy twice a week, Elsa gets to go to "school" for an hour and a half once a week. She loves it. I'm there participating with her the whole time. It is so exciting to see Elsa learn and grow!
We will have a full house this summer. Vickie, her husband, Jeff, and their youngest son, Seth (17), along with Seth's girlfriend, Cassie (17) will be with us for about a week. They get here on July 4th. There will be lots of bbq-ing and trips to the beach. Their 2nd son, Noah (26) and his girlfriend, Ashley, will arrive 2 days after Vic and crew leave. They will be here for a week and a half but their time in California will include a trip to San Francisco and wine country. Another sister, Mary is supposed to be visiting the end of June, too, and we have friends coming from Maryland in August. Elsa loves having company and it is a great help for Greg and I as Elsa doesn't demand all of our attention when she is being doted on by others.
Enjoy the photos. Elsa has grown dramatically in just the past few weeks. She grew out of a brand new pair of sandals in 3 weeks. Amazing!
Elsa has been busy. She took swim lessons and was not happy about it. Greg and I were quite disappointed as Elsa loves anything associated with water...baths, the beach, her sprinkler, helping Mommy with the dishes, the dog's water dish...you get the picture. The swim lessons were at the YMCA. It was a noisy, chaotic environment and that ruined it for her. We look forward to more mellow pool time at Greg's parents' pool this summer, though.
We took a trip to Illinois so that Elsa could get to know my side of the family. She LOVED it because she was the center of attention. Grandpa, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends ALL absolutely doted on her. It was lovely. And Greg and I actually got a bit of a break because we had babysitters! Greg and I went to our nephew's house for dinner. Without Elsa. Don't get me wrong, we ADORE our daughter and thoroughly enjoy being with her, but it is nice to go out on a grownup date once in a while, too.
I got to spend my 1st Mother's Day in Illinois. It was made truly memorable as Elsa was dedicated to the Lord that day. Elsa's cousin, Aubrey, is a children's pastor and she officiated. It was wonderful. My entire family came up to the alter in support of Elsa...it was lovely. I also turned 40 while in Illinois. That was quite a day. There were celebrations from sun up to sun down. My sister, Vickie, arranged a surprise lunch for me with friends, a fun filled girlie day that included mani-pedi's, lemon martinis and movies. Then my whole family took me to dinner that night. My sister, Mary, even got me a birthday cake. It's good to be loved!!
As if Elsa and I weren't spoiled enough, my sisters and our friend, Ruthi threw a spectacular shower for us. No kidding, it was gorgeous and fun. The food was amazing and there was the best lemon cake that I've ever had. Elsa was showered with love and gifts. It was special and wonderful to be able to share our dream come true with the friends and family that prayed and believed with us that Elsa would be ours. What a day!
Elsa is quite the busy girl this summer. She is now seeing a speech therapist and an occupational therapist. They each come to the house once a week. Elsa was very frustrated that she couldn't communicate her needs and relied on screaming to get her point across. Her speech therapist was referred to as "a magician." After only one session with her magic speech therapist, with Greg and I applying the techniques he taught us, Elsa's screaming decreased about 75%. Now, I'd say that it is about 90% better. She is learning sign language and it is adorable to see her "babble" by signing. She just waves her hands all over. She does know a few signs now and communicates her desires that way. Such a blessing!! Her OT, Lisa, is great, too, and on top of getting therapy twice a week, Elsa gets to go to "school" for an hour and a half once a week. She loves it. I'm there participating with her the whole time. It is so exciting to see Elsa learn and grow!
We will have a full house this summer. Vickie, her husband, Jeff, and their youngest son, Seth (17), along with Seth's girlfriend, Cassie (17) will be with us for about a week. They get here on July 4th. There will be lots of bbq-ing and trips to the beach. Their 2nd son, Noah (26) and his girlfriend, Ashley, will arrive 2 days after Vic and crew leave. They will be here for a week and a half but their time in California will include a trip to San Francisco and wine country. Another sister, Mary is supposed to be visiting the end of June, too, and we have friends coming from Maryland in August. Elsa loves having company and it is a great help for Greg and I as Elsa doesn't demand all of our attention when she is being doted on by others.
Enjoy the photos. Elsa has grown dramatically in just the past few weeks. She grew out of a brand new pair of sandals in 3 weeks. Amazing!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Photos by Amanda Elkins
We had a photo session recently with renown child/family photographer Amanda Elkins. Here are a few of the pictures from our session. She truly captured our family. I recommend checking out Amanda's blog. It is a real treat and there are a few more pictures of us on her March 23rd entry.
www.amandaelkinsphotography.com
She is offering a mom's mini session for mother's day. There info about it on her blog.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Fudge
We have added to our family once again. I named him "Fudge." He is the cutest bear ever. Greg insists that Fudge was quite intimidating when he was still alive. Greg encountered Fudge on a hunting trip in Alaska. He may have looked mean when he was still alive but he is simply adorable as a rug. He rests comfortably on the floor in Greg's office. Elsa just LOVES him. She alternates between sitting where his shoulders once were like she is riding him and kissing his snout. She will cry to get into Greg's office just to give Fudge love. He really is a sweet looking bear.
Elsa just started swim lessons. Since she loves the water so much we decided to do a "mommy and me" swim class at the YMCA. Only Greg does it with Elsa instead of Mommy. Elsa wasn't too happy at first. That was a big surprise to us as we thought she would be thrilled. Her complaint wasn't with the water, though. It was just that it was loud and scary. I went along to the class and it wasn't the best thing. Elsa cried for me and didn't want to participate. Fortunately, there is a workout room over the pool so I was able to hide up there and watch through the glass. She warmed up and enjoyed herself once Mom wasn't around. I'm sure that the next class will be a lot more fun for her.
Elsa is really enjoying the Baby Einstein videos. We just started watching the one about neighborhood animals. They sing "Old MacDonald" on the video and Elsa loves the chorus, "e-i-e-i-o." She sings along and but never gets to the "o" part. She just sings "eee-iiii-eeee-iiii-ee-iiii."
I've mentioned before that Elsa loves phones. If she can't find one of her toy phones then she will use plastic bread from her kitchen. She has started to texting on her bread.
We got great news from our friends, Christine and Darius. They are adopting a darling little girl from Elsa's orphanage. Her name is Oksana and she is 4 years old. The region had imposed a moratorium just a month after we got home and it put our friend's adoption in limbo. Fortunately, the region reopened and Christine and Darius should be traveling next month for their court dates. Greg and I had the privilege of meeting Oksana when we were at the orphanage. She touched our hearts in a profound way. We are thrilled that she will be home with her family soon. It would be wonderful if you would join us in prayer for this beautiful family.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Sorry that it has been so long since I've updated. We've had a busy few months. Among other things, my sister, Vickie, came to visit twice and I had a minor surgery. Vickie came to the rescue, yet again, when we needed her. She flew out and took care of Elsa for us while I was recovering. Actually, she took care of all of us. Elsa and TeeTee (our niece, Hope, named Vickie that because she couldn't pronounce "Vickie") are two peas in a very snug pod. We really feel her absence now that she is back in Illinois. The photos below are of Elsa's escapades over that last few months, including her time with TeeTee.
Monday, February 23, 2009
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