So long 2015 and babyhood!

December was another month of firsts for our little girl – standing, waving, blowing kisses (smacking her lips) and CHRISTMAS! We didn’t put up a big tree this year, but we did spread plenty of Christmas cheer by singing carols and watching the movie ‘Elf.’ :-)

My ‘favorite thing’ this month was baking (because it isn’t Christmas unless there are baked goods). Elodie is getting better at playing by herself for a little while, meaning I can mix up a batch of cookies using BOTH hands! But when it’s time to taste the treats, you better believe she is crawling up my leg, begging for a bite!

Why do these last couple months of the year go so quickly? With the holidays around us, we should be slowing down and counting our blessings more than ever. Way easier said than done, right?

With my last wedding in October, I expected November to be so quiet and relaxing. But since I foolishly volunteered to host my family for Thanksgiving, I spent most of my time searching Pinterest for recipes, practicing a few of them, cleaning the house, and shopping for groceries and presents (since we also celebrate Christmas when we’re all together for Thanksgiving).

Thank goodness we have an active little girl who loves my attention, forcing me to put down whatever I’m doing and sit on the floor and play with her, otherwise November would have been an absolute blur. :-)

Elodie is so playful these days. She loves finding things, so we put toys under the couch for her to grab, we hide behind the furniture for her to find us, and she squeals with delight every time she gets us. She crawls at near-lightning speeds and pulls herself up onto her knees to see up onto the couch or to peek over the crib to let me know she’s done with her nap (which she only takes one a day anymore). She’s learned to put her hands up whenever she hears “Touchdown, Vikings!” and her daddy is so proud. We’re teaching her to wave, but she won’t do it to anyone but us – instead she’ll bury her head into my shoulder, pretending to be shy, but then peek over at the new person because she’s much too curious.

Also, don’t let this adorable photo fool you – she no longer sits still for photos. Her sitting nice with that smile lasted almost an entire second before she dashed off again in search of a crumb on the kitchen floor. Other than finding things, she loves eating things… so finding crumbs to eat has got to be the most wonderful thing in the world for her right now.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, with lots of special little moments to treasure!

Our anniversary + our baby’s new tricks. September was pretty special. :-)

Three years of marriage! Gosh, that seems like such a small number. Nonetheless, it’s been a great three years and we hope it continues to get even better! We celebrated by staying in. So often we spend our free time running errands or working on projects around the house that our precious time together is limited. So instead of making plans, we sat and enjoyed each others’ company and marveled at how cute and amazing and smart our daughter is.

Speaking of which, it took her a day to master sitting herself up from laying on her tummy. We can no longer contain her! She loves to spin and roll and sit up and scoot. Peek-a-boo is still her favorite game, but she has now learned to put her hands up over her head when we ask how big she is. She also grew two new teeth this month and her hair is just barely long enough for bows, which totally adds to her cute factor.

August, you are so hot. And not in a good way. This month I’ve been enjoying air conditioning and ice cream and coconut flavored coffee syrup (for both iced coffees and in Diet Coke – yumm!!) Oh, and our baby girl turning seven months old. Duh.Little girl is loving her new view of the world as she now prefers to sit up most of the time. She also enjoys pool time and rolling away from mommy and daddy. She’s now saying “mama” but only when she’s fussy/tired and wants attention (by the way, it totally works), and has started to whisper “dada” and “th.” No sign of her wanting to use her legs yet, which I am just fine with because look at those chubby thighs!!! I don’t want them to go anywhere!!!

Hope you are all staying cool and enjoying the little things in life!