Other January Photos

Here's a bunch of random photos "leftover" from the month of January.
Snuggling with Daddy.

A magnificent and HUGE duplo/megablocks creation.

Being nice to Luke.

Indoor picnic excitement.

Anxiously waiting for something yummy to finish baking.

Another masterpiece!

Our little goose.

We'll call that a wrap for January photos!

Elise's 2nd Birthday: Cake and Presents

After lunch, nap time and some relaxed family playtime at home... we began the birthday evening festivities! The evening began with Elise opening the rest of her birthday presents - which, of course, she LOVED. She opened a Minnie Mouse toy from us, a teddy bear and playdough from Grandma and Papa Niland, and lastly a homemade gift from us - decorated letters to put up in her room that spell her name.

Here's the letters up in her room.
She loves them! They are just like Isaac's letters that he has in his room - so I think she is happy to have her own... and she is currently obsessed with the letter "E" - so the letter were a big hit. She knows almost all of them. She looks up at her letters and points to them and says "E-L-S". We'll keep working on that. :)

After presents we headed to Culvers (a local Burger restaurant) to go out to dinner. Isaac insisted on wearing the birthday hat to celebrate. And Elise was just a doll!

Finally we headed home to eat cake and ice cream, and to PART-AY!
Here's her giant PINK cupcake.
I wanted to keep her cake simple, but fun - and definitely something that she would love. This fit the bill perfectly. :) She LOVES pink and when she saw it she exclaimed "pink!", so it was a hit. It was a pink giant cupcake with pink frosting and pink sprinkles (in a pink candy mold). So VERY pink. We sang "Happy Birthday" one more time - and this time she blew out the candle like a champ!

After cake and ice cream - Isaac started playing the drums and a spontaneous dance party ensued. I LOVE love LOVE these photos!! Elise loves to dance - and it shows!

And a couple of "timer" family photos to remember our fun day by.

Happy 2nd Birthday Elise!!!!!

It was so fun to celebrate with you!

Elise's 2nd Birthday: Wonderscope Adventure

After Elise's birthday breakfast we got ready and headed out to spend the morning on a special family outing to Wonderscope (a children's museum that we had never been to before). The museum was a big hit - we all enjoyed it! The museum was divided into different themed rooms. Here's a few photos of the fun that we had!
The Golf Ball Room

The Doctor Room

The Arts & Crafts Room

The Water Table Room

The Building/Construction Room

There were a few of the rooms at the museum where I wondered who was having more fun - Jeremy or the kids! Both of us were playing right alongside the kids... and that just made the day even more fun for us as a family. Our favorite rooms were probably the golf ball room, the arts & crafts room, and the building/construction room. The museum made for a fun family adventure - a break from the regular routines. Perfect for a cold January day!

Elise's 2nd Birthday: The Morning

Happy 2nd Birthday Elise!!!!
Elise turned two on January 20th - but we celebrated her birthday the next day on Saturday January 21st so that Jeremy could be with us for all of the festivities. It was a wonderful day spent as a family celebrating all of the joy and laughter and happiness that Elise brings into our home. We sure LOVE this girl!

The day started off with Jeremy, Isaac, and I going into Elise's room when we heard her wake up and singing her "Happy Birthday". She was awake... but not too enthusiastic about cameras and attention at that point. But she warmed up quickly. :) Then Isaac and Elise ran through the pink streamers (aka "car wash") hanging from her door. Next we all headed downstairs to find pink balloons and presents waiting for her. She lost no time at all - she knew JUST what to do with presents. :)

She opened a present from Isaac - a new baby doll (he knew just what she likes - babies, the letter E, and pink). And she also opened a gift from Jeremy and I - a new Minnie Mouse DVD.
After presents it was time for a birthday breakfast! We sang "Happy Birthday" again. But she didn't like the idea of blowing out candles - so Jeremy helped her. In contrast she DID like the triple berry muffins and blueberries (which she for some reason calls "pears"). In fact, we all loved the breakfast. YUM!!