wordless wednesday

happy birthday

yet another birthday blessed with a wonderful family and awesome friends. josh had a busy week with work and school, but we still found time to celebrate. he surprised with a little blue box, which anything that comes in a little blue box has to be a good thing!
thank you josh for another beautiful necklace...seriously you have great taste.

then my parents surprised me on my birthday when they showed up at my house with a yummy cake and fun gifts. growing up i did lots of sewing projects with my mom, actually she did the sewing and i tried it on. anyway she thought it'd be fun to do a project together again so we're making a kitchen apron. the best part is they (and yes, they my dad did help pick out the fabric-so cute) found a pattern to make one for elle too. so the idea is once elle gets old enough to help i can make one with her that matches mine. love the idea!

on saturday josh took me out to a fun romantic dinner at bentwood tavern- awesome restaurant in new buffalo right on the water then a restaurant hop to zoes (our favorite spot) for dessert and coffee. it was so fun to just sit and talk. sad enough we were tired and ready to go home at 8:30...how old are we??

thank you to josh's parents for the AWESOME camera lens...check out the cool pictures at the end of elle. the new results of my lens. still playing around with, but love the blurred effect.
thank you to everyone for making my birthday so special.

had to take it, it was too funny!
no she's not smiles all the time, although most of the time.

childrens museums

elle has been checking out the local children's museum this month with 3 visits in just 4 weeks...surprising that we have the time for all that! earlier in the month we meet my sister and her family at the children's museum in GR. elle tries hard to keep up with the older ones and doesn't seem to mind trailing after them.

josh and i spent a saturday afternoon at curious kids museum in st. joe and then strolled around downtown eve though it was a very COLD day out. elle was trooper bundled up in her cozy stroller. special picture to emily dock: elle might just have a future in broadcasting- check out the picture below, em.

eewww....grossology is visiting st. joe's curious kids museum on the beach. elle enjoyed a fun afternoon checking out the new exhibit with grams, gramps, and aunt anna. there's everything from smelling body odors to a life size OPERATION...so cool! might just need to take my 3rd graders there. of course elle was much more interested in the WATER!! the carousel on the other hand was another story, she's still not so sure about it. still we had a great time.

wow, what a month! we are cherishing all these fun times with her just one on one.

curious kids on the beach:

what do you think auntie em???

toddler farm at curious kids:

GR kids museum w/ the cousins:

puppy love

i'm sure someday they'll actually sleep together. but for now i don't think the crib is big enough. it was so cute though to watch the 2 of them play with each other just before bed. elle thought it was hysterical that her doggie was her bed. tackle-not so sure about it. we love that they are so close. they now play chase with each other around the house. soo cute!

winter fun

what's better than an indoor water park in the middle of winter?
elle loved the water as usual. we had a good time splashing, sliding down the slides, and swimming through the lazy river. that's right swimming...the lazy river was turned up a few notches. you actually had to swim or just be pushed through by the powerful jets. elle held on for dear life, but still loved it. it was a good saturday activity in the middle of the winter.

elle loved it so much that i thought i'd take her and some friends (martha, the twins, & the 3 schoonveld kids) during our president's day off from school. so we packed all the kids up and got up to the waterpark by 9am. that in an of it's self is AMAZING, however, the park is only open on the WEEKENDS. who knew?? their loss, they could have made so many major money on all the other parents who thought they should do something with their kids on a day off of school. anyway, maybe another time.

so what else is there to do in the middle of winter in Michigan?
how about the new carousel at the children's museum downtown? elle had a blast riding on her "cricket" and played in some of the exhibits. josh took her rock climbing and of coursed found the water table quickly!




extra little post about valentine's day...
elle's 1st valentine's to her friends at daycare - little heart shape cookies.

i love you!!

we love you little girl
you make us smile and laugh every day.

some of the things we love about you:
your giggle
your dimple - totally your dad
your smile
your bed hair
your zest for life
when you say dada, tttt (tackle), mamama
when you sit and read
climbing in your chairs
snuggle time
your little running legs
when you dance
your growls & snuffy face
YOU!!

kitchen complete

the granite is in finally!
it makes such a difference and surprisingly it feels bigger.
slowly our dishes and food are making their way to the cupboards
hard to decide where to put everything again

extra large pennisula

corner cupboard near fridge

new french doors to the outside
makes a HUGE difference

we just have a few minor things to finish
-baseboards
-window trim
-outlets
-dinning room light
-sink light
-puck lights
-redo the brand new floors

yes, that's right we have to REDO the floors.
don't ask josh why!
maybe the list isn't minor finishing details...doesn't matter the kitchen is functional!
thanks josh for all your hard work!!