January Musings

January hasn't been particularly busy for the Jackson family, mostly because Mommy was sidelined for a week with the flu. Elise was glad to be a little nomad that weekend, and Mommy was grateful for the help from Aunt Lori, MawMaw, and Mammy. Thankfully, Mommy did recover!

Before the evil flu struck, we were very excited to have Baby Link stay with us for an evening. He's a good boy, and Elise had a good time cuddling with him (even though he's almost as big as her!)

Another fun activity this month was Elise's first basketball game. Our friend Tyler is a referee, and in order to hang out with the Porters (we've tried getting together for months!), we had to chase him down at one of his games in Nixa.

Elise's friend Lillie is quite the character. Elise was very entertained by her. Lillie liked Elise, too, but would get a little frustrated sometimes because she couldn't understand Elise's 2 year-old conversation!

Daddy and Mommy got a bit stressed out because Elise didn't want to sit with us--she was excited to be at a new place and wanted to roam. We told her as long as she stayed with Lillie and in our section, she could run around. She listened to that direction for about 20 minutes. Mommy only had to chase her down twice, though. Usually, a stern "get back here" was all it took to set the little adventurer straight.

In other January news, Elise is really big into building "towers". Don't try to help her, it makes her mad. She has quite the independent streak! Mommy finally thought to snap a picture of her with one of her towers (after a big day of play at the park, please don't mind the crazy hair :)).

Elise is also a huge fan of her "bicycle". She does NOT like to call it a bike, trike, tricycle, or anything else. She has gotten very good about getting on and off it, but still can't quite figure out how to pedal. She likes to rope people into pushing her on it though (and she often does).

Next month is all sorts of busy: there are FOUR birthdays in the family. We're also hoping for a good snow this week so that Elise can finally build a snowman. She got a neat "snowman kit" for Christmas that she's been itching to use (okay, she doesn't get it: Mommy's the one with the itch).

Looking Back on 2010

Okay, I confess: I stole the idea from my friend Natalie's blog and loved it. So here they are, my Top 10 (+1) Favorites Pics of 2010.

1/2010: Elise falls in love with her blanket. It's been called different things at different times this year: "Night Night" and "Banket" are her two favorites. But just ask Sean: do NOT think she'll go to bed without it! :)

3/10: During a Trip to Branson Landing, I got this great snapshot of Elise walking with her Daddy. She looks so small here--what a difference a year makes!

4/10: This is one of my all-time favorite pics of Elise and I. She's almost-grinning and her curls are very visible. And I just got my hair done :)

5/10: Every year since Elise was born, we take a Mother's Day pic with Amanda, Rhonda, Elise, and Sean. This was the pic for 2010 and it turned out pretty good!

5/10: This isn't the greatest of everyone, but it has everyone in it :) We traveled to Omaha to see Brooke graduate from HS. Elise was well-behaved during graduation, and that made me happy!

6/10: It is often a challenge to get these three cousins together and smiling in one shot. Here, they were playing in the dirt at the annual family reunion, and I got two out of three smiles. Not bad.

9/10: Elise is in love with her new baby cousin: Link Ray Collins. So are the rest of us!

9/10: This isn't the greatest pic of the three of them, but they were distracted by elephants :) I love what this pic represents, though: Elise's first trip to the zoo (which she loved), her first stay in a hotel (which Mommy and Daddy DIDN'T love because she wouldn't sleep for the excitement of sleeping in bed with us), and a great trip with Pa-poo and Kathy!

10/10: Elise's first dance. Her and Popa had a great time dancing around the dance floor at Aunt Lori's 50th Birthday party!

12/10: TWO YEARS OLD?! How did that happen? I can't believe I am the mother of a child who is 2 years old. God has richly blessed me.

12/10: Elise might sometimes get jealous of her cousin Link, but she does love him a lot and will just have to learn to share her Mammy!

Here's looking forward to a WONDERFUL 2011 with lots of love, blessings, and surprises!

Christmas 2010

The Jackson Family started out Christmas 2010 on Dec 18 with Christmas at Nan and Pop Stevens with the extended family, followed by Christmas at the Lippys house. Mom totally forgot the camera that day, but Elise got some great presents. She got some bubbles and a new ornament at Nan and Pop's. Then, she got food for her kitchen, a movie, and a new bowl at the Lippys (forgive me if I forget anything, it has been a few weeks!) She was very pleased with everyone and once again THANK YOU!

Our next Christmas was at home on the 23rd. Daddy was going to have to work Christmas day, and Santa knows that firefighter Daddys want to be home to see their kids open presents, so he makes an exception and comes early. Elise had the most fun with her stocking, then she opened the presents from Santa and Mommy and Daddy. Unfortunately, she had her 2-year shots that afternoon, so the fun stopped there :( Happily, though, our girl is still a grower. She's evened out some, and is now only in the 75th percentile for weight. Still 90th for height though!

The next Christmas was at Pa-poo Mike's and Kathy's house. We had to switch some plans due to snow (Pa-poo had to do snow-removal), so we had lunch instead of breakfast. No worries: we all were very happy with the lunch (except for Elise, who was too excited to eat!) She got some great gifts there, too--she got an awesome easel to draw on, a new puzzle, and lots of other great stuff.

Next, it was off to Grandpa and Grandma Jacksons! Elise has so much fun playing with her cousins Landen and Lainey. She was also glad to finally meet her other cousin: Caydence. Lainey, Caydence, and Elise were all born in 2008!

Christmas Day was spent at Mammy and Po-pa's. Link and Elise had a lot of fun opening presents there! Elise was especially excited to get a new tent! She's spent a lot of time in it (and since it is so light, she has spent a lot of time hauling it to different places in the house!)

Our final Christmas was the 26th at MawMaw and PawPaw's house. Uncle Dave got her a unicorn pet pillow that she promptly named "Horsey" (she's thrilled to have two! Pa-poo and Kathy got her a lady bug one!) Aunt Amanda and Uncle Rob got her an awesome "bicycle" as she calls it. She still can't quite figure out the pedals, but it won't take long! She spends a lot of time practicing! MawMaw and PawPaw got her some new books and money in her savings, Grandma Halleran got her some new babies, and MawMaw Sweaney got her an awesome teapot!
Thanks to all our families for making 2010 a great Christmas!

This Little Monkey is TWO!

Elise turned TWO on December 5, 2010. It is so hard for me to grasp that! It seriously seems like yesterday that I was bringing her home from the hospital, a nervous wreck about how I was responsible for this beautiful little life. I think her Daddy and I have done a pretty good job so far, though--with lots of help from a great family and wonderful friends. Elise's birthday party is a testament to how very loved she is, and I am so thankful that she is so blessed!

In honor of her nickname, Monkey, Elise had a monkey-themed birthday party. Stephanie Dill did a WONDERFUL job with the cake and cupcakes--Elise was thrilled and they were tasty too!

We all had a great time watching Elise open presents. She was easily distracted, but when she'd take the time to open presents, she was so excited about each and every one. Jessie did an awesome job capturing memories for me while I tried to corral Miss Elise!

Despite only having a 1 hour nap before the party, Elise was in a great mood the whole time--all smiles! :)

No one can argue that Elise definitely has all her grandpas wrapped around her finger! Here, she has Poppy (Great-Grandpa Stevens) and PawPaw (Grandpa Halleran) cleaning with her! She had Popa (Grandpa Stevens) opening presents for her, and she gave big hugs to Pah-Pa (Great-Grandpa Jackson) and Pah-Poo (Grandpa Jackson)! Elise really does have all these names for her grandpas, which she herself made up--and she knows who is who. Her grandmas have names too: Mammy (Grandma Stevens), Nana (Great-Grandma Stevens), MawMaw (Grandma Halleran), and Mimi (Great-Grandma Jackson). She also calls Great-Grandma Sweaney MawMaw--the only duplicate in her arsenal of Grandparent Names!

BIG THANKS to all the wonderful people in Elise's life who came to celebrate her SECOND birthday with her! May God bless my sweet daughter in her years to come, and may He give her daddy and me the patience and wisdom to raise her well and according to His will.

Thanksgiving Fun

Our Thanksgiving started on 11/21 with the Stevens Family Thanksgiving. We had a huge crowd this year: 26 including Alanna who didn't get in this picture for some silly reason!

Elise was not in a picture taking mood that day, and though we tried several times, we didn't get any good pictures of the Link Stevens family... sigh... maybe next year? :)

Our next Thanksgiving was on Thanksgiving day at the Fire Station with Daddy. Though Mommy forgot to take the camera, it was still fun, with plenty of little girls running around for Elise to play with. She was very excited to check out the big truck, too!

Our next Thanksgiving was 11/26 at MawMaw and PawPaw's. Elise had a great time running around and playing with everyone. She even sat still long enough to take a smiling picture with Aunt Amanda, even if she wouldn't look at the camera!

That night, Link had his first slumber party at our house. Elise was very helpful with him, and was asking constant questions about what he was doing. She held his hand for this picture before he went home on Saturday.

The final big piece of news for the end of November is this: Miss Elise is in her big girl bed! Daddy set it up last night and she was super-excited to get in it! She helped him "fix things" with his tools and then jumped in her bed for a little while after it was ready. She slept all night in her bed, and didn't even get out when she woke up this morning, only saying "DADDY" and sitting there waiting patiently for him to come get her!

Our sweet baby girl is a toddler now: all ready for her SECOND birthday on December 5th!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween came a bit early for Elise this year: she got to carve her first pumpking with Poppy a few weeks ago. She was really proud of it and loved showing it off! She carved a bigger one with Daddy last Sunday, and then ANOTHER one with Logan on Friday!

We went trick-or-treating with Baby Link, who was a beaver. Thanks to Jessica Arthur for handing down costumes for BOTH our kiddos :)

Elise was Nemo this year and though she was a little afraid to put it on, she did eventually and had a good time running around in it! It was awfully warm for it, though--go figure that when I have her all bundled up in a heavy costume it would be 70 degrees out!
After we trick-or-treated Nan and Poppy, we handed out candy at our house. MawMaw, PawPaw, and Aunt Lori joined us for the fun. Here, Easton and Taelyn trick-or-treated with us and posed for a pic with everyone. Getting these kids to sit still and be happy for a pic is a little difficult, but this one wasn't too bad.

Happy Halloween!

October is ALREADY a crazy month!

October...ahh, October. WHAT CAN I SAY? It has been insanity, and it is only 10/11 (Happy Birthday, Sean :))! The first weekend of the month, Sean and I celebrated our 5th anniversary (it isn't technically until 10/15, but he has a big test for Academy that day, so we celebrated early) with a trip to KC. We stayed in the incredible Hyatt Regency-Crown Center on the 38th floor. We spent Friday night/Saturday morning with each other, and then being the social people that we are, spent Saturday afternoon and evening with some great friends! Thanks to all who helped us celebrate!

This weekend began with a very fun party at Rustic Celebrations. Aunt Lori celebrated her 50th birthday on 9/30 and we had to throw an awesome party to commemorate it! Sadly, I wasn't very good about taking pictures--and the best one I got of Elise was her dancing with Po-Pa!

Next up on the very busy weekend was Link's baptism. Sean and I were honored to be his sponsors. He was an angel--never making a peep. The only time I hear him peep at all is when his Mommy burps him. Mammy, of course, never gets peeps when SHE burps him :)

Earlier this week, we were surprised to hear that not only were Rob and Amanda engaged...they were getting married on 10/10/10!!! Rob proposed on 10/6, already had everything arranged, and they had a beautiful wedding on 10/10. We wish them all the luck and love in the world!

Elise was her ornery self at the wedding--here she is playing hide-and-seek running from Uncle Dave. Can't you just see the mischievousness in her grin??

CONGRATULATIONS, AUNT AMANDA!!!