Crawling and Standing, Oh My!

This morning after Elise's first nap I found her standing up in her crib! This was the first time ever! The crib is still at its highest setting, so it gave me quite a scare. Elise is very top heavy, so my initial concern was her falling out easily. We will definitely be lowering it before her afternoon nap today.

For about three or four weeks now Elise has been crawling about two rotations at a time. As of yesterday she has been moving across rooms with ease. Most of the time she scoots her legs out to the side as she crawls. Seems like she can get to her point of interest faster when she does that. Her little world has greatly expanded in the last two days. I am gearing up for this next stage of baby adventures. I'm sure it will be full of adrenaline and thrills.

Disneyland in October

In October we ventured down to Disneyland for three days with our good friends the Howards. This was Halina's first time to Disneyland and she was filled with wonder and excitement. As parents Landon and I had no idea how much fun this trip was gong to be. Halina loved the rides and by day 3 she really loved the characters too. Elise cooed and kicked her legs everytime she saw a character that resembled Charlie. We really look forward to our next visit.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

9pm and completely exhausted. What a trip!

3rd Birthday Party

Happy Birthday Princess Halina! Halina had her first Birthday party with some of her close friends this year. It was nice to keep it low key with just family the last two years, but Halina was thrilled to have some of her girlfriends over for Birthday fun. They played outside in tents and tunnels, caught some buttlerflies (or at least tried) with Elefun., decorated Princess crowns, opened presents and ate cake.

Bebe and Papa outside with Elise

"Oh my goodness!" is all Halina could say when opening presents. She was overjoyed with every gift.

Officially 3 Years Old

I am still in awe and amazement that our first baby girl, Halina, is now three years old. Becoming a parent was one of the greatest days in my entire life. It is fascinating how well I remember the day Halina was born. I can distinctly remember the expressions on her face and the way seeing her made me feel.
Halina has been really looking forward to turning three. We have been counting down the days since she was about two and a half. The first words she said on Tuesday morining were "Mom! I'm three!"

Here are some pictures for Halina's birthday at home. We will post more after her party on Sunday.

5k Harvest Run

At about 5:45 this morning my darling Halina crawled into our bed and woke me up after having just gotten Elise back down an hour ago. My first thought was "I am not going to the Harvest Run today!" I only had about three hours of sleep and I was not a happy camper. I got up anyway and got ready for the race. I kept telling Landon I shouldn't go because I was too tired and very emotional, but he told me to go anyway. I finally complied. and got in the car to head ove to Cutler Park.

I was so glad I went! The race was a lot harder than I had expected. It was a cross country course with lots of potholes, sand, and hills. It was, however, a very fun and adventurous course. I felt pretty good until about the beginning of the third mile. There weren't any people around me at that point so I didn't have anyone to focus on passing. I finally caught up to an older man and another gal my age and proceeded to pass them. I definitely still have that competitive personality. I thought I'd lost it over the last couple years, but there it was pushing me to go a little faster. I later found out that the girl I passed was in first place for my age group. I just barely beat her! I felt pretty good after the race and am eager to start training for a 10k in the Spring. It felt so good to know that just four months ago I could barely run 30 seconds without being in a lot of pain. I am so thankful for my husband. He has been my biggest fan and supporter. He has spent so much time helping me train. Even though I was a lot slower than him he would still run with me. I love you honey!

Here I am about to cross the finish line! I made it!

Happy little family!

Halina playing on the playground during the race.

Landon insisted I hold the finger up. He is so silly.

My friend Delora from Church did the race with me. It was nice to have someone else I knew running the race too. This was her first 5k ever! She did a great job.



Landon took care of the girls while I ran. He is such a wonderful husband. He was so positive and helpful. He is a huge inspiration to me. I am looking forward to supporting him n his upcoming triathalons.

Baby Angel is 6 Months Old

Can you believe she is already 6 months old? Wow! Elise is sitting up on her own now. She still falls over every once in awhile, but is pretty steady for the most part. Her favorite thing to play with is the dog. She goes crazy over Charlie. She loves to grab his ears, paws and fur. Suprisingly Charlie doesn't seem to mind. She can pull on his hair very hard and he will just lean into her. Her eyes always light up when he walks into the room.

Last week Elise started baby food for the first time. She had a very strange look on her face at first. It was sort of a concerned look. I'm not sure if it was the texture or the flavor, but she seemed very unsure of it. The last couple of days she has been showing a little more enjoyment in her face. She is readily opening her mouth and not spitting as much out.