Happy Birthday Elsie Mae!!

A week ago, Elsie Mae turned 1!  We did actually go a couple of weeks with no dr visits and great health for everyone.  Elsie weighs 17 lbs 10 oz (5%) and is 29.4 inches tall (55%).  With all the sickness the last few months she dropped off the weight chart but seems to be gaining it back ok. 

She's signing words like: puppy, up, milk, thank you, please, all done, and book.  She isn't really saying anything yet but she says Da-Da and Ma-Ma (It seems like she means Brad when she says Da-Da, but not me for Ma-Ma yet.  Seriously?!)   

She's not quite walking yet but has found herself standing without holding onto anything - which she doesn't like, and she can walk only holding on to one of our fingers. 


We were able to celebrate her birthday with my parents and Aunt Deb, Uncle Scott and Cousin Matt the Sunday before her birthday and we had a great time.  We had a BBQ and enjoyed spending time outside.  Mom and I made Elsie a strawberry cake and Brad fixed up some really yummy BBQ chicken. 

Thanks, Judy, for the cake decorating kit.  I'm not a pro but I did get to use it!


















When I asked Addy what she wanted to give Elsie Mae for her birthday she said a puppy dog. So, Addy made Elsie a birthday card with a puppy dog sticker in it. :) We're not ready to give into that one yet. 
















Here we are after church the day of Elsie's birthday party.  How did our little babies get so big?!

 Elsie really liked the cake but when I put the plate down in front of her she started signing 'please' over and over again.  I had to feed her with the spoon.  :)  However, I will say, unlike Addy who didn't want to even touch the food at this age, Elsie's little hands crept onto the plate eventually and she picked up the ice cream scoop.  She didn't like holding it for very long and she ended up shaking it off her hand.  I'm glad we ate outside. 

 It was a great evening and Elsie had a ball. Most of all I think she loved the attention but second place was definitely the musical toys she received. We don't tend to buy toys that make noise but she LOVES music and the book from Great Grandpa Hulsbos that plays music and the Lettersaurus that plays songs from Deb & Scott were major hits. We knew she like music but you should have seen her dance when we pushed those buttons!  

Everyone loved the food and Elsie loved just sitting outside looking around while we ate.




 Elsie Mae loves books and she loved having Gramma here to read to her!

 Side note. . . This is what Mae Mae does with Easter eggs any time she finds them.  Picture her opening and closing her mouth over and over again with the egg inside. I'm pretty sure she can't swallow them.  :)  Actually, Mae Mae puts everything in her mouth and if she needs to go somewhere, she uses her mouth as an extra hand to carry whatever she wants to take with her while she crawls or cruises to her destination.  She's a hoot.  However, she does tear things up like Brody used to.  I thought cardboard books were supposed to be made for babies.  Oh well.

We decided to try our hands at gardening this year but not being sure if we'd like it, we decided to go the cheap route.  We officially started last weekend by digging in the dirt.  At first we thought we'd just dig up the soil, add some peat moss and compost and plant our plants.  After doing that (I will just say, Brad dug up a 9x5 foot rectangle of soil about 1 foot deep and mixed it with peat moss and compost on a tarp.  Then he dug down another foot to loosen the soil.  It was a lot of work. . . for him!)  it looked like it was just going to turn into a mud pile.  So, we took a peek behind our garage and found boards, bricks and sandstone pavers.  After a little bit of work we have our 8x4 temporary raised garden bed make entirely out of the junk behind our garage.  :)  It's pretty funny but we were really proud of ourselves for making it work without buying anything. 

Here's Brad with the finished garden bed.  Not bad for honky tonk free!  :)  After mother's day we'll put the plants and seeds in and set up the watering system.  We'll let you know how it does!

What's with you guys?!

You know, I went to look for some pictures to post to update on our family's last month of life and here it is. . .

We don't even have one of our family on Easter because Brad and I were sick so we didn't get dressed up or even make it to church. I counted, we've only been to church 6 times since before Christmas. Good grief.

I was out in the yard getting rid of some weeds that have sprung up before we could get any spring prep yard work done and a neighbor drove by. She stopped to say 'hi' and as soon as she heard me speak, she said "What is with you guys?!" That's what I'd like to know. It's been almost a full month of solid sickness. Addy got an eye infection which led to an ear infection which ended in the flu. That meant some sleepless nights for me because Addy had a fever for 3 days. Then, she shared the flu with Brad. He missed 3 straight days of work and didn't emerge from bed much. He actually had a fever for 48 hours. We're pretty sure that's the first fever he's had since we've been married. Lucky for me, I got to sleep on the floor in the family room. ;) Then just as Brad was starting to feel better, Elsie got the flu and topped it off with double ear infections so severe that one of her ear drums burst. Gross. Picture snot coming out of her cute little ear for 4 days. She didn't sleep much for about a week because she had a fever for 4 days. Just when she started acting normal again. . . Wham! Brad got another fever and I started feeling tightness in my chest. I'm sure you don't really care about all these details, but since last Friday, I've been coughing, feverish and unable to really speak because it hurts so bad. Even Brad's not 100% yet. So make that 3 1/2 solid weeks of sickness and 6 visits to the pediatrician.

So, that is why the above is the only picture we have of the last 3 1/2 weeks. :) I'm pretty sure it was taken before she got sick. She was NOT smiling when she was sick.

With all the sickness, Elsie dropped to 16 1/2 lbs and she is about to turn 1! Poor little peanut! She's cruisin' along the furniture in the living room and yesterday she pushed the toy train and walked behind it. She loves to be outside (praise God for nice weather since all this sickness because we have been able to go for lots of walks and Elsie LOVES being outside. She's pointing to everything and saying 'dah.' We just name everything for her and she seems satisfied. But what she really loves is to see dogs and cats. She loves animals!

Poor Addy Paddy with all this sickness! She's been such a trooper. She continues to want to do projects all the time and we had a great time doing Resurrection Eggs to get ready for Easter. She pretty much has the Easter story down now. She loves to help me with whatever I'm doing and that includes cleaning. She's started taking her dishes to the kitchen after meals and she loves cooking. She is so busy! She continues to be an amazing big sister and she's really good at comforting Elsie when she's sad. She is just a little Mommy.

Well, not much else to say. Brad and I have been dreaming about landscaping our yard for months but we haven't been able to get out to do it. We also wanted to plant a garden. . . Maybe we'll at least plant a few things later.

We'd appreciate your prayers for health. There is a billboard on the highway near our home that says "All's well when you are" and lately I've been realizing how true that is. Our health really is our most valuable thing but we don't even think about it when we're well. Whew. We've been thinking about it a lot! We're ready to put this phase behind us. Thank you for your prayers!

Spring is in the air

Let's see. . . we've had sickness, teething, ear infections, travel, company, birthdays, adventures, potty training, milestones and more sickness. :) It's been a busy month.

Elsie, at 10 1/2 months, is now signing a few things like 'please,' 'up,' 'all done,' and 'bye-bye/hi.' She has a total of 8 teeth (at least poking through her gums) and has figured out how to pull up to a stand and is starting to take steps to cruise from perch to perch. She has let go a few times to try out her balance but she didn't seem to like it. :) She's enjoying chewing on her crib now that she can reach. :( Elsie loves music and she sways back and forth to any tune. I even caught her tapping her toe to the beat of the music on her exersaucer the other day. She is a very passionate little one. She's passionately happy most of the time but look out when she's not! She really lets you know it!

Addy is 2 1/2 years old and at last post we were just about to do our potty party. Well, we did it and it was so much fun! We had lots of fun treats and Addy really figured out that the goal was to stay clean and dry by using the potty. She has very infrequent accidents and is able to let me know when she has to go pretty consistently. It's neat to see her changing and growing. Although I've really slacked on our preschool stuff since returning from Christmas vacation, she continues to amaze me with the stuff she learns. And boy, does she love to learn.

We're getting ready to switch the girls bedrooms so Elsie can have all the baby stuff in her room and Addy can have a big girl bed. She's really excited for the switch. Hopefully it will go well.

We did have a couple of visits from my parents since the last post. Mom came into town for a week while Brad was gone (right after our potty party. . . I needed help!) and then both parents came for a ski day and stayed while Brad went out of town again. I really enjoyed their help with the girls and the girls loved the extra attention from their Gramma & Ba. We also had our first day on the slopes in probably 5 years. It was the best day all season for Utah and we had a great day (actually, half day!).

Brad and I have enjoyed some fun date nights lately and some family outings and bike rides. We're also getting ready to start a spring project of a bunch of yard work (Why is it no one plants evergreens in yards?! Our yard looks like a barren wasteland all winter!) and hopefully building some raised beds and planting a garden. We have a perfect spot in our yard. . . now to just get it built and planted!

We're already seeing signs of spring here with bulbs coming up and squirrels and birds coming out. Yes, Bill, the quail are back! :) Addy is learning to look for the signs of spring and one she doesn't like very much is the appearance of bugs. She is not a fan of them.

So here is a video of some pictures of the last month. There is a short video clip and although you can't hear the talking very well, it's all about Addy's facial expresssion. :) She'll eat anything. . . I mean anything! As long as we say it's ok to eat, she's game. Brad likes to abuse her adventureous spirit for kicks. This one was one of those cocktail onions. Brad loves them and she wanted to try one so, knowing it would be good, I caught it on video. The funny thing is that after this, she asked for another one. She's a piece of work. Enjoy!

What a month

We've hit the fun month of February and have so much we're looking forward to that I can't hardly remember what we did in January. . . wait, yes I do. . . next to nothing since we were sick for most of it. :)

The girls and I spent a lot of time at home and thanks to God's grace of a mild winter so far, we were able to get out for walks even during the fevers, stomach bug, ear infections, cold viruses and sinus infections. Luckily I only go the virus for a couple of weeks of it but poor Brad, he got it all right along with the girls! Seriously, it was quite a bummer of a month. We did, however, find some creative ways to keep entertained. You'll see some of the pictures below but here's a recap:

Addy and I made gingerbread cookies (this shouldn't seem like a big deal but baking is such a non-essential that it just doesn't happen in our house unless Brad does it!). . . I decided to let go of some control and let Addy make her own cookies. I figured I'd either have to sweep up a few crumbs or a bunch. So I let her go at it. :) Are you proud of me?

Addy started a gymnastics class for 2 year olds. Talk about herding cats! Addy loves it and after just 2 classes she's already doing some of the things she's learned at home. Hopefully it will help her coordination. :)

We built Addy's first snowman that unfortunately someone rolled down our grass hill not long after we made it. Addy was so bummed. :(

The biggest news on Addy is what is coming up this weekend. . . drum roll please. . . potty training! We've been doing a little of it but we're doing boot camp starting Friday morning. We're doing the Potty Training 1-2-3 method where we put emphasis on staying 'clean and dry' by using the potty. We've gotten all our supplies and in order to give Addy some sense of 'Feb 10th is the day we have our potty party,' we made a paper chain that she gets to tear a link off each day until the big day. Brad's even staying home from work to help with Elsie so I can be more focused on Addy. She is so excited (especially when she tasted the chocolate covered raisins and nutter butter cookies she gets as a treat for staying clean and dry!). She keeps wanting to put her training pants, pull ups and big girl underwear on every time she sees them. Yes, she's motivated and ready. February 10th is just the goal I set for myself to get ready for the change! :)

Elsie's been working on a lot of things: getting new teeth (she now has 4 and 2 more are just about to peek through), starting to sign "all done," trying to pull up on things(note the bruises on her forehead when she tried to pull up on the toy shelf and fell over onto it!), learning all sorts of new faces like 'shy face' where she puts her chin to her chest with a big smile on her face when someone she loves talks to her. Or, she does 'foreheads' by putting her forehead to someone else's forehead that she loves. She's started giving slobbery kisses and just last night she surprised us by picking up a little puff snack and putting it into her mouth like it was the easiest thing ever. I was sure she dropped it because she did it so fast. Just a couple of weeks ago she didn't have the coordination for that. She is changing so fast and she is just the happiest baby ever. I can't believe she is 9 1/2 months old already.

Addy continues to love on her baby sister so well. She calls her 'sweet girl' and is always ready to help feed her and give her toys. The have so much fun together.

Brad and I have spent most of our time trying to stay up with all the changes our girls bring to the table. But, we have enjoyed our weekly date nights and we even got to go see the Mission Impossible IMAX movie a few weeks ago. I will say, we spent the first few minutes feeling really old because it was too loud, too fast and way to big! :) Seriously, we could hardly follow the action. I guess it has been too many years since we've seen a movie on the big screen. IMAX might have been a bit ambitious. By the end I think our senses had adjusted and we enjoyed the flick.

I mentioned that the month of February is a big one and that's because we have birthdays and Valentine's day to celebrate, potty training to do, Grandma Bursch is coming to visit and Brad has a business trip. And that's just the out of the ordinary stuff. Plus, we've got to pack that all into just 3 weeks. I guess we're getting to make up for the very low key month of January.

We just hope we can all stay healthy to enjoy our plans. . .

Happy New Year

We've been busy around here, as I'm sure you have, with celebrating Christmas and starting a new year. We spent Christmas in New Mexico and enjoyed our time with family. The girls traveled well (as we drove 10 hours down and 12 hours back) especially considering we only spent 4 days in NM.

We spent time with my Mom's sister, Zana, and my Grandpa Hulsbos a few days before Christmas and then with my Dad's family Christmas Eve and Christmas day. We stayed with Mom, Dad and Jenny at my Aunt and Uncle's house (even though they spent Christmas in VA). I think we spent most of our time opening presents and eating. :) Addy had a ball and Elsie loved getting so much attention from everyone.

Since we've been home we've tried to get back in the swing of regular life. We've welcomed the new year with vomit, strep and ear infections already so we figure we ought to be good and healthy for the rest of 2012.

Some news on the girls. . . Elsie started crawling Friday and got her first top tooth last week. She is such a happy baby and she loves playing with her sister and 'touching foreheads' with those she loves. She's learning 'no pass' to keep her on the rug or a blanket and she's learning 'inside voice.' That kid has quite a scream!

Addy is quite a little person these days. She is very helpful with Elsie and is enjoying learning to cook. She also surprised us last week by telling us she had to go to the bathroom during dinner with some friends. When I took her, not knowing what to expect, sure enough, she went to the bathroom. She's gone a few other times since then and seems to be starting to get it figured out. She's talking constantly these days so we're working on listening. :) She'll ask the same question 62 times over and over without taking a breath let alone waiting to hear the answer to the question. I'm working on not losing my cool over it. . . I think it's how Brad feels when he talks to me sometimes. :)

Brad and I are working on getting a little bit of a life back these days. We've committed to a weekly date night and we're spending Saturday mornings taking turns who watches the girls so we can each get some alone time out of the house to do something we WANT to do, not just something we have to do. So far so good. . .

Here's a video of the last month or so.
Enjoy!

Adventures. . . big and small

We meant to post this before we left town for Christmas. . . oh well.

The several weeks have been full. Full of travel, full of activities, full of family and full of . . . well, everything else that goes along with raising 2 young girls.

Early November brought the death of my grandpa, Papo Bursch. He turned 90 in September and decided shortly after that he was finished with his worn out body here on earth. He was a wonderful man and it's hard to imagine we're about to celebrate Christmas in NM without him. Oh the memories of him dressing up as Santa for all the great-grandkids. I'm only sorry my girls won't remember him. I'm grateful that he's with the Lord in glory.

After spending a week in NM with family, we ended up driving straight to Gunnison to celebrate Thanksgiving with Mom, Dad, Jenny, Aunti Zana, Great Aunt Evie and Grandpa Hulsbos. We had a great time in the Colorado sunshine and while it was a long 2 weeks away from home, it was good to be with family.

(yeah. . . you can ask Brad about why the Slease family is wearing hats. . . )

The girls with their Great Grandpa Hulsbos.

The day after we returned to UT from Thanksgiving, Brad flew to Houston for a week of work. He had a great time and we had a major windstorm that knocked out the power in 1/2 our house for 2 1/2 days. :) Oh yeah, below freezing outside and everything. Several houses on our block had 1/2 power and so luckily we could run space heaters (since of course the 1/2 that was out was the fridge, freezer, furnace, and various strange lights throughout the house). What an adventure. . . or a nightmare. At any given moment it felt like one of the two.

We did get out of the house for some beginning Christmas celebration stuff. Primary Children's Hospital does a fundraiser each year where people donate decorated Christmas trees, gingerbread houses, wreathes, quilts, playhouses, etc. to be auctioned off to donate the money to the hospital. We went to see the trees this year and WOW. Here's the girls with the Snoopy tree.

After Brad returned from his week in Houston, he took off 2 days later for a week in Southern California. Yeah, rough life for him. He had lunch in Malibu, slept in a nice hotel room and went to Wood Ranch BBQ. We didn't do much while he was gone except get ready for Christmas and do 'projects' for Addy's school. It actually was a relaxing week and I had a lot of friends reach out to us to keep us company with Brad gone.

Now we're preparing to celebrate Christmas while trying to maintain the true meaning of Christmas in our mindset. We've done a lot of talking with Addy about Jesus' birth and we've also tried to explain cultural Christmas traditions (like Santa) after people asking her what she wanted Santa to bring her for Christmas. All she could offer people as an answer was a blank/bewildered stare so we thought we might want to explain the Santa thing. Now she wants to meet Santa. Oh well, trying to teach history to a 2 year old might be a bit deep.

Anyway, we've made yummy Grama Juice Christmas cookies, visited Christmas street to see the lights (our neighbors across the street have a better display than all of Christmas Street put together. . . oh yeah, the lights are coordinated to music!), and we've had a few Christmas gatherings. It has been a blessing to have Brad home this last week and to be together as a family again in preparation for Christmas.

We hope your family has a very Blessed Christmas as you recall the good news the angels proclaimed to the shephers "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will bring great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord." (Luke 2: 10b-11) We know this news has brought great joy to us and we pray it will bring great joy to you this Christmas.

Fall Fun!

We've had a fun few weeks full of fall fun. Halloween was lots of fun with our little ladybugs and we've kept busy with crafts, baking, canning and outings. Here's a little slide show of the last few weeks.

Elsie has started sitting up pretty well now and she has her two bottom teeth peeking through her gums. She's a pretty good sport about trying new foods but she is giving me a run for my money with blowing raspberries of food at me. We're working on 'not talking with your mouth full' with both girls. :)

We hope you are enjoying fall. . . or maybe it's turned winter where you are. It's beginning to feel like winter here. Feel free to pass on any ideas about how to survive winter with 2 active little ones.