Biker Babe

Elizabeth has been out on her bike 3 days since last Saturday. She is so excited. She loves riding back and forth in the local club's parking lot during the day when no one is there. She especially loves that it is all princess. Her bike, her helmet and her knee pads! She even loves the bell on the front. The whole time she is riding if she sees a car she rings her bell to let them know she is coming!

More Black Eye Photos

Here are some better shots of Elizabeth's black eye.

She is so funny, when people comment on her black eye she says "I don't think my eye is black, it looks blue to me." She is obviously talking about her eye color, not the nice purple bump on her eyelid!

I'm Back!

Well, it has been almost a month since I have taken the time to blog, or read blogs, or do anything on the computer basically, but I am back and will hopefully start being a more productive and consistent blogger. Enjoy the following entries that give a brief synopsis of our past few weeks!

Bells Palsy

Yes, this is me trying to smile!

This past Tuesday I started having trouble with my right eye. By Wednesday morning I noticed that I couldn't move the right side of my face. After a short visit with my mom, I had an idea what was going on. Luckily we have a family friend that is a neurologist and she was able to diagnose me with Bells Palsy. There isn't too much you can do for it, other than wait it out, but they do start you on steroid treatment to prevent any permanent nerve damage. So for the next little while if you see me and think my face looks weird, don't worry, you're right. Hopefully it all clears up over the next few months though!

Sledding and the Black Eye

Yesterday afternoon Dad packed up Elizabeth and Jared and headed to the nearby park to have some fun sledding down the hill. Dad was brave and spent the afternoon with both kids sledding by himself. Mom thought it might not work, but Jared seemed to do just fine. Only one minor injury was sustained by the party. Elizabeth received her first black eye when she got clotheslined by a rope from another little boy's sled. Somehow Dad convinced her she was fine and they went down the hill a few more times before she told him she was ready to head home. All in all they had a good time. Elizabeth was so tuckered out that she was asleep when Mom got home from running errands. This picture doesn't really do the eye justice, but it is a perfect shade of voilet purple over the lower part of her lid, and the lid is nice and puffy! Way to go Elizabeth, your first (and hopefully last) black eye.

Da-da-da-da

For weeks we have been telling Jared to say "da-da-da-da" but to no avail. On Friday morning while I was getting his breakfast together, he started getting a little impatient and suddenly he yelled out "da-ba". Well, we just had to call Daddy to tell him that Jared had finally said "da-da". For the rest of the day he kept showing off his new talent by constantly stringing together "da-da-da-da". Boy was Dad excited when he got home to hear his little boy finally saying "da-da".

Happy New Year!

This year for New Year's Eve we spent the evening at home with Elizabeth. We decided to have a simple dinner compiled of a few of our favorite finger foods, like pizzas, potato squashers, and hummus with veggies & crackers. Then we got out a bunch of games and puzzles to do together. After putting together a princess puzzle Elizabeth got for Christmas, and playing a couple games of Jenga and Bingo, we celebrated with a Happy New Year cake that had 7 candles for the 7 years we have been a family. After tucking the little tike into bed, I promptly fell asleep during a movie Steve had turned on. I think it has been years since I have been awake at midnight - boring I know! It was nice spending time together just our little family. We hope you each had a safe and enjoyable New Years as well and wish you luck in the coming year.

Merry Christmas

Yes, I know it is long past Christmas, but I am just barely getting back in touch with the real world. So, here is a short update on our holiday season!

We spent Christmas Eve at my mom & dad's house with all my siblings from in town and all the crazy cousins. Elizabeth loved being with the cousins. Even though they all fight, I know they love being together and playing, I am sure it makes the time go by in a flash! Everyone had fun playing on Grandpa's train and being the conductor.

In the morning Elizabeth was excited to find a brand new princess bike from Santa. She couldn't wait to ride the bike, so she spent all morning long riding circles around my mom's kitchen. After opening the Christmas morning stash of gifts (thanks to everyone for everything) we had a quick breakfast and then headed off to Steve's dad's house for the afternoon. After getting blown away in Scrabble by Steve's sister and dad, we finally headed to Steve's mom's for dinner and another Scrabble defeat. Elizabeth enjoyed herself and spent plenty of time playing with her new toys, including a Barbi, a doll house, a new baby doll, a tiny glass princess tea set, and of course, the inevitable clothes!

All in all it was a nice day and we enjoyed the time spent together as family.