Happy Halloween!

Last night we went to our ward's trunk-or-treat party. We didn't go for the candy...we went to be dorky parents and show off our cute little butterfly!

(This isn't the best picture, but it shows how cute the wings and eyes are on the costume.)

Aaron did a good job carving our pumpkin. He drew the design himself...a bat inside a circle. He did a good job. I tried getting a picture of his "concentration" face...you know the one he makes when he's playing x-box, but I couldn't catch it. Bummer! (By the way, we learned yesterday that those magic eraser sponges will take permanent marker off of pumpkins...FYI.) I wasn't much help, but Elsie and I had a fun time watching Daddy!

QVC

The other day I was flipping through the channels and stopped on QVC because there wasn't much else on. Aaron walked into the room and joined me in watching the presentation about this really cool computer program that can read your handwritten notes/letters/papers and then format it into a computer font. (I don't know if I'm even describing that correctly.) It was fascinating. Then Aaron asks me, "Why are you even watching this?" The answer was, "Because I like it." That's right...I love watching QVC (except when it's jewelry...not my thing) and infomercials. I think there are so many neat things out there, and I get sucked into learning all about them. It's kind of the same reason I watch the Food Network. I don't like to cook. I just like to see the good food that other people are cooking and imagine myself eating it. I guess there's no harm in it, really. I don't buy anything...I just want to!

Thanks!

Dear Grandma and Grandpa Wise,

I wanted to say thanks for the neat Halloween book you sent me. I was so excited to get something in the mail! I love the stickers on the envelope. I liked playing with the envelope while my mommy was trying to take a picture...she ended up having to stuff it behind my head.The book tastes very good, too.

I also like to pretend I have a jack-o-lantern face. It made mommy laugh!

I love you! Happy Halloween...I can't wait to show you pictures of my costume!

Love, Elsie June

nine month check-up

Yesterday I took Elsie to the doctor for her check-up. She is a very happy and healthy baby! She weighs 16 lbs. 1 0z. (5th percentile), is 27 5/8" long (25th percentile), and has a big head! I was glad she didn't have to get any shots yesterday. It always makes me feel so bad for her when she is crying so hard.

Elsie loves to smack her lips together. She does it all the time...it's pretty cute. (The video is sideways, sorry!)

what a trip! (part 2)

Monday morning we were still in New York and we had a full day of touring ahead of us. We drove into the city and took the on/off trolley for a tour. I was so happy we did that because we got to see so much of the city and learn all sorts of cool information about the buildings and the history of the city. Plus, it was a double-decker bus, so we were able to sit on top and see everything. Elsie loved it because she got to be outside! It was so cool to see all these things that I've seen on TV and in movies...like Times Square, the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Plaza, plus all sorts of other things. We got off the trolley in a few spots. We did a little shopping on Canal St. (where you can get knock-off stuff for really cheap) and at Battery Park (where you can catch the ferry to the Statue of Liberty). We decided not to take that ferry, though, because the wait was too long and they were almost sold out of tickets to actually get on the island where the statue is. Instead we took the Staten Island Ferry, which gives you a great view of the statue. It turned out to be perfect...and free! That evening we had the privilege of going to CRU, the restaurant the Mitch works at. I was so nervous to take Elsie with us because it is a super nice restaurant...I mean SUPER nice! She was amazing, though. It's like she knew that she had to be on her best behavior. I was so grateful. We were there for almost 3 hours. The food was amazing and we were treated so well. It was fun to get spoiled! After dinner we drove to Philadelphia for another full day of fun.

In Philadelphia we did a walking tour of Historic Philadelphia. We got to see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the U.S. Mint, the Constitution Museum, Betsy Ross' House, Ben Franklin's Grave, and other things I'm sure I'm forgetting. Everything was really close to each other, so we were able to walk the whole day. It was absolutely gorgeous weather, so it was very enjoyable. We made sure to get a Philly Cheese Steak for dinner and made a quick stop to the "Rocky Steps" at the Philadelphia Art Museum. We ran up them (there really aren't that many) and took dorky pictures. It was great! Then we had a long trip back to Connecticut that night, but Angie did a great job driving...and we did manage to keep ourselves entertained by singing (see my previous post!).

Elsie and I headed back to Boise on Wednesday. I was excited to get home and see Aaron. We missed him very much...and I know he missed us! I am so grateful I got to go on this trip with my family and see this part of the country. Now, I've just got to figure out when I'm going to get back there with Aaron!

what a trip!

Elsie and I got back from New England on Wednesday evening. We had such an amazing trip, and Elsie was an amazing baby. I can't believe how good she was the whole time and how much easier it was having her there than I thought it would be. She really did well on all the flights, which I am so grateful for. I was really nervous about that. (Thanks, Ang, for most of these pictures!)

We arrived in Connecticut on the 10th at night, so we were glad to get to Sarena's house and go to sleep. Elsie didn't sleep much on the plane, which made us both very tired. We shared a room with Angie, so she got to experience fun waking up at nights with Elsie. She was such a big help in holding her and bouncing her back to sleep.

On Thursday we drove up to Vermont and New Hampshire to see the fall foliage and some covered bridges. It was such a beautiful drive. We got to drive through several small towns with so much character...and a Dunkin' Donuts. Yes, that's right. Every town, big or small, has at least one Dunkin' Donuts. It is bizarre. That night while we were eating dinner, I realized that Elsie is really starting to become jealous when I'm eating and she isn't. Carson had the good idea of feeding her little bits of wonton noodle. She loved it!

Friday morning we picked up Jared from the airport and drove to Boston. It was a rainy day, so we decided to do the tour trolley around Boston instead of the freedom trail walking tour. We saw all of Boston...what a beautiful city. We got of the trolley at the Boston Tea Party site (which had a fire so it's under repair) to go to this children't museum for Carson. It ended up not being what we expected it to be, so we went back to wait for the trolley. Over an hour later, it came back by again. I guess most of the trolleys were skipping that stop because there's not much to see. Would've been nice to know! That night we ate at Legal's Seafood Restaurant. Angie and I split a lobster. It was the best lobster I had ever tasted. Oh, it was so good!

We decided to take it easy on Saturday. We took our time getting ready in the morning and relaxing, then we drove down to New Haven where the Yale campus is located. We walked around the campus a bit and looked at the amazing buildings, we ate at a little diner (where Elsie, again, insisted on eating with us), and went down to the waterfront. It was a nice, relaxing day by the ocean. When we got back home, Sarena had cooked a wonderful meal for us. It was so nice to eat a home-cooked meal. We got to visit for a while. It was fun to catch up with her. I went to bed pretty early that night. The lack of sleep was really starting to catch up with me.

Sunday morning we packed up our bags and headed to NYC! We got a little lost as we approached the city and then had a horrible time getting to our hotel in Brooklyn. One of the main roads we were supposed to take was blocked off, so we had to head to the busy streets of Manhattan to get to the Brooklyn Bridge. Angie did an amazing job of driving there. It is INSANE! People don't believe in staying in lanes, pedestrians don't believe in waiting for the walk signal, and everyone loves to use their horn! I don't know how she did it, but we eventually got to the hotel. Mitch met up with us there. I was so happy to see him. He looked so good...and so New York. He's got style! I was happy that he finally got to meet Elsie. She liked his glasses. She kept staring at him. After a quick subway ride and a bite to eat at a little deli, we went to the Natural History Museum. Wow, what a neat place. We could've spent the whole day there and still not seen everything. We took a quick jaunt over to Central Park to feed Elsie and see the view. That night we met up with Vanessa at a Chinese restaurant. It was a bit more authentic than I'm used to...the chicken head that came with the cooked chicken kind of ruined my appetite. The food really was good, though. We were so tired by the time we got back to the hotel because we got lost on the Subway and had to take a bus back to the hotel.

why I love my family

We had a long drive back to Connecticut from Philadelphia, so Angie had some good music playing to keep us entertained. Once she started her "Stake Dance Mix" (all the songs they used to play at every Stake Dance growing up), the fun really began. You can't beat sitting in the car with your family, singing songs at the top of your lungs, and laughing so hard! I loved it!

I hope they don't kill me for posting this, but I had to. Jared was cracking us all up! (There's no picture...just sound.)

good times

I just took Gary and Sylvia to the airport this morning and was sad to see them go. We really did have a wonderful weekend with them. They loved playing with and watching Elsie, and they were also a big help in keeping her happy. It was nice for me to have lots of company and help during the day. We did a lot of shopping, ate good food, took Wrigley out to the pond, and went to the pumpkin patch. Most of the good pictures are on Gary's camera, so I'll have to post pictures later tonight or tomorrow after he sends them to me!

Grandma loves to make Elsie giggle!!

We went to Texas Roadhouse for my birthday lunch. We all ate way too much, but it was to good to resist.

Grandma and Grandpa loved watching Elsie take her bath. She loves the water and could stay in there forever if I would let her. The only problem is my knees start hurting from sitting down on the ground. I guess I'm getting old! It was such a nice day when we took Wrigley to the pond. It is so fun to watch him swim out in the water and fetch his floatie thing. We took a nice walk around the park as well. Elsie loved it, of course, because she was held the whole time...mostly by Grandpa!

Elsie loved the stem of her pumpkin. She kept trying to eat it.

I don't know that she liked sitting in the dirt among the pumpkins. She wouldn't smile in any of the pictures.Aaron, Elsie, and I at the pumpkin patch. Elsie with Grandpa and the giant pumpkins. Too cute!

I leave for Connecticut tomorrow and am very excited. It's been fun having this trip (and this past weekend) to look forward to. One of the things I'm most excited for is to see Mitch since he hasn't even met Elsie yet. I'll have lots of pictures and stories to tell, I'm sure.

we love our girl

The other day I made a promise to myself that I would start scrapbooking Elsie pictures when I get back from our trip to New England. I realized that I know I'll be so happy and into it once I just get started. I decided to make a list with Aaron of all the things we love about Elsie and want to remember about her as a baby. We had a blast coming up with ideas and talking about how cute she is and how she makes us laugh. I'm really excited to get started on the scrapbook. The only problem is I haven't printed out many pictures since she was born since I have them all on the computer. I have a feeling it's going to get kind of expensive. I guess I'll have to be a little pickier than I am right now when picking out my favorites. I thought I'd post a few fun ones that we've taken recently.

Elsie was loving be on Aaron's shoulders. It's so fun to be able to try new things with her now that she's getting older and stronger.

This is one of her favorite toys. She loves taking the rings off the base and laughs so hard when we try dropping the rings onto the base. I guess she thinks it's funny when we miss.

Elsie loves to grab at everything now!! If it is even close to being in her reach, she'll go for it. Here she's trying to grab the camera while I was taking pictures.

Grandpa and Grandma Wise are up visiting this weekend. Yesterday while she was watching Teletubbies, she got to lay on Grandpa while he rubbed her feet. Now, tell me she's not spoiled! Too cute!

fall

I love this time of year. It always comes as such a relief to the hot, summer weather. It feels so nice to walk outside and not immediately start sweating! I love seeing the leaves change colors. Plus, it means my birthday is coming up. Don't ask me why I still get so excited for my birthday...I just do. I guess it's just nice to know it's your special day.

Life has slowed down here a lot now that fall has arrived. It seems like we travelled so much in the summer that it's weird to be home every weekend. I don't really have much going on during the week either. This weekend Aaron's parents are coming up to visit, and then Elsie and I get to go to New England next week. I'm excited!! The only part I am not looking forward to is flying alone with Elsie. That's a long flight...I am not ashamed to admit that I will drug her if I have to.

I'm loving the new season of shows. Aaron and I don't have very many that we watch, but I love having something each night to look forward to. It's so nice to put Elsie to bed and then relax. Last night I had to go help with Enrichment. It really wasn't that fun, which was a big disappointment. But when I got home, Aaron and I watched Beauty and the Geek (we love that show!) and it made my night all better.

...and those are my thoughts for the morning.