Princess Elisabeth

Okay, one more picture because she's just so beautiful. But I don't have time for more! Maybe later. :)
Here is my little elisabeth adelaide. All princessed up. Just wanna smooch her.

oh how the excitement builds...

Last Thursday we were able to begin celebrating this fun children's holiday by trick-or-treating at Aunt Sarah's work. Libby dressed as a princess because I hadn't made her pink piggie costume yet.
(She wanted to be a pink piggie until she got to be a princess, then she decided to give up on the piggie and go glam from then on...)
In an attempt to transform my beautiful little lady into royalty, I thought it would be fun to put rollers in her hair and fancy her up with makeup. Well, here she is with her rollers in. Clearly, she feels like a princess. She's SO excited!

Happy Birthday Alexander Elliot!

Get this, one Alexander Elliot has blessed our family for a whole year. This little man has showered us with his kisses, flashed his toothy smiles, adored his parents and sister - and dog, chatted with us about this and that (he has a lot to say), grown and developed and changed, but his sweet easy going spirit has remained the same. It seems that everyone who spends time with him falls in love with him, and I consider myself blessed to spend my days with him (and I know his big sister feels the same way --- and his daddy is jealous of us!).

Some of Xander's favorites are:
cheese, bread, milk, oatmeal, baths, baths, baths, books, balls, reading books, kisses, baths, barnabas, smiles, claps, baths, and la-la (libby), rolling a ball, dropping his cup and throwing food overboard when it's too small, looking out the window, climbing, bathing

Some of Xander's words are:
bath (go figure), ball, barns, mama, daddy, la-la (libby, we think... this is new), muh (milk), ahdone (all done), down, bye-bye, balloon, more, book, uh-oh

Below are some pictures from Xander's birthday celebrations with family and friends. He had a lot of fun, opting out of both of his naps, tasting and smearing frosting, and getting loved on by many who are near and dear to him.

posing with gma in her new car

libby spent hours "painting" xander's swingset with chalk. she was so excited about her little project and couldn't wait to show all the "children" who would be coming to his party.

xander enjoyed swinging in his 10-10 car, even though this pic doesn't reveal his thrill, but his inquisitiveness.

after his frosting smear and bath, libby snapped this pic of mama with bday boy

this was fun for a loooooong time

libby decorated pupcakes for xander

maren eats

xander is finished. he tries to take of his shirt/bib when he's all done.

hi mom. i'm sticky.

bathing was the only option

all cleaned up, yet still smelling like frosting-head

he loved this balloon. he carried it around for days, the string threaded in his little hand and he didn't let go but dragged it through the house, and quickly figured out how to pull, pull, pull the string until the balloon was down at his level.

yes, this was fun. see how he always laces his toe on his tray? he does it on his swing too. so funny.

apple oatmeal cake, wanna try it?

ball o frosting in hand

gooey

libby poses with pupcake

eating nibbles and bits out of his doggie dish

abby had a ton of fun at the party.

xander is moments from removing those puppy ears

oh how cute is joshy dooders?

dog food spread

what's the matter xander? sleepy? probably because you didn't feel like taking your nap. let me feed you some frosting to give you a much needed boost.

lunch was puppy themed...

gma snapped a pic of libby-dog.

Takes after Daddy

Who here remembers Daddy scaling the rock wall aboard the Monarch of the Seas? I do! (scroll down to refresh your memory.) Wellll, turns out my man Xan doesn't fall far from the old apple tree. He's a climber. If a laundry basket is left on the floor, Xander's in it. (the good news is that he can also climb out of the baskets without falling!) I have a picnic basket in the den, and a couple of weeks ago he climbed on it surfboard style. I removed him and went back to what I was doing, only to find a minute later he had scampered back to the den and climbed back onto the basket. Out of curiosity, I watched him to see what he intended to do once on the basket, and quickly learned he intended to climb onto the sofa. The loveseat at Aunt Brett's was no challenge time and again, and he was quite at home on the playset at the park Monday evening. Oh! this reminds me that he loves to climb up the slide in our backyard...and who can forget when he climbed into the bathtub about 4 months ago. Since then we have been diligent about keeping the bathroom door closed. :)

Photo Shoot

Here are some candid shots of the little man one recent afternoon.