This Weekend

Elise continues to make us smile. She loves to "talk" with us and smile. This past weekend Toni came to visit & we had fun hanging out and also being creative. We visited some of our favorite shops in Charlotte: The Brass Exchange, Sewing Arts Studio, The Jewel Box & Trader Joe's. John was sweet to help watch Elise so we could run around a bit. It was another scorching hot weekend here...still waiting for rain - so we spent our time going from air conditioning to air conditioning. The majority of Charlotte schools started today and with that seems to come a more structured feeling for everyone. At church, our choir season is gearing up and I think I'm also going to get involved with Moms to Moms - a weekly group of new moms that meet & have various topics of discussion where you can meet others for a support group, and bring your baby with you as well.




Elise is 11 weeks old today - almost 3 months. In some ways it's sad to see that there are already a few newborn outfits that she can't wear - she's getting too long for them. Also, she has a few pairs of shoes that are already too small. I guess this just begins the cycle of keeping up with changing out the clothes and getting the next size put in her closet.
She is starting to see more things around her. I can now read books to her and she seems to be looking at the pages. This weekend we started reading the complete tales of Peter Rabbit - we didn't quite make it through the first story when she decided that she wanted to do something different. Oh well, we'll have to pick up where we left off for next time....

Goin' Shopping

Today Elise and I went with our next door neighbors, Michelle & Kaylie to check out the grand opening of Home Goods & Marshalls in our Blakeney Shops down the road. She was sportin' her Wee Shades and enjoyed walking over there in the baby bjorn.
It was a busy place. I've never been to a Home Goods store before, but they do have lots of cute things - brand names at good prices. Nice to have just down the road. It'll be more fun to browse around when it's a little less crowded. Hope you're having a great Thursday!

10 Weeks Old

Elise is 10 weeks old. She had her 2 month visit to the Dr. last Friday and they measured her 24 inches long & 11 lbs. 14 oz. She's in the 90th percentile for height & 50th for her weight. Our pediatrician told us that when babies are 18 months old, you can look at their percentile for height and then compare to the same percentile in the adult charts and closely predict how tall she'll be as an adult - interesting!
I don't think I've mentioned it on our blog, but Elise is also sleeping through the night, ranging about 7-8 hours. This is great! And she's also beginning to establish more of a daily routine as well.
We've been trying to get out and take her for evening walks (well, actually she gets to ride in the stroller - her parents are doing the walking) and there have been a few evenings where this is possible - but it's been very sticky here lately. Charlotte is very dry and we've gone 22 days without rain - the last rainfall was July 30th, so the grass & shrubs look a little dried out right now. In our neighborhood we have Yard of the Month - and let me tell you - to win yard of the month for August this
year should yield double the rewards.
That and a very high water bill.



Here's dad helping out with bath time!


















Looking in the mirror at the baby getting a bath.













Am I all clean, yet?





















Time to get my p.j's on & to bed!













Thanks for reading....until we write again.

Summer Days of August

Elise & Kaylie (next door neighbor) have the same outfit thanks to our other neighbor, Teresa. I wanted to get a picture of the girls since we happened to have them dressed the same one day this past week. Elise had her 2-month check up and immunizations this week. I took a picture of her when we got home from the doctor - 4 band-aides for the 4 shots she had to get in her thighs. She has slept a lot this weekend, but other than that seems to have forgotten the trauma of the appointment. John came with us, because I didn't want to have to hold her down for all four.

Other big news this week is that I put in my letter of resignation at Morgan Stanley to be a full-time stay at home mom. It was a tough decision, but John and I feel this is where I need to be right now. My boss was very gracious, and he even offered to work something out part-time so I could stay on, but even that requires lots of scheduling and time away from my baby - and I just didn't want to juggle it all. I want to focus on raising our daughter
and see her discover new things. I am very excited about this new full-time job! I feel like my days fly by even now, and there's always something to be done. I'm grateful to have a supportive husband who is taking on the role to be the sole provider and allowing me to be home. That said - if any of you need or know someone who needs some design work - contact John. He is continuing to gather up business for his freelance business.
Friday night John and I went out for an evening alone. Our friends, Ben & Christa watched Elise for us. It was a fun evening - we went to see the Bourne Ultimatum at the theater. Today after church we came home and went for a hike along the McMullen Creek parkway here in Charlotte. It's a bit steamy here, but we put Elise in the baby Bjorn and took off for an hour. It was so nice to get outside and she loved looking up at the tree canopy. We all came home, ate and then took a long nap. Tonight we're just getting ready for a new week. I can't believe the summer is almost over - but it's been such a life-changing few months - no wonder it feels this way. Hope you have a great week!

Back Home in North Carolina

Here's a few fun pictures of hanging out at home last Friday, Aug. 10th. Ceasar has been good with the baby - pretty much just hangs out wherever we are, and doesn't do too much. It's so funny to see the two of them laying next to each other.
Uncle Curt came over and hung out with us on Friday, too. He's a pretty great uncle - and Elise was content to just be held by him.
He came along with me to David's Bridal to watch Elise so that I could try on some of the bridesmaids dresses Debi has picked out for her wedding on Sept. 20, 2008. We are getting back into a routine here after being gone, but she's pretty easy going (just like John) so the transition hasn't been difficult.
We are just watching her grow each week, and can't believe she's already 2 months old. I will take her to get her 2 month check up and immunizations on Friday, and from what other girlfriends have told me - this one has several shots involved, so John is coming with me so I don't have to hold her down all by myself. I might need the emotional support, too. Charlotte has been setting record highs and it's finally starting to cool back down a bit - thank goodness! This is summer in the Carolinas.

Visit to Minnesota

Elise & I traveled to visit family and friends in Minnesota August 1st - 9th. She was a great little traveler & did very well on the plane rides. There were several ladies who sat near me that commented on how good she was during the flight - a big answer to prayer. I didn't want to be that mom whose child was crying and couldn't console her, but I'm sure there may be a day ahead when we have an episode like that.
We spent the first part of our visit in Mt. Lake with my parents & you'll see a we took a four generation picture with my mom and grandma Klassen out on my parents' farm.


We visited my dad at his office, and had nice visits with family in the area. On Saturday we drove back to Minneapolis to have a Sip & See with more relatives on my side of the family. We stayed with my sister Debi & her fiance', Josh and enjoyed catching up with some friends in the Minneapolis area as well.

href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaqBvgQWVfEHtBiWLcc_0IaUvecgDGB4mPKYJas1Btyg4kDdSvz5sniSufUGvf2lmXtPKP-K8QOqKD15Xv_ygdvCXVc-X73cIntSTeOVzzhbNRnL1fz1fMOwzrxXvh_BmMxxEhR2J03cI/s1600-h/Library+-+5889.jpg">
John flew up to Minneapolis just for the weekend, and we spent Sunday with the Brandenburg's as they hosted another Sip & See for their side of the family & extended friends in the area as well.
We got to enjoy some beautiful Minnesota mornings out on the deck & took a stroll through gardens and got our first taste of Punch Pizza which my sisters-in-law have raved about - it was very good!
It was sad to say good-bye to family & I will miss all the extra help with Elise, but it was also nice to come home to everything familiar & sleep in our own beds. John was grateful to have us back home, too.

href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqjwOlLSipooyLyTcXG-OYsJVdJb4g0Bm4gteE5KioKFyWj9XlUpJSI4Ke5uaQX1FJI5yn0v3iTh1lhrwGMqtkp2j2dxeac9uUTMK7qa-YFkVy5kaxK_K_atlWQ7mGEt5O7YYqAxK0Rk/s1600-h/Library+-+5965.jpg">