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January weekend

This past weekend went by quickly - they always do. John and Elise had fun with their straws on Saturday night. We've found that you really don't need to buy expensive toys - the smallest things keep kids entertained...case in point, this straw!
Our little one has become very animated and we find ourselves giggling with her more each week. On Friday afternoon I came into her room as she was playing in her crib, and found her kneeling by the railing trying to pull herself up to a standing position. That was enough to convince us that we needed to lower the crib to a safer place. She has never succeeded in pulling up to a standing position alone...but she's trying & may accomplish it soon. This weekend I've also been working on finishing up our Christmas stockings. This past year when I couldn't find any I liked, I decided to make them...of course they weren't ready for Christmas 2007, but I would like them available by 2008. I'm having a bit of trouble, because I decided to have a cuff & line them...so hopefully I figure it out soon before I get too frustrated. Have a super week...and enjoy the superbowl this next weekend.

Little Joys in Life...

Today Elise and I went to Wal-Mart, mostly to just get out of the house and have a change of scenery. We picked up a few frames to display some pictures and I wanted to see what kind of selection they had for children's books. As we entered the book aisle, Elise suddenly starts getting really excited - almost screaming! This is very rare - especially in public. She's usually a very relaxed, somewhat complacent shopping buddy, but not today. Across from the books is a display of huge teddy bears - right at her eye level. So, we strolled over to see these bears, and her excitement kept getting louder and louder. Who knew that she would recognize something she would like and let me know? Well, long story short - we brought home a bear. I know what you're thinking...today it's a stuffed bear - in a few years it might be another furry creature that needs house training. I don't feel that I'm the kind of person to give into her every whim - but this was the first time I've seen such a reaction from Elise. The enthusiasm continued at home. In fact, when I pulled the bear out of the bag - she got so excited again. I've posted a little video clip (what I could catch) of her playing with her new bear. I guess this week we'll have to come up with a name for this new treasure.
Hope you enjoy some of these pictures showing her delight.

Teddy Bear

Little Miss

Playing with Kaylie

Mid-Winter

This week on Wednesday, Charlotte saw a little dusting of snow. John was hoping for a snow day to stay home with us, but the temp climbed to about 40 & the roads were clear, so he had to go to work. His car has been in the shop this past week, and so he drove my Jeep & Elise and I just stayed home, literally. I went to church last Sunday, and left the house for the first time the following Saturday - talk about a little cabin fever. If we had to stay in, it was a cold, wet & rather miserable week...so we probably wouldn't have gone anywhere anyway.

I had to laugh at Elise this week - she likes to be carried in the Baby Bjorn when I vacuum, and so mid-way through our cleaning, I passed by our front entry mirror to see her watching the floor and gumming the edge of the carrier. She stayed in this position nearly 45 minutes while I motored along and got some cleaning done...and she loves it! Maybe she's taking it all in & will also love to vacuum someday...who knows?
Let's see...it's been a full week. Elise has been trying to do so many new things. She has successfully brought some puffs (finger food like cereal that melts in her mouth) to her mouth by herself. You can check out the new video below. Also, I think that she is ready to go "mobile" very soon. John and I have talked about our need to get the house fully baby-proofed, pronto. She's been rolling all around and get pretty far - John estimates about 10-20 feet per hour.
Life here is busy. We're midway through winter and I'm getting ready for some warmer weather so that we can get outside again. Oh, another cute little episode. On Saturday when we were going out, we put some fingered gloves on Elise & you can check them out in this photo with John. The gloves were a little big, but it was very funny to watch her move her fingers and try to figure out this new thing.
Have a great week - and stay warm to all our mid-western family & friends. We saw the frigid temps you had this past week...brrr.
Later.

Finger Foods

Another month, some teeth & dark hair...

Elise has passed by yet another month - she turned 7 months old on Friday. John did his photography magic and took a little mini shoot to document this month's smiles.
Also, during the first week of January she started rolling over - stomach to back and back to stomach, both sides.
Since she's learned all these new tricks, she is anxious to try them any chance she gets.
Her other milestone is cutting her first teeth - not one, but two new teeth at the same time. (You can click on the picture, which enlarges it to see the new teeth). She seems to be a much happier baby since they broke through. 2 down, 18 more to go....what a long process!

We are almost 2 weeks into the new year - have you kept your resolutions? I typically don't make any, however, I have purposed to be better about meal planning and making healthy meals for our family & so far I've done pretty good. I'm always looking for quick, easy & healthy meals, so send them my way if you've found quick solutions for mealtime.

John and I watched the DVD special on Ruth Bell Graham recently, and I'm inspired by this woman of God. One of her mottos in life was to "do the possible, and let God do the impossible." This is encouraging to me - I can do what I can & let God do the rest. It's a wonderful, short little tribute to her life, and if you didn't catch the special on TV in December, I'd encourage you to seek it out.
Another new thing....I dyed my hair. I'm now closer to a brunette than a blonde. During & after pregnancy my hair was growing in so dark (my natural color) and all my ends had really blonde highlights, so I opted to get it all closer to one color....and I've been pleased with the result. John feels a bit like he's living with a different woman, and I think he'd like me to put in a few highlights, but this has been a fun change for me. I did it myself - which is also very daring. It's convenient and much cheaper than going to the salon & spending 3+ hours in a chair.



Well - that is all I can think of right now...hope you're enjoying the weekend. 'Til next time....

Sweet Girl!

We are home & getting everything back to normal. Elise hasn't been feeling great - we think she picked up a bug on the flight home, coughing, sneezing, watery eyes and runny nose, so we've been just resting at home.
It was so fun to get our mail and see everyone's cards and pictures - I love this time of year to catch up on the lives of our friends and family.
Hope this next year is a great one for you. John and I celebrated New Year's Eve over a pot of cheese fondue and some rhubarb pie. We can tell we're getting old, because we went to bed around 10pm, then woke around 12:30am to the fireworks in our neighborhood, then backto sleep.
John is always very good about making resolutions for the new year - he sets goals for each area of his life. I on the other hand, feel like I've never accomplished the goals I set, and I don't like to fail, so now I just don't make them. Kinda sad - but perhaps I should just write down a few things I'd like to do, and not worry whether I complete them or not, it might take the pressure off.
Hope this next year is a great one for each of you! Have a great weekend.

Brandenburg Christmas

We also celebrated Christmas with John's parents. Elise got to meet her cousin, Ethan. He was born Nov. 10th to John's sister, Sara & her husband, Steve. Most of the time she just wanted to pat him on the face, poke him in the eye, or grab at him.
It was such a nice time, and it makes us realize how much extra help we would have if we lived closer to family - but we cherish the moments we do have with them.
Elise and Ethan both had on their Christmas outfits.



John and Elise snuggling by the tree.

White Christmas

Jumperoo!

My dad borrowed this Jumperoo from a co-worker so Elise could use it while we were there.
She loved it!! When we got back to Charlotte we bought her one with some Christmas money...and she has a blast.

Ratzlaff Christmas

Here's a few snapshots of our Christmas with the Ratzlaff side of the family. We were missing Paul & Jodi who are in Frankfurt, Germany - but they are planning to be back in the states this next summer for good, so we understood why they couldn't be here this year.
We had a white Christmas - snow on the ground, but not quite enough for John to go snowmobiling...but maybe next year.



We opened presents early in the day so Elise would be awake, since she was going to bed around 6:30pm.
John and I came back from our Christmas "vacation" and have decided that once you have a baby - it's no longer a vacation - just a change of scenery.







Jodi sent us these great scarfs - we're all trying them on after opening our stockings.
We had a good time seeing everyone.

The Nutcracker - Macy's Display in Minneapolis

Here's a couple clips from our visit to the Macy's Christmas display of the Nutcracker while in Minneapolis for Christmas. It was fun to watch Elise as she took it all in.