Easter Weekend

We hope you all had a wonderful Easter! Ours was a fun weekend. On Saturday we enjoyed more sunshine and some time outdoors, and even set up a little egg hunt in our front yard for Elise & Kaylie. It was more of a photo opportunity for us since Elise hasn't quite grasped the concept of looking for eggs to put into the basket.

On Sunday morning we celebrated our risen Savior. John was on worship team and had a full morning of singing. After church we came home and let Elise get into her first Easter basket. She liked her stuffed animals and bubbles, but she later was mostly interested in the green "grass" and rubbing it in her fingers.
Curt came over and we had an Easter brunch - quiche, waffles with strawberries, bacon and orange-pineapple juice. It was the perfect meal to send us into nap mode.

Good Friday/Family Day

Yesterday we had a gorgeous Spring day here in Charlotte. We had a "picnic" outside for lunch & then we took Elise on her maiden voyage on the bike seat. We got her a helmet & she wasn't too fond of having it on, but after a little ride, she was used to it...kind of.
We hope to take advantage of another beautiful day today & get outside & enjoy the day!

Little Miss Elise

Lots of Exploring...

...and finding new places to play & new drawers to pull things out of.

Fun New Toy

Elise borrowed a toy from Kaylie & is enjoying her new "freedom" to move around.
The first evening she used it, she wanted to "walk" around the whole house - through the kitchen, into the dining room, formal, entryway & back into the family room; however, on one of her trips through the kitchen she started pulling back and fell backwards & pulled the toy on top of her. It must have landed right under her left eye and now she has a tiny black and blue spot. Poor baby, but she's still enjoying this new fun.

"Easter Eggs" at our Front Door

I decided to change out our front door arrangement since my greenery is all sun bleached and faded; however, to my surprise, a bird flew out of it as I approached and we discovered a nest of 5 eggs. Now, I guess I'll have to wait to change out the greenery, but we'll have to take another picture when the chicks hatch.
Just another reminder of this season with new life springing up all around us.

March 17

Life here in the Brandenburg household is going well - we're busy, but enjoying the Spring. Elise and John are posing as models for Addidas apparel...(smile).
Elise is also trying on a summer dress she got in the mail from Oma/Opa Brandenburg. She isn't too excited about wearing hats - and she always pulls them off when we try them on. We keep telling her that they are so cute on her, but she has yet to comply.
John cut the grass for the first time this year last week & was able to also fertilize the lawn before our day of rain on Saturday. Since the Charlotte area has been in a drought this past year, it's a much needed soaking!

Splashing Good Time!

On Monday morning Elise and I met up with friends at Ray's Splash Planet. This was her first time in the pool and she did great. These are friends from our small group that meet every Sunday night. Left to Right: Mindi & Samuel, Christa & Caroline, Elise with Hannah & T.J. Our friends Alexia & Kate and Chrissie & Ali were there, too but just not in the picture. Elise clung pretty tightly to me when we were in the water, but after 30 minutes she let me hold her hands and bounce her up and down in the pool - she was even smiling and seemed to really enjoy it. That's a good thing because her parents love the water. We purchased a season pass to Carowinds - an amusement park here with a waterpark & other little kiddie rides that we hope to take full advantage of this summer.

Mirror, Mirror on the wall...

Last week Elise started making more new sounds - "Da, da, die, die" and so on. I don't know that she's associated this word with John, but I concede that her first word or word sounds is "Dada."
They say that kids will master one thing at a time before moving on to the next thing - so she must have mastered that sound, because yesterday at breakfast she was starting to say "ma, ma, nah, nah, mum, mum." Again, I don't think she associates "Mama" with me, but she's learning how to say it. So cute! We hear her jabbering all the time. Above is a clip from bathtime this past weekend.

Weekend Pics

We are all healthy and enjoying the beginning of Spring! Elise is 9 months today - March 11th. She had her 9 month Dr. visit last week and has grown just a little since December. She's 19 lbs 7 oz. and 28.5 inches tall & everything is going well. Here's a little blue dress she got from her aunt, Debi. Thanks, Deb!
John also asked that I post a picture of his beard. (It has since been shaved off, which I am grateful for...I told him I'm not much for the full beard, Taliban look on him). He mostly wanted to document it - so there you go.
We've been spending lots of time outside since the weather is getting much warmer now & we're entering into one of my favorite times of the year. My daffodils are blooming and I can see a few tulips that also are poking through. Hope you have a great week!

Beginning of March

It feels like Spring in Charlotte! Sunday was beautiful - nearing 70 degrees, and today should be about the same, possibly warmer. We all got outside and enjoyed a little sunshine - hopefully the vitamin D will clear up the remaining symptoms of all our colds & coughing. We've stayed close to home to get well & not get any of our friends sick, and so it was a welcome relief to get outside a bit and get rid of some cabin fever.
We are excited for Spring to arrive. Next weekend we have our neighborhood Spring Festival, including an egg hunt, petting zoo & a few other fun activites.
I've added a couple videos below from Saturday night after bathtime. Elise has a newfound love and excitement for Ceasar - and he's pretty good about tolerating it, but we're both keeping a close on him him when she gets near him, because she likes to lean on him and stand herself up - not a good idea! I find that our little girl has become a good "inspector" of how clean our floors are. She will find the smallest speck - a fuzz, lint, bug or dirt. I find myself trying to vacuum & mop several times a week, yet she will find it if I left it. Oh, well - I guess that's good motivation.
Hope your week is off to a great start.

Little Walker...(kind of)

Elise loves Ceasar!