David had some African dresses custom made for all of his girls while he was in Ghana. A sweet lady named Afua made them for us and so this posting is for her. She spent a lot of time getting them done and we really appreciate it! We got lots of compliments on them when we all wore them to church last Sunday. Thanks Afua!

Okay, so I know I promised more pictures of Africa...and I will get to those I really will! But I just HAD to post these adorable pictures of Elsie from her one year photo shoot with Megan. They are soooooo cute. I love every single one of them. Megan has a way of capturing the most precious moments perfectly.
I love this bright pink background!


Just a little advice for you parents who have a child turning one soon...if you want the cake eating to be a success, give your child a trial run the night before the big day...Elsie had already dove into one cake at her little birthday party and so the minute this one was placed in front of her she just dove right in. She knew what to do this time! I seriously can't get over the candle in her mouth! So hilarious and so Elsie.

I even love her little foot in this one (below)! And the look on her face is priceless!
And finally a smile from my little fireball!! I was seriously sweating from jumping around and trying to get her to smile. We don't call her our little stinkbug for nothing:)
And a little side-note on Elsie...her one year stats are as follows:
Length: 30 3/4 inches (92%)
Weight:22 lbs. (75%) Funny thing about this...since she was nine months old, she has gained only 1 ounce. Isn't that crazy? 1 ounce? Good thing she has lots of reserve built up:)
Head circumference: Why didn't I write this number down? Anyway it's around the 50%

Over Spring Break David had the opportunity to go to Ghana, Africa to perform dental work on the people there....He was gone for 11 days and had the experience of a lifetime. There is much, much more to be posted on this trip, but it is too late and I'm too tired right now! So here is a glimpse of what is to come...lots and lots of great pictures and stories!

One year ago (yesterday)...this little baby girl came into our lives...


I seriously can't believe how fast this past year has gone. It seems that time goes by faster and faster with each child....if this is the case, I better stop having kids now!! Anyway, we haven't done an official celebration for her yet (we are still waiting for David to come home from Africa!) So it's a good thing she's only one and won't remember that we didn't celebrate her birthday until a week later right?? Well here is a little bit about Elsie at age 1:
*She is mischievous, feisty and a big tease
*She can throw a tantrum with the best of them
*She is walking all over the place and LOVES to climb on things and get into everything (see picture below) The minute I turn around, she is into some cupboard pulling something out.

*She will follow Maia anywhere and calls her "Ma" (sounds like "muh")
*She completely weaned herself from nursing about a month ago...just up and quit one day...talk about serious rejection! On the other hand, made the whole process easy for me. (Maia did the exact same thing at the exact same age...what is with my milk come 11 months??)
*She can sign the following:
-milk
-dog
-eat
-water
-book
-fish
-please
-all done
-cat
-ball
-flower (she can't do this one very well yet and it's so cute to watch her try!)
*Even though she knows how to sign a lot of words, sometimes she just prefers yelling to try to get her way. I will tell her "say please" and she will just look right at me and then yell...hmmm not looking forward to her in 15 years...
*She LOVES to go "bye-bye" She gets so excited when she sees her coat and immediately wants to put it on and go outside. I will ask, "you want to go bye-bye?" and she laughs and smiles and points to the door. So cute.
*She waves hi and bye-bye
*She is starting to form words...she can say Mama and she will say the beginning sounds of "ball" and "book"
*She now has 8 teeth
*She loves cereal..and I'm not talking the soft baby kind..full on Honey Bunches of Oats...just like her momma:)
*She loves to blow bubbles in the tub...about 10%of the time she gets it right, the other 90% she chokes on the water...you think she would learn, but I can't keep her from putting her head in the water and trying to do bubbles. The things they learn from older siblings!
*No one can get her laughing like Maia. Bathtime is my favorite time of day with these two girls. They love to be in there together and that is the time when they get each other laughing the hardest.
We love her so much and don't know what we would do without her!