Christmas Fun!

Once again, I deleted the pictures on my camera after I printed them... before loading them on my computer. I've put together some that my Dad had on his computer. It starts with a day of fun making Christmas cookies. We all went to Nana and Pop's house to start this tradition. Elyse is wearing my Christmas apron that I used to wear when I was her age. :-) They were so cute making the cookies.
Our Christmas was fabulous! We had so much fun with all of our family. Elyse is at such a fun age and she really enjoyed being around all the people, looking at all of the Christmas trees and opening presents! And we have thoroughly enjoyed being off with her these last couple of weeks! It was a very blessed Christmas break!!

Elyse's first UK basketball game...

... was probably our best UK basketball experience! Elyse's Mimi was scheduled to come stay with her tonight so Ryan and I could go to the game. This afternoon, we decided that we really wanted to take her, knowing it was not a big game and we could leave early if we needed to do that. So, we took her and we had a ball! Aside from being a bit scared of the starting line-up fireworks and loud noises that came with it, she loved every minute of the experience! She even got on the big screen, the "fam cam" during a time-out!! She was standing on my lap dancing to the band's music and then, there she was on the big screen in Rupp Arena!
At the end of the first half, UK was up by almost 30 and it was almost Elyse's bedtime. So we left, Elyse was disappointed, and Ryan and I were exhausted. But we are definitely up for this again and look forward to many more of these in years to come!!

Elysia Hope and Kylie Hope

We got to spend a few hours with my friend, Emmi and her two month old Kylie today. Emmi and I have decided that Elyse and Kylie are kindred spirits. I have never seen another baby so much like Elyse. I love being around Kylie because she reminds me SO much of my girl. Everything from the fussiness in the evening to spending thirty minutes taking her 2 oz. bottle, she and Elyse are two of a kind. We had a blast and Elyse loved playing with Kylie's toys and the dog. She did not enjoy me feeding Kylie her bottle, as she was overcome with jealousy. She was jealous when Ryan was giving Kylie one-on-one attention too. It is obvious that she is used to getting all of our attention. Don't worry Elyse, siblings are not near in the future!

Elyse and Blake's first visit to Chuck E. Cheese!

Ryan has got to be the best daddy in the world! I asked him where he wanted to eat for HIS birthday and his response was "Chuck E. Cheese because Lysee would love it!" So we went and of course Blake came too for the first visit and it was awesome! They had a blast, as you can see in the pictures. I'm pretty sure this will be the first of many visits there!

We are thankful for...

A good report from the cardiologist! It is SO easy to forget about Elyse's rare heart condition because she is so unbelievable "normal." I am reminded every time we see Dr. Cottrill how truly blessed we are. She still has no concerns about our girl and will continue to see her every three months for the time being. We know that the day will come when Dr. Cottrill says "it's time for the pacemaker." At that time, we know this will be the next step in God's plan for her. Until then, we praise Him because he takes such good care of her heart.

What a nice time of year to be reminded how truly thankful we are be for our little miracle!