Family pictures

Just a few of our professional pictures taken at the beach...

Litchfield Beach

We had a fabulous vacation at Litchfield Beach, which is about 30 minutes from Myrtle Beach. It was beautiful and quiet, and had a gorgeous beach. The place where we stayed also had a little pool, big pool, and lazy river (which Elyse and Blake LOVED). Elyse did SO well on the car ride. She didn't sleep much but really enjoyed watching movies. She loved making friends on the beach, asking every child in sight what their name was, if they wanted to play with her and build a sandcastle.... amazing social skills, I know. :)

It was a wonderful vacation... we look forward to going back here next year!

Summer fun!

Summer is going by so quickly but we are enjoying every minute! We are spending most days at the pool, which is the best place to be in this heat. I am working a lot this summer with our new school opening, which gives Daddy and Elyse lots of quality time together. They are loving it! I've included just a few pictures below to give a glimpse of our summer. Ryan took Elyse one day to the Danville basketball camp where she got to meet Coach Cal. As you can see from the look on her face, she loved meeting him. We had a wonderful dinner at our friends Jeff and Emmi's house last night and Elyse loved playing with Kylie, as usual. :-) Another picture included is Elyse being silly by wearing her swimmies on her legs. She is LOVING the water now, going under and saying "don't hold me Mommy." We can't wait for a beach vacation in July with the family! Oh and how could I forget to mention, after one week of being home with Elyse this summer, she is completely potty trained! It is amazing how she caught on and even gets up by herself in the night when she has to go. What a big girl!!

Swim lessons!

Elyse just finished her six weeks of swim lessons at LAC. She did so great! She absolutely loved it and has no fear of the water now. She kicks her legs and tries to do "scoops" with her arms. She loves to put her head down and blow bubbles on the surface of the water. And her favorite thing is jumping in the water. I feel much better going into the summer having these lessons under our belt.

Other things going on with our little Lysee... we have enrolled her for preschool, two mornings a week next year at a church in Danville. She LOVES talking to people and playing with children and we really feel we should build on this now. Mom will be able to take her these two mornings and keep her on those afternoons. We are still trying to figure out what we want for the other three days a week.

Pacemaker checks are going so well. It only takes about 5 minutes every 6 weeks or so. Elyse still loves to show everyone her pacemaker (even though you can hardly see it). Potty training is going great although some days are better than others. :)

We are very much looking forward to going to the beach in July with our family! Bring on summer!

Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! I chose 4 out of about 30 pictures... the kids had a blast hunting for eggs on such a beautiful Easter Sunday. Spring is officially here and I absolutely love it!

Disney Princess on Ice!

Our little princess had a ball at Disney Princess on Ice last weekend. She was so excited about going and couldn't believe when the day actually came. She watched so intently and enjoyed every story told about each princess. Now since returning, she has entered a huge world of imagination constantly pretending to be one of the princesses. :) Her favorite is pretending to be Cinderella and saying that the mean girls are tearing her dress apart and she won't have anything to wear at the ball. She is also enjoying pretending to be Snow White and making me be the witch feeding her a bad apple. :) We are definitely amazed at the level of imagination this girl has... and it seems to grow everyday. I absolutely love it! Enjoy the pictures of our Princess!

A glimpse of Spring

Last Sunday, we had a BEAUTIFUL day and it got us all so ready for spring! We are so done with all of the winter weather and just want the 60's to be here soon! Lysee and Blake enjoyed an afternoon of play at nana and pops' house. It is going to be a fun spring and summer!!

Winter fun

Last weekend, we got our second big snowfall of the winter and had a ball playing in it with cousin Blake, Amanda, and Brad. The kids loved going on the sled, although Blake was a bit concerned every time someone fell off. Elyse loved watching her Daddy fall in the snow and needless to say, they definitely didn't want to go inside.

On a different note, we did Elyse's first pacemaker check over the phone last weekend, using a transmitter. She did great and we got a great report over the phone! Technology is amazing.

Snow day fun!

We LOVED our snow days! We were so happy that Ryan was out of school last Thursday and Friday too. That makes it even better. We only played outside for about 15 minutes b/c it was so cold. Ryan took his girls for a sleigh ride and we brought snow back inside to play with... which was a huge highlight of the day! Elyse immediately began building small snowmen in the snow (in a pan) and dressed them with some Minnie mouse clothes. We stayed inside for the whole weekend practically and the only downfall... it was very hard for all of us to go back to school on Monday. Getting back into a routine is hard!

Christmas break fun

Christmas break could not have been better! We have had so much fun spending time with family and friends. Elyse got to play with her cousin Hayden, whom she adores! If only Hayden lived closer... :-(

Elyse also got to play with her beloved Maher friends, Emery, Marley, Tarenne, and Darrah. They are so sweet and genuinely love Elyse so much. They just smother her with attention and love, and she can't get enough of it! This was a very fun play date for us!

Elyse also go to spend time playing with her friend Kylie! They are so sweet when they play together and Elyse actually shared her toys with her... I think because Kylie is smaller than her, she doesn't feel threatened. :-)

What a wonderful break filled with blessings!