six month photoshoot

what's in a name?

this is a post that i want comments for! it's becoming apparent to me that we need to settle on how we're going to spell elise's nickname. eva started it by calling her "leesey". That's as phonetic as i can spell it, so hopefully you know how it's pronounced. it's the last part of elise, with the 'ee' sound on the end. but how do we spell it?! i've gotten all sorts of variations by people in emails and blog comments...so now's your chance...how would you spell it? i'm open to all options and we'll decide soon! thanks for your help! (and here's an adorable picture of her to help inspire you!)

happy father's day

i feel a strong need to do a father's day post. father's day has been a sad holiday for me over the years. it has been a melancholy reminder of how my own dad did not meet the expectations i had of him while growing up. some years it has been a chance for me to throw a pity party. other years it has been my day to be angry...and some years i think it went by with me hardly noticing at all. some years i have sent a card to my dad...others i deliberately did not. some years i've reached out to him, and others i have aimed to ignore him by not acknowledging the day at all. in the last few years though, God showed me (through my wonderful mother in law)clearly and in a way that made a lot of sense to my soul, that i need to keep in contact with my dad...out of obedience to God in honoring my father...out of care for him...out of a desire to have no regrets when one day i will not be able to talk with him...out a desire to show him the love of Christ in a real way. whatever my motive on a particular day, i realized it doesn't matter...i just need to do it. so, i've been sending cards, photos and making calls throughout the year...with no expectations (much easier said than done, i assure you...but again, the Lord has carried me to this point and i'm so grateful that He allows me to really pursue my father without expecting anything in return.) i don't want to sound like a martyr...it's just a good place to be. my dad is a good man. i wish he knew the Lord. but i can honestly say, that i understand as much as i am able, why things are the way they are.

after justin and i got married, i had the privilege of celebrating his dad on father's day, which was so easy to do! what a man of God he is. it's so evident how he loves God and his family. i love spending time with him, hearing his corny jokes (which i inevitably laugh at), and seeing him smile...and he works like no one's business. you've never seen such a work ethic in a man...and he's passed it on to his son:) seeing them work together (even show up to events dressed similarly) is just a privilege! it was so nice to attach such wonderful feelings of joy and love to father's day.

then my own mom got married to a wonderful Christian man. he is another one who makes celebrating father's day easy. he also has a corny sense of humor (i am surrounded by them!), he loves the Lord, he loves his family...i cannot even describe how amazing it is to watch a man marry a woman with three children and treat them as his own. his love is evidenced through hugs, laughter, even finances. he is dad to us and grampy to elise and i'm so thankful.

but now that elise is here and i am celebrating my husband on father's day...i'm coming to a new level of recognition and appreciation for this holiday. as we rode to church on sunday, i was telling justin how amazing and mind-boggling it is to me, that elise will never have to worry about having more than one dad, keeping in touch with them, wondering how they feel about her, wondering why she hasn't heard from one or all of them...to have just one dad...what a thought that was to me! and if that weren't enough...elise has a father who loves her, lives with her, spends time with her, makes her laugh, prays for her, is gentle and compassionate towards her...

though not perfect...what an accurate picture of God she will see evidenced by her earthly father (and grandfathers).

that is something to celebrate and be thankful for.

solid food, here we come!

i've heard quite a few opinions about when to start on solids, but we waited until elise started showing an interest (thank you vanessa for that advice!)...not to mention that she goes shorter and shorter times between feedings, and now wakes up more in the night to eat. soooo...she had her first solids today. it's funny to say "solids" because really it's just a bit thicker than milk. anyway, here she is in her high chair. i let her play with the toys first. i think she liked it, what do you think? :)

then, we started eating with her big girl bowl and spoon. from the first few bites, she was trying to get the spoon to help me (or do it herself!). she ate every last bite!

i look at her and cannot believe how grown up she's getting. i remember her first ultrasound when she was a peanut with a heartbeat...and the next one when she waved at us. then she was born and was an 8 pound cutie that couldn't do anything. now, she can smile, sit, roll over (yup, that's new from the past few days!)and now, she's starting to eat real food! it's just amazing...it's amazing how God works and how He designed the human body to grow and develop.

a few more days of rice cereal and we're either going to try banana or avocado...i'm sure we'll keep you posted!

first dip in the pool

elise tried on her first bathing suit yesterday and took her first dip in the pool. she didn't care for it at first (as evidenced by her cries)...but after a while it grew on her (as long as justin bounced her around and made fun noises). her face in this picture kind of says it all :)

laura and nora are in town visiting, so we got a pool-side shot of the baby cousins!

at the end of the day we did a cousin photo shoot.

and here's elise sitting tall!

a trip to the farm

so jill and i signed up together for a produce co-op from a local farm and yesterday we went for our first pick up. in addition to a plethora of greens and pick-your-own strawberries (which yes, we did with our mobies on!)...there were also piglets to see. elise, even though her poor nose was running, seemed to enjoy herself :)