April is the goal!

We are teaching Elise sign language which has been so fun. Amongst the many words that she signs, these days the most important two are "baby" and "tummy." Yes, Elise has learned that Mommy has a baby in her tummy!! We could not be more excited to add another little one to our family. We had to do fertility treatments again (ugh!) but it was much better than with trying to get pregnant with Elise. We are so blessed. With the unexpected early arrival of Elise of 6 weeks, we are hoping that this baby can wait until we hit April. With our luck, we will be calling our family on April fool's day to tell them we had the baby and they won't believe us!...or maybe they will!

I have had quite a different pregnancy with this one than with Elise. I was very tired with Elise but really had nothing to complain about. This one, we will just say that morning sickness and fatigue have just become part of my day. Elise is such a good sport about playing by herself or reading books so that I can rest. Nic is wonderful also with helping me out when he is home along with not complaining if I don't get a lunch ready for him for work! Granola bars have become a staple for him on those days!

Elise is growing up so much. We love to watch her discover new things each day as well as imitate what we are doing. She is picking up more and more sign language which is really neat to see.

Anyway, we are so happy for all the changes in our life. Blessings are pouring out on us and we are so excited for things to come.

Here are a few pictures...

What a summer!

Hi Everyone! We hope that you are having a great summer! We can't believe that it is almost over for those that are attending school...good luck!

Elise would love to go to school. For now, she does "school" at home with Mommy. She is learning to play the keyboard... or just keep it from walking away! The two animals with her are her new favorite snuggle buddies. We tell her to go snuggle and she finds her animals!














We have been looking for a hat for Elise to wear when we are outside playing. She has a small head for a cap, but too big of a head for other hats we have found. This is one that is a bit too small, but she loves it! It was only a dollar!














Daddy and Elise took a ride on the Merry-go-round at the Hogle Zoo in Utah. Elise loved the ride until she realized that Mommy was on the outside watching. Each time she would come around and see me, she would give little cries until she saw me again...then it started over again. Poor girl!



















Mommy and Elise are waiting for the train ride to start. Elise loved the ride. Her eyes were wide open as we passed various animals and saw people along the way. Ofcourse she was waving and saying hello to everyone!


















We had a great time at Uncle Ben's and Aunt Laura's wedding. They got married on July 30th in the Salt Lake Temple. It was a beautiful day of sunshine and smiles. We are so excited to have Laura in our family! She is a wonderful young lady.














Elise is taking a break on the grass outside the Salt Lake Temple. There was not much shade, but we were able to find some. The little dress she is wearing is a gift from Fae, a great friend from Butte.


















Mommy and Elise were waiting for Uncle Ben and Aunt Laura to come out of the temple. Elise knew it was a sacred place, so she would fold her arms every-so-often.


















Elise loves these little rings. She will bring them everywhere she goes. She always has to have one for each hand. I decided that she needed one for each ear also. Once I did it a few times, she wanted me to put them on, then she would take them off and she handed them to me to put back on. That is how our afternoon went. Each time I tried to take a picture, though, she would move. Oh well.


















Grandpop Moser came to visit for a week. We had so much fun with him! Grandpop and Uncle Kiel are making fried zuchini for dinner. It was a treat!














Daddy and Elise in front of a train in Blackfoot, ID. We saw the train by the Potato Museum. It was lots of fun. Perhaps some day we can go on a real train...


















We were so happy when Kiel made it possible for Grandpop to come to Idaho. We were able to have him at our home for a lot of the time. Elise enjoyed every moment of it!... and I know Grandpop loved it too! We are so excited to see Grandpop again at Christmas. This time it will be extra fun because Nana and some Uncles and Aunts will be there too. It's only a couple months away!
































































Elise loves her little lamb. She snuggles with it all the time!

A little of everything

Nic and Elise at the 4th of July parade in Rexburg, ID



Uncle Mack and Elise waiting for the waffle dinner on the 3rd of July.



Uncle Randal sure looks like someone we know....Elise! What a funny Uncle!



Elise has fallen in love with the tent! Nic set it up in hopes that we could have a campout for the 4th, but the weather did not cooperate. At least Elise got a chance to see the tent before we actually use it! (We are looking forward to the Holland family camping trip!)



Elise plays the keyboard now. I was practicing some songs when I ended up with a little helper. She learned how to turn it on, press the button to play the demo song, and ofcourse, she knows how to make music. She is such a musical girl!



We got some new bikes to get exercise and for enjoyment. Even Elise has a trailer that hookes on to a bike so that she can come along! Nic rides his bike to the bus stop each morning and then home again. Elise and I have been going to the parks and investigating our little town of Ammon, ID.



Nic got a very cute card for Father's day from his little girl. She loves her Daddy so much. It says, "From Daddy's little Sweetheart. I'm lucky you're my daddy. I'm happy I'm your girl...I love you, love you, LOVE YOU. You're the BEST DAD in the world! Happy Father's Day, Daddy! XOXO"



Elise loves to help in any way she can...we hope this continues. She was helping Nic open his gift. (She is crawling all over the place...look at her on her knees now!)



Elise had to wake Daddy up on Father's day. She gives Daddy his good morning kisses...what a special time for Daddy since he is gone before Elise gets up most of the week.



Oh, our little one. She is growing up so fast. I enjoy seeing all that she can do; she is doing so well. And look at that smile!

All in a day

Elise loves to go through the diaper bag. I had been reading when I realized that things were a little too quiet in the house. I found Elise happily rearranging the diaper bag for me!



It is a struggle somemtimes to get Elise to go to bed. She decided this particular night that she wanted to stay up all night. Nic and I put her in the carseat and knocked her out with a drive around the block. Phew!



What a silly little girl we have! I think that Elise was singing and dancing before I took this picture. I was sneaking around to get a picture of her when she spotted me. She started to laugh...what a girl!



We have been working with Elise to start using a sippy cup. She loves to drink water out of it, but she won't drink anything else with it. Hum. As you can see, she is doindg well.



Spaghetti time! These don't need any explanation except....ENJOY!...She sure did!











Uncle Kiel comes to our house regularly. We really enjoy having him come. Elise loves to play with Uncle Kiel. He teases her, and she teases him. She likes to show him her latest tricks. Here she is showing him her buttons. She can spot them in an instant anywhere!



Since Elise learned to crawl (!!!!) she has been rearranging my bookshelves. Along with that, she has found some new books. This girl loves to look at books and is always ready to tell the story to anyone who will listen. I hope that he love for books continues for a long time!





We need to take pictures of other things besides Elise...but what or who is cuter than she is?!

We hope you are all doing well! Continue to enjoy June!

We've been busy!

We had a busy month! This blog contains a hike, a trip to the zoo, and Elise's birthday bash! We had so much fun!


Nic and Elise are ready to go to church!


Elise loves stories. She loved it when Grandma and Grandpa Holland came so that she could read them her books. They loved it!


EJ and Ken came to Idaho for Memorial Day weekend. We took advantage of the beautiful weather and went for a hike. It was a short hike, but I think it was perfect especially with Elise. I think we all got some sun!


Elise started off with Dad, but after lunch I carried her the rest of the way down. Nic and I tried to decided which was heavier...the backpack or Elise?!?!


Here's the Holland family picture...aren't we just so cute?! We had a great day with the family.


We went to the zoo on Memorial Day with Aunt Holly. It was the perfect weather and we had a great time. Elise enjoyed most of the animals. She loved the monkeys! A girl after her mother's heart.


The flamingos were very interesting. They won't breed unless there are at least about 25 in a group. Also, they make dirt mounds to lay their eggs on. When they are born, they are greyish in color. It takes a while before they get to be the pink color. They also can stand pretty cold temperatures. Hum.


Elise has so many facial expressions that are so funny to watch! Here she is looking at the goats and sheep. There was food that the kids could feed the goats, but Elise did not want to do that. She just stared at them. Obviously we enjoyed watching her more than the animals!


Elise thought it was fun to sit on the hen. I made some clucking noises and she thought it was funny. What a girl!


May 27th was Elise's first birthday! I am still in shock that we have already had a year since she was born. All sorts of memories have been flooding my brain. But none-the-less, it came and we had a celebration.


While we were waiting for the party to get started, Elise read everyone a story.


This is Elise's usual face. For those of you who see her often, you can attest to that.


When we were singing "Happy Birthday," Elise clapped her hands!


Aunt Liesel gave Elise a cup with her name on it! How special.


Uncle Randal and Aunt Stef gave Elise a new book. She will put that to great use!


Grandpa and Grandma Holland got her some new summer outfits. They have buttons...Elise loves buttons.


Uncle Mack and Aunt Connie gave Elise a ball. Mom and Dad gave her a rolling ball that sings and rolls by itself in hopes that she may want to crawl to it!


We tried to teach Elise how to blow so she could blow out her candles, but it did not work. She did try to spit on it, though.


I had to blow out the candles in a rush because Elise was trying to grab the pan to touch the candles. It worked out fine since I bought cheap candles and the wax was dripping all over the cake. Oh well.





Elise uses her little pointer finger to investigate everything. She put her little finger into the frosting (of course!!) to try first.


It did not take long for her to figure out that the cake was yummy also!

We had a delightful time with everyone! Elise loved all the gifts, but more importantly the attention. She loves her family coming and seeing her. We invite you all to come any time! Thank you to those who came to support her, as well as those who keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We love you!

We hope you are all well. May June be a month of much fun and happiness!