Winter Outing to Drummlin Farm

Since Sue, Julia, and Jakob were around and it was 60 degrees here yesterday - we all went over to Lincoln to Drummlin Farm - it was a great day. Elise loved hanging out with her cousins and trompsing around in the mud (and of course being carried by me most of the way). Still plenty of snow to make it seem like winter even if the weather was saying otherwise.

Eichner Family Christmas Exchange

On Saturday we all got together to exchange gifts at a brunch at Erika and Bob's. Julia painted Elise an awesome piggy bank, I made Emma an apron (a different style than the other two I've made- it turned out nice, but I think I like the shape of the others better) and Bob shared his moustache set that we got him last year for a group photo. Elise got some more great gifts including the best wooden building blocks, a memory game, a matching game, a shapes school bus, and Nanny and Grandpa gave her a boppy clown, a puzzle, some little plastic farm animals, and some nice crayons - THANK YOU! Sue and Staffan had the Christmas contest this year and I think the blind folded snowman contest turned out great - can't wait to see what Ed and Carole come up with next year.

Merry Christmas- part four!

After spending three hours putting it together, Elise finally got to play with her new kitchen - she was taking her nap during most of the construction but then came out and wanted to help me build it - adorable as it was, it was not easy trying to put it together with little fingers all over the place - now I know why parents build these things at night while the kids are sleeping...

Merry Christmas- part three!

Later that day...

I forgot to mention one of Elise's favorite gifts, her yellow umbrella, which as you can see was a big hit with Hiro too. After getting dressed we went over to Bob and Erika's for dinner and to play with Aidan and Zane, who were having a PJ day.

Merry Christmas- part two!

So this year Santa did a theme wrapping, which turned out pretty cute and with not too much effort or cost. He just wrapped all of his gifts in white kraft paper and put some santa foam stickers on them. Our tree was ok this year - I think we will try to cut one ourselves next year since the pre-cut ones dry out so fast. We did get some new ornaments this year that I can't wait to hang next year - thanks Linda! And Kurt/Elise! I was a complete looser this year and didn't get my cards sent - but appreciate all those who sent us cards - NEW YEARS RESOLUTION #1 - send out Christmas cards next year (right after sending Thank You's)!

Merry Christmas- part one!

I tried to upload a little video of Elise on Christmas morning, however, that didn't seem to want to work. She wasn't all too concerned about Santa bringing her stuff, but she did like the Thomas the Tank Engine trains and track that Santa set up for her. Since I don't have any fun imaging software, I will have to do a couple of posts to get the best pictures up. Between Kurt and I and Santa Clause, Elise got a few big gifts, like a pink and white kitchen from Target, and the Thomas stuff (thanks to Bob and Erika) along with some smaller gifts like play-doh, a guitar, the Elephun game, a couple of books, a Max stuffed toy to go along with her Ruby doll, more duplo blocks, some ballet slippers and crayons. Aunt Julie, Kaelin, Connor and Scott sent a fantastic set of Scholastic children's book videos, which Elise wants to watch non-stop, right now she loves the Goodnight Gorilla and Where the Wild Things Are, Kurt and I keep trying to get her to try the ones she hasn't seen but with little luck. Mom sent some Winnie the Pooh books, that Elise has now read a hundred times, a little hippo flashlight, some sheets, and a stuffed Unicorn/Pegasus that Elise finds particularly tasty, as she keeps chewing on its leg. I was most excited however with the dresses she made for Elise - I can't wait until Easter to get her in the yellow dress - it is adorable! Linda, James and Ethan sent a great set of wooden fruits and veggies that have velcro so that they can be "sliced" with the wooden knife that they come with. She particularly loves the carrot. They are a nice addition to the plastic play food that Bob and Erika were kind enough to give us. So here is Elise in action...