6 Months Old Already??

Elise turned 6 months old on Nov. 18th.  On the 27th her first tooth poked through.  She is currently working on her second tooth and is really having a rough time with it.  We've had some pretty rough nights lately and she's getting quite sassy with us.  On the 29th she had her 6 month well-baby visit with Dr. Richer.  At her 3 month appointment when she was charming the heck out of him he told me that babies turn on him at their 6 month appointment.  I was delighted that Elise was as charming as ever with him. :)  She's a healthy little peanut who now weighs 14.5lbs which means that 75% of babies her age weigh more.  She's 26 3/4" long which means that she is longer than 90% of babies her age!!  I guess she gets that from her daddy.  Neither of us are quite sure where she gets the lean part from....

Along with those changes we've introduced sweet potatoes to her.  It's touch and go really.  She definitely doesn't love them and sometimes flat out hates them.  But other times she'll tolerate them and eat most of what we give her.  The faces sure are entertaining to watch. I put together her highchair this week.  She looks so darn cute in it (and so tiny!).

1st time in the highchair!

Not too sure about these sweet potatoes....

The Great Christmas Tree Hunt

We came back to Milwaukee on Saturday after Thanksgiving to celebrate Stephanie's birthday at a surprise party thrown by her husband, Pete.  Eric and I almost ruined it on our way over to their house.  Steph was out with some of Pete's family at REI.  Suddenly my phone rang and it was Steph.  "I just saw you driving past us!  What are you doing back in town already?  Where are you going?"  They were on their way to Cabela's.  I made up a quick lie and said we were going to her parents' to see them and that it had been a long week and it was time to come home.  Luckily, she bought the lie and was completely surprised when she arrived home to a housefull of family and friends!

She sure was surprised!  Lizzie was scared of all the noise.

On Sunday we continued the annual tradition of going to the tree farm with Eric's family.  The past 3 years we've gone to a great location that gives you a tractor ride out to the fields and has a large bonfire with cookies and hot chocolate.  Thankfully, Jim and Sue decided to call there quick to make sure they were open only to find out that their forest tree restoration project was complete so they were no longer selling trees!  We headed out on a beautiful country drive (it really was!) and found a cute little tree farm.  Elise was all bundled up in the windy cold as we searched for our perfect tree.  Eric cut it down and did all the work this year getting it back to the car.  We saved $15 over the other tree farm and the owners were super nice.  They also had a bonfire, homemade cookies, hot chocolate and delicious peppermint mocha cappacino!

The perfect tree.

Steph and Lizzie still searching.

Max "helped" his daddy cut down their tree.

Flying with Uncle Pete!!

Baby's 1st Thanksgiving

We had (and still do!) so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.  Coming in at #1 is our faith in our Lord and the many blessings and continued care he has given to us.  A big blessing we received in 2011 is, of course, Elise.  She has brought so much joy to our lives and those around us.  So many little things seem so insignificant now.

Our holiday rotation brought us to Winona this year.  Since Eric was going hunting with my dad and brother the weekend before, he decided to take off the rest of that week which meant Elise and I were able to spend that entire time in Winona.  We had lots of shopping and girl time with Grandma.  She and I hosted a table at St. Matthew's Advent by Candlelight, although all I did was decorate the table.  She provided all the dishes, dessert, and service!  I did make some pretty cute paper trees though.

The coolest tree captured Annika's attention and went home with her. :)

Eric's hunt was quite successful.  He shot his first deer, a 3 point buck.  The guys gutted him in the woods and then packed him in snow until they came home 3 days later.  He and John then processed him themselves in Viroqua and cut the meat into steaks and ground some up in Winona.  Eric really wanted me to try some venision (which I really dislike).  So when he prepared some of the backstrip (tenderloin of the deer) I tried some and actually liked it!

We went to the Thanksgiving Day service at church in the morning to praise God and then Thanksgiving Dinner ended up being held at my parents' house instead of Viroqua.  We enjoyed a delicious and filling meal that everyone contributed to and then watched an awesome Packers victory.  It was a perfect Thanksgiving.

Captured this photo quickly after church before the guys changed into "more comfortable" clothing.

Watching the game.

Grandma and Charlie feeding Elise her cereal.