Gone to Holland

Today we went as a family to Holland, Michigan.  It was so fun to see all of the beautiful tulips that lined the roads as we drove into town.  We then quickly found a beautiful park and enjoyed watching some dancers practice some traditional dances for the weekends festivities.  I of course had to take millions of pictures {mostly of Elizabeth} and here are a few from the day.

Elizabeth loved watching the people that were watching, waving, and even taking pictures of her.  She's my little social girl, that loves having everyone's attention on her.  Makes it hard to get her to look at the camera though.

Elizabeth is using Brian as a stabilizer as she works on standing.  She just can't wait to walk.

I am so glad that we were able to find someone to get a picture of all of us together in this beautiful park.  I love the vibrant colors of the tulips!  This shot actually reminds me of Brian and my engagement picture.

We accidentally stumbled upon a small college that was just down the street.  I got so excited I loved the buildings and had to take pictures!  Elizabeth fell over while sitting in front of one, and I thought her feet were so adorable!  I think Hope College looks like a nice school to go to.

We then made our way to see this windmill.  It is so big, and neat!  We got to go inside for a tour.  This is the only windmill of it's kind in the US.  They had actually moved this here from Holland.  It went through WWII  and has a bullet hole from that time.

After getting our fill of the gorgeous tulips we made our way to a nearby beach for a nice evening walk.  It was fun to see how much Elizabeth loved the wind {it was extremely windy!}.

Eight months

My little girl just continues to grow each day.  This last month she has been working hard and becoming more and more mobile.

Here are some of the things Elizabeth has learned and loved this month...

• Pulling herself up to stand
• Walking along the furniture
• Wave "Hello" and "Goodbye"
  
• Sitting down without any help
• Pass things from one hand to another
• Pick up small objects
  
• Figured out how to crawl forward
• Sit up all alone
• Bang two objects together
• Makes kissing noises
• Walking around with Mommy and Daddy is still a love of hers

Elizabeth's size

• Clothing~3-6 months
• Diapers~3

Tornado Warning

Elizabeth and I spent about an hour playing in the closet today.

Brian had listened to the weather radio in the morning and heard that there was a tornado watch, so he told me to listen throughout the day to check how the watch was going.  He then later emailed me from work mentioning that the weather was looking like a possible tornado.  As I was replying he called, and as soon as I answered, the tornado warning at MSU went off.  He quickly told me to grab Elizabeth and get somewhere safe as he headed to the schools basement.

Well I grabbed her and was hoping to go to our downstairs neighbor {since we live on the top floor of the apartments}, but she wasn't home.  Brian had called back, but I didn't reach the phone in time so I tried to call Brian back to let him know what we were doing, but the lines were all tied up.  So I just took Elizabeth {with some toys, snacks, and other stuff} into our most central closet.  We played in there for about an hour, and I tried to call home to just give me something else to think about, but no one answered.  I was so glad that I had thought to bring the weather radio with me so that I knew when the warning was over.

It was not only Elizabeth's first Tornado warning, but mine too!  I am so grateful that everything was all right, and I hope that I never have to do that again!

Easter Time!

This Easter weekend was wonderful!  Having a little girl makes holidays so much more exciting, as I enjoy sharing the traditions and fun as she experiences them for the first time!

On Saturday, our friends invited us to join them for and Easter egg hunt, and then a delicious brunch with crepes and fresh fruit!  It was INCREDIBLE!!!

Elizabeth loves walking to get things while holding onto our fingers, so this was perfect for her!  She loved walking to the eggs and picking them up.  She only got a few, but she can't eat the candy yet anyway.  We just enjoyed taking it slow, and of course taking a bunch of pictures.

Elizabeth finding her first egg...

Brian snap a picture of me on the ground snapping a picture of Elizabeth...

Enjoying her egg...

The entire group...

{Funny story, we recorded Elizabeth walking towards an egg, and one of the other kids didn't realize what was going on so he snagged the egg before Elizabeth got to it, and then did it again.  The third time Elizabeth finally was able to get the egg!}

Elizabeth was thinking about crawling upstairs after the fun, but she's not ready for that yet...

Easter morning we woke to some fun Easter treats.  Elizabeth was so excited...

I had been completely surprised to walk out and find these bright and beautiful flowers from Brian...

We then hopped into the car to play Easter Bunny for some kids we know...

I love when Easter and Conference are on the same weekend!  It is the perfect combination!  During sessions we got to enjoy a beautiful walk outside.  There were blossoms all around, I love this time of year!

We then dyed and painted eggs.  I had never painted them before, but loved the idea.  I had a great time coming up with different ways to paint them, and enjoyed Brian's sunflowers that he painted onto his.  Elizabeth even got in on the fun.  Brian painted her had all white and then we had her grab onto one of the eggs.  It turned out PERFECT!

All the eggs...

It was so much fun helping Elizabeth get the eggs.  She was great at it too!  The cutest part was when she would stop about a foot away from the egg and sit down, then proceed to reach all the way over to the egg.