Happy New "Ear"

From the hands (and mouth) of a deaf babe...

Happy New "Ear" from our family to yours!

Pictures from Christmas

Oh the wonders of Christmas!

We started off of Christmas Day by checking our what Santa left in our stockings...Santa left Elle a Mickey Mouse plate...she LOVED it!

She also got a Mickey Mouse sticker book....we will have to be getting more of those!

And then we walked into the front room to see what Santa left us under our Christmas tree...

Santa brought Elle a really cool convertible trike...she already has gotten some use out of it when we rode over to our friend Maddie's house

And she also got a KITCHEN! It is sooo cool!

After we opened up all our Christmas gifts at our house, we all got dressed and headed over to ViVi and Big Daddy's for breakfast and more presents.

Elle got a Dyson vacuum from ViVi and Big Daddy....how cool is that?! Just like her mommas! When she opened it up - her eyes got big and she said and signed "Help momma clean." Oh I'm such a proud momma!

We had so much fun with ViVi, Big Daddy, Uncle Jake and Lee's aunt and uncle Jane and Paul.

After spending a few hours with ViVi and Big Daddy, we loaded up all our goodies and headed over to my parent's house for lunch and EVEN MORE presents! The first thing Elle saw when we walked in was her new Mickey Mouse glider...she would sleep in that thing if we let her!

She opened a majority of her gifts from right there in that chair!

Uncle Benny got her a doll - she "allowed" the doll to rock for a little bit - it's going to take a while for her to get accustomed to this baby doll. It's a lot bigger than the one she usually plays with!

Elle eventually only wanted to play with my dad's new Sonicare toothbrush and his camera....she was trying to take pictures of herself...pretty funny to watch her squint and smile expecting the flash to go off!

After opening up all our gifts, we went into the kitchen for lunch and bubbles! Elle blew her first bubble - you can see in the picture how excited Uncle Benny and Elle were after she actually blew the bubbles!

It was such a fun filled jam packed day. We all napped over at my parent's house for a little bit and then we went to Lee's grandparent's house for dinner. Needless to say, we were all tuckered out by the time we finally made it home on Christmas Day! We are so blessed by such amazing families!

On Tuesday, we went over to Aunt Mel and Uncle Austan's house to celebrate Christmas with them and Witt. I just can't get over how much of a little boy Witt has grown into! We got him some stacking pans and he loved banging them and shaking them. It is so awesome to see that little guy being so lively and into everything that is going on around him!

By far, Elle's favorite gift were the handmade bows Aunt Mel made for her. When the wrapping paper came off, Elle's eyes got so big and she literally started jumping up and down. Her mouth dropped and when she could finally talk after being so overcome with excitement all she could sign and say were "does, does, does" and pointing to her hair. She still asks to see all her "does" every morning!

What a wonderful Christmas spent with all our family and friends! Thank you to everyone who made this so special for Elle and our family!

Merry Merry Merry

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

from

Our Family to Yours!

"And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10-11

Sittin' with Santa

So yesterday morning I loaded Elle up in my car and headed to the mall. The whole way there I was talking about Santa and his beard and red coat and pants (we are working on clothing signs so it was a teaching opportunity). She kept signing "santa" and saying hohoho so I figured we would be in for a good picture. Nope! As soon as we rounded the corner in the mall and came face to face with Santa the look on Elle's face turned from blissfully happy to a mad little girl. The closer we got to Santa the faster her "all dones" were being signed. I don't think I have ever seen her shake her head no that fast before! I asked her if momma could sit with Santa and she said yes so after an 18 year hiatus....I finally got to sit with Santa again....can you tell how excited I was?!

Santa noticed Elle's hearing aids and signed "I Love You" to her and she blew him a kiss. He also gave her a coloring book and she responded by signing "thank you" so she wasn't totally terrified of him. Maybe next year she will smile for the camera!

Busy Busy Little Bees

Our days usually fly by - but with so much on our to do list - the last few weeks have flown by faster than usual.

Elle's super cute Christmas tree outfit

The first weekend of December, Lee got to work on our Christmas lights. He had a few little helpers in the front yard...Elle and her friend, Maddie. I just love those two little girls and I can't wait to see these two little ones grow up together!

That afternoon we helped celebrate the first birthday of our very favorite 1 year old. His momma and daddy hosted an amazing winter wONEderland filled with super cute art projects, amazing hot chocolate and a photo "booth." After we partied the afternoon away and visited with our precious Witt, Lee and I took Elle to River Oaks to look at the Christmas lights. River Oaks is the uber ritzy area of Houston where the mansions sprawl over acres of land. Absolutely beautiful. I can honestly say that when we would round the corner and come across some of the beautiful lights I was clapping with giddiness. Elle didn't really share my enthusiasm but a few of the displays caused her little mouth to fall open and her eyes were glued to the window. I just love seeing her experience new things! That night when we got home, Lee informed me that we needed 15 more strands of lights for our rinky dink tree in our front yard - he's dreamin' big!

Our next big task on our to do list is to get our Christmas cards out. Well - first we have to take the family picture and with 2 dogs and a toddler - that is much easier said than done.

Elle all bundled up to help Lee feed the dogs Elle putting up her two new big ornaments on her tree in her room...her outfit is a repeat from last year...so glad it still fits!!!

Elle and Santa December 2009

The First of Many..

Christmas outfits that is....

This outfit is actually a repeat from last year. It was a dress last year and a top this year. I love getting double use of of really cute outfits!

December 15, 2009

This little lady has more Christmas outfits than she can probably wear the entire month of December. We might be having wardrobe changes midday just so she can wear all her cute outfits we've collected over the past year. That's right...over the past year! Anytime a Christmas outfit hits the sales rack, it gets snatched up and hung up in Elle's closet. Needless to say, we didn't realize just how many outfits she had.

For the past year, I have been wanting a white Christmas tree for Elle's room. So the other day I took my little stash of "home decor" money and headed to Wal-Mart to buy Elle her tree. It's so cute and as soon as she saw it light up, her eyes were as big as saucers. She tried to help me decorate it tonight but her favorite part was taking the ornaments off and hiding them behind her back and then asking "where."

It's so funny to see her progressing each day. Today she stood up all by herself a few times - totally unprompted. She has also learned how to "smile" when you ask her to.

Her little smile is absolutely the cutest thing. I just get a kick out of asking her to smile and then seeing this little face!

And...just for kicks...this is her "what do you mean NO" face...right before she bursts into tears ( and yes...she only has one pig tail in....not sure what happened to the other bow and pony tail holder...I'm sure I'll find it some really random place!)