Eloise Meets St. Nick

O Tannenbaum

I love decorating for Christmas!  I started 'decking the halls' the week after Thanksgiving.  Our first priority was getting the Christmas Tree!  Hansen and I decided that one of our family traditions will be to get our tree the first Monday after Thanksgiving, as a Family Home Evening Activity.  Isn't that a great tradition?  I love celebrating the holidays with our new little family! Eloise seemed to enjoy the hunt for the perfect tree!

7 Months

Eloise turned 7 months old on November 26th.  Since it was just a day before the 26th, and since she had such a cute outfit on, we decided to take her 7-month photos on Thanksgiving.

Eloise is such a JOY!  Her 7th month brought us many surprises, including her FIRST WORDS!  I thought it was a little early, but she started saying "Mama," "NumNum" (for food), and "Dada" (in that order) all in this last month.  We think it's hilarious that food took precedence over Daddy.  She clearly takes after her mother-- seriously, don't wait too long to feed me or it gets ugly.

Here are some shots of our sweet girl:

Thanksgiving

We had a lovely Thanksgiving at Rees and KayLynn's home in Santa Clarita.  The fun, relaxation, and delicious food was extended by a 2-night stay.  It was wonderful!  It's so fun celebrating these first holidays with Eloise.

The Founders of the Feast

It was a wonderful 1st Thanksgiving!

San Diego and Playtime Montage

I've neglected the blog for the past several weeks.  I'll try to catch it up over the next couple of days!  We spent a lovely weekend in San Diego a couple of weeks ago.  Cami and I did a session at the San Diego Temple-- what a beautiful building!  Eloise enjoyed hanging out with her uncles.  It was such a relaxing, fun time.  Here are a few shots from that weekend: 

Waking up happy in San Diego!

 

Phil's BBQ- YUM

Hansen took a bunch of pictures of Eloise playing at Uncle Phil's condo.  Sorry for the ridiculous number of photos... she's just so cute!

6 Months

Again, I'm late posting Eloise's monthly photo.   I think I'm a little reluctant each month to admit she's getting older.  How quickly time is passing!  Eloise was very somber during this photo shoot.  Perhaps it was because she was fighting a cold or because her mother dressed her in serious colors... or perhaps she's trying to affect the type of somber dignity expected for a woman of her age.  Anyway, we couldn't get her to smile- until she was certain the camera was off.

16.5 ounces

25 inches

Eloise has brought so much joy to our lives!  Delightful new facets of her personality emerge each day.  She is sweet and engaging; patient while still very opinionated.  At her 6 month appointment she stunned the pediatrician with her ability to string consonants together (maybe she'll be an early talker like her mom) and with her ability to sit completely by herself (hands and wobble free) on the examination table. 

We feel so blessed to be her parents!

Pumpkin Patch Pictorial

As promised, here is a documentation of our delightful day at a pumpkin patch.  We were so happy that Grandma KL and Grandpa Smith joined us on this outing.  This will surely become an Autumn tradition!

Arrival.  Oh so much to see!

This picture CRACKS ME UP.  Sometimes when Eloise smiles really big and pulls her chin back... she looks like Jabba the Hut.  Lovely.

Eloise loved the petting "zoo."

This picture captures some of my anxieties about it.   

 And now, for the grand finale: With a little help from her assistants Eloise will transform into...

 Drumroll please!

 [Sustained drum roll] Is the suspense killing you?

A Jack-o-Lantern!

Wait.  A French Jack-o-Lantern?!

It was a wonderful day!

Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween!