Christmas!!!

12/26/09 - Elizabeth had a fabulous Christmas, and got spoiled rotten (of course)!! She got a little tuckered out, so there are still presents left under the tree from Santa. We started celebrating on the 19th by having Jackson and his parents come to celebrate. We ate lunch together, the kids played, and we opened gifts. It was nice to have some time with them. On the 23rd, Liz celebrated at Ruthie's and then we went to Gary & Gene Anne's to celebrate with them and Mark, Stef, Morgan, and Nick. Liz had collected a lot of cool gifts already at that point. On Christmas Eve we began a new tradition. We spent that afternoon/evening at grandma and grandpa's house with Rich, Beck, Ash, and A-A. We exchanged gifts between the cousins. Lizzie (and her dad) are very excited about the new Lego table. After opening gifts we had dinner and then headed to church. Liz went in her pajamas since it didn't start until 7 and that is typically her bedtime. Christmas morning Liz slept until 7. Josh and I were sitting in the living room ready for her to be awake at 6:15!! She was up at 7, and all the grandparents (and Uncle Ethan) showed up at 7:05!! After some gift opening (with the favorites for Liz being her realistic elephant, Lincoln Logs, princess tent, and new homeade rocking horse) we had a big breakfast (thanks Josh!) and continued opening. After Liz's nap we relaxed an played with all the new toys (after putting together and installing the closet organizer in Liz's new room). I must tell you that the princess tent is spacious enough to fit our entire family in, with room to spare!!! We had lunch and Liz took an afternoon nap before we headed to Mimi and Grandpa's for the evening. It was a nice evening, or rather afternoon, as Liz was asleep by 6:15. All in all it was a wonderful day spent with family. It seems that Lizzie really enjoyed her second Christmas.

Christmas Season

12/06/09 - Liz is enjoying her first memorable Christmas season. Here she is after a family picture session. Her first "word" about our Christmas tree was, "Oooooh" as she looked it up and down. She helped us decorate while dancing to Christmas music. We have already discovered that she is VERY good at un-decorating!

Grandma bought her girls matching Christmas dresses. They look adorable in them, and everyone else looks completely festive after their glitter rubs off!!

Fall 2009

11/15/2009 - Mom just provided me with a bunch of pictures from the past month or so. You'll see Lizzie spending the night with Grandma & Grandpa, a trip to Grandma Betty & Grandpa Dick's one evening, Halloween (she's a chick and Ashlyn as Tinkerbell), and Dad's birthday party. We've been plenty busy, and it's been funny to look at how few pictures we now take. Oops! Liz now has two teeth, and I do believe another is coming any moment now.

Exciting Stuff is Happening

10/19/09 - On Monday, Elizabeth finally got her first tooth!! Her bottom left tooth was half showing by the time she finished her day at Ruthie's!!!! Hopefully they come fast and furious now!!! Also, in case you haven't heard...Elizabeth is going to be a big sister. Here is our little bugger's ultrasound from yesterday. The due date is April 30, which puts me at about 13 weeks now. Keep us in your prayers, please!

Penn State 2009

09/26/09 - As Josh and I got ready to head out the door to the Penn State game, mom wanted to snap this picture. She thought it was funny in relation to last year's picture.

GIANTS!

09/13/09 - Is there any question that she's a fan of her namesake?

12 Months

09/09/09 - Here is a happy, 1 year old Liz in her new favorite spot, the Dora chair!

More Birthday Pictures!

09/07/09 - More pictures from the birthday party!

Unbirthday Party

09/07/09 - Today we celebrated Elizabeth's birthday with a dinner party. We had tacos!! Elizabeth had a great night. She opened lots of presents and enjoyed eating her cake with Jack! The pictures tell the story! Thanks to everyone who made it a great day!

Aidan Fisher Neiley

08/26/09 - Aidan Fisher Neiley was born this morning at 5:55 AM. He was 7 pounds, 4 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long! Elizabeth loved him tonight when we went to visit!!

Vacation in Seattle

08/12/09 - 08/18/09
We spent the past week in Seattle with Rob, Julie, and Karn. It was a great week!! Liz really enjoyed herself (once she was done riding in a plane and getting used to the time change). We enjoyed spending some time with them at their house, went to a local zoo, visited the Seattle Aquarium and Pike Place Market, ate blackberries, and generally enjoyed ourselves! While we were there, on Friday, Elizabeth said her first word, "Hi!" About half the time it comes with a wave, but it is very definite that she is greeting you! There are a lot of people on a plane and in an airport to say hello to!

11 Months Old!

08/09/09 - Only one more month until we celebrate one wonderful year of Elizabeth! Getting her picture with her monthly sign has become quite a challenge, so I share this slideshow of Elizabeth's 11 month photo shoot. Enjoy!

Weight Rating

08/01/09 - Josh wanted to make sure the crib was nice and sturdy - and apparently it passed the test!

Grovedale Wine

07/29/09 - We went to a picnic outside Dushore with the Homers and Welles. Liz enjoyed hanging out and meeting everyone. But, most of all, she enjoyed playing with the Grovedale wine bottles.

Visiting Day

07/28/09 - On Tuesday, Elizabeth, Mimi, and I traveled to Hallstead and Susquehanna for a day of visiting. Uncle Johnny and Auntie K were thrilled to have us visit them at their home. It was only Elizabeth's third visit to Grammie's house - and she LOVED all the stuff she could check out there. Grammie got her a new ball popper toy that she already loves, and will enjoy even more very soon when she is walking. We had lunch with Grammie and Uncle Spin at the town restaurant, where Elizabeth out-ate Uncle Spin by about two pounds (with ice cream to top it all off). It was a really nice day! Elizabeth is so lucky to be surrounded by so many people who love her.

College Weekend

07/25/09 - We spent Thursday through Sunday with Josh's college friends in the Poconos. Five of the seven families were able to make it, the Walkers, Paylos, Morrisons, Musselmans, and us! It was nice for the four kids to spend time with each other. It's crazy to think that by this time next year there will be at least four more little ones to keep us all busy. On Saturday afternoon we took a hike in to see the waterfall. Lizzie put her toes in the water, but decided she wasn't near as brave as Brian and Chris (who jumped off the rocks and into a nice, cool pool of water).

07/26/09 - Upon our arrival home, Liz found a new place to play (under the coffee table). But, when she actually managed to get herself in there, she wasn't a big fan!

Beat It Mimi!

07/21/09 - Elizabeth is sporting her birthday shirt for Grandpa Mike, which states "Beat it Mimi!" Grandpa is always saying that Mimi hones in on her when he is playing, so Lizzie's shirt was a warning (but I must say it didn't work well at all!).

Swimming

Summer 09 - Lizzie has really enjoyed the pools she has visited (when it has actually been warm enough to go swimming for someone who doesn't produce body heat very well). Above she is swimming in her lovely two piece with her daddy and Grandpa Mike. Below she is giggling and splashing in Gene Anne and Gary's pool. She really enjoyed the baby pool that Robyn set up for her, that is until she decided to climb out onto the concrete all on her own and bumped her head!

Aunt Tifany's House

07/11/09 - Elizabeth had her first visit to Aunt Tifany's house. We went for dinner and got to meet the horses, Music and Lily. Elizabeth thought they were the biggest dogs she had ever seen and wasn't quite sure what to think about them!

Standing Up!

07/09/09 - Elizabeth is getting really good at pulling up to standing.

10 Months Old

07/09/09 - Liz was not exactly cooperative for her 10th month picture, but oh well!! She is moving and shaking, and working very hard at walking. Josh just thinks he's only 10 months old, but is actually only one year away from 30!!

The 4th of July

07/04/09 - Elizabeth had a fun first fourth of July at the Kilmer Family Reunion. It was nice to see everyone and show them how much she has changed. There was a lot of eating, playing, hugging, and sleeping going on. She is crawling extremely well, although she still loves to scoot around on her tush. She has also mastered pulling herself up to standing.

The week before was a good one for Liz too. We spent a day going to the dentist and visiting Jack and Aunt Katie! Even though they are only 45 minutes away, we don't see each other nearly as often as we would like.

Liz Lately

06/25/09 - Liz has been a ton of fun lately! Above she is shown wearing her "I love my dad" shirt she had for Father's Day! Below she is enjoying Grandpa and Mimi's pool, although she has yet to go for a complete dip.

She is really working hard to crawl. For a week or two now she has been able to scoot around on her butt really well. Last week she mastered going from on her belly to sitting. Her crib mattress has been moved down to be sure she doesn't crawl up and over. She has been crawling a foot or two and then sitting back up. This morning she crawled across the living room all in one fell swoop - so look out world! She enjoyed last week home with her mom, but has been at Ruthie's again this week while I do Girl Scout Day Camp. We are both looking forward to being together again all next week. Plus, lots of Josh's family will be coming in for the fourth of July - most notably Uncle Ethan and Aunt Tifany. We're still hoping Uncle Justen is able to come for a visit too. We haven't seen any of these people since February!!

9 Months Old!

06/09/09 - Elizabeth is now 9 months old! She has been outside of her mom just as long as she was in her!! Oh how the time flies!! She is working on crawling, although not too hard. She gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth. She can pull herself up and cruise around a little. She likes to scoot on her butt. She hasn't eaten any baby food in about a month. She LOVES grapes! And she is VERY excited for her mom to be done with school and able to spend the summer with her.

I love Da-da and Ma-ma!!

Karn Suva is Born!!

05/30/09 - Elizabeth gained another cousin today! Karn Suva Neiley was born to Rob & Juels at 12:40 (Seattle time). He was 7 lbs. 1 oz. and 20 inches long at birth! Everyone is doing well, except (of course) those of us who are on the east coast when the new baby is on the west coast. We can't wait to meet the new member of the family in person when we visit in August!! Congratulations Rob & Julie!!

Girls' Weekend in Philadelphia

05/25/09 - Elizabeth and I spent the weekend in Philadelphia with Meris and Erin (and Leslie too). It was a really nice time. Liz did really great during all of the driving, but was extremely glad to be home today. I promised her I wouldn't make her go in her car seat all day - and she was so happy that I kept that promise! Here are the pictures. We hung out at Erin's, went to the zoo, went to Erin's church, and ate lots of ice cream and other junk! It was a fabulous weekend!

More Recent Pictures (kind of)

05/20/09 - Here are some pictures from all kinds of times and places. A few are from St. Patrick's Day at Rich & Beck's that I recently got from mom. The rest are more recent ones, especially the ones from the dinner table. Elizabeth loves to feed herself, and particularly enjoys her spaghetti nights, although her dad complains about having to give her the tubby afterwards!! I just have to deal with the red ring it leaves in my tub! Liz and I are excited to spend this weekend in Philly with Meris, Erin, and Leslie (college friends). We'll be sure to post pictures from the weekend, so stay posted for those.

8 Months Old!

05/09/09 - Elizabeth is 8+ months old now. It's hard to believe how fast the time is going by! So fast that it takes me half a month to get the pictures up here!

Easter and More

04/12/09 - Here are some Easter pictures, as well as some others from the past week.

7 months old!!

Time with the Krewson Clan

04/06/09 - Lizzie has been busy lately. She sits up all on her own without any difficulty. Once in a whilte she takes a tumble, but not very often. She likes to play with new toys that only work with sitting like a big girl. She is eating like crazy, baby food along with any "adult food" she can get her hands on. It's fun to watch it all. I finally got these pictures from Tanya last night, so they are from the last few months of e's time with the Krewsons. I have more pictures to post, but can't seem to find my camera at the moment - so I'll get them up when I find it!

6 months old and more

03/09/09 - Elizabeth was 6 months old this past Monday. She liked playing with her sign, and eating it also, way more than just sitting next to it this month! She continues to gain more and more personality and become more fun each and every day. At her doctor's appointment this week she was 27 inches tall and nearly 16 pounds. Yikes!!! It's crazy to watch her grow and change. We were given clear evidence that she is our daughter at the appointment. The doctor was dangling his stethoscope in front of her (to watch her go after things with two hands) and she stuck out her tongue as she concentrated on getting it, just like her dad and me. It was funny to watch. We've seen her do the tongue out concentrating thing quite a few times now.

She has now eaten all sorts of baby food. She is loving everything she has tried thus far in her "second foods." She has also enjoyed ice cream, birthday cake, crackers, flavored rice, and just today (03/12/09) spaghetti!! The picture below is her eating her first "puff," the easily disintegrating finger foods for babies. She's still funny to watch when you give her new things.

Elizabeth loves to ride in her backpack! She fell asleep when I walked her home from church on Ash Wednesday. She has since ridden a few more times, including a few track practices! She likes how she is able to see everything from up on my back.

Elizabeth's Christening

02/15/09 - Elizabeth had her baptism yesterday at St. Mary's. It was a beautiful service. She looked just fabulous (I'm a little biased) in her gown that Grandma made for her. It was made from Sue & Linda's wedding gowns. She looked like a princess and behaved very well! After the service a reception was held at the Grovedale Winery with lots of friends, family, wine, and food! It was a glorious day. Elizabeth has been reading through (and eating) all of the cards that she has received. Thank you to everyone who made this a great day.

5 Months Old!!

02/09/09

"I know mom showed me how to make five, but I just can't figure it out!"

Cute as a button on her 5th month birthday!

Elizabeth has been a bit sick lately, but still going strong. She is able to roll from front to back and back to front. She is soooo close to being able to sit up on her own. She can do it for a few seconds before she nose-dives directly into her feet. She has enjoyed all of the foods she has had thus far - tonight she even had mashed potatoes, mushed up banana, and cranberry sauce. We held off on the turkey for now, but she was eyeing it up for sure!

I love my walker!

01/28/09

The Past Few Weeks

01/27/09 -- We have been busy that last few weeks. Lizzie loves to sit and move around in her walker in the kitchen. She also really enjoys her bouncy chair that hangs in the doorway. It makes putting the laundry away a bit more exciting for everyone! She has found a new love - playing the piano with her dad, too cute! Ash spent some time teaching Elizabeth new tricks. We think Liz might be saying "Ut-oh" in no time thanks to her cousin, Ashlyn.

While I was off from school on Monday, January 19th, Elizabeth rolled over from her belly to her back, and hasn't stopped yet. She is super close to rolling from her back to her belly, but not quite yet. She also has given up the pacifier completely - which makes for much nicer pictures of her! She definitely has her mom in her, as she has taken to non-stop talking lately.

Last Saturday she spent the day with her buddy Jackson. They were not all too impressed with one another, but the moms still felt the need to take a bunch of pictures of them together.

4 Months Old!!

01/09/09 - Elizabeth is now 4 months old! It's amazing how fast the time goes. She is working very hard to sit up independently, as well as to roll over. She loves to spend time laying and playing on the floor. We play with all of her new toys and read, read, read. She LOVES to read...and thank goodness, as she received a plethora of books for Christmas. We have almost gotten through them all at least once at this point. She is also a fan of sitting in her highchair, where she is able to see everything going on, as well as her jumping seat that hooks on a door frame. It's funny to watch her as she begins to figure out that when she moves her feet it makes her bounce.

She is continuing to enjoy eating solids. Her first couple bites each meal produce a face that "only a mom could love." Although, I'm pretty sure almost anyone could get a good laugh out of it. She loves her rice cereal, and has seemed to enjoy carrots and sweet potatoes. As of today, I'm not sure that she is a fan of squash (who would be without butter?), but we'll see how that pans out. She'll be moving on to green vegetables and then fruits in no time.

Her first week (well, four days due to a snow day) at Ruth's went fabulous! She seems to enjoy everyone there and is exhausted by the time I pick her up. My week at school went well too. I have decided that we should always have Wednesday off; it makes it quite nice! I must admit that Lizzie was looking at me on Wednesday morning like, "Mom, you are not near as exciting as the kids at Ruthie's," but she got over it and we enjoyed our day together.

In case you haven't seen her lately, Elizabeth LOVES to smile and laugh. She likes it when you make silly faces at her, when you sing, when you smile, when you laugh, when you talk to her...just about everything makes her smile. It is wonderful!

First Days

01/05/09 - Today was my first day back teaching and Lizzie's first full day at Ruth Parson's Day Care. (I will upload the "first day of school" picture when I have the opportunity.) It was a great day for both of us. My students were glad to have me back, and Elizabeth was glad to have all kinds of things to look at during her day at Ruthie's. She was exhausted tonight (so tired she didn't even want to eat...and that's pretty tired). I'm sure things will get better and better as everyone adjusts to the new schedule. Thanks to everyone who was thinking of us today!!

The Rose Bowl

01/01/09 - Enjoying the love everyone was giving at the Rose Bowl party in Mimi & Grandpa Mike's new basement. Too bad Penn State had to lose.

Chatty Cathie!!

12/31/08 - You don't think she takes after her mom at all, do you??

Floor Time

12/31/08 - Elizabeth and I were spending some quality time together on the floor during our last few days at home.

Playing Ball.

E checking out the Hedgie on her belly.

She pulled him in for a kiss!

Such a cute little girl on the floor with her new toys!

Adam's Birthday

12/31/08 - Happy Birthday Adam!! We went out for dinner on Tuesday night to the Wyalusing Hotel to celebrate Adam's 15th birthday. Even though it was Adam's birthday, Elizabeth managed to get a lot of love!!