Happy Easter!

 Let's start with a little egg dyeing--shirtless, of course, because the boys can't be trusted with egg dye. 

  Daddy took some requests and drew a Ninja Turtle for Luke with the white crayon.

And my little angle just sat in her highchair just watching all the craziness

 My cute little Joe. He made those bunny ears at the daycare at my gym and he is still wearing them daily. He just hops around the house all day in the ears and never takes them off. He's my cutie!

Easter Morning!

A letter from the Easter Bunny to help with the Easter Egg hunt

Coming in to get the baskets. Elise's face pretty accurately expresses how she generally feels about being put on the ground.

 

 

 

Egg hunting time! Each child had a certain color to find. It worked perfectly! (Except that we are still missing one more egg for Luke...hopefully we'll find it by Halloween :)

 

In the middle of all the hustle and bustle, Elise sat quietly in the middle of the room playing Chutes and Ladders by herself...

...This is how Elise plays Chutes and Ladders :)

It might not be an egg, but she was very proud to have found a ball! (Maybe she realized her eggs didn't actually have any candy in them so she lacked the motivation ;)

 Every day ends with hanging out with Elise, her being her cute little self

 

Happy Easter!

Happy Birthday, Elise!!

Seriously cannot believe this girl is one! So crazy!

But before we get to her birthday, I have some pictures from the last month or two that I haven't gotten up. 

About 11 months:

 I just love her little face in this (and the sign of older brothers with the dash of green marker in her hairline.)

 She's just cute :)

 Just waking up. So cuddly.

                       

 Yes, she pulled everything off the bottom shelf there and was so proud.

 There are no shortages of pictures of her with food all over her face. She is of that age when kids seems to like the feel of food more than the taste.

She's my happy girl! 

 Food all over her face is one thing. Falling asleep with said food is quite another. *Sigh* To clean and risk waking them? To put them in bed covered in food? 

 These two pictures are some of my faves. I love that little face!

She LOVES this little horse. It's so cute.

 

Just another one I love. We were at a restaurant.

Elise Turns One!

 This was her first present from Mimi. She loves it, clearly

 She also loves batman. What can I say? She has three brothers :)

This was the first celebration that happened on her actual birthday. It was little with just a few cupcakes. The bigger party was the next day. 

 She loves those brothers of hers!

 Just one cupcake for now. She has been our only child that just dove right into the cake with no assistance. Clearly the smartest of the bunch ;)

 Birthday Bath. 

 I might have let the water get a little fuller than usual. And watch out for that Joe... (He looks so devious!)

All clean and ready to get dirty again.

 

 Opening presents (I'm realizing these might be a little out of order.)

  Loves her presents!

 Just playing.

And finally party time!

My first girly-girl cake. So I chose Minnie. Cuz I like Minnie :)

 Daddy actually did most of the decorating. I give credit when credit is due! He did a fabulous job, no?

 After a taste of cupcake the day before, she was more than ready to get her hands on that cake. Or maybe she just really likes Minnie, too :)

 All the kids ready for cake. With 7 nieces present, even if Elise didn't appreciate the Minnie Mouse theme, I definitely had enough other fans. :)

 Elise got the entire top portion of the cake. And again, she dove right in.

Opening a few more presents

  There was no shortage of helpers when it came to opening presents.

 But she definitely started getting the hang of it.

She got a purse stocked with all the essentials.

Her first cell phone:

Her first credit card:

A bracelet:

Love you, baby girl! Happy Birthday!