Surprise Shower

On Saturday night my friends and I threw a surprise shower for our good friend Laurie. We decided that we wanted this shower to focus on pampering the mommy-to-be. So, we had a spa-themed shower. Laurie started her night with fondue and a pedicure and it ended with a full body massage from our trained friend JoLynn (with lots of fun and pampering in between). Here are a few pictures...

Surprise! Our friend Sarah brought the unsuspecting mommy-to-be to my house where everyone was waiting!

Here's the spread, complete with chocolate and cheese fondues! As you can see, Elise was not about to go to bed (as planned) and miss out on the fun! Also in the picture: Megan, JoLynn, and Sarah.

After Laurie's pedicure she received her first gift - slippers!

Here I am trying out a homemade avocado facial mask. The girls in the background are dipping their hands in wax!

Dana, Me, Audrey, Laurie, JoLynn, Sarah, and Natalie

We love you Laurie! We can't wait to meet your little boy very soon!

C H E E E E S E ! ! !

Elise has been practicing saying "cheese" to the camera. Too cute! (Thank you for this adorable new outfit Grandma and Grandpa Coates - and also for the light-up ball and praying teddy bear. Elise has had lots of fun with these new toys!

You can't really tell from this picture, but Elise is starting to get a little chubby! She's always been so tiny, so it's great to finally see her look a little round. :) When she first woke up this morning - before eating breakfast - both Toby and I commented on how big her belly looked. Of course, we shouldn't be surprised since her new favorite food is chocolate chip cookies.

Toby's finishing his last week of his pediatrics rotation this week. After his big exam on Friday, we plan to drive down state to Mt. Pleasant for the week. Finally, Toby has a week off!!! He is really looking forward to some down time.

I'm not sure if my mom will have Internet access this week while in Germany, but we'd like to wish her, Grandma Orange, Aunt Linda, and Aunt Lona a WONDERFUL trip! We can't wait to hear all about it when you return!

It's time to convince Elise to take a morning nap! Love to all...

visit from nana and papa

getting reacquianted with papa

enjoying a milkshake from nana and papa

On Saturday (Toby's birthday!) we did a hike up Sugarloaf Mt. It was a beautiful day...

with beautiful views!

Thank you!

Thank you Grandma Kathy, Grandpa Ed, and Aunt Tarami! Elise LOVED her Easter goodies! It was fun to watch her take apart her basket (which was actually a very cool bucket for the beach!) and check out all of her new things. Thank you! The gifts were all very thoughtful.

Sugar Baby

First it was the sugar cookie on Easter. Yesterday is was a sherbert push-up pop. And today it was chocolate cake and ice cream. As I've mentioned, we've been challenged to get Elise to eat these days as she's still dealing with the tail end of a stomach bug. But, along with a few small meals, Elise has shown some interest in sugary foods. The chocolate cake dessert took some convincing, but after a few minutes and with her own spoon, she soon began to eat. At this point, we'll take whatever calories we can get!

Easter

We had such a strange Easter this year with an April snowstorm and Elise being sick. Toby and I attended church in shifts, and Elise never put on her Easter dress. Here's one of just a few photos we took that day. Elise hasn't had much of an appetite since she's been sick, but in this picture she's holding a bunny-shaped sugar cookie that she just loved.

April Fools???

I wish! Unfortunately, that's a real and very huge snow drift outside our bedroom window.

Elise has been fighting a stomach bug, but she's enjoyed playing in her pj's all day.

snowed in

Marquette is in the middle of a spring blizzard! We have had total whiteout conditions for over 24 hours, and the winter storm warning is in effect until tomorrow night! Last week it was warm and sunny; today it's a winter wonderland. Here's some proof...

This is a picture of the snow drift outside our bedroom window. I'd say it would come up to my nose if I were standing outside next to it.

Yesterday Toby decided to go for a walk in the blizzard and check out the lake. The waves have been HUGE and the wind gusts have gotten up to 50 mph! In this photo you can just barely see the red light house. Nice photography, Toby!

mighty waves, icy waters

brrrrrrrrrrr............................................

thankful

As many of you know, Elise had a 24-hour stay at Marquette General Hospital this week. On Monday, I took her in to see her doctor because of some coughing, wheezing, and fever. After a breathing treatment in the office, Elise's blood oxygen level was still too low, which gave her a immediate ticket to the pediatric floor at MGH. Her test for RSV came back negative, but her chest x-ray definitely showed infection. (Dr. Daddy could explain all of this much better than I.)

So, the first course of action was to put Elise on oxygen and continue breathing treatments every four hours. You should have seen her... She was sitting on the hospital bed in her onesie with her oxygen tube up her nose and taped to her face. A foot monitor was also attached and lighting up her big toe, constantly telling us her heart rate and oxygen level. She loves to look at daddy's text books, and the one she had at that moment was one of his pediatric books. In some ways I wish I would have had my camera. On the other hand, that 24-hour stay is something I don't really care to remember. Continually pinning a crying Elise down to have the next person draw her blood, give a breathing treatment, take her temperature, etc... got to be pretty overwhelming.

Thankfully, she is on the mend. We are home. We have meds. And we have a relatively healthy little girl.

Thanks to all of you who prayed for her healing. God's Spirit has certainly been near. I now approach this Holy week and this Easter with a renewed sense of gratitude, peace, and hope.