Christmas! (Part II)

Our trip down to my Dad's was successful!  We had a lot of fun, but we are tired now.  I was glad to be back on Saturday so we could have a day (today) to catch up on sleep, laundry, relaxing, etc. 

We got down to Battle Creek around 4:30p on Wednesday, and we waited for my sister and her family to arrive (along with my brother).  We exchanged presents that night because Olivia and Izabella saw the gifts waiting in a magical pile in the corner and could not wait until New Years Eve morning to see what they got.

Nick, Bill, Ted and I watching the Little Ones open presents

Nick receiving Dramimine as a gift. (He's enter the Navy Seals in March)...get it?

Izabella with a gift.  Notice the tree in the tv...do not be fooled it is not a reflection. :) You can thank Kenny G and his Christmas scenes DVD for that....haha

Liv with a new coat.

New Years Eve was full of football, food (thanks Tami!!!!) and picture taking.  My sister Samantha works at the Sears Portrait Studio in Grand Rapids, so she has connections to the one in Battle Creek.  She had a great idea to get a family picture, since everyone was going to be together with my Dad.  There were 13 people in the photo: 10 adults and 3 kids.  It was kind of stressful (and hot) but the picture looks great and I am so grateful we did it.  Sam, Nick and I also got one together, just the three of us; and then my Dad hopped in and we got one with him too.  Oh, and I can't forget about Eloise.  Of course she had one by herself, she is staring into a mirror which makes her looking at the camera because of the angle.  It is hard to describe, but when I recieve them in the mail (in a couple weeks) I will scan them and post them here.  GOOD JOB and a big THANKS to my sis for the photos!!!

Chugga with her Aunt Samantha

At night on NYE we went to the casino that was just built about 3 miles from my Dad's.  We were only there for about an hour and a half, because we wanted to ring in the new year at home.  My Dad taught my sister and I to play Craps (the dice game) and Ted and Bill (my sis's one and only) watched over our shoulders.  We didn't win any money, but we didn't lose any either. :)

When we were home again, we hung out for a while (ate more food...does it ever end??) and shot off some fireworks right at midnight.  They were beautiful, and definitely illegal, but fun all the same.  Eloise was, of course, not up for the light display, but she celebrated the New Year in spirit.

New Year's Day we basically just watched football....

Tami's daughter Catheryn with Bella, Eloise, and Liv

On our way home the next day we stopped at my Grandpa's to have breakfast.  Eloise loves to smile at her Grandpa Grape (a nickname Olivia gave to their Great Grandpa), and my Mom was there too.  She was stopped by even though she is super busy packing up her house and moving on up to Elk Rapids. 

Ted and I stopped at a Babies R Us on the way home to return some bottles that Eloise will never use and we exchanged them for a JUMPER!!!  She loves it. I am going to take some pictures over this next week.  We don't think she grasps that she is controling her movements, because all of the sudden she will have a suprised look on her face when she bounces or turns in a different direction.  It is the most adorable thing ever (or close to it).

We hope everyone had a great New Year and we are looking forward to sharing how Eloise is changing and how she changes us over 2010.  (Watch out snowshoers, campers, beachgoers, hikers, and festival-goers because here come the Polleys!!)

Center of Attention!

Today was a BIG day for the Little Cheese. We went out beyond Boyne Falls and got her first set of professional photos taken (it's about time!).  We even got a couple family portraits, which Ted really loved posing for.  :-P

Based on a recommendation from a a coworker in Boyne City, we went out to Center of Attention Photography.  I cannot begin to tell you about how excited I am to see the results.  She has them on her website in about 10 days.  They will be secured with a password, but for those of you who are dying to have a pic of Eloise Iden on your mantle, I will share the password so you can pick your favorite. 

Let me tell you....it will be hard.  We had her in about 5 different outfits (including a couple DARLING dresses) and she is sitting in baskets and in chairs and lying on fluffy rugs.  She was a little model.  :) 

She was so, so good too!  She lasted way longer than I thougt she was going to.  About 258 pics in 60 minutes.  (In one outfit, over to the backdrop, SNAP, SNAP, SNAP (x10), okay.  Out of that outfit, into the next outfit, and this headband, SNAP, SNAP, SNAP...over and over again.  Whew!)  She was a trooper.  Although, Eloise was getting a little testy when it came time for the family portrait.  I think next time we will try to do those first.

So about 10 days folks! 

In the meantime....

We are headed downstate tomorrow to see my side of the family and to have our Christmas with them.  We also get to celebrate New Year's.  I know I will have a ton of pics after that adventure.  :)

OH!  And I almost forgot to say that yesterday my Mom visited us after her first day at her new JOB!!  It is in Elk Rapids, so the visits won't be few or far inbetween.  Ted and I are excited to travel to Elk Rapids as well.  It is a cute little town on Lake Michigan and I have heard about their art festival called Art Rapids, which Ted and I are super pumped for!!

Oh, and one more thing, you want to know the best part about this whole photo thing???  We are getting more family pics downstate with my sister and her family, my brother, my dad, Tami and her girls.  So, even if these do not turn out so well (which I highly doubt), we have another opportunity in about 3 days.

Poor Eloise.  I think she will be able to dress herself when we are done with all of this!  :-P

Today...

...My mom hits the road; traveling the Alcan from Haines, Alaska through Canada, past Mount Rushmore, through Omaha and then settling in south west Michigan. Prayers please for her safe travel, as she is traveling alone in a u-haul. I am excited for her to get back. I think I will be able to see her around the middle of May. :)

...I find out when/where my Uncle Gary's funeral is taking place. He passed away last week, after suffering a stroke, among other things. He would be stuck in a hospital bed for life, not being able to do much of anything by himself. Last week, he chose to move on from here, because being bound to a hospital bed was no life to him. He was a part of a motorcycle gang called the Iron Coffins for about 15 years. He always had ideas of how to improve or fix anything and everything, and he had a wealth of random knowledge that no one could beat. He was only in his 60's and he will be missed, and he won't be forgotten, how can you forget someone with so much passion for what he believed in?

...I resume tutoring a 4th grade boy who is struggling in math. His parents want him to be ready and prepared for middle school. Tutoring will probably last all summer long. I guess it is up to me to help him along that multiplication and division road. (It's a long, tedious, and frustrating road for him. I hope I cna turn that around over the next few months.)

...I smile. Eloise is on her way, and even though I am not the healthiest I could be today, and she is making me uncomfortable, I thank God for blessing Ted and I with this baby and look forward to the day she will be here!