It's official.....she is walking and I mean everywhere! She went from taking 10 or so steps and being fearful of tile or other hard surfaces yesterday to no stopping her today. It started in one of those play areas at the mall and it just stuck. I'm not sure if she saw the other kids walking and just went for it or if the cushioned floor gave her the confidence she needed to really take off. Either way we are thrilled, excited, and a little sad all at the same time. She seems less and less like our baby these days and more and more like her own little person. It's a little bittersweet to know I'll watch her walk for the rest of her life and her wiggly days of rolling and crawling are probably over. As she's walking I want to cry sweet, inexplainable, indescribable tears. This is going by way too fast.

Oh how I wish it wasn't so difficult and time consuming to upload pictures onto Blogger. You can only select one file at a time and upload a maximum of 5 at a time. Needless to say I'm only going to put a handful of the 270 I took in Tennessee. We had a great time with family meeting some for the first time and getting to know others much better. That was the first time I think any of us had spent so much time with each other, especially under one roof. The crew that went hiking, 16 of the 20.


My younger sister, Erika, and I near the top of the hike. I really wish I had the time to describe this hike. The rocks, the air, the scenery, everything. I wish I had more time to post the scenic pictures and breathtaking views but a mug shot of my little sister and I will have to do for now.

At times it was pretty steep. That's my oldest niece, Hayley, probably up higher than she should be.
Elyse and I on the day everyone kind of did their own things.
The crew that went rafting.

All 20 of us including 2 of my grandfather's children, 6 grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren.

My mom was such a wonderful help to us and watched Elyse for 2 whole days so Matt and I could enjoy hiking and white water rafting with the group. The other whole day we had we went into Gatlinburg for lunch and then did some scenic driving and a little hiking of our own, just the 3 of us. The other 2 days were spent primarily on travel.

The memorial service for my grandfather was incredible. I know I've mentioned in other posts that I didn't know him very well. My immediate family moved to Florida while much of our family remained in Iowa so I can imagine the long distance, jobs, 3 kids, etc. made it difficult for our families to remain close. There were visits and phone calls scattered here and there throughout the years but I didn't know him. My uncle did such a wonderful job talking about my grandfather, so much so that I feel like I know him better now. Stories of his qualities and character revealed so much to me about things in my own family. I did remember that he was rather quiet and kept to himself. I assumed it was because he was older and I was younger at the time and there wasn't much for us to talk about. Now I know that was very much his nature his entire life. He was a quiet server and didn't like to be "caught" doing good things. At one time he was awarded a perfect attendance certificate for his adult Sunday school class. Those are just small examples of the many things I learned. I was sad and a little embarrassed that this was how I learned about him but I'm thankful for it none the less.

On a back home note Elyse and I are still on the mend. We laid low the end of last week and throughout the weekend. Coughs and runny noses kept us away from church and my niece's birthday party. Today we're a little better and ran some errands. I look around me and there is so much I desire to get done and lately I've found myself not knowing where or how to begin. I have a surface clean house. You could eat off my floors at almost any given time but don't open a closet too quickly or you're likely to get buried alive. I desire to fix this but don't want to do the work. Organization in any shape or form has never been a strength of mine and the harder I try the more out of character and discouraged I feel. At the same time, I truly want to be more organized. I want that to be a part of my character. Why is it so difficult? Ugh.

Elyse turned one last Tuesday. I had planned on making a slide show of pictures from her first year and putting it to some sort of sweet, make you teary eyed song, but I was never organized enough to get it done. I wanted to describe in much more detail the journey God took me through during my pregnancy, delivery, and the months to follow. I still hope to do this so as not to lose the details over time because already thoughts in my memory bank fade and drift backward until they are gone as they are replaced by new ones each and every day. I'm so thankful for things like blogs, videos, and pictures. It's my best effort to clench and capture just a portion of life as it whizzes by and it isn't nearly enough. Here's the link to my first post after Elyse's arrival.

http://ursulaborrack.blogspot.com/2009/06/shes-finally-here.html

It still makes me cry.

Now she's crying.....I better go.

We got home safe from Tennessee early yesterday evening. We had a great time and all things considered Elyse traveled very well. We never bought a souvenir, instead we brought back a yucky cold so Elyse and I are both on the mend. This is the first time I've been sick and also had to take care of a sick child.....it's no fun, especially on a plane. Thankfully our two weary bodies got a good nights rest and took a long nap this morning. I wish we could have stayed longer but being under the weather all 3 of us were so happy to be back in our beds.

I'll post pictures and more details when I'm feeling better and the house is caught up enough to allow it. Right now I need to pull together the energy to get things ready for Bunco tomorrow night which I am hosting. It seems every time I get sick my house needs to be ready for something which quite possibly might be a lesson in dealing with just the necessities and keeping things simple instead of sweating over details and obsessing over the small stuff. I was planning on making homemade goodies and having an eye and tummy pleasing spread around a summer/fourth of July theme. Right now I need to be content with unpacked luggage, a clean floor and some store bought snacks in plastic containers because I have a feeling that's all I'll be able to muster up the energy for.

I haven't been a very good blogger lately but there have been things worth mentioning going on.

We leave tomorrow for Tennessee for a family reunion of sorts and it will be our first flight with Elyse, hopefully all goes well with that. There will be about 20 of us total from Florida, Iowa, and Arkansas and I'm really looking forward to it. A white water rafting trip is planned but Matt had some moderate risk skin cancer cells removed from his back this week so his 8 stitches will be keeping him on dry land caring for Elyse. There is also a memorial service planned for my grandfather who passed away this past Easter. I've been asked to say a prayer at this which I am more than happy to do but also very nervous. I often feel self conscious praying in front of groups, especially when some of them are not believers. This isn't about me though so I need to just go ahead and get over that one right now.

Our small group finished the study we were doing and it's time to start a new one. We're meeting at our house tonight to order pizza and discuss this. I'm trusting in God's guidance to lead us because as similar as we all are, I truly sense how different our desires and needs are right now as well which can make it hard to choose a study. Either way Matt and I are looking forward to starting something new and different.

I took a nap today. An hour or more nap that included drooling on my pillow. It was great. I just had to mention that.

Elyse has started something new with snuggy lately. She will crawl over to her crib, get on her tip toes and try to pull him through the bars. Sometimes this happens easily, sometimes she can't reach him, sometimes he gets stuck, but always she wants him with her. Before now he has always stayed in the crib and we are still debating whether or not we want to enforce that as a rule.

She's just so darn cute when she lights up with excitement when she has almost set him free.

Then she plops down on the floor with him and basks in the excitement that they are once again together. I just love it.

I'm still toying with my new camera and figuring out how to work it and I've snapped a couple of shots lately that I really like.

To me this picture captures the innocence and sweetness that belongs to a child. Arms clutched tightly around a security object and big, curious eyes that take everything in without saying a word.

I have some more cleaning I need to do before everyone comes over tonight along with things I need to get ready before we leave tomorrow so I better go. It was nice catching up.

The party on Saturday was a success. I took about 150 pictures but I'll just quickly post a few of my favorites below.

I'm a details person. I don't do well with the big picture things like how many chairs we needed, where things would be set up, etc. But I love the tiny details like the cupcake I put on this onesie adorned with a piece of a feather boa I got as a bridal shower gift. I love to re-purpose things like that. The tutu was a size 3-6 months that was used in this picture below back in September. I was so excited it still fit and that she was able to get another wear out of it. Tutu then.

Tutu now.

For convenience purposes I decided to go with cupcakes. My original plan was to at least make Elyse's smash cake but when Publix offered to throw it in for free with my purchase of 66 cupcakes I couldn't refuse and I took the easy way out. I like easy more than baking only because it's safer. I used ribbon leftover from making her nursery letters back when I was pregnant and the pink daisy was from one of my baby showers.


Each of the cupcakes had a toothpick with a picture of Elyse in it from sometimes during the last 12 months. Off to the right corner of the above picture you can see the bottled water that also had "Elyse" labels on them.

The big ONE!

She loved playing with all of the balloons before we hung them.

Time for cake! Hmmmm........what is this we have here?

I love the hesitant look on her face here. She makes this face whenever she tries anything new.

The final verdict.......I would say she likes it!

Okay, loves it!

Time to swim to get the icing out of her hair. She is becoming quite the little "water rat" as Opa would say.

A gorgeous sunset topped off the evening. There was a wonderful turn out, about 60 people total. We were blessed with wonderful weather, delicious food, and amazing friends and family who are tickled pink over our little girl. It was a busy day, but I felt so blessed.

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

My wonderful husband got me the BEST gift EVER. I am now the proud owner of a Canon Rebel T2i with an additional zoom lens! I am having so much fun playing with it and I haven't even read the manual. A friend of mine who also has a Rebel are even toying with the idea of a photography class in the fall or winter. She has 4 kids, I have 1......not sure if it will work out but it's fun to dream. Here are a few shots I've taken toying with it the last 2 days.

Finger lickin' good!
Bath time!
This cat even looks mischievous and up to no good. This is my dearest Mandy and she has been nothing but a sleep stealer since we've been home from vacation. She has always yelped but lately she yelps almost every hour on the hour at night and it wakes Matt and I up every time. I woke up so exhausted the other day I felt like I had a newborn baby in the house. Thankfully Elyse sleeps through it most of the time. We try to cut Mandy some slack because she's so old but she is definitely making it difficult to pity her.

A few pictures from our trip to the Florida Aquarium with Loren and Landon on Wednesday.

Who stuck me in here??????

Now I just need to read the manual for this camera and learn how to really use it instead of just point and shoot on full auto. That will have to wait though, chores and errands await before Elyse's big day tomorrow.

Neighborly lessons

Fair warning, part of this story is not for the squeamish.

My doorbell rang at about 5pm. Elyse had just awoken from a late afternoon nap so I answered the door baby in tow. My frantic neighbor said, "Ursula please come help us, I'll hold the baby but you have to come help us." Her husband had gotten a fishing hook caught in his forearm and knowing I was a nurse they thought I could help. I might be a nurse but I don't do "traumatic" things. Torn skin, scraped or ripped flesh....it all gives me the willies. Give me a scheduled C-section in a controlled environment with sterile supplies and I'm golden, but as far as emergency room situations I'm useless and get chills through my entire body which is surprising to some but true. I told her I wasn't sure what I could do and after one glance at the hook in his arm I knew I would be of no use. The 3 of us then turned to our other neighbor who is a fisherman. He pulled tugged on it with some pliers and after a few twists and yanks it unwillingly came out, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The point of my story is neighbors. I've only gotten to know them better since I've been home with Elyse and I'm so thankful I have. Friendly hellos, casual conversation, it's been nice. Today I learned something more though. After the hook was removed and the injured couple went back home to get in cleaned and bandaged, we had some small talk and the other couple invited Elyse and I to have a drink and put our feet in their pool. They're an older, retired couple with 2 grown children and 4 grandchildren along with 2 little peppy white dogs that Elyse just adores. We have spoken in driveways, lawns, and streets several times but this was a first. We took them up on the offer, they poured me a drink and walked me through their home to the pool.

Their home was very nice and their pool was gorgeous. We sipped our drinks and watched as a raccoon and cardinal snuck food from a bird feeder. We had a lovely conversation of kids, plants, and spouses. Elyse crawled after the dogs and the sun put just an extra bit of glimmer on the leaves as it began its slow descent for the day. Inside generations of pictures hung on the walls and the house just felt like a grandparents should, it just had that feel, I can't really explain it. It was clean but it wasn't tidy. There were half finished projects on the counters, dishes in the sink, and pictures waiting to be hung along the floorboards. Mail was strewn about and throw blankets rested disheveled on the couch. It reminded me a lot of how my house looks most of the time. I like things to be as close to perfect as possible before we have guests. I even like unseen things like laundry to be done if I can and I never invite people in on a whim. Today taught me that I should. Everyone knows that we don't keep a perfect house all of the time but for some reason I don't like it to be blatantly known. If they'd had the same concern we wouldn't have enjoyed that late afternoon time together and allowed the relationship to get that much closer. I'm thankful for their wisdom in seeing what really mattered in the situation and what could have been lost had they not.

I'd like to invite them over soon. On a whim. Messy house and all.

It's been over a week since my last post. Vacation....well, it just took over and I lost almost any desire to utilize technology. I seldom carried my phone and I never even got online again, it was nice. We spent almost every afternoon on the beach. As a change of pace we went to John's Pass for lunch and tourist shopping one afternoon but aside from that our toes remained in the sand. We had several friends arrive on Wednesday so the 4 couples and 6 kids played on the beach together and we all grilled out that evening. The last time the entire group was together like that there was not a single kid there, it's so funny how quickly and dramatically it all changes.

I like playing games, more specifically card games and this week I learned how to play poker. I like it. I like it a lot. I'm not very good but I have a lot of fun. Portions of our group played every night Monday through Friday so you would think I would be better at it by now but I'm not. They should all be scared of how good I'm going to get by the next time we're together again though.

Friday was my 29th birthday and that evening Matt booked a surprise baby sitter and a surprise dinner for me at a local beach restaurant that I love. The surprise went a little backward when we were the first to show up and they sat us at a table for 18. I was very confused, asked a couple of questions to which I got no answers, then slowly but surely 18 friends and family began to trickle in. I was surprised. It was sweet.

I'll go ahead and post a few more pictures for our time there.

A Pelican at John's Pass.

One of our friends condos had this beach wagon inside and Elyse loved being pulled around in it.

Two of the kiddos, about 2 months apart in age.

Eventually she got a little sick of the sun and sand, especially around nap time ;).View from one of the balcony's.Daddy and daughter.

I set the timer on the camera and placed it on the ledge for this one. She saw a seagull fly by right when the photo was being taken and I just love that. She points so much these days, sometimes with one finger and sometimes with her entire hand and I'm thankful we caught in on camera.Our little family. I regret that we never got a picture of the entire group. Between different schedules and scrambling toddlers it just didn't seem to happen and I'm disappointed in myself for not making sure it happened. Maybe someone snapped one that I'm not remembering and will email it to me.

Now it's back to reality again. I need to do some major chores around the house. Not so much cleaning as organizing but definitely cleaning too. I also have some major party planning to finalize before Elyse's big day on Saturday. This is when I start to feel the stress and put too much pressure on myself for tiny details and perfect entertaining.....I'll go ahead and tell myself now.....that will not be happening so go ahead and forget about it and just have fun celebrating a year of milestones!