Year of Dates - #2 July

A little bit of background - Jeff and I went on an Alaskan Cruise for our honeymoon. Talk about the perfect honeymoon for an Arizona summer wedding! We escaped the heat and enjoyed the use of jackets for a full week, not to mention the gorgeous scenery!

For our second travel date, we traveled to Alaska to reminisce about our honeymoon. Being 110˚ outside, I really wanted to escape the heat. Since I've asked Jeff to schedule one Friday night off a month, I hoped we could drive up to Payson for the Friday Night Fish Fry at the Beeline Cafe. We could enjoy a few degree cooler weather and Jeff really enjoys the fish fry there. However, Jeff got called in to work around 2 that afternoon, so no trip for us. Since Plan A failed (again, but who's keeping track) we can't really escape the heat anywhere in the valley. Plus we didn't have a babysitter so I made it a family date night.

We ate dinner at Pete's Fish and Chips the following night. I'm not a big seafood fan, but Pete's fish and chips has some great chicken strips. Jeff likes their seafood platter so it was a win. Then to finish off the night we watched "The Proposal" once the kids were in bed.

Although the date was nothing too fancy, we still enjoyed being with each other and remembering our honeymoon.

Year of dates -date 1!

Jeff and I made a deal when we were first married that we would trade off planning our anniversary dates. We planned year one together, year two was him so this year it was all me. Having a newborn definitely limited the activities we could do. Kenzie was 6 weeks old at that point and we weren't comfortable leaving her quite yet. So my creative skills were put to the test! 

I decided to give Jeff a passport to travel with me each month to a new location. So each month will be focused on a new area. 

Our first date was Tempe, az since that was where our first night as a married couple was spent (my elementary school friend bought us a night at the buttes for our wedding gift! One of the best gifts!) We stayed home, and acted like our room was a hotel suite. We looked at wedding photos and reminisced of that day three years ago. Can't believe so much has changed in only 3 years! After our pictures we were going to cuddle and watch a movie, unfortunately Kenzie had other plans and had the worst night of her life and was up from 7pm to 2am and then only slept if I was bouncing her till 5. She finally fell asleep at 530 and slept till 730. 

Life of a parent right! Luckily we still celebrated the following weekend. 

Definitely her father's daughter

Since day one, everyone (minus my mom) has commented about how Elsie is definitely my daughter as she looks just like me. As almost a year has passed, and I have seen her personality come out I've been able to see how she is a lot like her dad, which makes me very happy! I love Jeff and love knowing my daughter has some of his personality traits already.

Proof #1 - She loves the computer! She will sit and type on the keyboard (only dad's mind you, apparently the Mac isn't as nice to an 11 month old), move the mouse, touch the mic. She will throw a fit if you take her away before she is done. Sadly this is Jeff to a T!

Proof #2 - She can be a shy little lady and would rather stick to the people she knows best. Jeff is not a fan of being social and would rather just be around the few people he loves and cares for.

Proof #3 - She is a home body! While she is super fun to take out and about, she is way more enjoyable at home where she is familiar with everything. She laughs and giggles so much more when she is at home then when she is out. Jeff would rather spend all day everyday at home.

Proof #4 - She loves books! Elsie will sit through an entire book and just love to listen. We read a finger puppet book last night and she laughed at an appropriate time (although I'm sure it was purely coincidental, I like to think it wasn't). We read "The Hundred Dresses" over the course of the week and she sat intently through it all. Jeff has a huge collection of books, all of which he has read. Between the two of us we already fill 3 large bookshelves and we've only been married 2 years. We will need a personal library the size of a 2 car garage by the time we are married 20 years.

Proof #5 - Elsie is quite the determined young lady. If she wants something she will figure out a way to get it. Whether it be her little gymnastics scoot, her rolling to the general vicinity or screaming till she gets it (definitely not my favorite) she will find a way. The brilliant man that I married knows how to get what he wants. Nothing will or can stop him. I hope Elsie continues with this trait :)

Proof #6 - She is quite the laid back girl. She goes with the flow and just enjoys life as she knows it. If she gets mad, give her 10 seconds and she will figure out something else to make her happy. Very few things get under Jeff's skin, he rolls with the punches a good majority of the time.

Proof #7 - Elsie loves her mama! She would rather stay and cuddle with mom than anyone else. These last few months Elsie and I have become quite attached, watching her learn and grow has been wonderful! Jeff is rather attached to me I like to think :)

Proof #8 - While she hasn't always been this way, she sure has become quite the cuddler these last few months. Around 6 months Elsie decided she wanted to cuddle anytime she was tired. She only does it with mom (which makes Jeff a little (okay a lot) jealous) but she loves to lay her head on my shoulder, put her arm wrapped around my neck and lay there before she gets in the crib. I love it! Jeff has always been a huge cuddler. Any time and any where he wants to cuddle.

Proof #9 - We bought Elsie an infant keyboard a few months back and it has quickly become Elsie's favorite. She will scootch to anywhere to play it. She likes any and all music she can play with it. The other day she figured she could pull the jumperoo and it would make noise, then she could play the piano. When one stopped she'd start it up again. She loved being in control of all the noise. Jeff's wedding gift was a piano. It was the best gift I could have bought and it will always be something we cherish. Jeff is quite the piano player. I wish I had his talent but sure do love reaping the benefits of it!

Proof #10 - Elsie doesn't like to show off any of her skills unless she knows she has them mastered. She will do them at home but don't ask her in public as she won't do any of them unless she is perfect at it. Jeff is brilliant! And by brilliant I mean BRILLIANT! He has 2 computer screens, one to play his game with, one to read whatever he can find. Does he share any of that knowledge? Not unless he knows for sure that he is 100% right. If there is any doubt he won't share with anyone but me.

I'm so glad I married a wonderful man that has been such a great father to our daughter! Watching Elsie grow and seeing some of these traits come out in her has been so wonderful! Elsie and I are very blessed to have such an amazing man in our lives. Looking at these pictures of Jeff and Elsie reminds me of how much love I have for this amazing man. The moment Elsie was born and every day since my love for Jeff has grown more than I ever thought possible. I've been quite blessed to have a husband who stepped into the father role so easily. He has that nurturing sense built in and watching that blossom even more with our little girl is so amazing. I am so truly blessed to have him in my life.

Thanks for being the great dad and husband you are! I love you Jeff!