My personal favorite BIRTH day.

Elsie Mae Bindrup

One YEAR

June 26, 2013

Elsie received her first Birthday card! Thank you A&H!

So cute and thoughtful :)

    After opening the card, she experienced her first party.

Before Rich scared her 

After Rich scared her (Daddy didn't know it was ok for her to "dig in"

Don't worry, the party was able to GO ON

Elsie loving the balloons and her nudy little friend behind her

We had a lovely dinner party. Burgers and potato salad with a fruit tray. Elsie was spoiled and received many gifts from our very generous friends and neighbors.

I was determined to post some of Elsie's BEST faces for June 

 Pretty sure she looks like me in this one

I think she looks like her dad the most in this one!

                         Its so fun to take your own child's photo. They always seem to be so willing.

Fun facts about Els:

• She says Hi to everyone and waves
• She will eat anything
• She loves to sing and dance (upon request)
• She has 6 teeth
• She can sign 3 word phrases with minimum prompts
• She can walk like a cowboy
• She can click her tongue and give big smooches
• She can make anyone smile
• She Loves water and swimming
• She has 3 moods; usually happy, mostly happy, and happy all the time
• She weighs about 23 pounds
• She is almost 30inches long 
• She is always on the go!

Short and Sweet

Happy Fathers Day 
to all you fathers out there!


 Can you believe this guy became a Father on June 26th 2012?

 And..................................he just so happens to be pretty darn good at it!

Rich and Elsie (Elsie 3 weeks old)

 I think being a father has finally hit Richard in a new way. Especially since Elsie went from sitting, rolling over, and crawling and now officially to WALKING!  Our baby is growing up so fast. Im not sure how we feel about it!  Maybe someday when I become tech savvy I will be able to download the video.

I have reflected a lot this last year on being a parent and what that REALLY means. To the world Fathers day is a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society.  Which is great and well deserved. I personally appreciate and want to acknowledge our beliefs on Fathers.  

http://broadcast2.lds.org/general-authority-features/prophets-and-apostles-speak-today/2011-08-51-todays-family-fathers-360p-eng.mp4

Anyway, Rich was so LUCKY.  I made him fresh crepes with mango puree.  Don't judge too harshly I know what it really looks like.....

We had a great official Fathers day as Elsie walked, and I made breakfast for Rich. What more could a guy ask for?  

Missing my Dad this Fathers day......aka POPS or Marvelous

                                            

No one is like my dad. I really think he is one of a kind. Which is meant to be a compliment :) 

Oh yeah. I chopped off all my hair. The greasy slick rick pony tail was no longer working out.

Happy first half June!

The 6th month of the Year

BALL E trip

I was so excited when Rich said "Do you want to go to Bali this weekend" I did not hesitate to answer YES immediately. I thought of the great beaches and wonderful seafood we ate in 2010....and best yet LESS PEOPLE.

 So the three of us went.

Elsie was the MOST Excited and by far the most Fashionable!

The First beach we visited was Padang Padang. It was Pretty much a surfers paradise. I think the three of us were the absolute most translucent individuals there!

Apparently she did not like sitting directly on the Sand

                     
Better!

Some daddy daughter time

After Padang Padang we went to our favorite beach. Jimbaran Beach, which is a dream for fishlovers. 

The picture does not do it justice. We ordered large prawns, a snapper, and veggies. All grilled over dried coconut. The flavor was sensational.  

Elsie hung out in her pack watching the waves hit our table.

She was one tired little girl....cuddles with dad. 

The Next day we hit up a famous Pork restaurant.  Pork is a rare commodity here in Indonesia in case you didn't know.

        This is a succulent, spicy, endlessly mouthwatering take on the classic even toed ungulates.                                                                            

This pic was a little more kid friendly.....they usually roast a whole pig over coconut, right in front of you.

Drinking from a coconut looks better than it tastes.....

Then.....we went to yet another Beach!  Kuta Beach!

 Could she be any chunkier? I know thats what you are thinking, because I sure am.....

In case you didn't notice Rich has a stellar farmers tan on his arm.

Els playing with sand

Els eating sand 

Can you find Elsie in the crowd of Indonesians?  

So basically this is a picture of the norm. Not my norm, but the norm for WHITE- AMERICAN- BABIES.  

It is very difficult to go anywhere without being bombarded with mobs of people stopping you to take pictures, hold your baby, squeeze your baby,  touch your baby's hair, and take more pictures. The people are very nice, and very good with babies but this has been difficult to adjust to. It doesn't help when you have a social little girl who waves and says HI to everyone. Constantly. (did not get that from me!)

Ok, so I got bored and wanted to constrain my daughter for 10 min!

Elsie loving beach life.                                                   

 I would say our first trip to the great Bali with a baby was a success. Don't worry, it was not all luxury living(Besides the amazing, cheap massages...)Keep in mind the malaria infested mosquitoes, sand rubbed baby's bottom raw, the constant electric outages, emergency trip to the "doctor" aka (someone who printed a certificate off of the internet) who had no teeth, telling me what was wrong........and feeling guilty almost every moment of the day because you truly realize how fortunate you are and how much you really have.  Thanks for the life lessons Indo.