Aunt Maddie (who is now in the 5th grade) was quick to become of one Elizabeth's favorite people. At first Elizabeth could only say Maaaaaaa-na or Maaaaaaa-ma. But finally she learned MA-DEE... and she would holler it all over the house when Maddie wasn't in sight. She wanted to be held by Maddie, she wanted to play with Maddie, and boy oh boy did she want to smother her in kisses! She even woke up nearly every morning asking, not for mama or dada, but for none other than Maddie.
Nana was also a VIP. She had been saying Nana for a few months now, but when we arrived it became clear that she was a bit confused when she called the telephone Nana for the first day or so. Finally, she realized that the person carrying her around and dancing with her in the kitchen, and spoiling her rotten was Nana, and not the phone.
Uncle Matt was also a favorite. Only problem... he liked to sleep in--not something Elizabeth will tolerate in our household. To remedy that situation, she would holler up the stairs "Matt! Matt! Matt!" until he would appear. Good thing, though, was when we were up late playing games with the family, Matt had her on his lap and the two of them colored pictures for a good 2 hours on end. I was amazed!
Grandpa Clay was lots of fun, too... he also danced Elizabeth around the kitchen for days on end. They are probably the only people who can pull off disco-ing to Christmas music. Even Abbey (the mini-doxi) didn't stand much of a chance. As soon as we walked in the door, Elizabeth heard someone call the dog's name, and she instantly starting yelling "A-B! A-B!" and chasing her all over the house. Although, by the end of the trip, she had learned to say Abbey. She'd also wake up from naps calling for that silly dog! And of course, there were the great-grandparents. Elizabeth got to spend lots and lots of time with the Paulers and a day trip to see the Hadsall side as well. We were so happy to see both sides! 
Elizabeth also got to meet her cousin, Grayson. Even though he's only 2 months, he's already 14 pounds and nearly the size of Elizabeth! We put the two of them together for this picture, and surprisingly my wild child was very calm and careful with him, although they were only together for a few minutes.
Grayson's dad, Uncle Thor, was another favorite of Elizabeth's. As soon as he walked in the door, she wanted to be held by him... "Hold you!" she'd say with arms outstretched. We were amazed that she wasn't shy around him at all, and just instantly wanted to be held. Of course, the family attributed this factor to the fact that all girls seem to love Thor. LOL!
One of Elizabeth's favorite activities was pushing this babydoll stroller around and around the house in a big loop. She'd put a baby in the stroller and off she'd go. She also loved this Curious George doll, which was a gift from cousin Cael (whose mama, Trisha, is due in May). She also loved the thousands of Elmo things she received for Christmas from Nana, along with all the fab clothes, shoes, books, and other items! She was also very excited to receive a handmade wooden baby doll crib and rocker, complete with matching bedding, from handy-granny Charolyn.
Before our trip to Kansas, Elizabeth's vocabulary really started to boom. And over the trip it developed more and more. She says things like "ornament" and "outside" and "pretzel." She learned lots of names over the holiday, and also lots of foods, like "roll" and "meat." And seeing how it was pretty cold, "cold" became a new word, too. Elizabeth also surprised a few people back home with her ability to identify letters she sees around the house... she knows A, B, C, E, O, S... and thanks to Maddie, now M. She seems to have a new favorite letter each week... this week, it has been the letter C. She also has started counting a bit. Although at most, she only gets to 3. Still, awfully cute!
The biggest development Elizabeth had over our trip to Kansas, was her grasp of taking pictures. She actually sits still (somewhat) for pictures, and will even pose a bit.. and when anyone yells, "Say Cheese!" she will scrunch up her face, and say "Cheeeeeese!" Yes, she has become quite the ham. As a result, I have about a million pictures with her face all scrunched up like this. And apparently she's taking after Uncle Matt, who used to make the same face at this age! Too cute!
We had a blast in Kansas this year... and now I feel even more sad about leaving! Not only do I have to feel the pain of missing family, but now Elizabeth does, too! I have a feeling she will be calling for Maddie and Nana and even Abbey for a few weeks to come, and we can't wait until we can move back home for good (maybe one day!)
