Mostly My Boy

  One of the good things about having another girl is that our boy will remain "The Boy".  This is not a photo of the boy:

But the rest of these are.  Like this one:

 He must have been very tired to fall asleep like this.

He loves to paint (what almost three year old doesn't?):

 That is his look of concentration.  I love it.

 And I included that photo because it's been snowing for the last two days, almost constantly, and there is a lot of snow out there.  Today I opted not to take Maren to pre-school because when I braved it yesterday I was slip-sliding all over the place.  I'll stay in my cozy home today, thank you.

And, a phone dump.  Most of the photos are from the Dinosaur Museum, which we visited last Monday thanks to Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Results Are In...

 

Apparently, we do "Mounds" quite well.

Here is one of the pics from our ultrasound this morning:

I realize the baby looks like an alien in this photo.  She was chillin' in there, with her ankles crossed, and her hands up by her head.  Must be warm and cozy in there.

Let Us Eat Cake

 Sometimes, you just need a chocolate cake, no?  This one was delicious - a definite do again.  It is a chocolate cake mix, prepared, with an additional 1 cup sour cream, 1 3.5 oz package of chocolate pudding and chocolate chips.  Yummmmmmmmy. 

 Lainey's favorite thing to do right now is climb up to the table and eat whatever has been left behind.  Or, more likely, climb up ON the table.  Little monkey.  And a phone dump from the last week (and hello!  Am I not huge?  It's probably from eating so much chocolate cake.  We have a gender check ultrasound on Wednesday.  So excited.):

This Freezing Day

Not too much going on, and not too many photos to share, but wanted to post a few good things happening around here:

*We took the leap a few days ago and are potty training Everett.  I've been putting it off for awhile because, frankly, I'm lazy (I've been saying that a lot lately - perhaps I should change my mantra).  BUT, it is going much better than expected, he gets himself to the potty quite often and has stayed dry most of the time, which includes several trips out of the house.  Hurray!  Way to go, my boy!

*Lainey is officially a walker (it's about time!  She's been the latest of my kids starting at 14.5 months)!  She is so darn cute toddling about the house.  As of late she often has a baby she's carrying around with her.  So sweet, my girl.  Do you love the little seat she's found?  She can often be found here under the kitchen sink. 

*I am now 14.5 weeks and all seems well.  So many people tell me, "you don't even look like you're pregnant", so I included the above photo.  Yes, that certainly looks like a pregnant belly to me.  In fact, to me it looks like a mighty large pregnant belly for just 14 weeks.  I'm just starting to get over the sickies, although I'm sometimes taken aback, like this morning when I got busy getting Ellie ready for school, but had to take a seat on the couch to gather myself before I chucked something, and I'm not talkin' shoes.  ;) 

*It is so freezing cold.  We were a bit bummed to be missed by the 'big Utah storm' over the weekend - some places got close to two new feet of snow, but we only got about a 1/2 inch.  We were too lazy (again that word!  At least I'm also honest) to shovel out the driveway (we've been pretty faithful until now), and I'm pretty sure it'll be there for another week or two because the temperatures are so freezing cold and it won't melt.  I'm very grateful for a warm, comfy house.

*I love Mondays and Fridays.  Nick takes Ellie to school, my neighbor brings her home, no preschool or other obligations, which means NO WHERE TO GO!!  It's awesome!  I am a homebody for sure.

The Parties

 My girl had one special day.  It was one exciting thing after another all the day long, and at the end of it all, this momma was exhausted, but it was fun all the same.  This year we did a friend party, and they all had a great time if screaming is any indication of how much fun they are having.  Actually, I admit that I had a good time myself.  My parties are kept pretty simple, and I've learned that the kids don't really care, and in fact, have just as much fun as if I put on some elaborate show.  After the snowman wrap game:

 That evening we had dinner at McDonald's (per Ellie's request) with cousins and then cake, ice cream and the opening of presents with both sets of Grandparents (lucky girl) and Nick's family.  I made a delicious chocolate cake with chocolate mousse, topped with ganache.  Oh, I'm pretty sure I'll have dreams about that cake.  It was yummy.  Funny though, the kids didn't really like it and Ellie told me it was gross.  More for me, I guess.

 Ellie shares a birthday with her Grandpa.

This year, Ellie really wanted a Barbie dollhouse (has been asking for one for awhile), and although I tried to persuade her otherwise (um, huge and expensive!) we finally caved.  She was expecting it though, so to put her on edge just a little we gave her a small box with a clue inside to send her on a treasure hunt.  Here she is with her first clue:

 And when she finally found her "treasure":

 It really made it a great surprise.  That was the best part of my day (and likely Ellie's too).

And here are other random photos from the evening.  Cute little piggies (the boys being entertained by a show on Nick's phone):

And Maren telling Uncle Nate stories:

Big Seven

 

Dear Ellie,

Today you are seven.  My, how big you are getting.  You are such a great help to Mom and Dad.  You are very willing to set the table for dinner, make Kool-aid, help clean, or entertain your baby sister.  You are a happy girl and a great blessing to our home.  You like school and we are so proud of the progress you are making.  You love to be creative, and I love seeing the many creations you come up with.  You enjoy playing with your brother and sisters (usually) and make up all kind of games with them. 

 

Ellie, we all love you very much.  I hope today is all you imagined and more.

Love,
Your Mom

Christmas and Beyond

We had such a nice Christmas break, I'm sad it's over.  Today Nick went back to work, and tomorrow the kids go back to school.  I suppose we can't live in our pajamas forever.  Now to rewind...here we are making our Christmas cookies:

 Our Christmas Eve was spent cleaning house, and we had plans to go to my parent's house, but those plans were changed when it snowed all the day long.  Instead, we had my brother's family, and Nick's brother over for tamales and games.  It was fun.

The kids were excited to go to bed so that Santa could come, and came he did. 

 We had Nick's family over that afternoon to open even more presents, and we enjoyed spending the evening with them.  The hit of the show was Uncle Nate's remote control helicopter.  Lainey was awestruck by it:

 Speaking of Uncle Nate, he's a good sport:

 The rest of our holidays were pretty lazy.  It was wonderful.  We did get out a few times, and did complete a few home projects, but mostly we hung out in our pajamas and just enjoyed being together.  We did make it down to my parent's house (after a whole week of snow!).  The kids enjoyed being pulled around on the sled with their cousins:

 And Everett and I took a spin on the four-wheeler:

 New Year's Eve we made last minute plans with Nick's brother and family for dinner and games.  We got kids to bed early (well, early-ish, it was still late to them), but Nick and I stayed up watching tv and actually were awake this time around to ring in the New Year.  We are such party animals.  On New Year's day, we finally got outside and made some footprints in our snow:

Nick and the girls made a snowman:

 And, a phone dump.  No surprises this time.  ;)