Jon, Catherine and Colton

My Sweeties

2011-06-25T14:16:00.000-07:00

Nothing bring a smile to my face as quickly as my three sweeties loving each other. Aren't they adorable?!

A Day with Gma and Gpa H

2011-06-23T14:16:00.000-07:00

Gma and Gpa H only had one more weekend in MN. We were sure to claim a day during their busy schedule. We met them at Lake Calhoun for a nice walk, some fun on the playground, and then lunch at the Tin Fish. It started to rain, so we ran back to our cars and went to a very cool bookstore called the Wild Rumpus. They have live animals there. Some in cages and others just wandering around the store. Yep, they have cats and chickens wandering the store just to make shopping more exciting. Colton scored and Gma and Gpa bought him a very cool Star Wars book.

Later that evening, Gma, Gpa, and Lorri Beth came over to our house for dinner and games. We BBQed and then we played frisbee golf in the backyard. It ended with them joining in one last time for Colton's bedtime routine - bath, scriptures, song, prayer. It was really sweet, but sad to think this was one of our last times together. We love them so much!

I want to be like you

2011-06-22T14:16:00.000-07:00

Where ever Ellie is, Colton wants to be there too. Whether that means snuggling on the bed, playing with pirates' treasure together (yes that's what we call those fancy necklaces), or under the baby playmat. It's all pretty grand. And even though I do worry that he might squash her like a bug one of these days, most of the time all this love is pretty darn sweet. I'm so glad that he loves his little sister. I hope it stays this way always!

Cuties and I want to be like you

Pirate Ship

2011-06-21T14:15:00.000-07:00

I was walking through Michael's the other day and I came across a kit for making a ship. I was sure it would be a hit with my little boy. He had a great time helping me glue it together and paint it, but the most fun came once it was dry. We got to load it up with all of our favorite play guys and let them sail the seven seas. So fun!

Growing in my Garden

2011-06-20T14:15:00.000-07:00

It's a bold year. I decided to use my not so green thumb and try out an experiment - planting a garden. We've started with just a small area and I've overfilled it. We have two tomato plants, three pepper plants, a zucchini plant, and some herbs. This is a picture that we took soon after planting our starts for the garden. We're really hoping that we'll be successful with at least one of the plants. It would be fun if this became a yearly tradition!

Father's Day

2011-06-19T14:15:00.000-07:00

We started this year's Father's Day with a super yummy breakfast (of course that means I'm bragging since I'm the one who made it...). We had filled pancakes - Chocolate Raspberry, Chocolate Sunbutter, and Double Chocolate with chocolate chips. It really was more like dessert. And of course we had presents. Colton gave Jon a Darth Vader pancake flipper and Star Wars pancake molds. I gave Jon more dress shirts and new shoes. It was a happy morning!

We went to church and the boys were sure to wear matching ties. Afterward, Jon's parents came over for dinner. We ate dinner, opened gifts, and then played a lot. Jon's parents and our kiddos have a very special bond. It is so sweet to watch them together. It kind of tears at our hearts everytime we're together lately because we just keep thinking that we don't have much time left while they are in MN with us (they move at the end of the month). It was so fun to spend another Father's Day with them and are so glad for each time we get to be with them.

Happy Father's Day to all the great fathers out there! Especially to my Dad, Jon's Dad, and of course Jon! The best husband and father I could imagine!!

Mommy and Me Photo Shoot

2011-06-13T14:15:00.000-07:00

I'm in a Mom's Group in MN and my friend Jodi Elkins from Makally Photography offered all of us a great deal on a Mommy and Me photo session. It was too good to pass up, so we were sure to join in on the picture taking. Here are our favorites. Enjoy!

Aren't they cute?

2011-06-12T14:14:00.001-07:00

I love it when this boy plays dress up. He gets so into character. He has some fireman rain boots and a fire fighter costume that he loves to wear around. Isn't he so darn cute?!

I also love it when Ellie is still up for scripture time and she gets to join in on the fun. I can't think of anything sweeter than my three favorite people reading scriptures at night together. Especially since the two little cuties are in their pjs. So sweet!! These pictures just warm my heart.

Rice Cereal

2011-06-12T14:14:00.000-07:00

Ellie is 4 months old, so it's time to start trying solids. We gave her rice cereal and she was sure that it was just another toy. She mostly just spit it right out, but hey it's good practice. She'll get it soon I'm sure. In the meantime, we'll just keep on trying!

Rolling Around the Room

2011-06-03T14:14:00.000-07:00

We came back from Disney World and Ellie was ready to grow up. The first day we were back, I was just putting away the breakfast dishes while C was playing with his new Star Wars toys and Ellie was playing under her play mat. Just moments later, I found her a ways away from her play mat. This girl is ready to move and now she's making distance. Not too much longer and I'll really have to worry about where this little lady is going!!

Oh the Things We Say!

2011-06-02T14:14:00.000-07:00

Just a few quotes from Colton from our WDW trip:

We arrived in one of the gigantic parking lots. Colton yelled out in excitement: "Look at all those cars! Let's count them!" Then he counted, "1, 2, 3, 4....18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23...28, 29, 2010, 2011, 2012...."

One afternoon, while Colton was napping, Jon decided to trim Ellie's fingernails. He accidentally cut her and bad. She bled for a few hours. Of course Colton noticed when he woke up, but we didn't want to tell him what happened because we didn't want him to be scared of having his nails trimmed. He kept asking though. Then he decided it was time to guess.

His first guess was, "I know what happened Mom! Ellie was skateboarding and got an owie on her hand."

He then kept guessing all sorts of great ideas including something with sharks. We couldn't stop laughing at his guesses, especially that he was so sure that our little 4 month old must have been riding on a skateboard during his nap. Love that boy!

Day 5 Part 2 - Epcot

2011-06-01T20:26:00.001-07:00

Most of the days that we were at Disney, we only went to the parks in the morning so that we could get home for naps and would have a low key night. Since it was our last night in Orlando, we decided that we could be a little crazy and go back to the park after naps. It turned out perfect!

We wanted to go someplace good for dinner, so we realized Epcot would be the place to go. We walked through lots of countries, stopped in Norway for some treats from their bakery and a fast pass for their ride, and went straight to Italy. We got in to their fancy new restaurant and it was sooo good! We were so happy that we went there for dinner.

To top it off, we were seated next to an older couple that was there with a college aged child. They kept looking over at us throughout the meal and I was certain that we must have been disturbing them with our somewhat distracting children. But when they finished their meal, they surprised us. They came up to us and said, "I don't mean to be weird and I really don't ever do this, but your little boy is the most well behaved child I have seen at Disney World. He deserves a treat." Then she handed us a twenty dollar bill and left. Can you believe that? (Good thing she didn't see him during a previous meltdown...) She made his night and ours! What a great way to end our Disney experience!

Then we hurried to the Norway ride (which was a little scary for C Man). And then we headed for the park exit. Suddenly we realized the fireworks were about to start. We figured we better stay and watch the show. Colton LOVED it, but they had a globe that kept opening and closing, lighting and darkening. Colton was super worried that the world was breaking. He was very into it and we were so glad that we stayed. It was the perfect ending to our fun Disney trip.

Day 5 - Hollywood Studios

2011-06-01T20:26:00.000-07:00

We had visited all the parks we had planned to, but we still had an extra day. We didn't feel like our first visit to Hollywood went too well, so we wanted to try that again. We of course met Buzz and Woody again, the green army man, Pooh Bear, the Incredibles, Mike Wazowski, and I think a few others too. We did buy the autograph book and Jon thought I was crazy. But it's turned out great. Once we got home I printed all the pictures of C meeting the characters and I put a picture next to each signature. I think it will be a good reminder that he has met all these cool guys!
We also did the Little Mermaid Show and Jon did the Star Tours ride. While Jon was on the ride, C and I shopped around the Star Wars store because he hadn't used much of his "potty money". (If you remember, C was getting lots of coins from using the potty. He also got a ton of money from Gma and Gpa H at Easter time.) He had money to spend! Earlier that day, he bought a red light saber like Darth Vader. At the Star Wars store he decided to buy some Star Wars guys. They are now our favorite guys to play with!

Day 4 - Magic Kingdom

2011-05-31T20:25:00.000-07:00

We may have spent an evening at the Magic Kingdom, but since it rained we really didn't get to do much. This was our day! We went as soon as they opened and first went to the Buzz Lightyear ride. We were on in less than 5 minutes - perfect! Then C and Jon went to drive cars around a track, while E and I went around to gather fast passes from everywhere. We got them to the Peter Pan ride and then got bonus ones for Mickey's Orchestra 3D show. Then because my card was de-magnitized, I was able to get passes to the Pooh Bear ride, to meet the princesses, and to meet Mickey and Minnie Mouse! Perfect!
They finished their ride right as I finished getting our passes. We rode on the Peter Pan ride, then the Pooh Bear ride, and then the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. We saw a few scary pirates which was a surprise since we only thought pirates were nice looking. As we were leaving, we saw a real Disney pirate that was super nice. He even gave Colton an eye patch (that we now where daily).
Then it was on to meet Mickey and Minnie. He had been begging to meet Minnie since we only saw Mickey at the Animal Kingdom. It was magical, of course! Then we went to meet the princesses. We were surprised to see how much he liked it. Princess Aurora kissed his book and then kissed him! He was smitten. Then Belle told him that he was the most handsome prince and she wanted to take him to her castle! He also got a big smooch from Cinderella! This boy could not have been more in heaven with all this attention. He was so funny as he kept telling us how he got kisses from the princesses! Girl crazy already? Maybe just a little.
Then we had a great lunch, went home for naps, and then to the pirate pool again!!

Day 3 - Animal Kingdom

2011-05-30T20:25:00.000-07:00

After too many tantrums from C about the heat, we decided that today would be a trial day. If C did well, we'd take him with us to Disney again that week. If he didn't, we'd get a babysitter for him and enjoy it on our own. That's right, we'd do Disney without our kid!
Well, it worked out great! We got a mister for way too much money. While Colton did not like us spraying him, I think when we were sneaky about it he actually did feel some relief from the heat.
As soon as we got in, we ran to the safari ride to get fast passes. This is when I learned something magical - my pass had de-magnitized. I suddenly had the key to getting unlimited fast passes! Such a happy thing!
So we got our passes for the safari and did the zoo walk while we waited (I don't remember the actual name). I think the highlights of the walk were seeing the giant bats and the tigers. Then it was time for us to go on the safari. It was very cool. Colton loved seeing all the animals and we loved seeing what a great job they did with the area for the animals. It was great! Since we've both done actual safaris in Africa, Jon and I were surprised by how impressed we were by the Disney safari.
Then we waited in a long line to meet Mickey Mouse. I think every kid loves Mickey. He's just such a happy guy. And we caught the Lion King show right after. It was great! At that point, it was totally nap time, so we ran to our car before a real melt down could begin. It was by far our best day to that point. We were so glad that Colton finally was cooperating so that we could all have fun!

A Day Off

2011-05-29T20:25:00.000-07:00

Sunday came at the perfect time! We were so fed up with C man and his crying every time we went outside, that we were glad that we had the perfect excuse to stay in and away from the parks. We drove to church and I'm pretty sure I did an awful job of looking up where the closest church was. We went on about an hour drive! But it was air conditioned, so that was a plus for our boy.
Then we went to brunch. My favorite thing to do on a Sunday when we're traveling! (Well of course, my favorite after going to church.) We ate at the Grand Floridian. They have little streams all throughout the huge hotel and there are tons of alligators in them. We all thought it was super cool! The brunch was fabulous too. It was a great Sunday.

Day 2 - Epcot

2011-05-28T20:24:00.000-07:00

Colton's first priority was to meet as many characters as possible. My cousin Raschell is the Disney World expert, after all she's worked there for more than 10 years. She told us to go to Epcot to meet the characters because it's the least busy. Well that would have been a great idea if I could read a map and actually noticed where the characters were. Oh well. We did meet Stitch in the entry way. No one seemed to want to meet him and while Colton had no idea who he was, he still liked the idea of taking a picture with him.
We went to Turtle Talk with Crush - so great! Then we walked around the aquarium, took a ride on the Figment ride, and then Colton decided to get soaked by a water fountain. Then he was furious that he got wet, so we pulled out the extra outfit we brought with us. We ate lunch in Paris and met Remy the Rat. He's the chef there you know. Belle was just outside our restaurant and Colton was pretty sure he wanted to meet the "Be Our Guest" girl. Plus, we really needed a picture of our Ellie Belle with Princess Belle.

Day 1 Part 2 - Magic Kingdom

2011-05-27T20:24:00.000-07:00

So even though we promised ourselves that we would only do Disney one tiny bite at a time, we liked Hollywood so much that we decided to go to Magic Kingdom after naps. Colton was dying to see THE castle. It's at the start of every Disney movie, so even though he's not so into princesses, he's still very into the castle. Obviously, our first stop was THE CASTLE. We took picture in front of it and then walked through it. Then we rode on It's a Small World because it's a classic.
We went to dinner thinking that we would eat and then watch the electric parade. We went in at a good time because suddenly there was a downpour outside. We were stuck inside for an extra hour. Colton watched most of Toy Story 2 on Jon's iPhone (seriously, what did parents do with overtired children before ipods, etc?). Then we walked toward the start of the electric parade only to find out that it was cancelled due to the storm. So we ran to the monorail and ended up waiting in a very long line and even more rain to get back to our car. After that, we recommitted to our slow paced idea of Disney!

Day 1 - Hollywood Studios

2011-05-27T20:13:00.000-07:00

We planned to do Disney as laid back as possible. We wanted to have a good time with as few tantrums as possible. Unfortunately, Colton liked to cry every time we went outside because it was "too hot" and so he NEEDED his blanket. You've got to love the logic of a 2 year old! We still managed to have a good time.
We decided that we would go to the parks as early as possible (our kids would be up anyway) and then leave around lunch time so that we could be back at the hotel for naps. Then we could either do the pool in the evening or a quick Disney trip.
We spent our first day at Hollywood Studios because our first priority was to meet Buzz and Woody! It was super exciting. Even waiting in line was fun because there were huge pictures and cut outs of some of our favorite guys, including "Little Fella"! We call the spider looking toy with the doll head Little Fella because Woody calls him that in Toy Story 1. Colton is really into Sid and Sid's toys. I think he was the only kid asking to meet Sid and go to Sid's house at Disney World. We never did find Sid, but we kind of forgot about him once we got to see our heroes Buzz and Woody!

We also waited in a long line to go on the new Toy Story Ride. Thank goodness they had lots of entertaining things to look at and even climb on while we were in line. Ok, C probably wasn't supposed to climb on them, but what are you going to do?
The biggest surprise at Hollywood was our new discovery of Star Wars. It was Star Wars weekend while we were there, so there were storm troopers everywhere. Darth Vader, Bobo Phet, and all the bad guys were everywhere. Colton really wanted to find Yoda, but he was nowhere in sight. Since he wasn't there, Colton suddenly decided to turn to the dark side. Yes, he now LOVES all the bad guys from Star Wars.

I thought I better add a few pictures of Ellie to this post. She was with us too! And we made sure she wore her Mickey Mouse shirt to the parks a few times. Thank you cousin Raschell and aunt Shelley for making sure we were supplied with our Disney outfits!!

Disney!

2011-05-26T20:08:00.000-07:00

We got sick of the cold in Minnesota and decided that it was time to take a trip to somewhere warmer. We decided Colton would have a blast at Disney World, so we flew to Florida! The day we arrived, we got to the hotel, tried and failed at naps for the kids, and then went out to the pool. Once the kids were tucked in, I went to the grocery store. While I was getting the essentials, I couldn't help but pick up an over-sized balloon of Mickey Mouse. I think I may have been more excited about the Disney magic than the C man. It's just so fun!

Last Day of Preschool

2011-05-25T14:13:00.000-07:00

Colton started preschool in January at Miss Rosie's Little Helpers' Preschool. He LOVED it. Miss Rosie runs a preschool out of her home and he went once a week on Thursdays. He loved going to preschool to play with the money and play with his friends. In that order. She has a little cash register and he would always run to play with it first.
They make the cutest crafts and have such a fun time there. For the last month, they have been keeping their art projects at Miss Rosie's so they could have them up for the art museum exhibit on the last day of preschool. They had a little program where they sang lots of songs, then they got certificates for their year at preschool, and then we picked up all the art projects to take home. After all the fun, we had a picnic lunch out in Miss Rosie' backyard. It was a very fun preschool and Colton is excited to go back in the fall!

New Swingset!

2011-05-18T14:13:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine was moving and she had a swing set to get rid of, so we got a great deal on a new swing set! We hired some guys to move it and even though they said they have moved more than 400 swing sets, this one was surprisingly the most solid one they have moved. They planned to do it with just 2 guys and then had to reschedule because it turned out they needed a team of 6.

Colton was so happy to see the swing set out his window the next morning. He and Jon had a great time playing on it that morning and then again that night when Jon was home from work. I think this is going to be a very happy addition to our backyard!

And the day that the movers were bringing the swing set over, was the same day that Ellie rolled over for the first time! (Not counting her 3rd day of life when she surprisingly rolled over in her sleep.) It was a big day for everyone! Rolling over and a new swing set. One for the books!

Oh the fun!

2011-05-18T14:13:00.000-07:00

Ellie loves grabbing things and putting all of it in her mouth. I got Ellie all dressed up for church and that dress kept her entertained until it was time to leave. Looks like she likes fancy dresses!

This is my cute building guy with the best imagination. He was hard at work one afternoon and when I looked in to see his masterpiece, he was very excited to show me his really big road that he built. His cars had a good time racing down that rainbow road.

Here are just a few pictures of my happy girl in her cute pajamas. Yes, she is wearing the fanciest socks known to man to bed. She has a habit of rubbing her feet together like crazy when she sleeps. (It gives her the world's sweatiest baby feet.) So if we don't keep her feet covered at night, then she doesn't sleep. These socks seem to stay on and they match too. Bonus!

This might be one of my most favorite moments. My little girl was hanging out in her swing. My little boy needed a snack. I gave him his snack and he immediately went to grab his little red chair and scooted it right up to Ellie. They had a fun little snack time together. He was teaching her all about wheat thins and the ways of snacking. Such a cute big brother. Moments like these make me hopeful that they can be best buddies in the future, at least most of the time. I love it when they have fun together!

Besties

2011-05-14T14:12:00.001-07:00

This is Ellie and her bestie Hayden. They are just 8 days apart and they already are coordinating their outfits by accident - in different colors of course. Let's be honest, if they were too matchy-matchy that might be embarrassing.

They've gotten together many times, but I think this is the first time they got to play together on the floor. They were so fond of each other that they even held hands. I think that makes them official BFF's. We might have to get the necklaces soon.

The Bad Nap - aka C's First Camping Trip

2011-05-14T14:12:00.000-07:00

Colton and Jon went on their first camping trip together! It was our ward's Father and Son's Campout. Jon's Dad even took the time to join in on the fun. Apparently the campsite was right next to a very cool playground. Colton had a great time playing with his friend Gabe there. And with Daddy and Grandpa too, of course. Then they ate hot dogs and smores. A little boy's piece of heaven!

They all slept in the same tent. Jon put Colton to bed before he and Gpa joined him, but C was so excited that he was still awake at 11pm when they finally came in to join him. Apparently that wasn't late enough for most of the YM boys because rumor has it that they were super loud talking about donuts all night. Also, there were train tracks right next to their campsite, so every so often a train would rumble by and toot it's horn. On top of that, Gpa and Dad are loud snorers.

Colton and Dad came home pretty early the next morning. As soon as they came up, I asked Colton how it was. His answer, "It was a BAD nap!" I couldn't agree more buddy. In my opinion, camping is always a bad nap. Love him!

Chuck E Cheese

2011-05-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

Chuck E Cheese recently started offering reward charts for kids. They have them for everything under the sun. We have been needing a lot of reward charts ever since we spiced things up by bringing a new member of the family to the H Team. We decided to use Chuck E's I'll Get Dressed Reward Chart. So if Colton would get dressed without crying and without watching a you tube video on our iphones, then he could get a smile face that day on the reward chart. (Don't you wish you got rewarded for stuff like that?)

Colton filled out four weeks worth of reward charts, so it was high time we go to Chuck E Cheese! He proudly presented his filled out charts and the lady immediately got him 20 tokens. We had a great time riding the rides with a couple of our friends and we even had the entire place to ourselves! It was the perfect place to be on that chilly May morning - that's right, it's still cold here.

Then we ate lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. It sounded better than the pizza at CEC. It was a fun morning! Here are some pictures from our favorite rides - the jeep and the horsey!

Tummy Time

2011-05-11T14:11:00.000-07:00

This girl loves hanging out on her tummy. I personally thought tummy time was supposed to be torturous for babies, but this girl loves it. This just might mean she will be crawling before I blink. I sure love her in her cute pajamas and I'm so glad that she is just hanging out in one place for the moment. So strong, yet so sweet!

Thai Food

2011-05-10T14:11:00.000-07:00

Jon's brother Paul served a two year mission in Thailand. While he and his family were here visiting, we decided it would be the perfect time to try out a Thai restaurant in our area. It was delicious! We just need to remember what he ordered. It's always fun to go out to eat when someone is ordering for you.

Even though Ellie wasn't joining in on the eating, she was sure to charm everyone with her smiles. She and Lorri Beth have a definite connections. I love watching them together.

Mother's Day!

2011-05-09T14:11:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day is always such a treat. It is a day where I feel extra honored to be a mother and to get to spend time with these wonderful kiddos. Jon and Colton made me pancakes in the morning. They even got me some presents - earrings and a gift certificate for a massage and facial. And an extra gift was that Jon was actually home that morning and all his early morning church meetings were cancelled! I love that!

After church, we went to celebrate Mother's Day with Jon's mom. We were so glad to be able to celebrate what a wonderful mother she is and also get to celebrate with Jessica (my sister in law) who is a new mom. Colton and Ellie were glad to get some time with Gma and Gpa H and to get to party with their cousin Lydia.

We were having such a good time that my potty training boy was able to have so many accidents that we had to just leave in a pull up. Yep, we went through our extra clothes and underwear. Once we finally got a family picture together, he was in that cool pull up and pirate sweater outfit of his. It seemed like the perfect picture to capture where we really are at this year. Still, it was a happy mother's day.

General Mills 5K

2011-05-08T14:11:00.000-07:00

A lot of my friends from church were planning to run the General Mills 5K. Even though I had only gone running once since I had Ellie, I didn't want to miss out on all of the fun. So I signed up! It was such a fun race and I even got to run most of it with my friends Alisa and Miranda.

It was even more fun for the C man. They had a bouncy house and the General Mills characters there to greet the kids. They were also handing out all sorts of fun kid items like frisbees and blow up baseball bats.

They also had a kid's race. Colton got to run in his first race! I don't think he got the idea that they were racing, but he was happy to run with all the other kids. The only shirts they had for kids drowned him (notice how big the shirt is on his friend Jade), so Colton didn't keep it on long enough for a picture. It was still super fun. I loved cheering for my crazy man.

After the fun at the 5K, we went to a birthday party. The C man never seems to sleep in his car seat, but after all the activity that morning it appeared we had really worn him out. Definitely a fun Saturday morning!

Star Boars

2011-05-07T14:10:00.000-07:00

We have a new obsession. We call it "Star Boars" and it's pretty cute. I'm not sure I'm ready to move into such big boy play because I've really grown to love Buzz and Woody, but maybe our Star Boars guys can be friends with our Toy Story guys. Time will tell. I do know that he won't be seeing the movies for a few years. But this is my little Anakan Skywalker (he wanted to dress up like Anakan - how does he even know that name?), even though I think it's supposed to be an Obi Wan Kenobi costume. I guess it's time I learn a little something about Star Wars.

The Happenings

2011-05-06T14:09:00.000-07:00

Some pictures really don't have too big of a story, but I have to share them anyway.

I love Daddy daughter moments like these. When Jon is home, he often takes care of Colton and I take Ellie. It's pretty sweet when he gets the chance to be alone with his little girl.

And this little girl can't stop smiling. It is so good for my self-esteem. She really knows how to make you feel good!

Colton's "snuggie" - that cuddly froggy guy has recently taken on some new roles in our house. C realized that when he dresses like Woody, he needs a bandana - snuggie can help out with that. Also, C seems to want to have a baby of his own to take care of. Snuggie and his little yellow bear both fill that role. Seriously, this boy is so awesome.

Then there is this sweetie. That is what she is often known as. Almost every time Jon sees her, the first thing he says is "Hi Sweetie". How do we know that? Because now Colton says it every time he goes in to see her. It really is so sweet.

And back to the crazy man. He recently has had a little trouble napping. I'm quite sure that it's not that he's really growing out of his nap, it's that his imagination is too distracting to make it possible to sleep. Often when I go in to remind him to go to sleep, he tells me that he can't because he's in his boat. He's building his boat. His blanket is his flag or his sail or his kite. Sometimes it's even that snuggie is his weapon. This particular time, he was reading in his boat. Yes, I should move his large basket of books. He just reaches over and empties it at will. So when I asked if he would go to sleep, he obviously told me that he can't. He has to read in his boat. It could be worse, right? We'll hope that he'll sleep tomorrow!

Rainy Day

2011-04-29T18:54:00.000-07:00

We decided to go to the outlets one Saturday morning. When we got there and it was raining. I felt like we had really wasted our Saturday. Little did I realize, Colton would look so darn cute in his new rain gear. It actually was the perfect thing to do, even if it took us 10x longer to get anywhere. Such a cutie!

Buzz Lightyear's Rocket Ship

2011-04-28T18:54:00.000-07:00

You may have seen this in one of my posts from Easter. Yes, we now own Buzz Lightyear's Rocket Ship. We are ready to fly to infinity and beyond! You have to look closely to notice that the ship is occupied in this picture. Those are my little guy's fingers sticking out of the sides where the green top of the ship connects to it's silver body. We are ready to have all sorts of Toy Story playdates, so bring over all your Buzz and Woody fans and we can all ride in the spaceship together!

RS and Primary Combine Forces

2011-04-27T18:53:00.000-07:00

I have been in our ward's Primary Presidency for about 3 years now. So what that means, is that the church congregation that I attend with has a group called Primary. It includes all children ages 18 months-11 years old. As you can imagine, that is a lot of children, a lot of teachers, and also a lot of fun. The women in the presidency help coordinate all the needs of the Primary and also we take turns teaching on Sundays during the time that the children are all combined. (Don't worry, the combined is ages 3-11. The 18 months-3 yr olds stay in nursery. We aren't that crazy!)

Recently everyone in the presidency changed, except for me. Last year's presidency started a project of making Christmas blocks for each Primary child (there are about 70+ kids).We ran out of time to do it due to lots of snow in November and December. I mentioned it to this presidency and since we already had the supplies, they wanted to do it. Still, it was obvious that it would be a ton of work. So when the Relief Society asked if they could have an activity to help us with a project, we knew just what we should do!

We were so glad to have so many helping hands that night. We spent the evening sanding, drilling, and painting. We got over half of the blocks going. Now we just have to add the cards we made for them and learn how to mod-podge. (Is that even spelled right? I obviously have no idea what I'm getting myself into.)

Anyway, I took picture because I planned to post them on facebook with funny captions and a big thank you to all the ladies. As usual, I was not timely in posting them so I've decided to give that up all together. So instead, if anyone looks at this blog - thank you, thank you for all your time and help! We so appreciate it! And for your viewing enjoyment, here are the pictures I took.

Legoland

2011-04-26T18:53:00.000-07:00

Mall of America recently redid their Legoland. And look who we saw there! Needless to say, we are happy about the remodel.

Easter with Gma and Gpa

2011-04-25T18:53:00.001-07:00

Yes, this is my 4th post on Easter. Isn't that great though?

After church, we went straight to Grandma and Grandpa H's house. It was our last Easter together in Minnesota, so that part was very bittersweet. But we were so glad that we got to be with them. Grandma H, as always, was sure to spoil us rotten. We got so many fun gifts!

We had a delicious meal and then we had such a good time at the Easter Egg Hunt out back. Colton is a money man - to an extreme. And he was in luck, becuase the eggs at Gma and Gpa H's house are all filled with money. They also have a tradition of poutting coins out all over their living room for the kids to find. Well, C didn't have a lot of competition since he was the only grandson around. LB was also searching, but Colton's enthusiasm for money really gave him an advantage. He ended up collected $22.00 from the coin search and the egg hunt. I'd say that's a pretty good amount for a 2 year old on Easter!

Once Colton was done with all the searching, he finally decided to sit down to dinner. That's when he saw that bunny cake. I'm pretty sure he only ate sugar on Easter and this was by far the most exciting treat he had for Easter. He loved it. If only I had gotten a picture of his face before Gpa started cleaning him off. He was a mess, but that's just part of really enjoying what you eat.

It was a great ending to our weekend of Easter celebrations. We were so glad to get to spend it with family and loved ones. Happy Easter!

Easter Morning

2011-04-25T18:53:00.000-07:00

Easter morning was pretty festive around our house. When little C woke up, he immediately saw a little bag and a long string of yarn coming from his door. He figured out quick that he needed to follow that string, but along the way he was sure to pick up all the eggs that happened to be along the path. Even our piano was extra festive for Easter with eggs and jelly beans all over the keys of the piano.

Once C got to the end of the string, he made it to our baskets. We tried to emphasize the true meaning of Easter by filling C's basket mostly with church books and activities to play with at church. Yet we had plenty of sweets to eat for Easter morning breakfast. Of course, we had eggs and some other delicious breakfast food as well. It was such a fun time to spend together and celebrate Easter. Then we dressed in our new Easter outfits and went to church to really celebrate Eater.

It is such an amazing blessing to know that our Savior died for us and that He lives again. And because He lives, we will live again as well. Rejoice, rejoice, for truly He has risen!

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-24T18:37:00.000-07:00

Our little Easter gathering was nothing compared to the Easter Egg Hunt we went to the next morning. Our friend Laura and Brian had over almost half of the ward for an Easter Egg Hunt. They had SO many eggs! And their yard was full of them. The kids were loving it! We even had a delicious breakfast while we were there.

Toward the end of the Easter fun, Brian surprised Laura with an impromptu graduation ceremony. She recently finished her master's degree and didn't make it to the graduation ceremony in Utah, so he held a mini ceremony for her then. It was very cute. We were glad to get to join in on the celebration. It was a very fun.

Easter Eggs

2011-04-23T18:52:00.000-07:00

This is the first Easter that Colton isn't allergic to eggs! So it's also our first Easter with him that we get to dye eggs. We obviously could not just celebrate that on our own, we had to make it into a big festivity. We had over some friends, made dinner, colored eggs, and even had a mini egg hunt for the little ones. I love holidays!

Party Time

2011-04-22T18:52:00.000-07:00

These are just a few cute pictures of the boy:

Colton is really in to swords. Being a bit of a pacifist, I was determined not o buy him a real sword. Still, everything was becoming a sword from green beans to the large stick that lies in our sliding door well for extra security. After Colton was "pretending" to hit Ellie with that large stick for the too many-th time, my sister Becca gave me the genius idea of buying foam swords. We still would only pretend to hit, by only swinging them in the air, but then if we did accidentally hit someone it would not hurt nearly as much as a giant wood beam to the face. So, our arsenal has begun with these lovely foam swords. And these swards are perfect for his pirate look. If you look closely, you can see the pirate boots, pirate hat, and the pirate sweater from Gma S that C wants to wear every single day.

Here is Colton modeling the jewels from his pirate treasure chest. There is something about little boys and necklaces that makes my heart melt.

I think I just posted a few of these Y vs U pics, but these boys are cute together and so is the Ute Pirate. Colton, I hope you always stay this cute.

BYU vs Utah

2011-04-21T18:52:00.001-07:00

Just a normal play date that happens almost every week, how is it that they both decided to wear their football shirts? Oh and did I mention that BYU and Utah are big rivals? Yep, we start 'em young. We'll hope they can stay good friend even if they cheer for different teams!

Super Hero Lunch

2011-04-21T18:52:00.000-07:00

It's not everyday that a super hero shows up for lunch. These kids might be the cutest super heroes I've ever seen.

As soon as Clayton left, Colton realized that it was time for him to try on the Star Wars costume. Can you tell that he totally admires Clayton?

And while the boys were busy playing, my sweet little girl was busy just hanging out in her swing. She has got to be the world's best baby. I so love her.

Playdate

2011-04-14T18:51:00.000-07:00

Colton's friends Livy and Baylee came over to play the other day and they were so cute that I couldn't help getting out the camera. I love watching my boy make friends and play so cute. Sadly for Baylee, we are really lacking on our girl dress up outfits. She was still able to find the only thing we had in the box that says Princess. They were super cute. I love these little people. Oh and Jenny (their mom) was so nice and cooked us dinner to say thank you for watching her girls. Is that not the nicest? Such a fun day.

Gale Woods Farm

2011-04-13T18:51:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned that I LOVE the mom's group that I am in? Well, I do. They always have the best ideas on the calendar and I feel like I learn about every cool thing in the area from these ladies. Well, add Gale Woods Farm to the list.

The night before our morning at the farm, Ellie had one of those non-sleeping nights and Jon was out of town. That was not going to stop us from our farm adventure. C loved animals, as any toddler probably does, and this was a chance to see the animals up close. Oh and since it was springtime (despite the chilly weather) there were lots of babies to see there!!

We made mini green houses out of plastic baggies and but some seed in there. Ours grew, but I didn't know what I would do with an oat plant so I threw it out. Then we went around and saw all the animals. We loved the sheep. We got to go in there pen and pet a ton of sheep. We watched the piggies eat, we fed the chickens some lettuce (I didn't know that they eat lettuce), touched the new baby chicks, and brushed the cows. Colton was in heaven. Then we went to the kitchen and made our own butter, pancakes, and syrup all from ingredients from the farm. After we ate our brunch, we climbed all over the hay bail obstacle course they set up. Then we ended our visit with a ride on the tractor where we got to see the rest of the farm. It was such a fun outing. We will definitely be visiting again!

I have no idea why the pictures are so out of order, nor do I have the patience to fix it. I guess that's as good as it gets when you post about events only 4 months after they happen!

Marcee's Farewell Lunch

2011-04-12T18:50:00.000-07:00

My good friend Marcee moved in a few months after we moved to MN. She moved in with a newborn, just weeks younger than Colton. I was already in awe of her - she moved here with a newborn? Moving here pregnant was nothing compared to the idea of moving with a newborn in my mind. Well, she never ceased to amaze me over the past 3 years. She was always busy doing something amazing, either for people at church or for her adorable little family. Oh and she had to do almost all of it solo because her husband was always swamped with things to do for law school.

Well sadly 3 years went too quickly and Eric decided to graduate from law school and take my friend away. Luckily her visiting teacher and I were able to sneak in a quick celebration before Marcee moved. She thought she was just joining Katy for lunch :). So we had a great crowd with plenty of chaos (we all come with toddlers in tow), but hopefully it reminded Marcee that she is so loved by all of us. I truly hope our paths cross again someday soon.

Ellie's Blessing Day

2011-04-10T18:50:00.000-07:00

I love blessing days. I love the chance to celebrate my sweet babies and to be reminded that they truly are a wonderful blessing that has come straight from Heaven. The veil is always so thin during days like these.

We were so happy that both sets of grandparents could be there for Elizabeth Diane's Baby Blessing. Jon's parents live 30 minutes away and my parents flew in for the weekend. Jon, his dad, my dad, our friend Matt, and the three members of the bishopric stood in the circle. Jon gave a beautiful blessing. One that reminded me of what an honor it is to be a mother to such amazing children.

After church, we had a quick dinner with my parents and Jon's parents. Then my parents had to leave quickly for the airport. It was so nice to get to be with them. We are so grateful for the time we get to be together with our family. Thanks for making it such a special day.

I almost forgot to mention, Ellie looked absolutely gorgeous in her blessing dress (not that I'm biased at all). I was so sad when it was time to take it off. She even wore the same booties and used the same blanket that I was blessed in. She looked so sweet. I so love that little angel.

Macy's Flower Show

2011-04-09T18:49:00.001-07:00

While my parents were in town, we were sure to get a babysitter one night sot hat we could go out and enjoy downtown Minneapolis. Macy's was hosting an event called the Flower Show and it was gorgeous. It was so refreshing to walk in to a place filled with beautiful flowers, wonderful smells, and bright colors. It was a drastic difference from the dead winter outside that we had become used to for so many months. I don't know if it was nearly as refreshing for my parents (who were in town from California) but it definitely brightened my spirits and got me excited for springtime.

We then went out for a delicious dinner nearby. Ellie joined in on the excitement, even though she didn't make it in any of the pictures. She was too busy behaving herself by sleeping in the stroller. She wanted to make sure we had a fun and relaxing night.

*This has nothing to do with this post, but I just have to add one of my favorite memories from this day. My dad was fishing something out of his pockets and for some reason he had a ton of change in his pocket. Suddenly, the change came pouring on to the floor and Colton who was in the other room came running over as fast as he could. Yelled, "money, money, money!" and was by far the quickest to pick up the spilled change. That's my money man.

Como Zoo

2011-04-09T18:49:00.000-07:00

My parents came in town for Ellie's Baby Blessing. Lucky for us they came out a few days beforehand, so we got to spend some time exploring with them. Our first morning we went to Como Zoo. It is a free zoo in St Paul that has all sorts of fun animals. C's current favorite is the tiger, so we were sure to make a stop there. We saw some giraffes, penguins, sculpture seals, monkeys, and more. And we ended the zoo trip with climbing some big rocks. We finished our adventure with a yummy lunch. It was a fun outing.

Friends!

2011-04-07T18:49:00.000-07:00

I love watching these two together, especially when they are both smiling. I am so hopeful that they will be friends. They are off to a pretty good start!

Eggs!

2011-04-05T20:46:00.000-07:00

Colton's blood tests kept coming back showing that he was becoming less and less allergic to eggs. In January, his skin test came back clear as well. So in April, we went to do a food challenge and after 3 hours of testing he showed no reaction to eggs.
Last fall he was cleared for milk. As of this spring, he is clear for EGGS!! Hurray!! We are so excited to be growing out of allergies so quickly! It was definitely a day worth celebrating!

The Things We Say

2011-04-05T20:44:00.000-07:00

We were driving in the car the other day when C and I had the following conversation:

A red Cocoa Cola truck drives by with a picture of King Tutt on it.
C - "Mom, who's that gold guy?"
M - "The one on the red truck?"
C - "Yeah."
M - "That's King Tutt. He was a King in Egypt."
C - "Oh... He's not nice to Moses."

Can you tell what story we were reading recently in the Old Testament earlier that month?

Don't worry, I did tell him that was a different King of Egypt.

Two Month Pictures

2011-04-04T18:49:00.000-07:00

A few of my friends went in together to buy a newborn photo session as a baby gift. I was so excited because I always felt bad I didn't do those with Colton and I so wanted to do them with Ellie. C kept getting sick right after E was born (flu, bronchiolitis, pneumonia, etc.) so it took us a little while to be up for scheduling a photo session, but I'm so glad that we finally did. The pictures turned out amazing! These pictures are going to be treasured by us always. Thank you Jodi and Makally Photography! Here are just about 100 of my favorites.

General Conference

2011-04-03T18:48:00.000-07:00

Two weekends out of the year, our church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) holds something called General Conference. It is a series of meetings where the prophet and apostles speak. It is broadcast all over the globe and you can watch it on television, listen to it on the radio, or find it over the internet. Regular church meetings are cancelled and instead we are asked to listen to as many sessions of General Conference as possible.

There are 2 2-hour meetings on Saturday and 2 2-hour meetings on Sunday. They are great and uplifting and we even get the channel that broadcasts General Conference, so we get to stay at home and watch it. Still, it can often be a tricky weekend for little ones. While Colton claims he likes "the prophet show", he really only stops to listen to the music and otherwise wants to play with someone - not that I blame him.

I'm in Primary, so I always find activity books online for kids to use during General Conference. Colton was finally old enough to play with some of those activities.

We made a paper doll chain of the apostles. We made fruit loop necklaces. We did some coloring and sticker book fun stuff. But C's favorite by far, was the paper dolls of the Prophet Thomas S. Monson and his Counselors President Uchtdorf and President Eyring. We also had a paper stand that they could walk up to and speak at. He kept picking up different people, walking them to the stand, having them say a few things, then they'd say "amen" and walk away. It was super entertaining for him and definitely fun for us too. I think we'll be using those again during the next General Conference.

Buddies

2011-03-30T18:43:00.000-07:00

Right after Colton was born, I started doing swaps with my friend Camie. Over the past almost 3 years, our swapping dynamics have kept changing. They started out with a newborn (Colton) and a 3 year old (Clayton) who took super long naps. As they both got older, it got more fun. Then Wyatt joined in on the party and now Ellie.
Colton has always admired Clayton and loved playing with him, but now Wyatt is big enough to join in on all the fun. We are starting to have some really fun swaps and I keep getting lots of fun pictures of these boys. I think I'm a sucker for all kids dressed in costume, but this was one of those days when I just thought they were being such cute friends. I love watching my kiddo make friends. It's pretty great.

Here's a picture of Ellie from the playdate. She was rocking out in her swing while those crazy boys were having a party together. Just had to prove she is in on all of the fun too.

Smile!!

2011-03-28T18:42:00.000-07:00

It is hard to catch it on camera, but this girl seriously smiles all day long. I love it! I think she might be trying to get nominated for smiliest baby in the world. I love that she is so happy. It makes me so happy. She is so good to me. Thank you sweet happy Ellie girl! Keep those smiles coming!

C & E Playtime

2011-03-27T18:38:00.000-07:00

Some days this boy is just in love with his little sister. I LOVE those days. I can't help but snap a few photos and hope that they will be buddies as they grow up. Seriously, aren't they adorable?

This last picture is snapped on my iphone. You may have noticed from previous posts that Ellie spends a lot of time hanging out in her boppy. Well, the C Man is a little jealous of her getting sole possession of the boppy (although I have no idea why he would need one). So C always asks for a boppy. Lately he's decided that his Thomas the Train pillow is his "boppy" and he'll get it and want me to swaddle him. He gets his blankets and then I try my best to swaddle my 2 1/2 year old. He likes to lay right by her whenever he is hanging out on his "boppy". I so love these little ones!

Climbing at REI

2011-03-26T18:36:00.000-07:00

On Jon's birthday, we tried to go climbing at REI. We drove the 30 minute drive to find out that the climbing wall was closed that night. We then decided to just go to the Mall of America and ride the rides.

To make up for our disappointment, we decided to go to REI again the following Saturday. We made sure the climbing wall was open this time! We met up with our friends Dan and Laticia and their two girls. We took turns climbing, watching our newborn girls, and watching our busy toddlers. Jade and Colton were sad to learn that they weren't big enough to climb. Colton was especially sad and may have snuck in some climbing when the workers weren't looking. They were great at cheering us on as we climbed up though. Some of the best/only climbing in the Twin Cities area, especially in the winter!

World's Sadddest Birthday Cakes

2011-03-24T14:22:00.000-07:00

Jon loves chocolate cake. I currently am off dairy, egg, and nuts while I'm nursing to help avoid allergies for little Ellie. I decided for Jon's birthday that I would use this awesome recipe from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book that is both egg and dairy free. I didn't realize that I should have tripled it if I wanted the cupcakes to become a cake. I guess when I put the cake mix in the pan, I just thought it might rise a ton when it was in the oven. Anywho, it made a super sad flat cake.

And so I decided to make another cake. I looked up a recipe for the best chocolate cake ever and found one that sounded great on allrecipes.com. I then put it in a fancy bundt pan because I had just dirtied our basic bundt pan. I apparently needed to use an entire can of pam. It got stuck. It was super, super crumbly and it looked so very awful. I made frosting for it anyway and of course, Jon being the nice guy that he is, he ate it and even said it was good. Good think I married such a nice guy.

So I tried, but this year we just get to celebrate with the world's saddest birthday cakes ever.

Happy Birthday Jon!

2011-03-24T14:12:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Jon!! We started the celebration with waffles and presents in the morning. I even made bacon and eggs. We are always sure to use candles as much as possible on birthdays, so of course there was one in Jon's waffle.

Colton thought it was such a good idea, that he needed one in his waffle as well which also meant he needed us to sing "Happy Birthday" to him. He was sure that I shouldn't be left out either, so yes I was sung to and got a candle as well! It was an extra happy birthday kind of morning. (And the hat on C's head was made the Thursday before at preschool. He obviously loved his antlers.)

It is so nice that Jon's parents live close by, because that means it is easy to have an instant party. We went out to dinner at Bacio to celebrate Jon's birthday. We had a delicious dinner with an awesome chocolate cake for dessert. He also got more presents than you can imagine from his mom - she is an amazing gifter!

Our sweet Ellie was loved and adored. Colton was too, of course, but I only have pictures that night of Ellie with Grandpa.

And lucky us, we got a picture of the four of us together. That doesn't happen too often.

I love celebrating my man. I hope it was an extra happy birthday Jon! I love you!!

Birthday Eve

2011-03-22T14:10:00.000-07:00

On Jon's Birthday Eve, I took Colton to Target to get his dad a birthday present. I asked him ahead of time what he wanted to get him. Each time I asked, he never deviated from his enthusiastic, "A Buzz and Woody toy!" We went to Target, picked out the green army guys and the pirate gift bag. Took it home and the whole drive we talked about how it was going to be a surprise for Daddy and so we shouldn't tell him what we bought. We were surprised to see that Jon was home when we got back and so Jon came out to the car to get Colton. Colton immediately yelled, "Dad I got you the green army guys for your birthday!" With that, we decided it would be the perfect birthday eve present. Happy Birthday Eve Jon!

Money Man

2011-03-20T14:09:00.000-07:00

My boy is a money boy. I don't know if I've documented that here on the blog, but he is so in love with money. That is how we get him to use the potty. The hope is to get him potty trained for $1 (or 100 pennies) but I have a feeling he's going to get more out of us than just a dollar. C loves coins. Then he learned about dollars and it just brought in a new level of enthusiasm. He can tell you the presidents on each coin and on a few different dollar bills. He wants to play with my money all the time. If I want to keep this kid busy, I just have to think of something new that involves money. This day the invention was a money bag. Sure it's just a bag that once held some jewelry, but today it has new purpose. Oh how we love our money bag.

All Prettied Up for Church

2011-03-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

Jon is gone most Sunday mornings at church meetings. That leaves C, E, and me home by ourselves to get ready to go. Some days it goes smoothly, some days it goes a little less than smooth. Today it was rather entertaining. Getting the kids ready went fine. Getting myself ready is often tricky because they want to be entertained, but today C was happy to spend some quality time in my closet with my shoes. These red heels were by far his favorite. He stayed in them for quite some time. I think he walks in them better than I do. And they definitely add a nice splash of color to his outfit, don't you think?

Here is sweet Ellie. I feel like I really should be taking more pictures of her. She's getting big so fast. Oh she is so sweet!!

Worrying

2011-03-16T14:04:00.000-07:00

Colton had a lot of tummy problems as an infant. It turned out that he had food allergies. In order to avoid making another child go through that discomfort, C's allergist recommended that I go off dairy, eggs, and nuts while nursing. So I've been doing that for the most part, only cheating when it's done unintentionally - you know, I didn't realize that it had the allergen.

Well at about 6 weeks, Ellie was constantly breaking out every time I fed her. The pictures only slightly show the redness, but it was pretty severe. She had a few other signs that she might have allergies. I called the allergist. The nurse made a special appointment for the Dr. to see Ellie because she was worried. That made me grateful and well... worried.

He ordered a blood test even though she was just barely the minimum age for allergy testing. We went to Children's for the blood draw and I felt like I was about to lose it looking at my tiny baby having to give that much blood. It broke my heart.

The good news is, the results came back and they showed NO SIGNS OF ALLERGIES!! YAY!! The allergist said not to count on that as meaning she won't have food allergies. It's still really early, but at least there isn't anything obviously severe.

So in the meantime, I'll be careful with my diet and we'll just keep hoping that this lady can avoid those allergies and stay comfortable.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-15T14:00:00.000-07:00

Sure, Ellie is only 6 weeks old, but life is more fun with friends so we invited some over. We had a St Patty's Playdate with some friends from church. I had a ton of St Patty's stuff left over from last year when I threw a little shin dig, so I used some of those supplies and went out to buy some festive green treats. The kids played, we made rainbow hats, and us moms did a lot of chatting.

Toward the end of the fun, we had a treasure hunt. They had to follow the rainbow clues to find the pot of gold at the end. Each clue was a picture of a different object in the house. They went to the piano, fridge, kitchen table, side table, and to the oven where they found an actual pot filled with treasure and a little gold too. They were so cute following the clues to each spot.

In honor of the holiday, we also put up some pots on our window with contact paper so that you can put golden coins on or off the pot all you want. We saw this idea at another friend's house and C was so entertained by it. I thought maybe he would be intrigued by it at our house as well. In case you wondered, the pots in these pictures show Mama's face and Colton's face on the pot. You should be able to see the resemblance.

Happy St Patty's Day!!

Animal Train

2011-03-14T13:57:00.000-07:00

Colton loves animals. Real animals, toy animals, animals in movies, you name it. He loved playing with toy animals so much that we bought him a bunch for Christmas. This is what he loves to do with them. He takes them out of their bin and lines then all up in a straight line. They have been seen on the coffee table, kitchen table, kitchen floor, upstairs, yes anywhere. Then he counts them. Sometimes he names them - baby turtle, mama turtle, daddy zebra. Sometimes he makes their sounds. They are always in that organized line though, ready for a stampede or maybe for a group naptime. It really doesn't matter what they do, so long as my boy is having a good time.

First Sunday to Church

2011-03-13T13:54:00.000-07:00

After a 5 Sunday hiatus, I decided maybe it was time to show off my little sweetie to the people at church. She looked pretty cute in her dress, so I snapped about 100 pictures or so. She's pretty sweet.

Just Hanging Around

2011-03-12T13:49:00.000-08:00

When I have a baby, I like to take a break from life for a little while. I mean, it's not everyday that you have a newborn in your home. It's pretty tricky to really take a complete break, so some days we're more successful than others. Still, lately we've been doing a lot of hanging around with my besties. It's pretty nice. Here are just a few fun pictures from over the past little while.

Cowgirl?

2011-03-03T19:38:00.000-08:00

Poor sweet Ellie. She's just trying to take a nice peaceful nap in her swing, when suddenly she is forced to wear Woody's hat. I'm pretty sure she'll rarely be left alone. She does pull of the cowboy hat pretty well though. Then again, I always think she looks quite cute.

Learning the Family Ways

2011-03-02T19:37:00.000-08:00

I'm sure I've blogged about our bedtime rituals in the past, but now Ellie is officially a part of them. When she is awake she is always in on the scripture reading, the singing with the guitar and the nightly prayer in C's room. Those cute kids sure make my husband look even more handsome, don't you think? I love those people so much!

First Bottle

2011-03-01T19:37:00.000-08:00

Ellie hit one month. We probably should have started the bottle earlier. The first attempt was only slightly successful. Here's to hoping she likes it more over time.

Nightime Fun

2011-02-27T19:38:00.000-08:00

Life with this kid is always a party.

Adoration

2011-02-26T19:36:00.000-08:00

It's hard not to stop and adore a sweet face like hers. Here are just a few pictures I love.

Colton can't help but adore her too. In this case, it means sharing vegetables with her. He had this weird fascination with this zuchini for about a week and he was sure it had to go on Ellie's head. So weird, yet still pretty entertaining. I'm sure it was a compliment to his little sister, well I hope it was.

Meet Our New Dog

2011-02-22T19:34:00.000-08:00

It's true, we got a dog. I always have said that we would never get a dog, but I had no choice, he was given to us. A cute lady from Jon's work gave us a darling baby outfit and then a giant big brother present to Colton. It included a dog, feeding bowl, bones, brush, ball, bed, and blanket all for the dog. It was adorable! Her card mentioned that while I take care of the baby, he could take care of his dog. He was immediately a part of the family and the only way we could get Colton to join us for dinner, was to have Bruno join us for dinner. That's right, our new dog is Bruno. Welcome to the family Bruno! We hope you'll be our dog for a long time.

Gma and Gpa S visit

2011-02-21T19:33:00.000-08:00

My parents came!! My mom promised that she would be out here as soon as she was feeling better, but I'm pretty sure she came out here before she really was well. No matter, there was no talking her into staying home to heal for another minute and I was glad to have her here. I even got an added bonus of having my dad join us for the first day and a half that my mom was here. It was so fun to have them here to meet our sweet baby Ellie and to get to spend some time with our crazy pirate boy too.

My dad was here for just over 24 hours. He is a man that is always working on something. He does not sit still. In passing, I made a comment about how one day I planned to paint a piece of furniture. I really didn't realize I said it, but he did. He quickly said, I'd love to paint it. Where's the nearest Lowe's or Home Depot. Lucky for us, Minnesota had a warm spell that weekend and the high was about 40, so it was warm enough to do a project in our garage. By the end of the day, I had a new chest for my upstairs. It looks like a totally different piece of furniture now and it looks great! Thank you Dad!!

While my parents were here, Colton and Jon were sure to show them how we love our Buzz chair. They gave it to him for Christmas. When we have trouble getting Colton to go upstairs for bed, Jon offers to give him a ride in the Buzz chair. It works every time.

My mom was here for about a week. Three of those days, Jon was out of town and I was so happy to have her here to help. She and Colton played quite a bit. They read a lot of stories, especially the Bernstein Bears book my mom brought him and a giant Curious George book that Colton got recently. They also spent a lot of quality time nebulizing, meaning Colton had to do his breathing treatments and my mom nicely sat next to him watching the same Signing Time video three times a day everyday. She's a saint. Oh and Colton had bronchiolitis and pneumonia, so he really did need those nebs.

When Ellie was up, we spent a lot of time noticing how cute she was. When she was asleep, we did the same thing.

We also all dressed up like pirates everyday. Grandma of course had to join in on the fun. Luckily, I had a pirate birthday party in college (yes, that is true) so I have a ton of paper pirate hats left over. We have plenty to outfit all of our friends and their families, so it was no problem having enough to get our family of four plus Grandma dressed in style. Sometimes C spiced up the costumes by adding a few extras on his head as well.

There was also lots of time for cuddles. I love seeing pictures of people cuddling my sweet baby. We had lots of baby time, lots of toddler time, some cooking, some decorating, a little shopping, and a lot of watching White Collar. It was such a fun time. Thank you, thank you Mom for making the time and sacrifice to come out here!

How I Survived

2011-02-15T19:34:00.000-08:00

After I had Colton, my mother saved our lives. She came out the day we got home from the hospital. She stayed with us for two wonderful weeks. She cooked, cleaned, taught us how to take care of a baby, and made our home feel peaceful despite the challenges I felt as a new mom.

I love having my mom here. She is such a wonderful help and nurturing mother. I am so blessed. I was so excited that she was going to be here again right away after Ellie was born.

A few days before my due date, I called my mom to talk about the upcoming plans. She had just returned from a trip to Chile to visit some friends. While she was there, she fell on a hike and tore a muscle in her hip completely in two and I'm sure strained and tore many other important parts of her hip. She couldn't walk or sit and especially couldn't do stairs - and my house has a ton of those!! My heart sunk. I was so sad for her. I felt awful that I couldn't come and help her. I wanted to help her heal and she felt awful because she wanted to be here to take care of me. It was sad. She assured me that she would come out anyway and I requested that she stay home and heal. We ended up meeting about half way.

Well, within a day or two, many of my friends learned that my mom would not be around to help. My friends from church were incredible. I had meals brought to me for 2 weeks straight! I had more meals come in from other friends too. I was so well taken care of! My in-laws brought food and they even took Colton for a couple mornings for playtime. Friends took Colton for a couple mornings as well. And since I wasn't sure if I'd be having a c-section again or not, I even hired some sweet ladies before Ellie was born to help with Colton on the other days, just in case I couldn't lift him or go on stairs. Even though I had a v-bac, I was so grateful for their help. My healing time was much quicker because of their help and the transition went so much better than it would have otherwise.

I honestly do not know how I would have survived those first few weeks without my wonderful friends and family. I am so grateful for everyone who brought me a meal, watched Colton, emailed, texted, or called to check in on me, or helped in any way. It was an amazing reminder of what wonderful friends I have been blessed with. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you to all of my amazing friends. I love you all and am so blessed to know you!

My Valentines

2011-02-15T19:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day! For Valentine's Day this year, I made heart shaped blueberry muffins and had a few Valentine's Day treats waiting for my sweet hearts downstairs. Colton got the Fischer Price Little People Farm and a VDay shirt. Jon got a DVD pack of some climbing videos he's been wanting. Then entire series of Dossage. I figured he might need something to watch during late nights when he would be holding Ellie.

Jon got Ellie and I roses. Ellie got a dozen peach roses. I got the most gorgeous bouquet ever of roses and lilies. I loved it! (And no, I'm not still pregnant, just still swollen. Hopefully that will go down soon!)

Here are my sweet Valentine Babies (eating take out from PF Changs!). As you can see, it's not that easy to get a good picture of both of them. We have a ton of pictures trying to get a perfect shot, but never succeeded. Here are a few of my favorites.

Colton really did a good job for all those pictures. Poor Ellie doesn't quite have control of her face yet, but she sure does make some fabulous facial expressions. I love those sweeties. What a happy Valentine's Day!

Pirate Ellie

2011-02-13T19:32:00.000-08:00

Ellie has officially been initiated into our family. Poor girl is just a few days old and is already required to wear a pirate hat. I guess if she starts early, she'll get used to it. The first pictures are from dinner one evening where C man was sure Ellie needed the hat.

Then there are the pictures from a morning a few days later. I was cleaning up breakfast. Ellie was sitting calmly in her boppy. Colton was playing. Everyone seemed happy. Then I turned to see Ellie with her entire head and most of her upper body covered by the pirate hat. Classic big brother move. He did remove it once I asked him to. Thanks bud.

I guess Ellie's not the only one getting covered with the hat these days. Yes, Colton's dinner is on that plate just under the hat. Sure love that little pirate boy!

Tubing with Dad

2011-02-13T19:31:00.000-08:00

Once we were done getting family pictures done, it was Ellie's turn to model for the newborn pictures for a while. Suddenly, the boys were not needed and they were glad to leave. They had better things to do.

Jon took Colton to the tubing hill. He's wanted to take Colton there for quite some time. We went last winter for my birthday, but this winter I was way too pregnant to go and then I had a newborn. So it was a boys' trip this year. Much to Jon's dismay, Colton was a lot more into playing with the "snow rocks" than he was into actually riding in the tube down the hill. Colton still thought it was a very successful outing, just an expensive one for only playing in the snow all morning. It's good to have such a fun Dad!

A Few Extra Pics

2011-02-12T19:44:00.000-08:00

These pictures are so awful compared to the beautiful pictures that Kim took. Still, we took a few pictures that day with our own camera. You know, we were dressed so we might as well document it.

We had the Daddy Daughter photo opp while we were waiting for Kim to arrive. Also, Colton the Cowboy graced us with his presence.

And finally, I was super naughty. Kim was altering some of the backgrounds and then Ellie suddenly started to smile in her sleep. I didn't mean to do it, but it was an automatic reflex. I grabbed my camera and started taking pictures. Right after I realized I took pictures during a professional photo shoot where all her props and backgrounds were being used. She was forgiving, thank goodness. Even though I shouldn't have taken them, I still have to document them. I love those sleepy smiles.

Newborn Pictures

2011-02-12T19:31:00.000-08:00

The day after we got home from the hospital, C had the stomach flu. He then continued to share it with the rest of us over the next few days. Once we were over that, he started to catch a cold.

Despite all the bugs in our house, my sweet friend Kim offered to still come over to our house and take newborn pictures of our new little princess. I will be forever grateful. I will treasure these pictures forever.

Brother Sister Playtime

2011-02-07T19:30:00.000-08:00

The first night we were at the hospital, Colton stayed at a friend's house. The second two nights, he stayed at Gma and Gpa's house. He had a blast, but I think it must have seemed like a long time for that boy to be bouncing around because he was so happy when he came home and saw we were all together again. He was even happy to see that Ellie came home with us.

He has been an amazing big brother. He adores his little sister, sometimes a little too much. (She is breakable, but so far she's survived some big hugs and some big pushes on her baby swing.) He can be very sweet with her, so of course that's when the camera comes out.

I also thought I should document the flowers that were sent to us after Ellie was born. Thank you Gma and Gpa S!!! They were beautiful!!

And I might as well add a few extra shots of Colton. He is still all about playing dress up and having fun. There have definitely been some changes in behavior since our baby girl arrived. He seems to take them out mostly on me. He wants me to be healed quicker than is possible and wants me to be able to do everything I did before. There's security in that, sadly I can't do it. He sometimes likes to hit me because he's frustrated with my lack of being able to do things. I have to keep telling myself that this is an adjustment phase. Things will normalize, right? It's a good thing he's still so stinkin' cute. How can you stay mad at a little guy who looks so great in those blue glasses?

Little Ellie has been super nice to help us through the transition. She likes to spend a lot of her time with her eyes closed. She is such a tender girl. We are so blessed to have her in our home.

A Few More

2011-02-03T12:58:00.000-08:00

Here are just a few extra pictures that we took during Ellie's first few days. She is just so perfect.

Can you tell that I'm a sucker for tiny feet?

Loving life in the hospital bassinet.

Proof that Dad was there too.

Dressed and ready to go home.

Finally home and sleeping peacefully.

Hospital Visitors

2011-02-02T12:55:00.000-08:00

Sweet Ellie has been loved since the very start. She had some wonderful visitors during the two days we were at the hospital. Gma and Gpa H and Lorri Beth came both days. Colton accompanied them as well.

The first day, our dear friends Camie, Clayton, and Wyatt came to visit. They brought Colton too (since he stayed at their house the first night) and they brought some yummy treats too! Wyatt was so cute and kept offering Ellie some goldfish to snack on.

It was sweet to watch our friends and family meet our brand new miracle.

A Family of Four

2011-02-02T12:48:00.000-08:00

Ellie was born at 2:27am. I was in my recovery room around 4:30am. Once I was finally asleep, my nurse came in at 5:30am and woke me up to introduce herself. A few hours later, it was time to get up. I guess that's just the life of having a baby. But she is worth the sacrifice of sleep!

It was such a happy day. Our first visitor was our dear Colton man. He was so excited to meet his new sister. I couldn't have asked for a better introduction.

Colton walked right up and wanted to sit by Ellie on Mommy's lap. He loved looking at her little face and kept saying "Hi sister. I love you little sister." He loved that her fingers and toes were "all pruney." He also loved that we got to tickle her toes. He was oh so sweet with her.

Once he started to get a little restless, we got out Ellie's present for Colton. She obviously knows him pretty well, because she gave him a big Buzz Lightyear. It has all sorts of buttons and gadgets and even speaks Spanish. He was extra happy about Ellie's gift to him.

So it's official! We are a family of four now! Here are of our first photos together. (By a few, I probably mean a lot but it's hard to pick just a couple.)

Her Arrival

2011-02-01T22:00:00.000-08:00

My due date was January 31st. The evening before, I decided that there was no way that little Ellie was going to actually arrive on her due date so I made a lot of plans. I had lunch plans with friends before one friend was going to move to Utah. Then because I didn't want to be just sitting around waiting, I decided I should also throw an "un-birthday" party that night. I invited a bunch of people over for pizza and brownies. I told them if I cancelled, it would only because the un-birthday party became a real birthday party.

Much to my surprise, I had to cancel all of my plans. At 5am on Jan. 31st, my water broke. I could tell that nothing was really going too quickly, so I called the hospital and they reassured me that I had time to shower, pack, etc. I took my time, despite Jon's efforts to get me out of the house earlier. We left the house 4 hours after my water broke. We took Colton to our friend Camie's house where he spent the night (even though it was her son's birthday that day - she's really nice).

We got to the hospital and because we weren't freaking out, they were pretty sure I wasn't in labor. They checked and well, we were both right. My water broke, but I was not in labor. I was monitored for an hour and only had 2 contractions. That's not enough if a baby is supposed to be coming.

My only option appeared to be to go on pitocin. The rumors I had heard were confirmed. It is painful!

At hour 3, I thought I was going to die. They told me to get an epidural. They checked me and I was still at a 1. I didn't want an epidural too early because I didn't want to slow down progress. It felt like it couldn't go any slower. It still sounded like a lame idea since I was only at a 1, but I was dying. They thought I'd be getting a c-section anyway, so I might as well get an epidural. I got the epidural and it really was amazing.

So at hour 3 of pitocin, I got an epidural. At hour 5, I was still at a 1. At hour 8, I was STILL at a 1. The most nerve racking part was that there was meconium in my water, so the longer she stayed in, the more likely that she could have lung problems.

Then miraculously at hour 10 (10pm-ish) I was at a 4 or 5!!! Best news I had ever heard! At midnight I was at an 8 or 9. At 1am I was ready to push. I pushed for about an hour and a half. Her heart rate started to rise too high, so they got the doctor. Dr. Wilcox ultimately had to use a vacuum to get our little lady out.

At 2:27am our little Elizabeth was born! Such a happy moment! She was perfect.

They had a team there in case there was something wrong with her lungs, but everything must have been fine because they put her on my chest immediately. I was a little thrown off because C was a c-section and so that hadn't happened last time. I was also worried that they hadn't checked her lungs. Once I was reassured that everything was fine, I was so happy.

It was such a long labor and I couldn't have made it through without my wonderful husband. He was such a great support and even let me crush his hand during the painful pitocin contractions. My nurses were wonderful too. I am so grateful for their help. My final nurse sat and talked with me for hours. That's when I relaxed enough to have that quick progress at the end.

Here are a few of my favorite nurse comments after Ellie was born: "Wow look at those fingers! Wait, look at those toes!!" (She has very long fingers and toes.) Also, "She needs to cry more. Don't soothe her Dad, we want to hear her cry more." It was a good sign to us. We were just fine to hear that our baby didn't feel the need to cry too much!

Here are a few pictures from the first few moments after our little girl's arrival. I did blur one image for her sake. She is a girl, but I don't think we need to prove it to everyone on our blog :) She is a beauty.

Glad you could join us

2011-02-01T14:31:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth Diane

2/1/2011

8lbs. 7oz.

20 1/2 in.

Baby Time!

2011-01-31T14:31:00.000-08:00

I woke up at 5am on my due date and my water broke. Looks like it's time to go to the hospital and meet this little lady!

Woody goes to Church

2011-01-30T14:30:00.000-08:00

Jon has church meetings that start at 8am. Church starts at 11am, so C and I have to work together to get ourselves ready, my primary stuff together, and out the door by 11am. It's tricky most weeks for some reasons, but this week the getting ready hours just brought extra entertainment.
Getting Mr. Woody out the door was rather tricky. He was sure he had to wear his costume...and so he did. I figured if it gets him into the car that's just fine. Luckily once we were in the parking lot I had convinced him to leave the boots and hat in the car. It may have been a little distracting if we walked into Sacrament meeting in this get up. I sure love this toddler Woody boy.

Chuck E Cheese

2011-01-22T14:30:00.001-08:00

Since my due date is just around the corner, we are trying to make the most of every weekend. We won't be a family of three much longer.
This Saturday we decided to go to Chuck E Cheese to party. I ran errands for the first hour while C and J played and met up with them after I was done. Jon is the perfect Dad to take to Chuck E Cheese. He loves playing all the games. And when Colton climbed up in the giant climber and went to the farthest tube and took of his pants, Jon was willing to climb up through the tubes to find those pants. Thank goodness he was there because I'm sure I wouldn't have fit through those tubes.
We played games, ate pizza, and ended the adventure by cashing in our tickets for a super cool Buzz Lightyear toy. It was a perfect weekend playtime.

Incredible Breakfast

2011-01-22T14:30:00.000-08:00

It's not everyday that a super hero comes over to eat breakfast. Check out his super hero powers of stacking those plastic turtles by his plate. Thanks for coming Mr. Incredible.

Maternity Pictures

2011-01-21T14:29:00.000-08:00

I'm not normally someone who would get maternity pictures taken. Let's be real, I don't love looking huge. But my dear friend Kim asked if she could take some for her portfolio (as well as some newborn ones later) and I'm so glad that she did. She did a great job of capturing our excitement for the arrival of this little girl. We can't wait to meet her.

Spiderman

2011-01-20T14:29:00.000-08:00

He's probably the coolest superhero ever. And by that I mean Colton Man. He's super cool. Just look at these pictures. You can't deny the fact that he is pure awesome.

Valentine's Day Stickers

2011-01-19T14:29:00.000-08:00

C decorated the window all by himself. I love how proud he was of his work!

First Dentist Visit

2011-01-19T14:28:00.000-08:00

Colton went to the dentist for the first time today. It was by far the coolest dentist office I have ever seen. They had a double decker bus to play on in the waiting room with toys and books inside it. Then they took us back, showed Colton a stuffed monkey, and showed them on the monkey's teeth what they would be checking in C's mouth.
He got cool glasses and prizes for being there. And as we left we made friends with the giant gorilla and the other stuffed animals they had there. Despite his sullen expression, Colton had a great time. It was totally worth it to go to a pediatric dentist. Just the start of something we'll be doing for the rest of his life.

Happy Birthday to Me

2011-01-17T14:28:00.000-08:00

I had a birthday! It started great with Jon and C letting me sleep in and then I came down to a breakfast of yummy pancakes. C is such a great helper. Check him out trying to help me blow out those candles in almost every picture.

That night for dinner, we got take out from PF Chang's and my favorite - an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. Jon's parents and Lorri Beth came over to join us for the celebration. Thanks for a fun birthday everyone!!

My Ute Guys

2011-01-15T14:28:00.000-08:00

There doesn't need to be a game, any occasion works great for these boys to show their support. Go Utes!

Snowblowing and Buzz Lightyear - to the Rescue

2011-01-14T14:27:00.000-08:00

Little C admires just about everything his daddy does. Of course that includes pushing a big snow blower around. He was so happy about it this morning, that he went out to join him.

He was greeted with a high five, then bones (because they're super cool).

Then they cleared off the sidewalk together. Could they look any cuter?

Apparently it was cold. Good thing it's still Daddy's job to clear the driveway, because Little C didn't last very long.

Instead he got on his Buzz Lightyear costume and waited for his daddy to help him fly. That is until Jon's super strength wore off and then Colton just watched his dad lay on the floor for a while.

First Day of Preschool

2011-01-06T14:27:00.000-08:00

Colton started preschool today! He only goes on Thursdays, but it goes from 9:15-1pm and they even feed him lunch. He was so excited to start preschool. He was so excited that this is the only picture I could get of him, while he was actually still buckled in his carseat. He had a great day. Hopefully he'll love it for the rest of the school year.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T14:26:00.000-08:00

We rang in the New Year with these fabulous friends. Rachel and Brandon threw a black and white themed party. We wore black and white, ate yummy black and white food, and played Dance Central on their Xbox Kinect. It's really cool, but Jon and I learned really quickly that we might be the worst dancers ever!
It was a great way to end 2010 and welcome 2011. Thanks for the fun time! (And thanks for the pictures that I stole from your blog Rachel!!)