For Time and All Eternity

Well, we survived. We drove all day Friday, spent all day Saturday with wedding things, and then came home on Sunday. It was one of the busiest, craziest, but best weekends ever. I am so happy I could be there when my little brother married his sweetheart. Jes is truly awesome and I am grateful she is my sister-in-law! Here are some highlights from the wedding:
I love being with my family, but this picture really hits home the Sesame Street song "one of these things is not like the other." (the giant is me, the other two are my cute mom and tiny sister) Livi loved the temple, more specifically she loved sitting on it. The reception was at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, which is always beautifully decorated for Christmas. Ella loved posing in front of the tree, Ethan not so much. Livi is always a surprise to me. She is just as much a pretty princess as Ella. The girls loved their dresses, and gold shoes, and pranced around all night. Ethan didn't prance so much as goof around. We had the best seat in the house at our table. Temple Square is so pretty at night during Christmas and we got to enjoy it, all while being warm, comfortable, and eating a yummy meal. By the end we were all tuckered out, I think Livi's look is basically about how we all felt. It was a truly wonderful day, and I only wish I had more pictures of Jes and James (I only have the low light, grainy one at the beginning) so if anyone reading this has one please email some to me.

Blankie 2.0

Weddings are a crazy time. We lost one oatmeal colored glove, our health, my will to NOT live in Utah, but most importantly we lost Livi's blankie. It somehow got lost somewhere in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building during the reception. Not only did we check lost and found there, but my dad went back and checked the temple too, to no avail. It wasn't in the car, or the hotel, so we were left with one option: Drive to Provo on Sunday right before we left and buy a new one. We thought it would be fine, and we were wrong. The University Mall in Provo is one of the few places on Earth that is not open on Sunday. Normally I would be their biggest supporter in that, but having a baby that misses her blankie, and doesn't understand why it isn't there, all I wanted was for the mall to be open. The trip home was very hard, to say the least. We did have a burp cloth that was made of the same material, on the front, as her blankie, but she was too smart to be fooled for long. At first she would cuddle the burp cloth and look relieved. Then she would feel the back, like she does with her blankie, but instead of the soft pink material there would be a terry cloth side. She would pull it away to look at it, and then: Total Meltdown!

Luckily I have the nicest parents in the world, who were not only willing to go to the mall on Monday and buy her a new one, but were also willing to overnight it to us so Livi would finally take a nap, or go to bed, without looking at us woefully and whimpering softly until she finally gave up and went to sleep. We waited all morning for the knock, and finally it came. The wonderful UPS man came, and brought our salvation. Livi came over, looked in the package, was little shocked, but then set off on some catch-up cuddling. They haven't been apart all day!

The Price We Pay For a Little Quiet

Livi hadn't been feeling well for a couple of days. On Tuesday I was asked to bring an extra girl to preschool with us, which adds an extra 25 minutes to our time in the car. It doesn't help that preschool coincides with nap time to begin with, but by the time we dropped the girls off at school Livi was screaming hysterically. Luckily Melissa had given us some Christmas goodies when we picked up Maddi, so I started handing Livi some chocolate covered caramel to help her with the ride home. I didn't look back till we pulled into our driveway, and this is what I saw:

Dancing Queen(s)

The View From My Window

...Who just happens to be named, Ella

Ella loves her new tutu/skirt from Thankmus. She wears it at least once a day. Here is one of her "interpretive" dances inspired by her new favorite tutu.

Yeah for Hair!

Finally I can get two little ponytails in Livi's hair. Maybe now people will stop asking how old my little boy (dressed entirely in pink) is.

The Amazing Race (but not really since Dad let everyone catch up)

My dad is a man of many talents. One is trying hard to help people have fun experiences. This year, after Thankmus, my dad (with a some help from my mom) set up the most awesome game. Most of us are big fans of The Amazing Race on tv, so my dad set up The Amazing Race: Antelope Valley Edition. Dad had clues, roadblocks, the whole nine yards, with lots of fun activities for us. We took videos of most of the tasks (driving remote control cars and helicopters, feeding ducks at Apollo Park, shooting at targets) but for this particular activity we had to take still photos. We had to make our way to the exotic feline breeding compound in Rosamond and take photos of teammates with the different breeds of cats. I wish we had more time to spend there. I had lived in the Antelope Valley for 10 years and never visited, and it was much cooler than I expected. If anyone reading this lives there, go visit, it's worth it!

Seriously????

She is seriously asleep. Totally, completely asleep.

Thankmus, Christgiving, or whatever

On the Beesley side, were all saddened by the thought that we wouldn't have Christmas together. James and Jes would be on their Honeymoon, Andrew and Joy are going to Joy's family, and Eric and I couldn't find a way to make it to the wedding in Utah, then head on to California for the Christmas, and make it back to Nebraska in time for Eric to be back to work. In trying to figure out how to not fade into a depression in the lost traditions, my Mom had a truly inspired idea. We decided to do Christmas at Thanksgiving (James came up with "Thankmus" but Ethan is convinced it should be "Christgiving" to keep Christ involved, which makes sense). It was a hard idea to wrap my head around at first, but after embracing it, it was a lot of fun to take care of half of Christmas ahead of time.
There were somethings I missed, like reading Luke 2, opening pajamas the night before, eating Christmas tree sweat roll for breakfast, and opening stockings, but something that made missing those things worth it: spending the time with my family. I can make the sweet roll, we can read the scriptures here, but I will truly miss our families on Christmas.

Enough of dwelling on the sad, here is our fun celebration: Livi LOVED unwrapping

Ebby in his totally awesome sunglasses (he takes after his Daddy in crazy sensitive eyes)

Livi kept running over to play with toys when it wasn't her turn to tear into a present.

Then she ran over to put on her new hat and ran back to the toys.

Ella and Livi helped James, who was working as the present sorter, to hand out the gifts.

Ella got a cornucopia of pink. She got a pink apron, which she wears every time we bake, a pink tutu that she wears at least once a day, and a pink Barbie camper that Livi tries to "play" with whenever she can, but that Ella is very proprietorial over.

There were lots of "favorite" gifts for Ethan but when we left Thankmus and were getting ready for bed that night Ethan almost started crying when we realized we had left the Power Ranger transformer thingy at my parents house. I had to run over in my pj's and get it for him (luckily the Stotts and my parents live only a little over a mile apart).

I'm still missing some key pictures, so if anyone (Mom) has a copy of the group shot from that night, if you could send me a copy I would appreciate it!

Attack of the Geese, or Apollo Park

One other thing the kids were excited about when visiting California is going to Apollo park with their Grandma Joan. They love to play on the playground, have a snack, and feed the ducks cornflakes. Joan is sport to take them, and she even got some really cute pictures.It looks like the ducks only got a little, because the kids ate most of the cornflakes themselves, and the geese where there to help them out! Maybe they helped out a little too much, by the look on the kids face!It's amazing to me that Ella hears someone getting out a camera, and "Boom" she is in princess pose. An real smile from Ethan, a priceless photo.

How The Heck Do You Aim This Thing?

Just an addendum to my last post. I also love to see our scores on Buzz. I'm getting closer to Eric in scores, and Ethan works so hard trying to aim his gun that Ella's blast at anything approach seems to outscore him every time!

10 Reasons I Love Disneyland

Disneyland, oh how I love thee, let me count the ways...
1. How we have to ride on Dumbo at the very beginning, because the kids love it, and if we don't go on it first then we have to wait 2 hours to ride a plastic elephant around and around until I feel like puking. I'll wait 15 minutes to feel like I need to vomit, but not 2 hours.
2. Having to force my 6 year old to ride rides. Well, I admit it, they are scary ones. Ethan went on Splash Mountain and Space Mountain, and Big Thunder Railroad for the first time this trip. Ella had been on Splash Mountain before, but not the other two. She also got to ride Indiana Jones for the first time. Ethan came off the rides saying "I am never going to do that again!" were as Ella was shouting "Let's go again!"
3. Churros, or as Ella says "cheerios." I love churros. I could eat 7 (in fact I have eaten 7 on one trip, but that was when I was 13 and could do things like that). It is tradition to buy and eat as many churros as we can. Even Livi loved her first churros and kept trying to steal more.
4. People watching. There are some weird people out there. I have to admit this trip took the cake for all time weird people watching experience. We were in line for Winnie the Pooh, and the people ahead of us took the name a little too literally. After taking this photo, we turned around and someone had set up a little kid porta potty and was having their toddler use it. I am all for consistency in potty training, but maybe a trip to Disneyland should be an exception.
5. Having all the people around me that I love. No one ever skips a trip to Disneyland if they can possibly go, so it's a time when we are all together and having fun. We were so lucky to have all the family, and Julia's friend Cara, with us this time. We were a BIG group, but it was fun to see people's faces when we told them there were 14 in our group that needed to be seated near each other. We had a whole boat on It's a Small World to ourselves.
6. Seeing my kids experience things that I grew up with. Ethan and Ella found the sword in the stone for the first time this trip, and it was fun seeing them trying to pull it out. They loved the story about when Andrew actually got to pull it, and was king for a day.
7. How the same ride, at the same time can be so different to two people. We all went on Autopia together, but our rides were so different. Ella got to steer and our road was a bumpy, laugh filled adventure. Ethan and Eric were in another car. Ethan looked stressed out by the responsibility of driving, where as Eric had, had his own adventure. He was next to John Voight, the actor, and his granddaughters and the two cars were "racing."
8. How everyone tries to be thoughtful of others there. Strangers are nice. Parents try to help each other out, and our own family tries harder. Mom and Dad were so great. Not only did they treat us to this wonderful experience, but more often than not they were sitting out rides with Livi and Ebby. Thank you.
9. How goofy we all are. It's funny how you start taking hundreds of pictures of people and they start making weird faces!
10. How great my kids sleep that night. Everyone was so worn out none had a problem sleeping the night before Thankmus.

Downtown Disney

The night before we conquered Disneyland we drove down and took advantage of the shopping and dinng outside the park. It's so nice to drive quickly over to the park, not have to drive 2 hours down, and be refreshed when we start the day! I LOVE Disneyland, especially before Christmas. We've gone so many years right before Christmas, that the season doesn't seem to start until we see the gigantic decorated Christmas tree on Main Street, go on the Halloween/Christmas Haunted Mansion, and see Sleeping Beauties Castle decorated to the nines. I know my kids look forward to it almost as much as I do.
We were lucky to have such a big group to have there early. We were able to go to dinner at La Brea bakery (best sandwhiches ever), get our makeup fix at Sephora, and pick out souveniors the day before so we didn't waste any play time at the park the next day. Ella picked out a very pink outfit that has bright pink bows and "princess" all over it. Ethan picked out a Yoda dressed as Santa, and Livi picked out her own dress with lots of pink ruffles on it. She actually picked it out over and over so we eventually gave in. I think Ella may have a rival in the girly department when they are older.
One of Livi's favorite things was looking at all the decorations. She would point, bounce, and sing. There was a band playing and she was dancing in our arms as we carried her. I finally put her down by the music, but she was so absorbed in watching the other people dance she only bounced a little. I have a feeling in a couple years she'll be out there tangoing with the best of them.

Meeting Ebby

My kids were sooooo excited to finally meet their only cousin. Ebby (Edward James) is the sweetest, cuddliest cutest nephew I have ever had! Ebby and Joy got into California after the kids were asleep, but first thing in the morning they were asking when they could see him. I love the look of joy on Ethan's face. Livi thought Ebby was pretty awesome, and kept trying to pat him, and occasionally tried to sit next to (or on) him.Ebby is a cute little mix of Joy and Andrew, and one of my favorite things was seeing him stick out his tongue like Andrew always has.
Casey also thought he was great, but I think that may because he smells so yummy. I have to admit that there were a couple times I just sat and smelled his hair, so I can't really blame Casey.

Livi and the Kitty

Our next door neighbors have a kitty that loves my kids, and when he sees us outside he runs to his kitty door and comes over to play with them. Livi and I walked out to say goodbye to Ella as she climbed into the Bagley's car to go to preschool, and out the kitty came. For some reason, he either has no nerves in his back, or he is willing to let Livi "pet" him over and over. We spent about 20 minutes outside grappling with the ever patient kitty, and then headed for the door. The kitty, whom I will now dub "Ginger" for ease of typing, started following us in. I had to wrangle the door, the baby, and Ginger, but finally we were all on the sides of the door I deemed appropriate. Unfortuantely Livi and Ginger disagreed with me. They sat, longingly staring at each other through the door. Livi would put her little hand up to the door, and Ginger would put his paw up. They would sit and then stand, and then sit together. They spent about 10 minutes at the door before I felt we should close the door, and by the screams of protest inside, and the mews from outside, I think they could have spent another couple hours at the door.

Livi Signing Time

Most of you know we do sign language with our babies, and lately Livi has really taken a shine to the Signing Time videos. I love the manic nature of her signs. "Dad" consists of slapping her head, "All done" is arms waving in every direction, and here is "baby" for your enjoyment

Come on Guys, Wait Up

If We Only Had A Pool

For Julia- Ella was playing downstairs today while Livi took her morning nap. I told her that when she had finished setting up the playmobil that I would love to see what she was working on. When I was summoned I found that she had created a cute home, full of decorations, a grocery store that the mom of the family could shop for, and a little pond out in the backyard. When I asked about the girl she put by the pond she explained that it was the big sister and she was standing by the water with her music, singing. It reminded me so much of Julia walking around the pool at home singing to herself. I KNOW if Ella had a pool, she would be doing the same thing, and it was so cute to see her position her playmobil girl in that exact pose. In my head I see a little Julia and Ella walking like princesses around my parent's pool singing to themselves. Classic.

Just For Fun, or Livi Trying to Blow Raspberries

Ethan's Best Day Ever

I love these days, where one of your kids just has a bunch of great things happen for them, and they are ecstatic. Ethan had one of those days on Monday. When we showed up at school there were a group of boys by the fence where Ethan comes in. When he walked through they surounded him, gave him hugs and said "Yeah, Ethan is here." His friends had waited for him to arrive, and when he did they all ran off to play together. For those of you who don't know we have had a few issues with some of these boys being the type of hot/cold friends, but it seems that things have been really good lately. He was so happy the smile on his face almost made me cry. (I took the pictures the next day when it happened again!)
While I was in the shower I got a phone call from Ethan's teacher. I was so worried it was about him throwing up at school, or getting hurt (it never crossed my mind he was in trouble, though, he's not that type) so imagine my surprise when the call was to get permission to put Ethan up into second grade for all English and reading. He is the only first grader they are doing this for, and it seems as though he will spend about 3 hours a day, four days a week up in second grade. His teacher explained how excited Ethan was, which made me happy, since he can be so shy at school.
When Ethan got home he wanted to tell me all about it, then he wanted to make sure his Grandmas and Grandpas knew about it. Since it was such a big accomplishment I told him he could pick whatever he wanted for dinner as a celebration. He picked pizza, but not just any pizza, Pizza Hut (it's his favorite type, but since it is so expensive we don't get it very often). He was just so happy and proud of himself, as well he should be.
I'm so glad Ethan had a great day. I'm so glad he feels proud of his accomplishments, and I'm so glad he was blessed with such a great mind.

Livi's Purse

Livi has taken to carrying a makeup bag all over the place. It is her little purse. I find binkies, toys, the phone, and even toothpaste in there. She loves to take it outside with her, and holds it on her lap in the car. (yes, that is a crust of bread she is chewing on. I tried to take it away, but she won that battle)

View From My Window

The view from my window in the morning. I love the seasons here.

Eyeballs Rolling

With the after Halloween sales of candy I let the kids pick out the candy of their choice. Ella picked out tootsie rolls (of course) but Ethan picked out these weird gummy eyeballs. They turned out to be so gross (shocker) that no one would eat one, and they individual eyeballs ended up all over the house. Livi found that she loved chewing (shocker) on the plastic cover on the candy, which was a little disconcerting to see my one year old running around with an eye in her mouth.

Singing Sensation Ella, and Her Back Up Dancer Livi

Livi finally got to turn her car seat around, and thought it was stupid the first time she tried it. She has since found out life is a lot more fun when you can see where you are going. Ella is still addicted to the Twilight soundtrack, and more specifically Muse. Here are my girls enjoying listening to "Super Massive Black Hole" ( a rare treat, because I am a little sick of it after having to listen to it over and over and over and over).

This is Halloween, Halloween Night

Finally, after all the planning, sewing, buying, decorating, and stressing, it is Halloween. After all the canceled parties we decided to take the kids trick-or-treating on Broadway during the afternoon, then head over to the ward party. At the ward party Eric entered some Chili in a cook off, and his was very good, as usual. They also had costume competitions, which I think should never be done at church. How do you tell one kid their costume is better? It's not like the kids made/bought the costumes. Ella cried when she didn't win, and I felt so guilty. Here I had spent about 15 hours on her costume, and it wasn't good enough. (Yes, that is a house on my head) Sorry, I'll stop rambling. So after trunk-or-treating at the church we headed out with the Bagleys to do some tick-or-treating in our neighborhood. Ethan is Treeko, a pokemon, Eric is a pokemon trainer named Brock, Ella is Glinda the good witch, Maddi is Silvermist from the Tinkerbell movie, Carter (held by Melissa) is Tiger, I am the Wicked Witch of the West, and Caleb is a pirate. It was fun to have friends to go door to door with. I think the kids had fun having people to run up to the doors with, and I had fun having other adults to talk to. All in all it was an awesome day, but I am VERY happy not to have to do anything else Halloween related for another 11 months.

Jealous?

How can you not be jealous? Snow is absolutely the best! We got over 16 inches of snow on Thursday, and it was beautiful. Ella's preschool was canceled on Thursday, causing us to miss her Halloween party. Ethan's school was canceled on Friday, canceling his party. They were VERY sad about these missed opportunities to show off their costumes, but on the bright side, they did have over a feet of snow to play in. By today, not 2 days later, the snow started melting. Eric, Ethan, and Ella went out this morning and made an awesome snowman. Ella's hands got cold, leaving the boys up to their own devices. Well, they made some silly piles of snow, and one of them somehow turned into a throne that they had to fight (wrestle) over, of course.

One Year of Livi

This may be a big file, but it's worth it to see the change in Livi. She is such a charming funny girl, and I am so glad we were blessed with her in our lives.

My Baby is 1

I can't believe it has been a year since my beautiful Livi came into our home. This year has flown by and I am so sad that time is going this quickly. Olivia, of course, had no idea what was going on today, but it was pure joy on her face to be able to rip paper and I didn't scold her, I even encouraged her.
She was very good at ripping all the paper off, much to the chagrin of her two big helpers who were dying to open the gifts. I had to remind them earlier today that they would have 2 Christmas celebrations coming up and that this day was about Livi (both had complained that they didn't get any presents).
We had the Bagleys over for cake, sweet rolls and icecream. I was about to break off pieces of cake for Livi when I got distracted (as I so often do these days). When I turned back around she had managed to stuff most of the cake in her face. She seemed pretty relaxed through it all. Thank goodness we have the Bagleys here. It would have made for a very lonely 1st birthday if we didn't have them as surrogate extended family. Livi kept begging Melissa to pick her up and even went and stayed sitting in Melissa's lap for a quite a while (which she rarely does with me). Having them over seemed to be the highlight of her day. Carter even got in the birthday spirit and offered Olivia one of his socks.And for all grandparents who we missed terribly, here is the big moment:

Boo at the Zoo

The weather this week is suppose to get bad, so we decided to go to the zoo last night for their Halloween celebration. I had to hurry and get Ella's costume to a wearable stage (still missing some trim) Ella is Glinda the Good Witch, Olivia is Dorothy, and Ethan is Treecko a pokemon character. It was super fun until......



I dropped the camera. I love this camera. It is the best camera I have ever owned. This camera goes every where with me, takes awesome pictures, and does video. I feel like I lost an apendage. Here is the last picture I ever got to take with it:

Livi and the Kitty

Our next door neighbors have the sweetest cat. Whenever he sees the kids are outside he runs over to play. He lets us pick him up, pet him, love him, and even lets Livi come over and be "gentle." In the video Livi gets so excited she can barely "stand" it (that one's for you Dad).

Oh the Pains of Sisterhood

Poor Ella. She is so patient and loving. She has the most beautiful, long, hair, and Livi loves it. Loves to pull it, actually. She pulled a huge chunk of hair out of Ella's head, and had to go to time out for the first time. It doesn't seem to matter, though, she keeps trying to pull out Ella's hair. Ella's has never gotten mad AT her, never looks like she's going to do something back, she just sits there and quietly cries. We've had to start putting Ella's hair in buns and ponytails all the time just to keep her scalp intact.
It reminds me of sharing a bed with Julia. We shared a double bed and she would turn sideways and take up 90% of the bed. I would lay on a 6 inch sliver of bed while her feet kicked and pushed me all night long. I don't think I took it as patiently as Ella does, but I certainly know the pains of being a big sister. (I love you Julia)

The View From My Window

I am a lucky girl. I love to look out my front window, especially in fall.

Stinky Air, Disgusted Stares, and a Chocolate Trail to Follow

I was whipping up some of Joan's yummy banana bread this afternoon when I noticed Livi acting a little odd. She would run over to my legs, then run away as quickly as her cute, chubby little legs would carry her. I wasn't to interested until I felt something wet drip on my foot. I looked down and...
there was a great big drop of brown slobber on my foot. Well, I looked at the floor close to my foot and found a trail...which led me to a beautiful, messy baby.

I had dropped some chocolate chips that were going into the bread, and she would run over, grab one, and run away before I could notice she had something she wasn't suppose to have. Funny Livi.
As for the "disgusted stare" if you look closely at the picture above you can kind of see the black eye that Olivia is recovering from. She was running in the house and fell, didn't catch herself, and fell right onto her eye. A few days later she did the same thing at the mall, and landed on the exact same spot. It gave her a real shiner, and people have been looking at me weirdly and straight out asking what happened ever since.
As for the stinky air...for those of you who have ever lived by a sugar beet plant (only Grandpa Bud, I think) you know exactly what I mean. For those of you who don't, sugar beets, when refined into sugar, smell like rancid peanut butter. Not horrible if it is for a day, but for months on end? Well, it gets pretty old.

The Little (Fire) Engine That Could

One of the benefits to living in a smaller community is the opportunities the kids constantly have to go on field trips. Ethan went to a pumpkin patch and a play this week, and Ella was able to walk to the fire department to visit the firemen. I couldn't go with Ethan because I had already promised to help with computers in Ella's class, and I have the girls during the morning. I was able to go with Ella, and it was a blast. The talk to the kids about fire safety and even dress up in their fire gear so the kids wont be scared if they ever need to be rescued by firemen in their full uniform. We got to see all the fire trucks, spray the hose and then the kids got to ride back to the preschool on a vintage fire truck. Melissa and I had Carter and Livi in backpacks so, alas, we could not fit on the truck, but we consoled ourselves by walking to the bakery and getting some yummy doughnuts. We then walked around until the end of preschool (about an hour and 15 minutes) hoping the babies would take a nap. Livi finally did for the last 20 minutes, but carrying around 30 extra pounds for that long really did a number on my knees. Oh well, the doughnut was worth it!


The poor little vintage truck stalled in the middle of the street, and after my initial mother's freak out of my daughter stuck in the road, I had to laugh.

Franken-Blankie and the Shelf from Hades

I've been a little under the weather lately and have neglected some of the upkeep around the house, but something happened yesterday that could not be ignored. Ella was playing a game with Eric involving tossing her blanket and Eric trying to get it away from her. All people who have ever loved a blanket know that this game is not a good idea, but Ella was unaware of the dangers, and unfortunately blankie got ripped up the middle. I had to pull out the sewing machine and repair the damage plus all the damage that I'd been putting off fixing. The results were great, super secure, but it does look a little like a blanket Frankenstein's Monster's daughter would love.

We have recently tried to make our house more live-able to cut down on my desire to move to a bigger home. It's really been working (thank you again Mom and Dad for the new couch, we LOVE it and it has made the single biggest difference! We love the entertainment tower too!). I also bought some shelves to put above the piano and have been trying to figure out how to get them to stay up on our plaster walls (never buy a home with plaster walls, no matter what the home inspector guy says about insulation and sound proof benefits, not worth it). I ended up having to repair the wall, call my dad, and eventually add shims underneath to keep the stupid shelf up, but I think it's worth it (or I'm just blinded by the hard work and effort put in, and it looks badly, and will probably fall down on my head while I play the piano).

Signing Time with Livi

We've been working on some sign with Olivia, and she seems to like it. She even signed "sorry" to Ella the other day, but I think it was just empty words, she seemed pretty happy about pulling Ella's hair.

Snow? In October?

Yep, we've been blessed with snow at the beginning of October. Last year we put up a video of Ethan riding on a shovel. This year it is Ella's turn.

Dance Magic Dance Part 2

Livi had a couple of short videos where she was rocking out to the song, but she kept hitting the space bar and pausing it. I posted the other video because it was uninterrupted, but on reviewing the video I found her moves were pretty awesome on this one. It's longer, but the good moves are at the beginning. Enjoy!

Dance Magic Dance (for Julia)

Livi loves to bounce to music. Everytime she hears a good beat she bounces. We were looking up video from the Wizard of Oz, when somehow a clip from Labyrinth came up. Labyrinth reminds me of Julia, so I clicked on it. It's one of the funnier scenes, so I turned it on to let Ella watch it. Here is Livi's reaction.

The Dancing Train

Ella is in ballet again, and it is a real ballet studio. I am very excited to have her dancing, and more importantly she is very excited to go every week. We aren't allowed in the room (they get distracted), but it is a very safe set up, so I feel okay with it, although I'd love to watch her learn. The part we do get to see is when they line up in a "train" and walk on eleve into their class. I love it!

Climber Livi

9 months and she's walking, 10 months she's dancing, 11 months she's climbing, what's next? Maybe she'll do a back flip for her 1st birthday. I guess there is one more room we need to close the door to. One more area I have to sit and watch her in. Her independence and my leash.

Getting Better

It's October, Yeah!!!!!

I love October. It cools down, rains, and leaves start to fall. I became a Mommy for the last time last October. I love Halloween (everyone gives out free candy to cute kids, how often does our society get together like this anymore?). I love costumes, chocolate, ghosts and ghouls. I love the idea of dressing up and being something else for the night.
To get in the mood I decided to make some yummy sugar cookies (my mom has the BEST recipe) and since Maddi was coming over I thought the girls might enjoy helping me decorate them. I made traditional Halloween colored icing, and when I asked the girls what colors they wanted Ella looked and me with a perplexed look on her face and asked "Where is the pink?" Where was the pink indeed? Well, I whipped some up super quick, the girls were happy, and we made some beautiful cookies!

All that glitters

I was so excited with the free reign that we have been given for our bridesmaid outfits for James and Jes' wedding. Our only stipulations are shorter, black dresses and gold shoes. I may be pushing the envelope a little with my choices, but luckily Jes is the type to find that funny, rather than be mad. I've ordered my exciting new items, and was thrilled to get my shoes in the mail today. Ella helped take pictures of my shoes and then asked if she could wear them. After walking around a little bit she asked "Where are my new shoes?" Hmmm, I wonder if they make tiny little gold sequin shoes.

On the Birght Side I was Bitten by a Pig

My hands were repeatedly scraped and cut by gross, rusty, dirty nails last night and in the midst of it all I had to laugh, at least that pig bit me last year so I don't have to go get a tetanus shot tonight. On the bright side, to quote my mom. Last night, while Eric was gone, I tore up the carpet in our living room. I have wanted it done, and although not opposed to the idea, I don't think Eric wanted to spend his very little spare time on yet another home project. He was gone arguing a case in the appellate court so I took the opportunity to get it done, and have a "fun" surprise for him. It took most of both days, but I got it done in time for Eric's return. Our new couch and entertainment tower were delivered, so the new room was complete. Sure, the floor has lots of gouges, and nail marks. Sure there is an area where the boards were replaced, but not stained to match, but I got rid of that nasty, gross carpet. I will not even scare you with the horrors that abound when you lift up carpet, but don't do it if you are a neat freak. So long story short, I redid the living room (or is it family room, I can never remember which is which). I now have an area I can have people over in, that hopefully will be a respite from toys (yeah right). Now on to one of the other hundred things we have planned for our house. I think the porch is next...

Neither Rain nor Sleet....

Livi has taken to carrying things around. She is mobile enough that she can carry something that seems to weigh as much as she does room to room. She will carry one shoe into another room, making morning time a little stressful as we hunt for the errant shoe. I have seen her carry her blanket all over the house, even through the pile I just swept in the kitchen. Today at the Bagley's house Maddi was nice enough to let Livi carry around her stuffed penguin (I almost wanted to carry it around it was so soft!). The funniest to date was actually today where she dragged the toy baby stroller all around the house. The thing is SO awkward, but she was determined to take it everywhere she wanted to go. Don't even try to tade her for something lighter, that little girl has already mastered the art of the temper tantrum.

If it Walks like a Duck...

As requested by grandparents, I give to you Olivia walking. She has been walking for a while, but just this week she has perfected it. Only 10 1/2 months old, prodigy anyone? (just kidding)

Rools

Ethan came home from his first day at school exited about all the things in his classroom that were different from last year. There is Tattle Toad who HATES it when people tattle, even and odd number poems, and most importantly there is a list of rules on the wall. Ethan came home and decided we needed our own list posted by the door.

Translation:
Rools (rules)
listen to Mom
To be Kind
Dont Run
Listen to Dad
Be Safe
Be Respectful
Be Responsible
Be Careful to Baby

Ethan is always drawing. Even in the shower. Eric says he will ask him to do something, like wash his hair and Ethan will write "N-O" on the shower door in the steam. I came in the other day and he was drawing faces.

He also drew on the back of his school work. He and a friend were having their pencils battle, so he thought it would make a great picture. Ethan's pencil, the taller one, is hitting the smiley face pencil and saying "awesome, awesome" (osom, osom) while the poor little smiley face pencil calls for help. I guess the thing above the smiley face pencil is a shield that Ethan's pencil threw on its head. I am a little concerned with the violence of this picture (we may have to stop watching pokemon) but I am also amused at the depiction of pencils fighting. Hmmmm, which side will win out, the appalled mother or the british humor lover in me?

Child Prodigy

I bought Ethan some piano books at our local music store, and since I live in Scottsbluff Nebraska and not Los Angeles I got to talking to the owner of the store about teaching kids instruments. I myself started at age 8, and Ethan will be 6 almost 7. Normal, yes. He told me that a parent called asking for flute lessons for her 2 year old daughter. Okay crazy people. I realized with this story, and after talking to some parents at Ethan's school, how the average IQ is 100, there have to be people like this out there to bring the average down. Crazy flute mom is a waco, but I am not (okay yes I am, but I am on medication so it doesn't count). I know all parents think their kids are prodigies, but I know I am right in saying that Livi is a musical genious! (Heavy sarcasm is so hard to type)

First Day of School, or My Car the Prison

School has finally started and it is nice to have the 2 hour "break" where I get to play with Livi one on one and she has a little nap. What I don't like is the morning Ella doesn't have a playmate, making lunches that only get half eaten, the constant driving in the car, and waking Livi up from her afternoon nap so we can race off to Ella's preschool and then race to Ethan's school. On the bright side next year I'll just have Livi during the day, and she'll still be napping (maybe my house will get clean, ha ha). On the sad side, next year I'll just have Livi during the day. I miss my little ones while they are gone. I may not love playing pokemon with the kids, but I enjoy hearing them play pokemon, I love hearing there little games, the funny things they say.
So on to happier things, Ethan has a great teacher, Mr. Behnke (yes pronounced like the baby pacifier) and there are only 16 kids in his class. Yes, you read that right, take that California! He LOVES Mr. Behnke, and has actually come home excited to tell me things that he did at school. My little shy guy is growing up.Growing up, yes. Still making goofy faces in pictures though.

Ella also started school, and I think it is a big adjustment for her. After we dropped off Ethan she was ready to go off to preschool, just like last year. I explained that we would go after lunch. She looked concerned and said "But I'm not hungry for lunch." After laughing and explaining that we weren't moving lunch up, but moving preschool later, she was very upset. It didn't help that all summer she had her best friend, Maddi, all to herself, and when she walked into the preschool Maddi was playing on the swings with someone else. She teared up, and didn't want to go outside. I felt so badly for her. I know that feeling, of being left out, and it breaks my heart to see it in her eyes. Luckily Mrs. Hessler, the best no nonsense preschool teacher in the world quickly assessed the situation and paired Bella up with another little girl. Ella still got to sit by Maddi, and she was pretty stoic about it when I picked her up. All in all it will be an interesting year.

Chocolate Baby

Another example of my fine parenting on display. In my defense I DO have a really bad sinus infection and I want to lay around and sleep all day. I was laying on the couch after church and heard some rustling over by the table. Eric and the kids were in other rooms, so no one was there to check what Livi had gotten into. It hurts to move my head too much, so I thought it probably wasn't a big deal, I thought it was a cracker wrapper for saltines. Not great, but I thought I would let her eat some crackers and I could clean it up later. Well, it wasn't crackers.
It was Ethan's Kit Kat that he hadn't finished. It made me laugh so hard to see her grubbing away on the chocolate, and that Ethan hadn't finished a Kit Kat. Who's child is he? I picked her up before it got too bad, and let her finish in the kitchen over the sink. I probably will regret this later when she's gumpy from a tummy ache, but I figured she was already grumpy from teething and this at least would taste delicious. Bad Mommy 101, taking applicants now.

Attack of the Livi Grizzly

Some more cute growling from Olivia. I just love the sounds that come out of her mouth!

Frankenstien Walking

Livi is walking. She started taking steps her and there last month, and started perfecting her technique in Canada. Now she is taking several steps all the time, and yesterday she walked across the room. This morning I got a couple of steps on camera. I love the little lurching.

Staying Sane, or Furniture Shopping

Well, we are at an impasse in our future planning. Eric can waive into other states next April, so it makes sense to wait until then to job hunt, but we have outgrown our little house here. I am quickly going crazy in the cramped quarters, but we really don't want to buy a new house (because we may only be here for a short time, and it's nice to have a small mortgage payment). After several LONG phone calls to my mom, trying to make the best of the situation, we've decided to try and make the basement more liveable to make spending time down there more palatable. One thing we did was move our ultra comfy couch downstairs, plus move all the entertainment stuff down, so upstairs can stay neater (I hate when your best friend drops by to drop off the yummiest salsa, and your living room looks like Tornado Livi struck). Long story short, I went furniture shopping to get a new sofa for upstairs. The kids actually had a blast and had their favorite types of furniture. Ella truly got into the spirit of things, and I'm a little concerned we will being seeing her on the Price is Right as a model in about 16 years. We didn't get any of the pieces she is showing off, but her poses were so funny I couldn't help adding them.

All Tucked In

Ethan is such a sweet little guy. He LOVES stuffed animals. He has such a great imagination each animal has a name, personality, likes and dislikes, and special friends among the other stuffed animals. At night he loves to have them all in bed with him (or at least some of them).
A couple of nights ago I came in to turn off the light from his reading books in bed and realized that he had organized his friends. His two pokemon, Sneasel and Sudoowoodoo (?) where laying on a pillow by him, tucked into the blanket he had me knit them. The rest of the stuffed animals where "cuddling" each other at the end of his bed in groups according to size. Okay, maybe he's a little type A like me, but there are worse ways for it to exhibit! He just wanted them all to comfortable for the night.

Mad Mommy Skills

My kids always ask how I can do things. I always, jokingly, answer "Mad Mommy Skills." This time I am not joking. I braided Livi's hair. Yes, her very short, very fine baby hair. How did I do it, yep, Mad Mommy Skills!

Baby Grizzly

I think Livi must be part Grizzly Bear, or maybe if I play back a recording of this sound at a higher tone and different speed there will be a hidden message. I hate to say it, but she does sound like a little possessed demon baby. It here new favorite sound to make. Enjoy!

Oh Canada!

Well, we did it. We survived our fabulous trip to Canada. I can't believe we've spent about 32 hours in the car with the kids in the last 10 days. Yep, 32. On the way up the three kids all wanted to watch movies, which made it hard. Livi's taste run to Elmo, Ella's to princesses, and Ethan to Pokemon. When you add in that Livi is rear facing still, and that the DVD player broke at the Canadian border (3 hours from our destination), we had a FUN time getting there! Luckily we did it in two days, so the kids weren't as bad as they could have been, and they got to play in the new park when we got there. I wanted to kiss the ground when we got there, but the prolific piles of deer droppings squashed all those feelings fairly quickly.
My parents and sister were fabulous helpers with the kids, and Eric and I even got to go on a couple dates while we were there. Eric got up every morning with the kids, and in return I didn't complain once on the many fishing trips he took (I think I got the better end of the stick, but whatever makes him happy!), so all in all it was a great break for everyone, even me.
We cried when we left, especially Ella who sorely missed her Grandma/coloring partner about 30 minutes into the car ride home, and wanted to turn around and go straight back. That was the beginning of the worst car trip in history. Well, maybe not, but it was not fun. Ethan threw up 1 hour into it because we took the windy scenic route across the border. Livi cried for about 7 hours of the 15.5 hour trip. We didn't have a DVD player for 4 hours into it, and Ella thought she would die of bordom. In Billings, Mt, about half way, Eric pointed out that Ethan's eye was swollen and oozing (bacterial conjuntivitis) so we spent lots of time disinfecting the car and washing hands at gas stations. Even with all that I would do it again just to spend time with my family. It again stuck a dagger in our hearts that we are so far from family, so if anyone knows of any attorney positions in Utah or Idaho let us know, I can't take hearing from my sad kids how much they want to be able to see their grandparents "all the time." (yes, they are in California, but we all know where they will end up).
We LOVE the new park, they really put their money to good use, I wish we had one like it in town!
It wouldn't be Waterton without throwing rocks, and the amazing and beloved Banana Boat!
Ethan and Ella had a blast coloring with Grandma Sharon. Ella and Grandma worked on coloring princess pictures and Ethan wrote lots and lots and lots of books.
Our group horseback riding. From left: Julia, Eric, Ella, Nicole, Ethan. The kids LOVED getting to ride on their ow, and Ella even looks natural on a horse. Both kids loved when the horses would trot, and I sat back and tried not the pull my hair out with worry.I am glad Livi warmed up to Grandpa Bud. I knew if she had the time (and some quiet this time) that she would love him as much as everyone else does!
Our last picture in the park. We were so sad to go, and plan to spend much more time there next year. Hopefully it wont rain every day next time, and Eric will get in some better quality fishing.

I knitted what??????

As I read my sweet cousin Megan's blog, I realized I still had not supported our mutual cousin, Andrea, in her entrepreneurial endeavor. She has operated a very awesome website, Punkbabyclothes.net, for a while now. I went online, ordered some of her cute items, and received them yesterday. The kids loved their ninja t-shirts! Ethan loved his so much, he insisted I knit a ninja mask for his stuffed pokemon. Luckily it was small so it took barely anytime, but when I started knitting I didn't think "I hope I get to knit a tiny ninja mask someday." Oh well, it was pretty fun to see how much he loved it! Livi also got a great shirt, that made Eric laugh and laugh when he got home. The kids didn't get the diaper pins, they had never seen them before. I had to explain old fashioned diapers, which both kids thought were gross. I have to agree. I love the environment, but I wipe enough bottoms, I can't think about rinsing out and cleaning diapers too. Sorry Earth!

What a Difference a Day Makes

Our last day of swim lessons before vacation was a huge success. Eric was able to come, since it was a make up day on Saturday, and I think the kids really wanted to impress him, especially Ella. She didn't cry once, and after a few jumps off the side, holding a hand, she started going by herself. I am so proud of my kids, for doing something hard, for being scared, but doing it anyways.

Terror in the Water

We got to do swimming again today. The last two days it has been way too cold and windy for lessons, but today was nicer. Nicer, but not quite nice enough. It was about 70, the water wasn't super heated, but at least there wasn't much of a breeze. I thought "They're Nebraska kids, they'll be fine." I also thought Ella would have more fun this time. I was wrong.

As you can see it was worth it, but Caleb and Ethan both had blue lips when we were done.

Mother of the Year Award Continued

Well, my bad parenting knows no bounds. We went to Wendy's with Eric for lunch after Ella's dance class (he took an early lunch to watch her, what a good dad!) I forgot Livi's formula container, so she munched on fries and a chicken nugget to tide her over. All bad, but even worse, I didn't buckle the safety seat belt in the high chair, AHHHHHHHH!

Dancing Queen

Ella had a show off day from the summer session of Ballet. It was only 6 classes, but super fun, and she showed how quickly she learns things. She talked the whole way home about how she can't wait to go to ballet again. The first clip Ella didn't put her arms out all the way and the teacher corrects her, she gets embarrassed and cries a little. Being type-A myself, I can totally understand. The second clip is her scarf dance. She was the best one, if I do say so myself! I am so proud of her!

Author and Illustrator

Ethan has always had a fascination with drawing. He also has inherited Eric's love of writing books. Last night he set up a little desk area on the table and went to work on a project. I wasn't really sure what he was doing, I just thought he was drawing like usual. 30 minutes went by, not unusual, then an hour, then 1 1/2 hours, so I finally asked what he was working on. He said "A book." I decided not to pry and just wait till he was done. It took about 2 hours 15 minutes, but I finally got to see the masterpiece. It is a book that has a top and bottom. The top of the pages talk about who are the moms of different things, like pokemon, babies, and Mickey Mouse. The bottom of the pages, when you flip the book, is a collection of songs, all but one of which he wrote by himself, that have to do with the same subjects. There is a song from Pokemon, a song about Olivia and Carter, a song about Mickey Mouse, etc.
I can't believe how good the pictures and writing were for someone who is only 6. He's got a great little work ethic, and I think we should be putting our energies in this direction instead of the failed soccer/basketball route.Notice the concentration. Notice the uncomfortable position he "sat" in for most of the time.The book is called "Poke-Moms" and "Poky Songs" on the flip side.This says "A Sudowoodos mom is a Sudowoodo" and "A Bonslys mom is a bonsly." They are pokemon characters, and if you know them, the illustrations look pretty close. The flip side has a song about Brock, a character from pokemon. It says "Broco can cook. Borco cooks the best. O Broco can cook O Brocko cooks, cooks the best. O Broco can cook." There was even a tune to it!
This one says "A Carter's (Cardrs) mom is a human (hyoomon)," and "Olivee's Mom is a human." I noticed Melissa and I look pretty similar in our pictures! Funny guy.

Livi's long lost brother Casey, or my baby is just like a golden retriever

How sad, that at every turn I think my baby is becoming more and more like my parents golden retriever, Casey? At first we called her the "golden retriever of babies" because she loved EVERYONE (except the lady at Hallmark, go figure). Since then (a couple of months ago) I have noticed more and more similarities:
1. Her her feet kick uncontrollably, making her whole body move when one of us enters the room. Casey is so happy when people come home is tail wags his whole body.
2. She follows the kids around the house. Casey follows the kids around the house.
3. Livi puts everything in her mouth, and cannot go 2 feet without something sticking out of her cute lips, mostly things I don't want in there. Casey cannot greet someone without a "present" in his mouth, and most things in there are things that we don't want him chewing on (ie scriptures, reading glasses...)
4. Livi tries to steal our food while we are eating it. Casey has stolen a sandwich my dad was in the middle of eating.
5. She is sad when you leave without her. Casey has doggy depression when someone leaves.
6. Livi thinks there are prizes in the toilet. So does Casey.
7. Livi tried to crawl into the dish washer to lick the plates. Casey is also guilty of that.
Should I be worried?