Ellie Bellie

The other day I walked in the kitchen to where Scott was with Ellie in my arms. Scott looked up and Ellie flashed him one of her amazing smiles. Then she plopped her thumb in her mouth. Scott looked at her thumb in her mouth and replied, "I knew you had a fault!" This made me laugh since she truly is a happy and good-natured little baby. Ellie, at 9 1/2 months old is running on her own schedule and making my life easier at the same time! She still doesn't have any teeth and never drools! She is not in any hurry to get moving around. She army crawls, but is content to let me hold her through soccer practice without fighting me to get down. All the other kids started walking at about 10 months--Ellie is not even close! I've enjoyed having a little baby for longer. The other kids relish her every accomplishment. A couple weeks ago she started pulling herself up in her crib to stand which still brings screams of delight when the other kids go in her room and see her standing there with a huge grin on her face. Ellie loves when Scott wrestles her, but gets nervous when he's wrestling and throwing around the other kids. She loves to swing and laughs every time Scott swings her in his arms or throws her up in the air. Brynn loves to stick Ellie in the laundry basket or any box big enough for her and push her around. Ellie just grins through it all. Everyone always comments on how happy and smiley she is. Her smile lights up a room and makes everyone happy.

One of the most amazing things is when what she does at night while we're putting Jared to bed. She is sharing a room with Jared and I usually put her down about a half-hour before Jared, but sometimes she's still awake when I come in with Jared. When she is she sits up in her crib, scoots to the side and puts both hands on the bars of the crib and peers through her "jail bars" at me and Jared. She quietly watches wide-eyed while I lay by Jared for a minute. Then I lay her back down and leave. No fussing to be held ever! It is so cute to see her peering through those bars at us! My friend called her a "trick" baby--she's so good she'll "trick" us into having another one. She hasn't done it yet!

On another completely different note, the other day we were reading a few minutes in the scriptures before school. We were reading in the illustrated Book of Mormon for kids about the brother of Jared and the people trying to build a tower to heaven. Looking at the picture and hearing about the event Brynn remarked with excitement and said “Awesome!” Apparently we need to do a better job of getting the message of the scriptures across.

Spring Gardening

Saturday was a busy day--we had two soccer games, a baptism and of course we had to make time to plant the garden. The last week we have had amazing weather--in the low 70's! Scott got the bug to get the garden started. Last year our garden didn't do as well as the year before, so Scott was much more meticulous this year at preparing our soil. He emptied two wheel-barrels full of our old dirt and added a mix of new stuff--manure, compost, fertilizer, potting soil, etc. I had the fun job of using our little tiller to till the ground. I love using that machine! Scott planted lettuce, radishes and peas--all early spring vegetables that like a little cold. We'll add more in another month or so.

The kids thought it was the funniest/grossest thing that Scott was putting "cow poop" and "chicken poop" in the garden. After checking on the garden this afternoon and smelling the not so fresh air, I'm sure our neighbors are indeed thinking it is the grossest thing and not the funniest thing!

EBAY Anxiety

Kaitlyn was the "Star of the Week" a few weeks ago and needed some pictures of her to bring in to put on the bulletin board in her classroom. After going through our computer files of pictures and printing them out, Scott and I both decided it was time to buy a new camera. There was such a difference in clarity from the pictures that were taken with a better camera than our cheapy one.

I started my research of camera's--just feeling more frustrated. There are a million cameras out there--probably many of them about the same. After weeks of reading reviews, trying out a couple, and talking to many people we decided it would be fun to have a camera that was a little nicer than a regular point and shoot camera, but not as nice as an SLR.

One night while I was on the computer I came across one of the cameras that was higly reccommended to us on EBAY for--with just six minutes until auction close. I did a little ebaying over Christmas and realized if you were going to win anything you had to bid at the last second. I spent the next six minutes surfing the internet making sure this was the one we want and with Scott behind me bid on the camera and won! Now most people would be excited, but I was just sick with worry and anxiety. We bought it for much less than the retail price, but it came from the Best Buy Outlet on EBAY. They sell store returns in working condition in original boxes, but they only show stock photos. I worried for days about the condition of the camera. Scott thought it was funny that I was so worried about it and asked me several times a day how the camera I bought was--just to add to my anxiety!

Luckily it was shipped and received very fast. I was nervous just opening the box! The camera was in perfect condition, and the knots in my stomach finally dissipated. We have had fun learning the features of this camera, and I hope it will motivate me to take more pictures!

Arroyo Sledding, Anyone?

In New Mexico, "arroyos" are constructed of cement to channel the infrequent but violent rainfall we get every so often to prevent flooding. They are narrow with steep sides, and are found all over the place here! There is an arroyo near our home, and on either side of the arroyo is a city-maintained grassy field and walking path that runs parallel with the arroyo. Last Saturday on our way home from playing soccer in the grassy field we stopped to notice the snow left on the south wall of the arroyo. The north side had melted away completely. Kaitlyn crouched down anticipating to run down the side of the arroyo, but because of the snow, started to slide a little. Jared thought this looked fun and plopped right down on his bum and slid right down the side of the arroyo. Pretty soon all the kids were "arroyo sledding"--no sled needed! We couldn't believe how fast they were sliding down. It was fun, at the expense of worn-out pants! I'm sure New Mexico officials would not be thrilled at our new found use of the arroyo. At school, the kids are taught not to play in arroyos, because when water is flowing they are quite dangerous.

Sledding in sandals is the way we do it in New Mexico!!

Soccer Mania

Saturday Scott took the kids on a bike ride, and then we went to the grassy field close to our home to play soccer. The kids love to play soccer, and Jared is especially fun to watch. He clenches his mouth and makes a "tough man" face as he intently kicks the ball around. He loves to score a goal! Soccer practice starts again next week for the girls and when I mentioned this and asked the girls if they were excited Jared was the first to pipe up, "Yeah! I can't wait!" He loves to get out on the field and kick the ball and shoot it in the goal when the girls are having their breaks.

Happy 5th Birthday Brynn!

Brynn's birthday was on Thursday. On Saturday we had a "craft" party with 8 little girls! We decorated foam tiara magnets, made stepping-stones, and decorated little canvas bags with ribbon, felt shapes and small pom-poms. It was a dream come true for Brynn and Kaitlyn--non-stop crafting for two hours! Scott and I were tired afterwards.

As you can see, Brynn's birthday cake was nothing fancy (but better tasting than any
"cute" cake we've had lately). I made a Texas Chocolate cake and decorated her name and flowers on it with M&M's the night before her party. The next day when the girls saw the cake they were so excited, and thought the M&M decor was the greatest! I smiled at their excitement and felt grateful that they didn't need an expensive cake decorated with the latest character or even an elaborately decorated homemade cake to be happy.
Children can be happy with the simpiliest things, and sometimes we parents make it harder on ourselves than we need to--or create un-needed expectations in our kids. When Kaitlyn turned two we had a big "ladybug" birthday party. I spent hours making a ladybug cake and individual ladybug cupcakes. They were cute as can be, took forever, and since I had to use so much red food coloring--tasted horrible!

You Know You Live In Albuquerque If . . .

You get a "snow day" off from school for this much snow!

Last Monday we woke up to a dusting of snow, and no school! The kids had a blast playing in the dust. They insisted on decking out in all their snow gear despite the absence of much snow. They surprised me by staying in the backyard for longer than it took to suit them all up!

We really do love the mild winter of Albuquerque. It's fun to still have some warm enough days to ride bikes and go hiking.