4 Kids Under the Age of 4

A couple from our ward needed to leave the state for the weekend to interview and check out a potential job offer and asked Brett and I if we would be willing to watch their 6 kids while they were gone. It sounded a little terrifying for me to do all by myself, but it was for a weekend after Brett's test so he wouldn't have any homework or school and would be able to help the whole time. We decided to go for it, and I'm so glad we did!

I don't want to go on and on about it but I learned a lot from this experience. I learned that I don't want to have 4 kids under the age of 4 for instance :) I learned that I married someone who is truly amazing with kids and especially loves 3 years olds because you can reason with them a bit more and they sit still long enough to cuddle and watch a show on TV.  I got some new easy dinner ideas and learned about what kind of double stroller I want when we have more kids haha. I realized that my mother is incredible and I can't believe she was able keep us 6 kids alive all this time much less teach and nurture us. HUGE Thank you to the Smiths for giving us this experience!

10 Months

Can't believe she's 10 months old already! Ellie is currently on a strawberry kick and likes to eat several with each meal. We are breaking free from the baby food now that Ellie has some teeth and loves to bite and chew. She goes around saying "ha ha" all day and instantly smiles when the theme music for Friends comes on. She also really loves to turn pages now; it's hard to read the words of the books fast enough. It's also nice that she has learned how to go from laying down to sitting up on her own. It is so cute to go into her room after a nap and see her just sitting there playing with and talking to her blanket. *And she started clapping today!!! Proud Mama right here :)

Valentine's Day

After our weekend with 7 kids we decided to treat ourselves to a couple hours with none. :) Yesterday our friends, the Sanders, watched Ellie while Brett and I went out to lunch. We decided to try a new restaurant called Megg's Cafe and it was so yummy not to mention the weather was PERFECT! You can't tell in the picture, but we're wearing shorts :)  

Martin Luther King Day

We had a great MLK Day weekend in Dallas with some of our BYU friends. So excited to finally meet little Henry (what a cutie). Ellie enjoyed shopping at the galleria while we were there.

Our other exciting news is that we have a second car now (FREEDOM!!!) The possibilities for Ellie and I are endless and we are pretty over the moon about it.

It's hard to believe how fast Ellie is growing up. She is full of words and sounds, has four bottom teeth coming in now, and is into everything (trashcans, tissue boxes, toilet paper rolls, and under beds & couches) We can hardly get her to sit in the bath long enough to get clean because she starts climbing out. She also had her first perogy which she loved :) Ellie is also starting to wave a little bit more which I'm really excited about.

First Bubble Bath 

9 Months

Height: 27 inches (39th percentile)

Weight: 18 lbs 10 oz (58th percentile)

The newest thing about Ellie is that she has a tooth! It's razor sharp and she didn't sleep too well while it was coming in but it's exciting all the same. The doctor also said that her upper gum was swollen so we will probably be seeing some front teeth soon too! She loves to stand and hold onto furniture. She's army crawling all over the place and is obsessed with every spec of anything on the ground. She uses her pointer fingers to touch everything and can even turn off light switches with them. She always makes me share my toast with her in the morning and she loves graham crackers. She also loves to have "baba" conversations with us.

In other news, Brett has learned to be a pretty good dryer repairman and was recently moved from nursery (ages 1.5 - 3) to the sunbeams (ages 3 - 4 ) in our ward. Also, it seems I've become a bit more forgetful lately. On Sunday, I made it to church with everything imaginable in my diaper bag... except diapers; and today I made it to the pediatrician's office in my slippers because I forgot to put real shoes on. What's happening to me? haha

      9 Months in                  &                 9 Months out

mom... why are we doing this?

RAWR...

Christmas in Canada

This year we flew up to Canada for Christmas and we've had a great time :) We even got a white Christmas. Ellie got her first Christmas Eve pjs as well as new books, clothes, and toys which are definitely being enjoyed.

Although on Christmas morning, I think she actually enjoyed playing with the wrapping paper more than the toys.

Unfortunately, I got pretty sick Christmas Eve night and was waking up every 45 minutes in the night for sore throat and cough attacks. I felt like a total zombie on Christmas Day but by Boxing Day my fever was gone (as well as my voice) and I was on the mend. My Christmas victory is that Brett's Christmas present was a total surprise he is really excited about them! It is so hard for me to get that combo.

Playing with cousins

These guys are only 2 weeks apart

It has been snowing a ton here this week so we drove up to Waterton to play around a bit.

 

A Time for Thanksgiving

We hadn't taken any family photos since before Ellie was born so we decided to get some taken before Christmas. (Thanks Claire! we love them)

In the zone watchin' the game :)

always a good time at the Houston Zoo

We had a great time spending Thanksgiving in Houston. We ate WAY too much food, played games, went to the zoo, decorated cookies, got the better part of our Christmas shopping done, and played outside everyday while enjoying the beautiful weather. One little baby was all tuckered out.

We are so thankful that we get to spend this time of year with our families and friends and are especially excited to get back up to Canada for Ellie's first (and hopefully white) Christmas. Her name is on her stocking, the tree is decorated, and now we just need school to end. 

Also, if you haven't seen it yet, definitely watch this video about Jesus Christ and Christmas; it reminded me why we are all celebrating.

Baby's Christmas Pics

Happy Halloween!

Trick or Treat!

We were glad to get out and go to our ward's trunk or treat party. It's hard to justify trick or treating door to door on Halloween when your child can't walk or eat candy yet so we were glad to have an excuse to dress up.

Our family from the wild West

Our little horsey :)

There is this super cute pumpkin patch about 5 minutes from where we live; they had a corn maze, hayrides, games, a little train for kids, food, and lots of pumpkins of course. We were there at the hottest time of the day and started to melt but we still had a good time.

Pumpkin Carving!

     We bought this dresser a while ago on craigslist and it has taken a long time but I finally finished the project and am happy with how it turned out!

AFTER

BEFORE

This masterpiece was composed by Elizabeth Shaw

She likes to ride trains just like her daddy did

rockin' the exersaucer

more please!