Ella-11 months

Oh baby.  1 more month until you’re one.  And boy, have you learned a lot this month! 

You went to the dr a couple weeks ago and you weigh 20 pounds 4 oz.  You wear size 3 diapers still, but I’m ready to switch to size 4.  Your clothes are 12 or 18 months depending on the brand.  You’re still in your infant car seat.  You have 8 teeth now.

You LOVE animals, especially dogs.  If we ask you what a doggie says you make a barking sound.  You also make the sound whenever you see a dog or any animal for that matter.  You still love patty cake.   And “dance” when we sing or you hear music.

We don’t take many pictures of you right now, because you want to the camera so bad.  When we don’t give it to you, you throw a cute little fit.  You also throw fits when you see someone in the bath and you don’t get to get in, or when we take away something you have and still want.

You just started saying uh-oh yesterday.  You don’t say it perfectly every time yet, but we can tell what you’re trying to say.  You learned to wave and are always waving at us during the day.  Daddy’s working on blowing kisses, and you’re very close to picking that up too.

You are very scared of our remote control helicopter that we fly in the house sometimes.  You cry and scream like crazy.  The other day at the park someone had a similar flying thing and you cried when you saw that too. 

You know how to put balls in the dinosaur toy we have and also push the button on the ball popper.

You still just sit.  Although you did roll from front to back for the first time this month.  The dr. wants to you to go get some physical therapy in hopes to strengthen your weak leg muscles.  We go on June 19th.  You are very good at reaching far to get things you want and can spin in a circle to reach things behind you.  I imagine you’ll be scooting on your bum in the next month.

Happy 11 months!

We love you.

Trip to Utah April 10-15

On April 10th Darrin’s parents returned from their mission to Manchester, England.  Our plane came into the airport about 30 minutes before theirs did, so were able to meet them at their gate “old fashion style.”

The first thing Grandpa did after some hugs was dig into his pocket and give the boys money from England.  Some things never change!

We were so glad to have them back!! 

The two pictures below were taken right after they got released the day after they got back.

We had a great time reconnecting and hearing all their mission stories.  They brought back lots of cool souvenirs and European chocolate. 

One night we ate homemade pizza “picnic style” because the men were busy playing a board game on the table! 

Josh started work on his pinewood derby car.  He was lucky to have Grandpa AND dad help him.  Grandpa had some cool tools that made the work a little easier.

Saturday afternoon we ate dinner with the whole fam at our favorite, Chuck-a-Rama.  The adults enjoyed chatting and the kids pigged out on all the yummy food and desserts!

Ella was born after Grandma and Grandpa left on their mission, so they had fun getting to know each other.  She didn’t mind being held by either of them as long as I wasn’t in her sight.

Loves playing the piano!

Ready for church with daddy!

We saw a lot of Aunt Kristin.  She came out about 3 times.  The kids always have a blast running around with her and playing her phone.

The day we left it snowed.  The kids built a couple snowmen and enjoyed making snowballs!

We had a great trip and are super glad that our Grandma and Grandpa are back safe and sound.  We love them and are grateful for their example of service and dedication to the gospel.  Can’t wait to see them a whole lot more in the coming months!

Mother’s Day

This is my 9th Mother’s Day. 

Over the years, my expectations of what should happen on Mother’s Day has varied a lot. 

I used to want to sit and do nothing and expected everyone (read: Darrin) to wait on me hand and foot.  I wanted him to do all the dishes, cooking, cleaning, diaper changing, wiping noses, playing with and tending to the kid’s every need. 

Basically I wanted on Mother’s Day to do nothing that was related to being exactly that: a mother.

But since those days when my kids were super little, Mother’s Day has morphed into something else. 

I don’t expect that anymore.  And maybe it’s because now Darrin is hardly home on Sundays or maybe because my kids are a little older now and not quite so demanding, but these days I do everything that I normally do and don’t really think twice about it. 

But I also try to ponder what it means to be a mother and what a humbling and special job it is.  I try to intentionally be the mother that I’ve also wanted to be…not the kind that has a sparkling clean house and clean and neatly dressed children who sit properly at the table and use excellent manners, but the kind that says YES when they want to do something that I know will make a mess and make more work for me later or the type that reads more books, plays more games, and just sits and enjoys them.  I try to celebrate my kids because they are what made me a mother, and they are what I consider my greatest joy and blessing. 

Happy Mother’s Day!

Baby Josh

Baby Andrew

Baby Luke

Baby Ella