our little corner of the world

We've Moved...

2011-12-28T21:48:00.001-08:00

Blog address that is. If you'd like to check in on us you can find us at http://juliejohnmartin.blogspot.com/

The Tooth Fairy

2011-12-01T07:52:00.000-08:00

Eleanor has been so anxious to loose her first tooth. A few months back her dentist told me her bottom teeth were a little loose and even though its a little early its okay. Well, Eleanor was eating a piece of pumpkin pie and hit her tooth with the fork and knocked it really loose. She wiggled it with her tooth for a day but would not let anyone touch it in fear of pain. While at preschool Eleanor took a bite of an apple and felt something in her mouth. She pulled it out and asked her teacher what it was. Her teacher looked at it and told her she just lost her tooth! Eleanor was beyond excited when I picked her up from preschool!

She wanted me to write a note to the tooth fairy asking her if she can keep her tooth so she can make a necklace with it. So, we put her tooth under her pillow with the note. At 4:45 am Eleanor discovered that she got a visit from the tooth fairy! Under her pillow was the little baggy her tooth was in and inside it was a note and a key from the tooth fairy. We looked around her room and found a tiny fairy door inside her closet. When she opened the little door she found a 2 dollar bill covered in fairy dust. It was so much fun watching Eleanor's excitement.

When I tried taking her photo she would not have it! She didn't think her hair looked good so she put on a hat. Oh that girl!

Growing Up

2011-11-27T20:40:00.000-08:00

I hate that it's happening, but my little Eleanor is growing up. Tonight while cuddling on the couch she was telling me all the kids in her primary class. When she got to a little boy named Noah she said, "Not the one with the blond hair but the cute one". It was so cute how she said I loved that she was comfortable enough to tell me about this little Noah. I asked him why she thought he was cute and she said because he is really nice and has brown hair. I wish I knew the trick to keeping her young but obviously that's not going to happen so I just hope she will continue being so trusting and open with me. Soon after she told me this we both fell asleep on the couch. I know it may not sound like much but to me this was such a sweet memory for me.

Jude's Blessing

2011-11-26T06:47:00.000-08:00

We decided to wait until Thanksgiving weekend to bless Jude. John's parents just returned from a mission and my parent's were in town for Thanksgiving so it worked out great. We blessed him in our home with just family. It was a great morning and Jude was the prefect little baby. He loved all the attention and looked adorable in his blessing outfit.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T20:46:00.000-08:00

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving at our home with Mimi & Grandpa and Sara, Dick & Henry. It was a very relaxed and enjoyable day. Eleanor was so much fun to watch. She was really into celebrating Thanksgiving and even made her own fruit salad. She helped make the name cards and set the table all by herself. (She put all the boys on one side and the girls on another) She even wanted me to take a million photos of her. She sure does make our lives more interesting!

John and Grandpa spent most the afternoon finishing our Christmas lights. They spent quite a few hours out in the cold and they did a fantastic job! (And I am so grateful for my Dad's help. He did my portion!)

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone. I always love Thanksgiving and this year was fabulous!

Oh Cecilia

2011-11-18T06:14:00.000-08:00

My kiddos have a new cousin and she is adorable!! Amy had Cecilia on November 8th and Sara and I drove down will all our kids to be there for the big day. We couldn't all fit in one car and our rental van turned out being twice as expensive as we thought so ended up caravanning (is that a word?). Eleanor went with Sara and Henry and I kept Amelia and Jude. Jude we perfect! He cried maybe a 5 minutes (different story coming home) and Amelia only cried once when she got her arm stuck outside her car seat straps. I'm not sure where she came up with it but the entire drive down Amelia kept saying, "Mom watch out the cars". At first I thought it was really cute but after 10 hours of hearing that every few minutes I kind of went a little crazy!

Poor Amy was expecting to go into the hospital on Thursday night but didn't actually go in until Sunday. After nearly 40 hours of labor she was still only at a 2 so they took Cecilia by cesarean.
Davey and Amy did a great job and Cecilia is adorable! Seeing how small Cecilia was made me really miss having Jude as a tiny new born. In fact, right after she was born I spent nearly the entire next day holding and cuddling my little Jude. It's just not fair they have to grow so dang fast!

It was so much fun being down in Arizona for the arrival of Cecilia and being around family. Because of weather we ended up staying in AZ for 12 days. My girls had the time of their lives being with their cousin and it was fun having Jude meet everyone. Henry and Amelia loved being with each other all day and got in a lot of time with Olive, Jonathan, Lincoln and Elena. They are all going to be quite the rowdy bunch in a few years!

I didn't take many photos so I stole these from Aunt Sara.

Halloween Night

2011-10-31T21:52:00.000-07:00

Halloween did not disappoint this year. John got home early from work and Sara and Henry were able to come and spend the evening with us. Eleanor and I made a cinnamon bread spider which turned out pretty good. I was going to try and make something spooky for dinner but didn't have time but we did have some yummy butternut squash soup.

Eleanor was planning on being a princess but last minute she asked if she could be the witch from It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. I tried talking her into wearing a green mask and a witch hat but she only wanted to wear the white sheet. I was actually thrilled that she asked to be the witch rather then the princess. I have a thing for homemade costumes. I think they are so much fun and I think she looked so cute in her little white sheet. Eleanor was pretty excited to hit every house in the neighborhood. Its nice living in an area where we know some many people.

Amelia and Henry were little buds and went as Winny the Pooh and Piglet. It was pretty dang cute watching the two of them. Henry has the best little walk and you could tell he was quite proud of his outfit. He was dripping wet when Sara took off his costume! Amelia had a great night. She didn't want to wear her costume when I tried it on her earlier today but I told her she could only get candy and see Henry if she wore her costume. I don't think she complained once about her costume all night! She had a great time walking around the neighborhood. She was excited to have Henry and Sara with us. She kept telling Sara to watch her as she walked up to the doors.

Jude got to wear the traditional pumpkin costume. All three of our kids have worn it for their first Halloween. I was a little afraid Jude wouldn't fit in it but we were able to squeeze him into it. He was a pretty cute little pumpkin. It's hard to think that he'll be walking around next Halloween.

Overall we had a great night. I'm sad to see Halloween be over but I'm excited to know that the holidays are just around the corner!! And even more excited that our newest little niece will be here by the end of the week!! Yeah!

Jude's Room

2011-10-30T22:37:00.000-07:00

A few weeks before Jude was born I moved the girls downstairs. Well, actually Amelia still sleeps in the crib and will probably do so until I move Jude from the bassinet. Its been nice to have the girls downstairs and to have a space just for Jude.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-30T06:07:00.001-07:00

I love Halloween and I love that John loves it too! He's always such a good sport to go along with the family theme each year. This year was very last minute but I think it came together great. We all dressed up for John's work trick-or-treating but by the time we tried getting photos the kids were done! So, I made all of us dress up again for Katelyn's birthday party (which actually wasn't even a costume party. Oops).

When I first got Amelia and Eleanor in their costumes Eleanor said to Amelia, "You look like a girl from Idaho and I look like a girl from Las Vegas!". Classic Eleanor. She loved being dressed in what she thought was the fanciest dress ever (my slip) and having her eyeliner and mascara on. She wasn't too thrilled about the mole I put on her face the first day and refused to allow me to put one on the second day (so I had to photoshop one on). She had another costume party just before Katelyn's and I told her she could go as what ever she wanted but she really wanted to go as Ginger.

Amelia could care less what she looked like, she just wanted ALL the candy. It was so much fun watching her at John's work. She would take candy from anyone (which was nearly every employee) and had no problem asking people to open her candy. She also loved seeing all the scary costumes and would say, "scaaaaary". I was also impressed she kept her wig on the entire 2 hours!

Jude had no clue why I was making him wear a size 18-24 shirt and a sailor hat pinned in half but he was a good sport and went along with it! It made me really sad looking at this photo and seeing just how big our little boy has gotten.

John's costume cracked me up! His hat was about 10 sizes too small but he still wore it all day! His pants were also a little too small and I told him to just not tuck in his shirt but he refused. He'd looked at all the photos of The Skipper and his shirt was tucked in so by darn his was going to be tucked in as well! He also didn't think anyone was going to get the whole Gilligan's Island theme and was surprised when people knew who he was even without the rest of the gang.

My outfit is by far the most hideous but of course I put mine off until the very last minute. When Eleanor saw my dress she asked me to buy her one just like it if I ever found it in her size. She also was very jealous that I got to wear the pearl necklaces and white gloves but she was not envious of my wig. I seriously never looked at myself in the mirror and now I'm wishing I would have at least combed the wig. Oh well.

Jude

2011-10-28T10:49:00.000-07:00

This sweet little baby boy won't stop growing! I hate that he is past the newborn stage but I am loving that his little personality is starting to develop. I haven't been able to capture it yet but Jude has got the best smile. He smiles most when his two sisters are laying next to him, giving him kisses and/or playing with him. You'd think he'd be pretty annoyed with them in his face all day but surprisingly he really does like it. He's one loved little boy!

He didn't like the bath the first few times but now he's very relaxed and stays in there for a about 15 minutes. He's a little more difficult to bathe then the girls. His neck has multiple layers of wrinkles to clean as well as his thighs.

Jude is my first baby that loves to be swaddled. At night when he's getting fussy I start wrapping him in his miracle blanket and by the time he's all bundled up he's calm and almost asleep. He still likes to be rocked to sleep which I love! He does pretty good sleeping at night. He goes down around 9 then wakes up around 2 and then 5. I can't complain. He's not the greatest cuddlier but we are working on it. He's taken a few good naps on my chest and I love it! He defiantly prefers to be held but he also enjoys being in the swing or on the couch.

I can't even describe how much we love this little boy and love having him in our family!

Amelia

2011-10-27T16:52:00.000-07:00

I love this little girl! All I have to do is take one little peak at her and I'm grinning from ear to ear! She is at a really fun stage right now. Just the past few weeks she has started talking so much more. She now puts words together and will repeat ANYTHING you say (I've heard her say a few things I'm sure she picked up from John!). Speaking of John, every night when John gets home Amelia hears the garage door opens and runs right to the garage door. She then follows John into our bedroom and starts telling him all about her day. John says he can tell she is trying to tell him everything and talks a mile a minute! I think this little quality time is so cute and hope it continues throughout the years.

One of my favorite things about Amelia right now is her love for shoes especially flip flops or as she calls them bac bacs. I didn't believe it either at first, but the girl knows how to put her shoes on the right feet. Amy and Sara tried convincing me of while I was in the hospital with Jude but I thought it was always just a fluke. She constantly has a pair of shoes on her little feet and will get so upset if she can't find the pair of shoes she is looking.

Just a few days ago she started calling Eleanor "Ella Bella" and she yells it at the top of her lungs. This drives Eleanor crazy which I think makes it more enjoyable for Amelia.

She loves her baby dolls! Well, she loves Henry's baby doll. Sara got Henry a doll and Amelia has kidnapped it. She totally knows it's Henry's doll and refers to it as "Henry's baby". Every time we leave the house she has to take a baby with her. She kisses her babies all the time and has just started wanting them to wear different outfits ALL DAY long! Drives me a little crazy but I love the outfits she comes up with (like baby wipes).

Jude's biggest fan in Amelia. She LOVES her "buder". She loves laying down next (or on top) to him and giving him kisses. She also loves to point out every part of his body and thinks it's funny when he has a poopy diaper. When Jude was about 2 weeks old she was sitting next to me while I was changing his diaper and he peeded directly in her mouth!! She spit it out, started crying and said, "drink yucky mouth". It was hilarious and now she loves telling people about it!

When Amelia gets tired she says, "Hold you. Arm". This means she wants me us to hold her and she wants to rub our arm. Eleanor loved rubbing our chin and Amelia loves our arms. We always have to remind her not to pinch while she is rubbing.

Amelia loves music and loves to dance. When she wants music on she says "Gaga". She thinks all musicians are Lady Gaga.

I don't think I've seen a messier eater. Nearly every meal ends up in her hair, down her clothes, on the floor and on Miley. Today she stuffed her pockets full of pasta when she decided she was full.

You've never heard anyone say I" Love You" as cute as she does. She says, "Nuv you". It's perfect!

She is completely obsessed with motorcycles. She can spot one a mile away and yells "macacycle" every time she sees one. Mimi got her a little riding motorcycle for an early birthday present and she can ride that for hours!

Amelia loves being outside. I let her go out back by herself and she is totally in her element. She loves going down the slide and has no fear! She can play for hours at the rock patio. Our neighbors have a little kitten that jumps the fence and Amelia loves playing with it.

I love when I do her hair in two little ponies. She looks so adorable! She too likes having her hair done and will often bring me a comb and say "pretty".

She still loves her lotion. She doesn't eat it as much now, instead she loves putting it in her hair and I just discovered she's been covering Jude's head in lotion as well.

She still has her strong sweet tooth!!

Amelia is the little clown in our family. She loves getting people to laugh. If she knows you think something is funny she'll do it over and over again and will say "watch". I don't know how many times a day I hear, "Mama watch" and then she'll do something. Sometimes it's something cute or funny but most of the time it's something so simple or dumb. It cracks me up!

I know I could go on and on about other things I love about her but I have a crying baby and Amelia is begging for her milk.

*She is also very difficult to photograph. She thinks its funny to avoid the camera!!

Pumpkin Patch Take Two

2011-10-27T16:34:00.000-07:00

My kids were lucky enough to go visit another pumpkin patch and this time they got to go with Henry and Aunt Sara. Amelia and Henry were in heaven. Amelia loved the hay and Henry seemed to love everything. Eleanor searched and searched for the perfect pumpkin but was never able to find one. Both she and Amelia ended up with some cute little gourds. I couldn't believe how beautiful the weather was. It really was the perfect afternoon to spend at the pumpkin patch.

Amelia Turned Two!

2011-10-24T13:55:00.000-07:00

Amelia has turned two and she is living up to the terrible two syndrome! No, just kidding...well maybe just half kidding. We sure love this little girl and would hate to think of our family without her.

The morning of her birthday was lots of fun. She had her birthday party the night before so she knew all about opening presents and didn't waste any time.

It was impossible to get her to look at the camera. She thinks she is so funny when she does this and it drives me nuts!For her birthday we wanted to do things she loves (its a lot easier when they don't realize they can actually choose what they get to do). We went hiking a few weeks back and Eleanor hasn't stopped talking about it. So, after her presents were opened we headed up to Provo canyon and did the little hike (aka walk) to Bridal Veil Falls. It was such a beautiful day and we were surprised to see that the leaves were still on some of the trees and were so colorful. Amelia had a blast gathering leaves and sticks. She was kind of a little pill when I tried taking her photo and she wasn't too thrilled that I made her stay out of the creek.

After our hike we ran a few errands so Amelia could get a little nap before dinner. Last time we were at Texas Roadhouse, Amelia loved the cinnamon butter so we decided to take her there. Right when we sat down she asked for bread and "sauce".

We planned on going swimming after dinner but we were all to stuffed. Overall it was a great birthday and it was fun being able to spend the day together.

Swimming

2011-10-18T17:02:00.000-07:00

I love the Legacy Center here in Lehi. It's hard to believe that we've been going there for 6 years! I remember taking Eleanor to the day care when she was itty-bitty. Since Eleanor has been doing swimming lessons we've been trying to take the kids swimming more often and get them used to the water. As I mentioned earlier, Eleanor improved a ton on her swimming and Amelia is our little natural fish.

John got home at a decent time the other night so we took the girls swimming. We all had such a good time. Jude was a perfect little angle and slept in his car seat the entire time.

Amelia was cracking us up with her swimming skills. She loved laying on her tummy and scooting across the pool. She also loves standing on the edge and jumping into the pool. She didn't care much for the swings. I thought she would love them boy was I wrong! I am so glad she loves the water so much and can't wait to get her in swimming lessons next year.

Pumkin and Apple Painting

2011-10-16T07:05:00.000-07:00

The morning after the pumpkin patch the girls wanted to paint their pumpkins. Amelia couldn't find hers so she decided to paint her apple. They were out there for nearly two hours working on their master pieces. They had a lot of fun. Amelia ended up with more paint on her then all the pumpkins and apple put together.

Feeling A Little Jealous

2011-10-15T16:14:00.000-07:00

The other day Eleanor's little friend Allyson was over at our house and I couldn't resist taking her photo. I love this little girl and think she is just so dang cute. Well, Eleanor saw me taking photos of Allyson and she got so jealous. She wanted to know why I was taking photos of Allyson and not her. I told her because Allyson looked so cute. Well, 10 minutes later Eleanor came out in this outfit and wanted me to take her photo. This is quite the change for Eleanor. Normally she gets quite upset when I try to take her photo. Maybe I should have Allyson over a little more!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-15T06:37:00.000-07:00

Every fall I look forward to our trip to the pumpkin patch. This year we were lucky to have Lydia join us! I had great plans for getting lots of fun pictures and having a good time...but things didn't go as planned. John and I were meeting at the park and ride and I forgot my cell phone. Of course he told me the address but I'm not great with numbers and told him to just let me follow him. Well, Mr. Dale Earnhartd took off and left me high and dry. We ended up at different pumpkin patches. I borrowed two different cell phone and finally got a hold of him. When we finally met up I wasn't the happiest and was taking it out on John. Finally I got over it and decided I just need to enjoy our evening together. I was sad the lighting wasn't too great but was glad I was able to get a few photos. Over all it turned out to be a fun night. The girls only wanted the tinny pumpkins. Both John and I tried talking them into big ones but they would not have it!

After the patch the girls wanted to eat at Wendy's (I could have chosen much better!). They were pretty excited that John got them frosties and let them eat it before their dinner. Eleanor and Lydia were so cute together. They really do love each other. It's just too bad we live so far away!

She Passed!!

2011-10-13T15:52:00.000-07:00

We are so proud of Eleanor for passing her swimming lessons. She has worked really hard all summer and fall. During the summer she took private lessons from a great teacher and was able to get over a lot of her fears. She then took a 9 day class with Evan. Although we worked hard she didn't pass the class. I enrolled her in for a second round and she did awesome! She even admitted that sometimes she says she doesn't like going to swim lessons but really she does. She is still pretty cautious but has come a very very long way! Way to go Eleanor!

Visitors From Arizona

2011-10-10T12:38:00.000-07:00

We were so thrilled to have Jeff, Elyse, Olive, Grandpa and Davey all up in Utah over the weekend. Jeff, Davey, Grandpa and John all went to the UofU v. ASU football game. Grandpa and John were cheering for Utah and of course Jeff and Davey wanted ASU to win. Well, let's just say John and Grandpa didn't come home quite as happy as Jeff and Davey! (actually John was double sad when he got home. On the way home Davey rolled down the window and lost a Utah flag. We like giving Davey a hard time about it!)
It was a lot of fun having everyone at our home. I love any time my kids get to spend with their cousins. I hope they grow up to all be best of friends. Of course Henry and Amelia couldn't keep their little paws off Jude. It will be nice when Jude is old enough to actually play with this wild bunch of kids!

I love photos of bathing cousins. I know they will all appreciate this in about 15 years...especially Henry.

We were all able to make it to Oktoberfest up at Snowbird. This is one of my all time favorite things to do during the fall. This year it felt more like winter and I don't think we were prepared for the weather! Eleanor kept asking me if she could get a cup of "rootbeer". I have a feeling she wouldn't care much for the kind of "rootbeer" they were serving.

Aren't these two little buddies so dang cute! They can't keep their hands off each other and I love it!

The weather finally warmed up a bit and we were able to take the kids down to the Farm at Thanksgiving Point. Eleanor and Olive were quite the little buddies and had fun running all around. Its cute to see how much Olive loves playing with Eleanor. The highlight was watching all the kids ride on the ponies especially Henry. You can tell he is so proud of himself! That Idaho blood runs thick in him! Amelia was a little more then obsessed with the animals. She had no fear and was putting her mouth in the goats mouth.

Amelia and Olive aren't quite sure about each other. The first morning Olive was here they got along great. I think they are just too close in age right now to really get along but I know in a few years these two will be quite the little buds! I loved watching them interact with each other.

We had such a great time having everyone at our home. It's always so fun to get together and sad to see everyone leave. Hopefully Jeff and Elyse can make it a tradition to come up every summer or fall and we are still trying to convince Davey he'd love living in Utah!

Poor Sick Baby

2011-10-04T21:31:00.001-07:00

Today was a bit stressful for me. Last night Jude starting coughing pretty bad and developed a temperature of 100.4 in the middle of the night. First thing in the morning I called the doctor's office and they wanted to see him right away. The poor little guy has his first ear infection and had to taken to St. Marks to be tested for whooping cough. I can't think of anything worse then seeing your kids not feeling well, especially a newborn. It doesn't seem fair that he has to be sick. Even with him being sick he's still such a sweet little boy. Here he is just hanging out trying to get his fever to break. Oh and he's tipping the scale at a whomping 11 lbs!

A Perfect Fall Evening

2011-10-02T12:09:00.000-07:00

This fall has been ideal. We've had so many beautiful days. This evening we spent a few hours out in the backyard. The girls loved playing and even Jude seemed to enjoy being outside. Eleanor decided she needed to train Miley and ran around with her all night. Poor Miley was so warn out by the time their training session ended. Both Eleanor and Amelia loved playing with the sidewalk chalk and had it all over them. I'm so glad the weather has allowed us to spend so much time outdoors. I'm going to be so sad when this ends!

Eleanor's Party

2011-09-23T07:48:00.000-07:00

This year Eleanor decided she wanted to have a beauty birthday party. Mimi was in town and made all the little girls matching bath wraps. We also let the girls do their hair, nails and makeup. It was a lot of fun and there was plenty of high pitch screaming!

Aspen Robinson, Addison Shirely, Lilly Myer, Allyson Tiberious, Eleanor, Amelia, Katelyn Martin, Kate Wisan, Lily Potter and Julia Hansen

Amelia And Her Otter Pops

2011-09-22T20:15:00.000-07:00

It's a good thing this little monkey doesn't know how to open the freezer door otherwise we'd be out of otter pops in one day! Amelia doesn't mess around when it comes to her otter pops. She LOVES them! The only problem with giving them to her is I have to constantly cut the wrapper down for her. She hasn't quite figured out how to push the ice up. I learned real fast to use them as a bribe and it's been awesome!

Amelia In Timeout

2011-09-22T20:06:00.000-07:00

This little girl has been in a lot of trouble today. She won't stop screaming and has constantly been pinching and scratching Eleanor. The only thing that gets her attention is putting her in timeout. She hates being in time out. Hopefully she'll catch on and stop scratching and pinching so she can stay out of timeout.

Eleanor Turned Five

2011-09-20T06:52:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that our first little baby girl is FIVE years old. I hate how fast it has gone by but I love being able to watch her grow and develop into such a fun little girl!

The night before her birthday I decorated her room in hopes that when she woke up in the morning she would be surprised. Well, the stinker has been coming into our room during the night and so she didn't see her surprise until she went downstairs to get dressed. None the less she still loved seeing her room decorated and made me keep it up for a week.

It seemed like Eleanor outgrew all her clothes in one day! So, for her birthday I decided to get her all new clothes. I had already told her that I wasn't going to get her any toys since she was having a friend party and I was pretty sure she'd get plenty of toys. Well, John being the softy he is sent me to the store the night before to pick out the Arial boat Eleanor had been talking about for weeks. She was very surprised to get a toy and I'm glad John thought about getting it for her. John always takes the day off of work for birthdays and so we were all able to go out to Kneaders for breakfast.
After breakfast Eleanor choose to head over to Trafalga. No one was there and we got the entire place to ourselves.

Weeks before her Eleanor started talking about going to Chuck E. Cheese for her birthday. We tried talking her out of it but she had her heart set on it! Since she was having a "girl" birthday party she decided she really wanted Evan to come with us. She also got to have Sara, Dick, Henry and Mimi come too. On the way over Eleanor kept talking about she's going to be getting a crown to wear. I tried telling her I didn't think they have crowns and don't be sad if she doesn't get one. Well, right when we walked in there was a display on one of the tables showing all the things you could get with the purchase of a birthday package. I felt like the worse parent ever when Eleanor took one look at the table and said, "See mom, I told you I get a crown". I thought you had to order the entire package to get the crown and I realized it was too late to get it. Well, luckily the I was able to buy just the crown and it made for one happy little girl. (I swear I HATE tv commercials!!)

I love the little relationship these two have.

Overall it ended up being a really fun night. I think Eleanor had the time of her life it was fun watching her enjoy it so much!

Amelia And Her Swing

2011-09-19T19:43:00.000-07:00

I put the swing in the kitchen in hopes that Jude would hang out in it while I either cooked or cleaned. Jude hasn't been a huge fan of it yet but Amelia sure has. She loves that swing and will sit in it for ever. I love looking over and seeing her swinging in it especially when she has one of her babies. A few times she has actually fallen asleep while swinging.

Macasacka

2011-09-18T20:10:00.000-07:00

Ever since our stay in Jackson Hole, Amelia has developed a great love for motorcycles. She can spot them a mile away and loves talking about them. While Mimi was in town she got Amelia an early birthday present and to say Amelia is obsessed would be an understatement!

Show And Tell

2011-09-09T05:45:00.000-07:00

Eleanor was so excited for her first Show and Tell and school. It took her nearly 2 days to decide what she was going to take. She finally decided on dressing up in the dress John got her in China and taking the tea set he got her. She was pretty excited.

Preschool

2011-09-05T13:30:00.000-07:00

Eleanor started preschool and is loving it! She goes to a little at home preschool in the neighborhood next to ours. There are only 4 kids in her class which I really like. Her teacher is great and it's so fun hearing all the things Eleanor learns each day. I wasn't sure if I was going to put her in preschool this year but now I'm really glad I did. I'm really not looking forward to her being gone every day.

Warm Weather and Bikes

2011-09-01T21:20:00.000-07:00

The girls have enjoyed the warm weather summer and have spent most afternoons out in the front yard riding bikes. Well, actually Eleanor doesn't really enjoy riding her bike. We pulled out the bike first thing this summer but Eleanor was not one bit interested. I tried working with her for about a week but she and I were both getting too frustrated. Finally I figured out that Eleanor was a little too big for her bike and that's why she was having issues riding it. So I found a new bike on KSL and thought for sure she'd get the hang of it right away. Well, it was easier for her to ride but she still didn't care for it much. She only wants to ride her little red trike. It's pretty funny watching her on that thing. She gets going so fast and she reminds me of a little witch. She also loves giving Amelia rides and of course Amelia thinks its great.

Amelia also loves being outside and riding bikes. She is pretty fearless. She loved riding Eleanor's old bike and thought she was so big. She also spent a lot of time riding her motorcycle. She would spend hours going up and down the side walk on her little motorcycle. It will be fun watching her learn how to ride a bike next year. She was pretty close this year but is just a little too short.

I must say we spent many many hours out in the front yard. It was a lot of fun and I'm going to miss being outside. I've already had to pull the cars out of the garage one day to let the girls ride their toys while it was pouring rain. I have a feeling they will be spending a lot of time in the garage this winter!

Jude Houston Martin

2011-08-31T12:39:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe I have my first little baby boy laying right next to me in my bed. Even though I had nine months to think and dream about the arrival of this sweet little boy, I had no idea he would be so perfect and I could love him this much. He has such a calm and tender feel about him.

I've been wanting to write about his birth for a few days but I've felt overwhelmed each time I try. I don't think there is any way possible to give it justice.

Late during my pregnancy I found out I had gestational diabetes and because of it Dr. Yamashiro decided to induce me five days early. This was my first time being induced and it was really kind of nice being able to get things ready and have arrangements for the girls. (Amy and Sara were super stars and took such great care of my girls. It was so nice not worrying about them and knowing they were having a wonderful time!) The only bad thing about being induced is the night before. I wanted to try and get a good nights rest but I was way too excited to sleep.

We got to the hospital at 7:30 am and by 8:00 we were in the labor and delivery room ready to get things started. When Dr. Yamashiro came to brake my water at 9:00 (so MUCH more painful then just having it brake on it's own!!) I was still just at a 2. I was a little disappointed because earlier that week I was at a two.

After they started me on pictocin my contracts picked up pretty good and around noon I got my epidural. Poor John got a few good pinches during the procedure. I always seem to freak myself out too much when I get my epidural. I wish I had skipped that portion of the birthing class we took with Eleanor! Right after I got my epidural Amy arrived and it was fun having both her and John in the room to visit with.

Every time the nurses or Dr. Yamashiro checked me they commented on how the baby was still really high. Yamashiro kept saying the baby was way up in Idaho. Because the baby hadn't dropped I was stuck at a five for quite a few hours. I started getting really discouraged. They said the baby could have the cord around his neck and that could be keeping him from dropping or because of the diabetes he was bigger and could fit. Of course, Dr. Yamashiro didn't show any signs of being worried but I couldn't help but to think of all the worse.

Finally after a few hours my nurse put me in the most uncomfortable position possible in hopes of getting the baby to drop. I had to lay on my side with my left leg swung across me and up in the stirrup on the opposite side of the bed. It wouldn't have been so bad but every time I'd lay on my side my epidural would quite working. My right leg never went numb and when I was on my side my stomach would no longer be numb. It was horrible! Luckily this position worked and during a few of the most painful contracts the baby dropped! I knew something big had happened because I could feel every bit of it and it was PAINFUL!

After the big descend, things really started happening. I went from a five to an eight within a half hour and from an eight to pushing within 15 minutes. I can't explain how relieved I was that things had progressed and I was about to have my sweet little baby! During the day I had heard two different newborn cries in the rooms next to mine and I was anxious to have my baby in my arms and hear his little cry!!

After the first set of contractions and pushes they took the monitors that measured my contractions out of me informed me that I had to let them know when I was having a contraction so we knew when I needed to push. I got so nervous! Wasn't this their job to be telling me when to push, not the other way around? Luckily I could feel my contractions pretty good and was able to take charge.

I'm not quite sure exactly how many times I pushed but I don't think it was more then four or five and at 6:34 pm our sweet little baby made his big debut! The nurse threw a towel on me and then put the baby in the towel and rubbed him. I'll never forget seeing his cute little head and hearing his adorable high pitched cry. He cried and cried and I loved it! It was so much fun hearing his cry. I don't remember either of the girls crying like that!

John got to cut the cord and Yamashiro made sure to tell him not to be careful and not circumcise him. After the cord was cut they took him to the scale and we were all shocked to see that he was just 7lbs 9oz. He was the exact same weight and length as Amelia. We were all a little shocked he was so little. My biggest fear was having a 10lb baby and Yamashiro made sure to taunt me about it every chance he had.

Sara and the girls showed up about a half hour after Jude was born. It was so much fun watching all of their reactions when they walked in the room. Sara's first words were, "He looks just like Eleanor". Amelia couldn't stop saying "baby baby" and wanted to touch every inch of his body. Eleanor did say much and was pretty shy about getting to close to him.

Overall it was such an amazing experience. I would go back tomorrow and do it all over again! There is nothing like having a newborn and seeing your baby for the first time. It's amazing how much love you can have for something. I feel so incredibly blessed to have him here safe and to be part of our family. Eleanor said it the best, "I like our family better now".

The Farm

2011-08-23T17:36:00.000-07:00

Don't ask me why Sara and I thought it would be a good idea to take the kids down to the Farm on the hottest day of the year AND just four days before Jude was born AND on a half off day which also meant huge lines! I about died laughing when I saw just how red the kid's cheeks were in these photos! They were all pretty good sports. Aunt Sara came to the rescue by buying us all drinks at Maverick after and I honestly don't think I've ever enjoyed something so much in my life!!

Daddy's Little Girl

2011-08-04T07:54:00.001-07:00

These two have always had a special little relationship and I love it. Last night I came downstairs to find this. It made me so happy.

Moving On Down!

2011-08-04T07:16:00.000-07:00

With our little boy on his way, we had to make room for him by moving the girls down in the basement. At first Eleanor wasn't too keen on the idea but then John told her she could have a tv in her room and she was sold! (I wasn't too thrilled about the idea of them having a tv in their room.)

We already had the bedroom furniture from when we first got married but it was all painted black. I knew Eleanor would not move into a room with black furniture so last weekend we sanded and painted the furniture. It was a lot of work, but I think it turned out pretty cute. After John moved the tv down I had Eleanor come down and see it (thinking she would be thrilled). She looked at it for a second and then said, "I think it would look better with one of those skinnier tvs". Yeah, I agree Eleanor but it would take an awfully lot years to earn that much allowance.

We had Amelia sleep in the room the first night and she did fine. She did get up once but John and I slept down in the basement so it wasn't that big of a deal. I've decided since I'll be keeping the little man in our room for the first couple of months, I'm not going to keep Amelia in the crib upstairs.

Eleanor has been so responsible with her room. She cleans in every morning and is so proud of of it. She loved setting up all her treasures on her special self and she loves her closet. She and I are in disagreement about which side of the bedspread we like best. She prefers the yellow while I like the white. If she makes the bed she gets to have the yellow.

Amelia jane 21 months

2011-07-20T19:35:00.000-07:00

I can't seem to get enough of Amelia lately. She is so dang cute and has quite the little personality! She loves to have the attention on her and will do anything to get a laugh or smile from anyone. She still isn't talking too much but what she does say is adorable. Some of my favorite are:
maca= motorcycle (which she LOVES)
ma= milk
ice= is any kind of drink other then milk
bite= means she is hungry
pretty= bracelet, dress, asking for her hair to be done and flowers
gaga= music. She loves to dance and will walk to the tv and ask for gaga (aka Lady Gaga)
yucky= means her hands are dirty and wants them cleaned
water= she either wants to go swimming or she has spilled any liquid on her
flop flop= her flip flops
papey= paper or crayons
puppy= is almost every animal.
oosa= horsey
side= outside and slide
park= slide
barbra= barbie
Mimi= my mom or any lady close to her age

She also says a lot of other words but they are used correctly so they aren't quite as cute.

Amelia has four dolls that she loves. She constantly has one in her arms or is pushing one around in the stroller or grocery cart. All her babies have to be wrapped in blankets and is constantly having me re wrap them. She also likes to make sure all her babies have a bottle at all times. My favorite thing to see is Amelia walking holding her baby and giving it kisses. It's so cute. I'm sure each baby receives hundreds of kisses daily.

She still has a love for shoes. She wears them 24/7. Anytime we have visitors Amelia makes sure to try on all the shoes and will wear her favorite for their entire visit. Recently she discovered the toy high heels and LOVES them!

When you ask who Amelia loves she will always answer Daddy, Ella and Mommy. And it's almost always in that order. And when you ask her who loves her she'll answer Mommy, Daddy and Ella. When asked who her best friend is she'll say Ella.

Most questions you ask her she'll respond with "yeah". And its not just a simple "yeah". She says it with a lot of excitement. I love it!

Amelia loves to color and holds her crayons or pencils correctly. She's been doing this since she was about 9 months old and its the cutest thing ever!

She brings me the phone multiple times a day and will either say, "Mimi, Lolo (Lori) or Daddy"

The girl loves sunglasses and will keep them on for hours. Anytime we are in the car she wants a pair on.

When she hears the garage door open or Miley bark she runs to the kitchen and starts yelling "daddy'.

She is our little dare-devil. She loves going down the tallest slides at the park. Will go on any ride and gets mad when it's over. She loves riding on Eleanor's bike, scooter or tricycle. She loves jumping into the swimming pool and has no fear of the water. She climbs on everything! She has fallen off our kitchen table a few times and I just know she's going to have a broken limb in just a matter of time.

Amelia can pinch with the best of them! She still thinks it funny even after she gets in a lot of trouble every time she pinches.

She has finally outgrown her obsession with the toilet water. Thankfully she only drinking filtered water now.

She loves getting her nails trimmed. She will often either bring me the clippers or sit down and try clipping her own nails.

First words out of her mouth every morning are "mommy. Ella. side". She could live outside if we let her. She loves looking for bugs and picking them up.

When you tell her to shake her booty she bends down puts her hands on her knees and literally shakes her booty. Adorable!

When I lay down with her at nap time she gets right up in my face and repeats "mommy mommy" and will kiss my face over and over. It's my favorite part of the day!

Every night after eating she asks for a bath and isn't happy when it's time to get out. She makes a HUGE mess while bathing. She likes to splash and throw out toys. She also likes to wash her own hair and body.

She does not like a wet or poopy diaper and will go get her own diaper but will then run away from me when I try to change her.

She has yet to say "no". Instead she just shakes her little head.

I'm pretty sure she'll be featured on My Strange Addiction for her love of lotion. She loves it. We always say that's why her skin is so soft.

She adores Eleanor. She tries to everything she does. If Eleanor is not in her sight she will yell for "Ella".

Amelia repeats her self a lot! She will say the same word over and over until you get what she wants. It drives me absolutely nuts!

She loves sweets and is constantly asking for popsicles or candy. It's impossible to sneak treats with her in the house. She has an insane sweet sense!

I'm sure I could list hundreds of more things I love about this girl, but it's time to but the little stink to bed. I seriously love this little girl and I know we are so blessed to have her in our family.

*The photos were taken while I was writing this post. Love her!

Exhausted

2011-07-10T18:17:00.000-07:00

This is what happens after playing with your favorite cousin for 24 hours.

Easter Morning

2011-06-29T17:19:00.000-07:00

Easter morning was a lot of fun this year. Eleanor had been talking about the Easter Bunny for a few weeks and was pretty anxious to see what he/she was going to bring her. Every year the Easter Bunny leaves a little trail of eggs that leads to the girls baskets. Eleanor was so sweet with Amelia and made sure she got to find a few eggs along the way.

Over all I think the Easter Bunny did not disappoint! Eleanor was beyond thrilled with the pink ipod she got and both the girls loved their sunglasses. I don't think I'll ever sick tired of watching the excitement of Easter morning!

A few things the Easter Bunny brings each year:
Swim suits
Sunglasses
Pinwheels
Crayons/Coloring books

Amelia

2011-06-29T17:12:00.001-07:00

Not quite sure why, but for some reason Amelia feels like she needs to wear her pants low-rider style. And I mean really low. She also loves to pull her diaper down so her little bum shows. I guess it's a good thing she has such a cute little bum it she's going to show it off!

Lehi Round Up Celebration:

2011-06-29T16:33:00.000-07:00

Each year I look forward to our town's celebration. All the parades, activities, breakfast and rode reminds me of the 24th of July celebration I enjoyed each year while growing up in St. Johns. This year John took work off on Thursday so he was able to attend the stock parade with us. Eleanor loves this parade. Every little pony she saw she wanted. I must admit seeing the cute little ponies pulling the mini wagons made me want one as well. Amelia decided to take a nap during 90% of the parade. I was disappointed she missed most of it because I knew she would love it. For the small portion she did see, she loved it. She was totally mesmerized by all the horses. I'm sad I didn't get any photos at the parade.

After the parade we met up with the Johnsons, Rosevears and the Wildes for the rodeo. It was a perfect night for a rodeo and I'm so happy we had Ashley watch Amelia. I can only imagine what a pain in the neck she would have been!

On Saturday we left the house early to go enjoy a chuck wagon breakfast at the park. After breakfast we walked around to some of the booths and Eleanor got to spend some of her allowance (she gets a whooping $4.00 each week) and she choose two dresses for her barbie dolls. Of course she had to pick out the most outrageous and glamours dresses.

We met up with the Shirleys for the parade. They were nice enough and set out chairs the night before so we had great seats. Both girls were pretty determined to get as much candy as they could. I think Amelia ate about 30 pieces of candy. She even got pretty good at stilling other kids candy.

(Eleanor and her attitude. I swear she thinks she's a little mini adult!)

Eleanor has been a little bit obsessed with the tuba lately and so she loved seeing all the marching bands. She's determined she's going to be in the marching band when she gets older. I'd love to see that!!

Dang Amelia has got a bad addiction to diet pepsi. It's getting a little out of hand.

Favorite Quote

2011-06-28T18:03:00.000-07:00

My favorite quote of the day was from Eleanor to Amelia while they were playing in the kitchen. Eleanor was preparing to give Amelia a ride in the laundry basket and she says to her, "Amelia, don't stop believing. This ride will go on and on and on".

Small Things

2011-06-20T07:55:00.000-07:00

It's 9:20 am on a Monday morning. I'm down stairs working on the computer and I can hear both girls playing in the toy room. The sound makes me so happy. They are both playing with their own toys and each are singing to themselves. It's about the cutest things I've seen/heard.

I didn't want to disturb them and take a photo, so instead I found an older photo of just Amelia playing in the toy room. And yes, the toy room is just as messy!

Playmates

2011-06-19T21:52:00.000-07:00

These two girls are quite the friends. This morning Eleanor put Amelia in this basket along with all her babies and pulled/pushed her all around the house. Amelia loved every second of it! I heard Eleanor saying, "Oh what a cute Chinese baby". I didn't quite understand what she was talking about until I went out and looked at Amelia. I'd have to agree, she did look like a cute little Chinese baby.

Then again later tonight they pulled out the basket and babies and did it all over again.

Father's Day

2011-06-19T21:24:00.000-07:00

We had a great father's day today! When Eleanor woke the first thing she asked was, "Is it Father's Day?". The girls were able to color John cards and help make breakfast before John woke. When Eleanor finished her card she taped the cards on our bedroom door and then knocked to wake John up. She was so excited to start the celebrations.

We are so lucky to have John in our lives! He's such a patient and tender dad. Both Eleanor and Amelia adore him. Eleanor had a list of things she loved about Dad.

* He buys me lots of toys.
* He never spanks me.
* He lets me go swimming.
* He teaches me things.
* He plays with me.
* He let's me water the flowers and plant my pumpkins.

Let Summer Begin!

2011-06-18T16:39:00.000-07:00

Today felt like the summer and we all loved it! We got to sleep in a bit and then headed down to Pleasant Grove for our first parade. The girls enjoyed watching the floats and John and I had fun watching their excitement. Eleanor was defiantly a lot more into getting candy this year. She is still pretty timid and won't go near a piece of candy if other kids are around. She also loved all the dance teams, town royalties and the marching bands. She has been wanting to learn about instruments. Her favorite right now are violins, trumpets, tuba and bass. Amelia loved all the balloons and wanted to follow them down the parade route. She also thought the police on their motorcycles was pretty cool. But her favorite was getting her very own soda. She thought she was pretty cool.

After the parade we headed over to Wallabys for lunch. Amelia slept all during lunch which made it much more enjoyable for us! Since she was still asleep after lunch John ran into Highland nursery for his first flower shopping spree of the year. I love how much John loves flowers and how he makes our yard/patio look so beautiful each year.

When we finally got home the girls played in the water while John and I did yard work. Eleanor thinks it's really funny to spray Amelia in the face and Amelia finds it just as funny. I love watching the two of them play together. For the most part they get along really well. Amelia loves all the attention Eleanor gives her and Eleanor loves that Amelia wants to do everything with her. I am contestantly reminding them how lucky they are to have each other and I hope they continue to be best friends.

Eleanor got to pick out a few toys at the dollar store a few weeks ago and decided to go with a bug catcher. I'm not a huge fan of having a bug catcher full of snails, worms and rolly pollies in my house, but Eleanor has loved it! Today she caught 14 snails. I can just see Amelia getting her little paws on that thing and letting all those snails loose in our house!

One of my favorite things about warm weather is how our girls play and play and then crash at night. Amelia was so tired she fell asleep on the couch while I was making dinner. I can count on one hand how many times she's fallen asleep without being put down for bed. I wanted to snap a photo of her but ended up waking her which put her in a pretty bad mood for the rest of the night!

I look forward to many warm/fun summer days!

Easter Dresses

2011-06-04T11:37:00.000-07:00

I have so many blog updates to post, but I just ran across these photos and had to post them. I wish I had gotten more photos, but neither one of them were too thrilled to be getting their photo taken. I think they both look so adorable and grown up to me. Makes me a little sad seeing how much they have grown since last Easter.

Baby

2011-04-18T07:09:00.000-07:00

I've always wanted my babies to be attached to either a blanket, baby doll, stuffed animal anything really. Well, neither one of my girls are attached to anything (other then me or John of course). Every now and then Amelia will want a "baby" to hold while falling asleep. Aunt Sara gave her this cute little piggy and I would love it if she became attached to it.

Overnight

2011-03-24T16:23:00.000-07:00

Why do pony tails make little girls look so much older. After doing Amelia's hair this morning I thought she looked so different. I'm not sure who loves it more me, Eleanor or Amelia! Eleanor can't stop staying how much she loves Amelia's hair and that I should do it like this everyday. Amelia loves walking to the fireplace and giving herself kisses in the mirror. And I can't stop thinking how cute this little nugget is and how it seems like she just grew up overnight!

Mylee The Birthday Dog

2011-03-24T12:25:00.000-07:00

My birthday this year was great! John took the day off of work (he normally takes all of our birthdays off and I think it's so special!). John had a doctors appointment in Orem so we all headed out with him. We went and had lunch at Burger Supreme. We haven't eaten there for years and it was kind of fun going back. I then dropped John off at his appointment and I took the girls to Harmon's for some yummy bubble gum ice cream. After the appointment John dropped me off for my massage! The massage was heaven. I wanted the hour to go on for another 2 or 3! When John and the girls picked me up they were beyond excited about a little dog they saw at Petsmart and they really wanted me to go look at her. Well, an hour latter we walked out of Petsmart with a new cockapoo named Mylee and about $100 bucks of accessories for her. A dog wasn't my expected present, but I must admit she is pretty dang cute. John had taken Eleanor into Petsmart to look for a turtle we have been promising her for weeks and when they didn't have the kind of turtle we wanted they wondered over to the dogs. John said Eleanor saw Mylee and she fell in love with her right away! Both John and I still feel bad about getting rid of her dog, Bear. Not because we liked the dog or miss him, just because Eleanor still prays for him everyday and talks about that dog like he's her brother. So, I think it's a good thing we got her a new dog and I just really pray this dog is NOTHING like Bear!

Baby Makes FIVE!!

2011-03-23T17:13:00.000-07:00

We found out back in December that we will be adding another little one to our family. I made this little announcement to tell the good news to our family. Unfortunately, Niki paid a little too much attention to a Christmas video and found out before we could send out the announcements.

A New Love

2011-03-19T07:06:00.000-07:00

I love seeing her cuddled up with her new love.

St. Patricks Day

2011-03-17T07:28:00.000-07:00

St. Patricks Day this year was so much fun. The night before Eleanor and Amelia decorated their
leprechaun trap. After words Eleanor and John set up the trap. Eleanor wasn't too thrilled with the way Dad set up the trap. She wanted to hang the trap from a string attached to the ceiling and have it drop on the leprechaun when he walked under it. We couldn't find enough string so the trap was set with a ladle. Eleanor made a trail of white chocolate chips from the front door into the trap. She then put a mini candy bar inside the box. She was so excited to catch her first leprechaun and told me that she was going to make him stay down in her toy room and play with her toys all day long!
First thing in the morning she wanted to check her trap. I think she was a little nervous to lift up the trap. She didn't seem too disappointed she didn't catch a leprechaun when she saw a few gifts he left them.

Eleanor got a new mini turtle pillow pet, a shirt to wear on St. Patricks Day and some candy. Amelia also got a new shirt, candy and some bath toys. They were both pretty happy with their gifts!

Trying to get a photo of these two together is nearly impossible! This photo is so typical. Amelia loves to pester her bigger sister and loves carrying around that dumb comb!

Eleanor wanted to pose with her new pillow pet and her St. Patricks day outfit. She looks so grownup!
This little girl really is our little charmer!

I forgot to take photos, but Sara took us all out for lunch for my birthday. We had reuben sandwiches and little Henry ate his first pickle. On our way home from lunch we got to see a lady leprechaun on the side of the street. Eleanor was so excited about it we had to drive by three different times. She really wanted me to pull over and grab her so we could take her home. Overall it was a great day! It's so fun having kids and watching them get so excited or such things!

Two Of Her Favorite Things

2011-03-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

Amelia is obsessed with her magna doodle and this little cubbie in our basement. Most days she has this little magna doodle in hand walking all around the house. And she loves to just hang out in this little cubbie. Often she'll bring a variety of toys and keep herself entertained for quite sometime.

Our Little Ham

2011-03-10T06:50:00.000-08:00

Amelia loves to get a reaction form all of us! She found these sunglasses and brought them to me to help put them on. After seeing them on we all started laughing and she light up. She entertained us for a good half hour.

Not Very Often

2011-03-08T06:38:00.000-08:00

It's not very often Amelia will fall sleep outside of either her bed or our bed. I suppose she had too much fun today playing with Eleanor and chasing Mylee around. We love this little girl so much. She is starting to become a little handful, but we'll keep her!

Our Lady Gaga

2011-03-02T20:26:00.000-08:00

While playing in her playroom today Eleanor came up with her halloween costume for this year...Lady Gaga. She loves Lady Gaga and knows most of her songs. She is always asking me why she put fake heads on the piano.

Say Cheese

2011-02-26T20:37:00.000-08:00

Amelia has learned to give her smile when we say "cheese" and she has it mastered! I love her cute little teeth and I adore her smile!

Amelia

2011-02-25T20:29:00.000-08:00

This little girl is obsessed with putting socks and shoes on her feet. All day she constantly brings me a pair of socks or a shoe for me to put it on for her. Most of the time she is wearing just one shoe around the house and 90% of the time it either Eleanor's, John's or mine.

The other day she spent a good 30 minutes trying to put these socks on her feet. At first she just placed them on top of her feet and then got so upset when she stood up and they fell off. After working with her for a few minutes she was able to put the socks on.

Valentines Day

2011-02-15T16:44:00.000-08:00

Valentines Day this year was a lot of fun. For breakfast I made the girls heart shaped pancakes and Eleanor thought it was so fancy! They each got a little gift bag with goodies in it. Eleanor got a new valentines t-shirt that John picked out for her, a new Hello Kitty charm for her bracelet and some of her favorite candy. Amelia got a new pair of pajamas and socks but her favorite was the sugar cookie. She never actually ate any of it, but played with the cookie in the wrapper all day. It was pretty nasty looking by the end of the day!

Instead of just John and I going out to dinner we decided to stay home and have a nice dinner with the girls. I made a Spanish seafood paella for the first time and it was delicious! We also had green olives, bread, chorizo and machego cheese. It was fun having Eleanor help me set and decorate the table. She made sure everything was just right!

When John got home he surprised the girls with more treats and a bouquet of balloons. They were very excited. I got spoiled with gorgeous flowers. Overall it was a great Valentines day and I loved spending it with the people I LOVE!!

Eleanor was thrilled to handout her valentines at school this year. She enjoyed getting all sorts of cute valentines from her classmates. She told me she wishes valentines day was everyday and then she would like preschool.

Sunday Nap

2011-02-06T18:53:00.000-08:00

I guess the girls weren't enjoying Curb Your Enthusiasm as much as John and I were. It's very rare to have both girls asleep at the same time before 9:30 pm and when it does happen, I savor every second!

Letters to Santa

2011-01-01T08:16:00.000-08:00

Letters to Santa this year went out just in the nick of time. We woke up first thing on Christmas Eve morning and went to the post office. Eleanor was a little worried that Santa wouldn't get her letter in time, so we had to explain that the post office had an express box and that the letters would get to Santa in just a few minutes.

Christmas Eve At Home

2010-12-28T19:12:00.000-08:00

I think I enjoy Christmas Eve just as much if not more then Christmas Day. It's been so much fun starting traditions with our little family. Last year we left carrots for the reindeer and Eleanor made sure we didn't forget this year. We also made a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies for Santa (per Santa's request) and left him a big mug of milk.

After the cookies and carrots were left out, Eleanor and Amelia got to open their Christmas Eve present. Each year it's a new Christmas book and I read it to the girls in Eleanor's bed. Right after we finished reading we heard a large thump on the roof and then we heard jingle bells! Eleanor was so excited! She hurried and covered her eyes with her hands, laid down and told me I need to get out so she can go to sleep! I went to check on her 15 minutes later and she was out cold!

The rest of the night John and I got things ready while watching White Christmas. We got everything wrapped up (pun intended) around 11:30. I had to promise John I wouldn't wake the girls up at 5am (I did that last year and Eleanor wasn't quite ready to wake up!). It was hard for me, but I finally fell asleep and waited for Eleanor to wake us.

Making sure the reindeer had plenty of carrots.

Amelia was being soo good about getting her photo taken! What a little pill!

This year Santa left letters in the girl's stockings. Eleanor thought it was pretty awesome!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-28T18:15:00.000-08:00

Martin Christmas Eve Party

2010-12-24T18:19:00.000-08:00

This year we spent Christmas Eve in Elk Ridge with John's family. The highlight was a surprise visit from Santa!! Aunt Lana was reading 'Twas The Night Before Christmas' and at the very end of the book Santa came into the room. The look on Eleanor's face was awesome!! She was beyond excited! Right after he sat down in his chair she walked up to him and asked him if she got his letter (we had just mailed it earlier that morning). It was the sweatiest thing. She was even more excited when he brought her a set of princess kooky klickers. She told John that she has wanted those her entire life! Amelia didn't seem to impressed with Santa, but she wasn't afraid of him either. She did like her very first play dough set.

The kids also did their gift exchange. This was the first year Eleanor got to pick out all the presents for her cousins. She had a lot of fun picking out Lilly's gift and asked me about a 100 times if she could open it and just "test it out" for Lilly.

Listening to Twas The Night Before Christmas. You tell how much fun John was having!
Seeing Santa walk in.
Asking Santa if he got her letter.
Excited about her present from Santa. I had to explain to her that he was still coming to our house that night.

Amelia chillin with Santa.Amelia was more interested in Eleanor's hand then getting her photo taken.All the Martin grandchildren except Katelyn and Savannah.
Grandchildren with Great Grandma Hatch.
Don't ask!

Salem Pond and Grandma Hatch

2010-12-18T19:57:00.000-08:00

Each Christmas season Salem City does an amazing job with their light display around the pond. We have made a little tradition of picking up Fat Jacks for dinner with Grandma Hatch at her house and then driving around the pond looking at the lights. Grandma Hatch is such an amazing Grandma. Growing up John was so close to her and she continues to stay close with her grand kids and great grandchildren. She knows every single birthday of her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Eleanor loves her Grandma Hatch and I just hope Amelia can develop the same relationship with her.

The lights this year were just as awesome as years past. We made the loop three times and I could have done it a few more times! I never get tired of Christmas lights!

Santa!

2010-12-17T22:00:00.000-08:00

Santa was at Eleanor's dance recital and the girls got to sit on his lap! Eleanor made sure to tell him what she wants and Amelia just enjoyed sitting on another man's lap! We wrote the girl's letters to Santa last night. Only 6 days left!!!

Eleanor's Second Christmas Recital

2010-12-17T21:55:00.000-08:00

Tonight Eleanor and Katelyn had their second dance recital at the Draper City Christmas Festival. The girl's teacher had surgery earlier this week and was not able to be there and it was quite apparent! One little girl, London, was the only one doing anything and all the other girls just stood there and watched her and occasionally did a few moves. It was hilarious!

Eleanor doesn't always enjoying going to dance school. She begs me to miss it every week, but when it comes time to performances, she LOVES it!

Oh So Close!

2010-12-17T01:00:00.000-08:00

Amelia is so close to walking and she has been for a few months now. She can totally do it but still prefers to crawl. Just this weekend she has started taking more steps and wanting to walk more frequent.

I had to take a few photos of Amelia today. She looked like such a little person in her jeans and puffy vest. I love it!

I Want That Marble

2010-12-14T23:21:00.000-08:00

Today in the car Eleanor and I were talking about dying and people we know who have passed away. Here is my favorite part of the conversation:

Eleanor: Mom, is Grandpa Hall dead.
Me: Nope. He's alive.
Eleanor: No, the grandpa with the marble eye.
Me: Oh, you mean Grandpa Wolfley? No, he's still alive.
Eleanor: When he dies I want that marble eye to add to my rock collection.

Okay Eleanor, maybe, just maybe you'll inherit that fine marble!

Lights At Temple Square

2010-12-14T22:59:00.000-08:00

This year we picked the most perfect night to go see the lights at Temple Square. Our plan was to get to Temple Square around 6ish but John has been working on a big audit at work and wasn't able to leave his work until 8:45. Luckily, Sara and Dick live down town so the girls and I were able to hang out with them while we waited for John. We ordered in from The Pie and enjoyed a little tv. Finally we met up with John at his work and caught trax to Temple Square. By the time we arrived it was already pass 9pm and the grounds were almost completely empty. It was amazing! And the weather was ideal. I believe it was around 45°. Eleanor was beyond thrilled with all the lights and the freedom to run around. Amelia on the other hand was not having all that great of time. She wasn't too happy she had to wear a hat and couldn't understand why she couldn't get down and crawl. (If only she'd start walking!)

Overall it was a great night. We've been trying to cram as many fun Christmas activities into the past few weeks. I can't believe Christmas is next week. I'm not ready for this wonderful time of the year to come to an end!

John "Griswold" Martin

2010-12-13T16:55:00.000-08:00

I tease John every year about being Clark W. Griswold when it comes to our house at Christmas time, but the truth be told, I LOVE it! John takes his lights very serious and does such a good job! This was my first year of helping (did all the bushes, thank you.) and I now have a little more respect for him. Putting up lights is a lot of work! It was actually really fun. We worked on them one night up past midnight. We were trying to get them all done before a big snowstorm and before Thanksgiving. It was such an enjoyable night. It's not too often I get John all to myself. I'm already looking forward to our next years all nighter!

This photo really doesn't do our lights justice. They really do look great! In the photo one of the wreaths on the garage is missing. The garage door accidentally ripped it off but it's back up and working just fine!

One night Aunt Lana and Uncle John were bring Eleanor home and their kids saw our lights. They were pretty impressed with them and kept talking about them. When the kids asked why we had so many lights on our house Eleanor told them that Santa Clause only goes to the homes with lights. I wonder if Uncle John 's put up any lights yet??

Amelia And The Fridge

2010-12-13T15:55:00.000-08:00

Amelia is such a funny little baby. She definitely knows what she likes and can easily entertain herself for long stretch of time. Besides getting into what ever Eleanor is playing with, her favorite thing is the fridge. She loves finding the magnets and moving them all around. We have to be careful and put Eleanor's artwork up high or else Amelia will make sure to destroy it! I have a feeling Santa might be bringing her a few new magnet toys.

Girls and Christmas Dresses

2010-12-12T17:04:00.000-08:00

I always look forward to putting together the girls' Christmas dresses. I love seeing all the kids at church in their new Christmas outfits. This year I had Amelia wear Eleanor's dress from when Eleanor was one. It was so fun seeing Amelia in the same outfit and remembering Eleanor in the same outfit. It's amazing how fast the past 3 years have flown by. It seems like just last month Eleanor was Amelia's age. I wonder what our lives will be like 3 years down the road! Anyway, after church today I tried getting some photos of the girls. Dang Amelia is not one for the camera. I swear she tries to do everything her little body can to NOT look at the camera or hold still. She's a little pistol! Despite her little attitude, I am happy to have the few photos I got. I love these two little girl more then I can express. Everyday I am reminded of just how lucky I am to have such amazing daughters! I seriously can't imagine my life without them and look forward to all the memories ahead of us!

Christmas Dance Recital

2010-12-11T19:34:00.000-08:00

Eleanor had her Christmas dance recital yesterday and she was adorable. She was so excited to dress up in her costume and perform on the "real really big stage". It was so fun watching her personality shine when she got on stage. The girl defently does not have stage fright. Quite the opposite actually. Just like last year, when she got on the stage her entire face was smiling and she did her little dance so well! The teacher put her in the middle of the stage because she said Eleanor knew the dance the best. That she did. All the little girls were watching for cues for the next steps. I was so proud of her!

I was also so proud of John! His worked called a monatory work day for Saturday. I was upset about it and I know John was too. But, he drove all the way from downtown to West Jordan just to watch her dance and then headed back to the office. Eleanor was beyound thrilled that he made it. She was also so excited to have Aunt Sara, Henry, Ashley and Scott and Michelle. Eleanor loves her family and I could tell it made her feel like a million bucks we were all there to support her.

Sick Mom vs Well Mom

2010-12-08T16:00:00.000-08:00

These past few days I have been out of commission with a horrid cough/sore throat and my house has really suffered because of it! Here is a photo of what our kitchen looked like first thing this morning.

It took me a good two hours to get it looking like this and boy does it feel good. The only sad thing is that by tomorrow night it probably won't look anything like this!!

Sleepover With Cousins

2010-12-04T16:07:00.000-08:00

Last night we got to have Savannah and Katelyn spend the night! I made the mistake of telling Eleanor about the sleepover first thing in the morning and it about killed the poor girl having to wait until 3pm for them to arrive. We waited for the girls to get to house to open the door for our advent calendar and when they opened the door they found out we were going out to Kneaders for hot coco and then on a drive to look at Christmas lights. We all decided it would be more comfy if we wore our pajamas for out little outing. The girls had a great time and they loved visiting the house with the lights synced to music. We stayed at watched at least five songs.

When we got home for our Christmas light drive, the girls put on a fashion show. Years ago when Savannah and Ashley weren't much older then Eleanor is now, I had them over and we put on a fashion show complete with a lighted walk way and audience (Matt and Lyndsay Adams). Every since then we have to have a fashion show nearly every time they spend the night. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw the two suitcases Savannah and Katelyn brought chuck full of clothes for the show. The show was a huge hit and Eleanor and Katelyn were quite proud of their outfits.

I am so glad that Eleanor has been able to be close with her cousins. I still cherish all my found memories with my cousins and value their friendship. It's going to be fun watching my girls develop these lasting friendships!

Amelia

2010-12-01T17:21:00.000-08:00

I know this isn't a big deal to most moms, but I haven't been to lucky with having my babies take a bottle and so when I see this little nugget holding her little bottle I smile! I'm giving myself until the end of the year to enjoy this little sight and then it's off to 100% sippy cups. Amelia is such a spoiled little baby and will not drink milk from a sippy cup. She'll drink plenty of water and juice but only wants milk in a bottle. Not only does she have to have her milk in a bottle, she also prefers it warmed in the microwave for 30 secs. Geeze, this little girl is so stinkin spoiled! I've never seen a baby enjoy being a baby more then she does. She honestly is so content being a baby and is in no hurry to grow up! And of course, I love it. (Now, I understand she'll have to grow up one day, but why rush it!)

Speaking of being a baby, Amelia is still not walking. She can totally stand all alone and even take up to 5 steps, but she's more content with crawling. When she is crawling towards the stairs or to something she isn't supposed to be doing, she does this hilarious exaggerated crawl and slams her hands down in slow motion. It cracks me up! I've never seen anything like it. Speaking of crawling to the stairs, the girl likes to push her limits. She knows when she is being naughty but continues doing it with a huge grin and a killer chuckle. My little perfect angle baby is making up for lost time and becoming a toddler with her own personality. She loves making people laugh and has got some great dance moves. My favorite is when she bends her left knee to the beat and shakes her head. The girl can really get moving and follows the beat perfect! I think she's going to be our little dancing queen!

Amelia gets her feelings hurt quite easily. If anyone raises their voice at her she'll throw her head down and let out the saddest cry. Just like she smiles with her entire face, she also pouts with her entire face. She has also started throwing her self on the ground while crying. Hopefully we can put an end to that real fast!!

Overall Amelia is such a bundle of smiles, laughs and joy! She seriously makes me smile 100 times a day. We all love her and are so happy she's ours!

Visit From the Christmas Spider

2010-12-01T17:15:00.000-08:00

A few years ago we started one of my favorite Christmas traditions. The night we put the Christmas tree up and decorate it, we get a visit from the Christmas spider. Our spider was made by Mimi and Aunt Elyse and when she appears on the tree she also leaves a present for the girls. Which is always their Christmas pjs. After we open the presents and put on the new pjs we read the book 'Cobweb Christmas'. It's a great way to start off the Christmas season. I think next year when the spider makes her visit she will also decorate the tree with tinsel (goes along with the book).

After Amelia opened her present she would not let me take the pjs out of her hands. She knew they were just for her. Once she finally let me put them on her she got so upset the next morning when I went to take them off. So, she wore them all the next day as well. In fact, both she and Eleanor have lived in their pjs. When it's cold out and we don't leave the house, why not just let them stay in their pjs all day??Searching for the Christmas Spider.
Eleanor has decided to switch from using the index finger to the middle finger to point to everything.
Looking

Our very own Vanna White.

Amelia doing a little decorating and unwrapping.
Reading Cobweb Christmas

Typical Ameila.

Utes Take The Win

2010-11-27T18:15:00.000-08:00

This was our first year of being Utah season tickets holders! There is nothing like a good college football game during the fall and early weeks of winter!! We had such a good time at all the games this year and were even lucky enough to sale two of our tickets for the TCU and make almost enough money to pay for our season tickets! Hopefully we can keep our seats for years to come!!

The last game was the big rival game between UTAH and BYU. My dad and Davey were up for Thanksgiving and they got to come along with us. It was freezing cold but so much fun. I think we were all pretty shocked when UTAH pulled it off with a one point victory!

And yes, that is a U in the back of John's head. We were shaving his head the night before and I suggest he do a mohak for the game but instead he went with the U. Too bad it was so cold he had to keep his hat on the entire game! I seriously love how much John loves the University of Utah. I too love it and hope our kids will continue with the love!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-25T08:10:00.000-08:00

We had such an enjoyable Thanksgiving this year. We were spoiled with amazing house guest. My parent's and Amy and Davey joined us from Arizona and Sara, Dick and Henry came down from SLC. The weather leading to Thanksgiving was pretty bad and we weren't sure if my Dad or Davey would get here. But, luckily everyone made it and we had a fabulous weekend! Of course the dinner spread was amazing and complete with my Dad's famous stuffing, our traditional cranberry salad, Davey's awesome potatoes, Mom's rolls, and this year Sara added frog-eyed-salad.

Our entire guest list.
Starting the morning off by watching A Christmas Story (or as Eleanor calls it, "You'll shoot your eye out").Amy, Davey and Eleanor made our adorable name settings.

Mom and Dad slaving away in the kitchen.

The two adorable cousins wearing the their Thanksgiving shirts that Mimi gave them.

Our make-shift dinning room table. (My next home will have a large enough dinning room to host another Thanksgiving without having to pull out the Costco tables!!)
The cute table toppers my mom gave us girls. Love them.
Aunt Amy spoiled all the cousins and gave them matching pajamas. They all looked so cute!

The First Snow Fall

2010-11-18T21:22:00.000-08:00

This morning we woke up to a beautiful blanket of snow covering out backyard. Eleanor could hardly wait to get out and play. (This was a bit of a shocker. Typically she doesn't care to play in the snow. She thinks it's too cold). I was so happy she wanted to go out. She stayed out there and played for a good hour. She got so upset at me for taking photos so I gave the camera to John and helped her make a snow castle. While we were out building, John got some great photos of Amelia and her first snow experience (She has been a little sick so I didn't want to take her out). She loved playing with the snow balls John gave her and loved eating the snow.

This is one reason why I love living in Utah. I truly love the snow and I can't wait for more snow/play days! Welcome first snow!

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T10:34:00.000-07:00

I LOVE the fall! The crisp air, all the fun decorated sugar cookies, pumpkin patches, parties, decorated porches and most of all HALLOWEEN!! Halloween is a huge favorite around our house hold. All year long Eleanor has been telling me what she wants to be for Halloween and each day it changes! This year Eleanor really wanted to be Snow White so we all ended up being something form the story. We dressed up for our ward party and won first prize. I must admit, Eleanor was a stunning Snow White, Amelia was a darling dwarf, John a fabulous mirror on the wall and I was a pretty ugly evil witch. It was fun coming up with every one's costumes and seeing them together.

The weather on Halloween night was horrid. It was cold and rainy so we weren't able to get many photos. John took Eleanor out trick-or-treating and I stayed home with Amelia, Sara, Henry and my Mom. Like every year, I made dinner in a pumpkin and it was delicious We never got around to carving pumpkins, but we had plenty on our door step. I believe by the time Thanksgiving rolled around we had over 10. We also had fun decorating our house. This year Eleanor decided she was a little spooked out with all the fake spiders around (huge change from years past) so we kind of went low key.

Amelia's First Birthday!

2010-10-28T14:06:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe that our little monkey is one!! She is such a fun little girl! So far she is still not walking (which I actually love!) and isn't saying too many words. Her vocabulary includes 'Dad, Hi and Da'. I'm still waiting for the 'Mama' to come out of her mouth! Although she doesn't talk much, she sure knows how to communicate with her smile, cry and laughter!

John had to go to Switzerland for her actual birthday so we didn't do much. It just didn't feel like a birthday without John. We made sure to celebrate right when he got back. It was fun having so much family. We were lucky to have Mimi up from Arizona. Amelia seemed to really enjoy her party. The girl loves being the center of attention and she LOVED her cake. It was so fun watching her destroy her cake. She started with one little pink and within a few minutes she was covered in cake. It was so adorable!

It's our tradition to have fireworks for a first birthday. We didn't get any photos of them, but the fireworks John got were out of hand. It was like a mini little 4th of July show in our backyard! We were all surprised the cops didn't come join the party!

Overall Amelia had a fantastic birthday! I hate seeing her grow so fast, but it's been so much fun watching her little personality develop and shine trough. We are all so in love with this little monkey and so happy to have her. I can't wait to see what fun memories we have together during the coming year! Happy Birthday Amelia!!

This was her inviation that I made. Thanks to Henry for letting us borrow his hat!
This was right before her party. In true Amelia fashion, she found her barret, yanked it out and put it in her mouth.

Eleanor's Fourth Birthday!

2010-09-23T07:01:00.000-07:00

I always look forward to Eleanor's birthday and her party! This year was extra fun because she was so excited to turn four! The night of her actual birthday while getting ready for bed she said, "Are you sure I'm four. I still feel like I'm three.".

We had a really cute "dance" party this year. All the little girls came in tutus or dance wear and we had a girl from our neighborhood come over and give the girls (+Evan) a little dance class. They took it so serious, especially Eleanor.

Of course we stuck with tradition and had pinata. Eleanor saw the pinata earlier that week and
feel in love with it!

Overall we had a great party. It's been so much fun having this little girl of ours. She adds so much color to our family and makes our lives so much better! Here's to a great fourth year!

Poor Baby

2010-09-20T20:50:00.000-07:00

Poor Amelia has another ear infection. She was miserable all weekend and to top it off I weaned her just the two days before she got sick. If only I had know she was getting sick I would have waited. I was really torn with the decision on weaning her. Amelia hasn't been sleeping through the night and I know it's because she relies on me for her "comfort" when she wakes up during the night. So, not only did I wean her, but I also started making her cry it out and sleep all night in her crib. The poor girl cried for a good hour (of course I patted her back every 10 minutes) and finally fell asleep. The second night was a 100x better and even though she's been sick, she's been sleeping in her bed. I put a little stuffed monkey in her crib and she cuddles up with it. It's the cutest thing! I'll be glad when she gets over this ear infection and she starts feeling better. This little girl takes after her dad and loves to be babied for while sick. She refuses to hold her own sippy cup and wants to be cuddled all day. Honestly, I love it. She is so fun to cuddle with and love on. I just really hope she gets over this infection fast and doesn't have another one anytime soon. The Dr. said if she gets another one within the next few months she's affraid she may need tubes. Poor girl!

Four Years Old!!

2010-09-20T19:36:00.000-07:00

Eleanor turned four today. Four! I'm having a hard time comprehending this!

Yesterday we had a big family party to celebrate. We decided to go with an Italian theme complete with manicotti, fettucini alfredo, french bread, sanpellegrino and ice cream pizzas. Savannah and Ashley spent night and were great little helpers. They cleaned my house and even helped make the manicotti. Eleanor got spoiled rotten by all her cousins. She got a lot of barbies and pet shops, she was in heaven! Everyone had a good time and Eleanor loved having all her cousins over. When Dick was leaving Eleanor told him that she wasn't going to be able to sleep because of her new barbies and pet shops. And she was right, John and I fell asleep around 12 and she was still going strong!

First thing this morning Eleanor tells me she just doesn't feel four. It took some convincing, but she finally believed me that she was in fact four. Poor Amelia had another earn infection so we had to go to the Dr.s office. I felt bad Eleanor was spending her birthday at the Dr.s office but the nurses were all nice to her and gave her stickers and suckers. While filling Amelia's prescription, Eleanor found a toy she wanted. I figured she had gotten plenty the night before and when I told her no she responded with, "But mom, it IS my birthday". Although I found it funny, I didn't give in.

When we got home I could hear someone in our driveway so I had Eleanor tell me who it was. She told me it was a big guy and that she wasn't getting the door. Then two seconds later I see her eyes get big and hear her say, "Oh, I'm getting it. I'm definitely getting it". Turns out Amy and Davey sent her a bouquet of balloons and she was beyond excited! It made her day!!

The rest of the afternoon was spent playing with her new toys and watching Jack and the Magic Bean "Stocking". We then met up with John at Old Navy to let Eleanor pick out a new dress for dinner. She couldn't find a dress she liked, so she got to pick out four shirts. Of course she picked out ones with a unicorn, dog, owl and penguin.

We had dinner at Outback because Eleanor loves their mac'n'cheese and shrimp. She loved the singing from the waiters and her ice cream. You could tell she thought she was so special. On the way home from dinner Eleanor pointed out that Heavenly Father and Jesus turned the sky pink because it was her birthday. Adorable!

Again, I really can't believe our little girl is four today. We love her so much and are so happy to have her!

Before It's Two

2010-08-25T12:26:00.001-07:00

Amelia's bottom tooth is the cutest thing. I love how she only has one right now and how it's totally cricked. Her second little tooth popped through this week and I am going to miss her single tooth smile. However, I will not miss the runny nose and fussy nights.

Other big news, Amelia is saying her first word (other then dada). She said it for the first time last weekend and says it quite a bit now. In true Amelia fashion, her first word was "hi". Love it!

Soaking Nice

2010-08-24T10:21:00.000-07:00

This morning Eleanor asked me if I would get out all her jewelry. Twenty minutes later she asks me to take her photo. While taking her photos she says, "McKenna is soaking nice. Can you believe she gave me all this expensive jewelry. I am going to keep it even when I'm grownup."

* I know I should correct her, but I love when she uses 'soaking' for 'so dang'.

Living the Life

2010-08-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

Today I've been busy getting things done around the house and I must admit I was VERY jealous when I walked into this scene. Nothing beats laying in bed eating popcorn while watching the Parent Trap. I think I might just have to join in...

A Slice of Life

2010-08-19T09:38:00.000-07:00

I walked into my bedroom this morning and this is what I found. I love how Eleanor came and found Amelia in my bed and cuddled up next to her. They slept like this for two hours.

Chomper And A Crawler

2010-08-12T21:07:00.000-07:00

While I was down in Arizona Amelia got her first little tooth. I so sad for my little girl. She was pretty miserable for a few days before her tooth popped out. These were some of the last photos I got of her sans teeth. As of today, she still has just the little tooth on the bottom and I suspect a second will make its way any day.

I feel a little guilty about this, but I can honestly say I have not been looking forward to the day Amelia learns to crawl. I love being able to sit her down in one place, give her a few toys and know she'll be entertained for a few minutes. Well, today the little nugget figured it out. She's been working on it for a few weeks but this morning it all came together. In true Amelia style, she was tickled pink with herself and loved having all of us cheering her on. (I've never seen a baby love an audience more then Amelia!) I didn't capture her first crawling on film, but these were taken just the other day and I'm guessing I won't be getting many more photos of her on her tummy.

I really do wish I could stop these little milestones from accruing and keep this little baby little longer. She's growing faster then we signed up for!

Baby LouDawn

2010-07-11T16:19:00.000-07:00

I came across this photo today and I think Amelia looks a lot like my mom.

And, I also think this photo looks a lot like Olive.

Amelia As of Today

2010-07-06T22:22:00.000-07:00

She is eight months old and could not be more enjoyable. She loves to be held or played with and when she is left alone, she lets out the saddest cry.

I love getting her out of bed in the morning. She wakes up and plays in her in crib and when she sees me she gives me the biggest smile!

There is nothing like her kisses! They are wet and cover your entire face.

She has started eating her baby food from a straw. I wasn't fast enough with the spoon and she would yell at me when ever I took a brake to feel the spoon. The straw was the perfect solution. She gets to eat her food as fast as she likes and it's mess free! She will also drink formula from a cup with a straw but not from a bottle.

She has got the best mohawk! She has a small little patch of hair along the top of her head and it stands straight up.

She can babble with the best of them. So far all she says is "da da' and "ts ts".

She has quite the little death grip and loves to go for your nose or lips. And it hurts!

She loves watching Eleanor and laughing at her. Eleanor doesn't have to do much to get some great belly laughs from Eleanor.

On the other hand, she also gets annoyed with Eleanor. I guess she doesn't appreciate the hickeys Eleanor gives her.

She eats anything but when she's had enough she'll let you know!

She loves drinking from water bottles and likes spitting it down her tummy even better.

Can go from the sitting position onto her knees, but doesn't seem too interested in crawling.

Instead of crying, she yells. She doesn't do it too often, so when she does it you know she is really trying to tell you something.

She is growing up to dang fast and keeps getting more and more fun. We love her to pieces!