May 2013

May started out with a two week visit from grandparents who came to help while I had surgery to implant a pacemaker, whose purpose was to raise my heart rate and give me more energy. It was so nice to have their help in so many ways! Along with cooking, laundry, lifting Ellie, making boys' lunches, and day to day household things like that, they helped chop down a tree, build a fence, read to little boys, package the 35 pounds of dried onions I had bought, and many other little projects. Then we got to have my sister and her cute little three year old visit to help for nearly another week and that was very fun! I won't put any pictures of them up, even though there are many!

Ian also participated in the district 4th/5th grade track meet. He was in the tug of war and a race. We saw the tug-of-war, but had to miss the race after two little girls had had enough of sitting in the sun at a track meet during lunch/nap time. But he had fun and was happy he participated!

This is Caleb and Levi's climbing adventure while the big tree was getting chopped down (to provide more sunlight for our garden).

Ellie is starting to play more with stuffed animals and dolls (this is her Tiny Baby).

My parents wanted a picture of them all before they left - they were much more cooperative for their grandparents than for me :).

I love Ellie's curly hair right after it's been washed! I know that someday it might not curl any more but I love it!

Ellie on Daddy.

I love this picture, Ellie kept putting on Caleb's sunglasses and she was checking herself out in the mirror.

And look at this - not one, not two, but four goldfish crackers in her hands with a willing tongue to lick them! Thank you, nursery, for helping her love goldfish crackers! She'll even go to the cupboard to get them out. She's really licking/tasting more foods. No chewing yet, and she still doesn't like to eat, but putting things in her mouth willingly is a big step!

Lots of teeth have been lost around here! Levi (orange) lost his two front teeth and Caleb wiggled and wiggled and let Daddy pull his out. Levi is missing four teeth, Caleb three. A little early for Christmas, however :).

April 2013

It's fun to see both Caleb and Levi still pretending a lot, they often play with their baby dolls. He's feeding his baby lunch. It's just part of their lives, since they see me feeding Ellie all the time!

Ellie likes to line up her favorite toys. It's so nice to see her doing something to "normal" for someone her age!

Ian wanted his picture taken with Ellie. He sure loves her and is really good and helpful with her!

Ellie is still working on her eating. She is getting more willing with her cup, and finally learned how to suck up the milk herself (usually I squeeze it into her mouth)! She'll only do it occasionally, and often when she's trying to avoid a bite, but it's progress! Here she's feeding her duck. She's come a long way from when she would throw the cup across the room when she saw it. She's actually eating really well (for her) and we've taken her off her stomach medicine. Just hoping she'll continue to do better and better and learn to eat age appropriate foods.

One day Caleb and Levi got dressed (without planning it) in Halloween colors. They wanted their picture taken so they could remember to dress like that on Halloween :).

One Sunday the boys were really bored and John said they should build their favorite scripture story. Caleb built Samuel the Lamanite.

Ian's was King Benjamin speaking.

Levi's was Daniel and the Lion's Den.

Ellie is loving to wear shoes. Since hers are hard for her to get on herself, and mine are hard to walk in, she usually goes for Caleb or Levi's shoes, which are only a few sizes bigger than hers.

Ian building bridges for scouts!

Levi lost his front teeth! He was so excited. And never have you seen a boy (Caleb) wiggle and wiggle his teeth to try and get them out just like his brother.....

Ian had to do a pioneer project for school. This is a tiny patchwork quilt he sewed by hand. He really liked making it.

March 2013

Somehow Easter got on here first.

The view from the back window - can you see the two pheasants? I am just glad they're sitting on the deck and not flying into my front window!

Ellie finally likes to go to nursery! And I can leave her without her screaming the whole time I'm gone. One thing they do most every week is "Ring Around the Rosies" and she loves it, she gets her brothers to do it with her all the time. She's always going up to Ian while he's trying to read or do homework and pulls on his arm saying, "ring rosies?" How can anyone resist that?

There is a lot of reading of Dr. Seuss going on this month! His birthday is March 2, so we had a party and got out all the books we have of his. Caleb, especially, loves to read his stories.

We had Dr. Seuss food all day on March 2, this was dinner - the cat's hat and stars from The Sneetches.

Apparently Ellie needs reading glasses.

She is getting so good at "blowing bubbles with your mouth!" She does it all the time.

She was happy to be going somewhere. Not so happy to leave the 6 cars behind. She really, really likes to hold things. She has her favorites, usually her duck, these two broken light toys that have a snowman and Snoopy on them, and these Winnie the Pooh figures we have. We spend a lot of the day finding whatever she's left laying around, when she's crying for it at bedtime. And it's hard to get her to go out the door without something in her little hands! We did get out the door without the cars, but not without some tears as well.

A lot of March was taken up with working on science fair projects. Ian tested what liquids make nails rust the fastest, Levi tested which type of sugar grew yeast the best, and Caleb tested which type of bread molded the fastest. Science is fun!

February 2013

Ellie likes to sit on Ian's lap when he's trying to read his own books.

We have two independent readers! It's so fun to watch Caleb and Levi sit down and read themselves a book. Not just look through it at the pictures, but actually read it! I need to make sure they read out loud to me, too, because I know there are still a lot of words they do not know, but they can get enough words to get the story. And they both love to read!

I think the shoes make the outfit :).

Ellie for some reason started "blowing bubbles with your mouth," as she says. She does it all the time!

The most exciting happening of February was Ian's 10th birthday, which I already wrote about.

I love that Ellie is getting enough hair to do fun things with - of course, it only stays cute for about 5 minutes, but it's fun while it lasts!

January 2013

New Year's Day tradition of new books. I couldn't get Levi to stop reading his to look up at the camera :)

Ellie was a bit overwhelmed with all the Christmas happenings, she stayed out of the living room most of Christmas morning. At New Year's she had no intention of unwrapping a book, but she did like it once we opened it for her.

Caleb loves making things. He made his monkey these goggles.

 We were making bread and Caleb and Levi both wanted to help.

I've been getting the boys to help me cook, to try and start teaching them about cooking. They each have a day a month to pick the meal and help me make it. This is Ian making his dinner for January - baked breaded chicken!

Our cousin who is in first grade sent us a "Flat Stanley" to show around our town. They had fun with him, and took him to the science center. He wasn't scared at all of these raccoons :).