It could happen to you!

Eli is 5!

2012-01-21T12:30:00.000-08:00

Well he will be tomorrow anyways!

Stats

Height : 48 inches

Weight: 52 pounds

Shoe Size: 2

Clothing size: 7

Percentiles:

110 % height (my best guess)

96% weight

At least when people ask how old he is I can tell him 5, that sounds more believable than 4 for such a giant kid!

Party pictures still to come...

Cake Pops

2012-01-19T14:10:00.000-08:00

We did Cake Pops for Eli's Birthday at preschool today, they were a hit!
They're easy to make and just the right size for kids, not to mention tasty.

Eli, as usual, had very specific requests. He wanted strawberry cake, with red chocolate and red, white and pink sprinkles. I told him we could have that, but they would look like they were for Valentines Day. He replied "that's okay, the girls will love them". Oh my, we're going to be in serious trouble in a few years!

Rachel kindly let us borrow this : Babycakes Cake Pop Maker
It worked wonderfully and cooks these tasty spheres in only a few minutes.

I'm totally making these for every birthday from now on, I've already got a plan for Lilly.
Hello Kitty Cake Pops

Bath time fun

2012-01-07T13:05:00.000-08:00

We saw this idea on Pintrest, glow sticks in the tub.
Now the kids as if we have glow sticks every night, good thing they sell them at The Dollar Store.
Hint: It looks cooler with bubbles

Lilly

2012-01-07T12:52:00.000-08:00

Eli painted Lilly with orange washable marker. Luckily it was washable, it came off pretty easy in the tub!

Lilly's rat nest she set up while watching her show.

This was from Eli's preschool party, she loved this hat!

Christmas morning playing with her new (from Goodwill) Barbie house.

Christmas Morning

2011-12-31T20:21:00.001-08:00

Eli's Christmas Program

2011-12-31T20:20:00.001-08:00

Christmas Robes

2011-12-23T00:18:00.001-08:00

The kids wanted robes for Christmas. Well, I think Eli wanted one and then Lilly just wanted to be like Eli. Eli was very specific about his, it had to be red (his favorite color) and he wanted it to have white stripes. After Costco and Target failed to have anything he wanted, we headed to JoAnne's to check out their fabric. Eli couldn't find stripes, but he said this print was even better because snowflakes "seem more like Christmas".
Lilly is easy, she's still obsessed with Hello Kitty so the choice was clear. It seems like they have Hello Kitty stuff everywhere, so I thought a robe would be easy to find. Alas, I ended up sewing two robes! I finished them this afternoon, and since it's so close to Christmas, and the kids have seen them from the get go, I just let them have them today.
They both loved putting them on after the bath, it was a little hard to convince them to put on pajamas.

Lilly was a crack up during her "photo shoot". She has the wackiest personality, and loves doing anything to get a smile out of you.

Funny Lilly

2011-12-05T23:18:00.001-08:00

Check out the Video on You Tube

Preschool and Santa

2011-12-04T00:05:00.000-08:00

Stay tuned for the final Santa Picture, it didn't upload for some reason and as usual it's midnight, so I'll deal with that tomorrow.
Eli brought printouts to show Santa of the toys he wants for Christmas this year. This way there will be no confusion, and he'll be sure to get the right toys. Santa asked if any were for Lilly and Eli said "no everything is for me, Lilly doesn't need any presents because my Mom already bought her something"!!
Santa said his favorite cookies are Snicker doodles (thanks Santa, now we have to make these and they're one of my least favorite cookies). He also said that he has 6 reindeer and they prefer baby carrots (which we never buy) because they think small carrots are like candy.
My Christmas to do list got a little longer after that visit, isn't Santa supposed to be helping me out? I mean he gets all the credit and I'm doing all the work!

Eli had an art night at his preschool last week. Lilly was able to attend with us and she loved it. I think she'll be more than ready to go to preschool next fall.

We made gingerbread play dough, painted picture matting, collage candle holders, shakers, bracelets, and shoebox guitars, what a night!

Getting ready for Christmas

2011-11-29T15:29:00.001-08:00

We had a frustrating night putting up Christmas decor with little "helpers". Lilly was trying to eat ornaments (yes, she's 2 1/2) and Eli was throwing them at people. Needless to say, we weren't feeling the Christmas spirit. Eli told us the next day, "Mom you know what we're missing? Being Happy! We should sing songs, love each other and hug at Christmas." Thank you Eli for reminding us what it's all about!

We also went back to Strawberry Fields Christmas Tree Farm, where any tree is $10. We love this place, but were sad there was no snow yet this year. Last year was a magical, although cold, experience. We still had a great time, and Eli picked the final tree! Cutting down our own tree is one of my favorite things about living in the Northwest. The Christmas song "Christmas in the Northwest" might be my lest favorite thing!

The rest of Halloween

2011-11-13T13:23:00.000-08:00

This was after trick or treating around the neighborhood, it was cold outside and the lens fogged up, kind of funny! Ben is dressed up as an in n out cook, everyone in the finance department dressed as cooks like they were "cooking the books".

We also went to the Hillsboro Airport Open House. We go every year, I guess it's a tradition now. Eli loves all of the trucks and planes, and they hand out candy and have little crafts and face painting. It's all free, so what more could you ask for?

Lilly has entered the "difficult to photograph" stage, so it was hard to get anything with her looking at the camera. Thanks to Courtney for the other picture from Trunk or Treat, it's the best one we have.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-03T10:59:00.000-07:00

Lilly as Cinderella with her friend Arlo the Spider at the Trunk or Treat.

Eli and Herbie as Spiderman and Darth Vader respectively.
Thanks to Ciara for snapping this before preschool!

Cleaning out my phone

2011-10-16T23:06:00.000-07:00

Boating Safety Day, on the last day of swim lessons.

Eli's first day back at preschool

My tired boys

Lilly riding the horse at Fred Meyer's.
She loves shopping with Mommy while Eli's at preschool

We went to Oaks Park for the first time over the summer, sadly this is the only picture to prove it!

We also went to Heritage Farms on Saturday, so much fun!
Thanks Rachel for a great suggestion.

One of the rare pictures of myself.
I figured I'd better take one myself, to prove I actually exist!

Family Pictures

2011-10-07T19:29:00.000-07:00

Hair

2011-10-03T11:24:00.000-07:00

Lilly's hair obsession continues, poor Afton was subjected to multiple "makeovers" while she was here playing the other day!

Lilly on Cargo

2011-09-28T22:31:00.000-07:00

Dancing

2011-09-28T22:30:00.000-07:00

Cleaning out Ben's phone

2011-09-27T21:41:00.000-07:00

Lilly starts Ballet tomorrow!

Eli's almost too big to hold anymore. I had to buy him size 7 shirts for school this year, and size 1 shoes. 7 feet here he comes!

Hiking at Tryon Creek last weekend.

Camping at Fort Stevens earlier this month.

Hillsboro Farmers Market

Air show

2011-09-04T18:06:00.001-07:00

Ben took Eli to the air show this year, and they had a blast! Eli loved that he got his own ear protection from the hardware store. He's still talking about how much fun it was.

Lilly and I stayed home and had a "girls day". We played dress up and stayed in the nice cool, quiet house. Normally I love to get out, but the air show is too loud for Lilly, so we sat this one out.

Cooling Off

2011-08-28T19:01:00.001-07:00

Lady

2011-08-21T23:43:00.000-07:00

This lady brought me hair ties today and told me "pretty hair" or "pee haah". I don't know how to do a lot of hairdos on little girls, but she seemed to be pretty happy with what I came up with. I browsed some blogs after this and found some pretty cool ideas, we'll have to try something different next time. She's such a girl, who knew she'd be into doing her hair at 2? Okay maybe other people with girls, but Eli shows absolutely no interest in his hair.

Getting a drink from the hose on a hot summer day was one of my favorite things as a kid. Who knew garden hoses contain lead, and you're not supposed to drink from them? We just found this out, and ordered this handy potable hose from Amazon. We use it for the garden too, because it sounds gross to water the veggies with extra lead. Now the kids can drink to their hearts delight, and Lilly is taking full advantage of it!

For Adrianna

2011-08-16T22:34:00.000-07:00

I saw this picture on her blog and it reminded me of one I had of Eli from back in April. I was on the fence (pun intended) about putting this on the blog, but Hylton looked so cute I just had to share!
Eli's wearing my boots and talking to the neighbor kids through a hole in the fence.

Idaho

2011-08-10T21:46:00.000-07:00

Alex, Rhet, Ben, Angela and Whitney

Gillian and Lillian

Zoo Boise

The Park

Spray Park

We recently went to visit Ben's cousins in Boise, and had a blast! It was so fun to see everyone after so long (8 years), and we had fun touring Boise. We hit: Roaring Springs Waterpark, Zoo Boise, and Powell's Sweet Shoppe, a few parks and even the Library. Eli and Lilly loved meeting all of the "cousins", and going on our first "family vacation"! We got to eat at Johnny Carino's, which was our favorite restaurant in Idaho Falls when we were at BYU Idaho (or Rick's when we were there). Ben even got to sneak in a few bike adventures, including a rope swing into the Boise River. The kids did great in the car, much better than I expected, and we ended the trip with a visit to Grandma and Grandpa's house in The Dalles. Eli keeps asking if we can go back to Idaho, he wants to go to the Water Park again!

Lilly developed a fear of flies on the trip. We had one in the car and she'd scream hysterically every time she saw it, she even had nightmares about it the first night we got there. She freaked out in the butterfly exhibit at the zoo, and continues to scream as if a limb is being amputated whenever one gets in the house. Poor Lady, I hope this is something she out grows and isn't afraid of all flying insects when she grows up.

Eli couldn't remember Rhet's name to save his life. He kept calling him Eric, which we attribute to Emmett's Dad being named Eric and Gillian's Mom being named Erica. Somehow he couldn't get it all straight and we'd have to correct him multiple times a day!

Thanks to Rhet and Erica for being such great host's and letting us invade your house. We won't let another 8 years go by without another visit.

Pioneer Day in Boise

2011-08-10T21:40:00.001-07:00

Trains in Idaho

2011-08-10T21:40:00.000-07:00

Full Car

2011-07-19T18:54:00.000-07:00

Found this funny picture on my phone the other day.

It was on the way to "bring a friend day" at preschool a couple of months ago!

Lilly is 2!

2011-07-17T21:19:00.001-07:00

Lilly's bike

2011-07-17T21:11:00.001-07:00

Nehalem Bay

2011-07-11T22:19:00.001-07:00

We went camping at Nehalem Bay this weekend and had a blast. To our surprise our kids slept great, Lilly did so much better than last year. We love this spot so much, I think it will become an annual tradition. They have great bike trails, a beautiful beach, a shallow bay to play in, and a river close by. Not to mention the cleanest campground bathrooms I've ever seen and hot showers. We rented kayaks to row up stream, but Lilly apparently hates boating. After rowing around for about 40 min. with a screaming baby we gave up on the idea. She does love biking though, so we went on multiple bike rides a day.

Eli's construction site

Some pics of all of us at the bay

Ben had to take the training wheels off of Eli's bike to get it on the back of the car. While he was loading up to come home we suggested to Eli that he try riding his bike without the training wheels. We supposed he'd give it a few tries, but not really get anywhere. To everyone's surprise he just took off. He had a little trouble getting it started, but could ride just fine. He didn't want to leave the campground because he just couldn't get enough of the freedom of the two wheel ride. This was yesterday, and now he's a pro at starting, breaking and turning. I couldn't be more proud, I really didn't expect them to come off until next summer when he would be 5. I have to admit I got a little teary when he took off that first time. Ben had already put his bike on the back of the car, but pulled if off and said "I have to go for a ride with my son!".
Congratulations Eli!

A Purple Bead

2011-07-06T13:31:00.000-07:00

We went to a birthday party at the park yesterday and shortly after arriving there, we had to leave. Eli had a bloody nose and said he had a bead stuck up his nose. At first I thought he said "Bee", and was glad to find out it was a piece of plastic and not a bug. I stood up to take a look, and my sandal broke. I decided it wasn't such a big emergency that it couldn't wait a few minutes, I took Ben and Lilly home, got some shoes (you definitely need shoes in the ER) and drove to the hospital.

They were really quick about it, we were only there a few minutes before they got it out. They stuck a very tiny straw with a little balloon on the end up his nose. They pushed the end past the bead, inflated the little balloon, and pulled it out with the bead wedged in front of it.

Eli didn't think this was very fun, but loved the Popsicle they gave him afterwards. I hope this experience will discourage him from sticking anything else up there!

When we asked him why he did it he said "Kylie stuck a bead up her nose and it got stuck, I thought if I did it I could get it out"! We had actually hoped the experience of a friend having the same thing happen would prevent this kind of experience, but alas no such luck. We even had to call Kylie because Eli wanted to know what color her bead was, for the record it was green!

Scooter

2011-06-30T20:40:00.000-07:00

All the neighborhood kids have scooters, and Eli's was made for babies. Everyone has been nice enough to share with him, but we decided it was time to get him his own scooter. At first we considered a Razor, but Ben and I both had this type of scooter as a kid and loved how fast it went. It also does great "off road", Eli's already riding it off the curb. I was worried he wouldn't be able to balance it yet, since he still has training wheels on his bike, but he's done great. Maybe this will even be good practice for biking without training wheels!

Hiking

2011-06-30T13:07:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we hiked Hamilton Mountain on the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge. Eli hiked the whole way, about 4 miles, and Lilly loved the backpack. We were dog sitting the Blaisdell's dog Lucy, so we took her along. The kids had fun taking turns holding the leash, she was the "leader". It was a great kid hike, some uphill, but not too steep. I'm so happy summer is here, can't wait for the next adventure!

Swimming Lessons

2011-06-29T14:51:00.000-07:00

Eli has been in swim lessons the past couple of weeks, and loves it. He goes 4 days a week, and the other three days he asks daily if today is swimming. After our failure with t-ball I was a little apprehensive, but he's doing great! I guess we've got another swimmer in the family.

Summer Fun

2011-06-12T23:26:00.000-07:00

I found Lilly in the hall this morning, changing her baby's diaper. Super cute!

Summer bike gang on our street. We're spending hours a day in the driveway. A little white trash, but so much fun.

New Life

2011-06-05T23:58:00.001-07:00

After

Before

We finally got rid of the old, ugly changing table and put a new dresser in Lilly's room.

Of course it needed a little paint first!

Preschool Graduation

2011-05-31T15:40:00.000-07:00

Eli's preschool had their graduation ceremony today!

The kids sang songs, received their diplomas and then we broke for lunch. We all had fun, and I'm happy to say Eli didn't have to use the bathroom during the presentation (like he did at Christmas, causing us to miss the singing). We've been so happy with his preschool experience so far, and can't wait for fall.

I can't stop laughing at all of the funny faces Eli makes when I try to take his picture. At least they're not of the back of his head anymore!

Congratulations Eli! We love you!

Dozer Day II

2011-05-29T01:14:00.000-07:00

Ben finally emailed me the pics from his phone, so here's the rest of Dozer Day 2011!

Here's a random pic of Eli by a Front Loader, not sure where this was. Okay, Ben just told me this was at someone's house when we picked up our bathroom vanity off of craigslist.

I really love how happy Eli looks in all of these pictures! His love of heavy machinery is unwavering, it's an obsession really. We were at Powell's the other day, and he choose yet another book on machines. I told the checker I already knew more about heavy equipment than I ever cared to know. Eli really is his own person, this didn't come from us!

Dozer Day

2011-05-27T22:36:00.001-07:00

Eli and Ben went to Dozer Day last weekend.
Eli really wanted to go last year, but got the stomach flu the day before and had to miss it. He's been asking every couple of weeks over the last year if it was coming up, well it finally came. They hold it in a Quarry in Vancouver, WA. Kids get to drive real machines, and play construction themed games. It's Eli's dream come true!

Lilly Lou

2011-05-15T23:04:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure where she came up with this, but here's her "silly face"!

Lilly loves to try on everyone's hats. She empties out the whole basket, then tries on all the hats. Some work better than others, Ben's beanie is a little big. She's such a girl!

Easter Festivities

2011-04-24T21:13:00.000-07:00

Eli

2011-04-20T15:27:00.000-07:00

Biker Lady

2011-04-20T13:15:00.000-07:00

Tulip Festival

2011-04-09T21:37:00.000-07:00

From a guy who got a C in Woodshop

2011-04-09T21:05:00.000-07:00

This whole project started because I found a tutorial online for some cute, but inexpensive DIY bookcases. I showed Ben, he loved the idea so he got started.

Here's our bookcase before

Our living room before

The bookcases after!!

Ben went a little over board, and of course he's a perfectionist. It may have taken a lot longer than expected, but look at these babies, I can't complain!

We went in a little bit of a different direction than the tutorial, but used the same basic idea. We "dressed up" our cheap particle board bookcases and made them into something beautiful. We combined the look of about 5 different bookcases and Ben added some custom touches.

He custom built the base to match our cabinet we got off of craigslist.

After!
Most of our stuff is used, we've fixed up just about everything in here.
I don't know what it would be like to buy something and just set it out. The idea sounds nice, but this way we get exactly what we want, and don't spend too much in the process.

Desk: Craigslist - painted and a new knob
Chair: Goodwill - painted, distressed, and reupholstered
Bookcases: Craigslist - added beadboard, trim, base, beefed up shelves and painted
End table: Goodwill - cleaned up
Coffee table: Craigslist - cleaned up
Clock: Goodwill - cleaned up

Most of the stuff on the shelves is also Goodwill. Ben's been buying books there for years, and I've been collecting "stuff" the last few months to put on the bookcases. Yes, you heard that right, MONTHS, we've had these in the works since Thanksgiving.

We've got a few more projects in the works, so stay posted.

Yo-Yo Ma - Bach Cello Suite 1 III. Courante

2011-04-06T19:09:00.000-07:00

Painting to Music

2011-04-06T19:06:00.000-07:00

It looks like he painted to some death metal, but it was actually Bach!

(I posted the piece above)

Eli's favorite color is Red, so that explains the majority of the picture.

It was interesting to see how he really listened to the music, and moved his brush as if he were playing music. Long strokes during the smooth sections, and short dots for the staccato. He loved doing this activity and we'll definitely do it again soon.

Pillow Fun

2011-04-04T15:19:00.000-07:00

Why is this their favorite pass time?

I swear, we own tons of toys!

Eli using the camera

2011-03-22T16:49:00.000-07:00

Feats

2011-03-20T21:07:00.000-07:00

Lilly finally figured out how to get on and

off Cargo by herself. I can't tell you how

much time this will save me, she always

wants up, then down, then back up again.

Now she can climb to her hearts content.

Silly Lilly

2011-03-17T18:54:00.000-07:00

Lilly wanted me to spin her around in the office chair (the coolest toy we own) and she was having so much fun I just had to snap some pictures. This is a great example of the super cool stuff we do while Eli's at preschool.

Lilly doing a little dance!

You might remember this skirt from a few months ago. I originally made it a dress, but didn't really love it. Yesterday I converted it into a skirt and love how it came out.

Having a little rest after all of the excitement.

Snow Day

2011-03-02T14:05:00.000-08:00

Newport Aquarium

2011-02-22T23:17:00.001-08:00

We went to the Newport Aquarium on Friday and had a blast. Eli loved all of the different sea life and brought home a new stuffed animal to add to his collection. Snowy is a white seal pup and is best friends with another recent addition, a chameleon.
It was cold, but sunny so after the aquarium we headed over to the beach, ran around on the sand and watched the sunset.
I was worried Eli would have a hard time with 6 hours in the car in one day, but he did great.
I can wait until summer, and all of the adventures we'll have!

NW Children's Festival

2011-02-14T21:14:00.000-08:00

The day after

2011-02-09T10:05:00.001-08:00

The day after always looks worse.
As bad as it looks, Eli doesn't seem to mind. He still avoids chewing with his front teeth, so I have to cut up all of his food, but other than that he's acting just fine. I'm glad his teeth survived, I've heard so many horror stories about boys knocking out their front teeth. I'm glad to have avoided a long, painful and expensive adventure this time around.

Boys

2011-02-08T21:22:00.000-08:00

Eli loves to throw rocks in water, and of course he ended up in the water.
Good thing it was a nice day because he ran around Rood Bridge Park for about an hour with no pants on! He had no problem with this, in fact I think he would prefer to always go without pants.

Today Eli tripped and fell in the parking lot at preschool. He knocked his 2 front teeth loose and we had our first emergency trip to the dentist. His teeth should be fine, we'll just have to watch for discoloration over the next week or so to make sure the nerve wasn't damaged. Of course he wouldn't let me take a good picture of him, but you can see his mouth pretty good in this one.

John Deere

2011-01-25T19:56:00.000-08:00

Eli turned 4 on Saturday with a John Deere birthday party.

We played pin the wheel on the tractor.

Lilly's with her consolation gift, ducks are her favorite.

Eli had a lot of help from friends checking out his new stuff!

It got a little crazy, maybe we should have opened presents on the floor.

The inside of the cake was lemon and white cake dyed green, got to keep up with the John Deere theme.

Sterling advising Eli on his Birthday wish!

Even the chickens gave Eli a birthday present. This is the first egg we've had from them, and it came on Eli's birthday. Eli went out to check for eggs, just like we've done daily for the last 2 weeks. Eli was ecstatic to find and egg, and couldn't wait to eat it for lunch. I think we decided Penny was the gift giver.

The cake was a hit, everyone wanted the slice with the tractor on it!

A Bath with a View

2011-01-21T13:32:00.000-08:00

After getting cold and muddy outside, Lilly moved to a more comfortable viewing area.

Chickens

2011-01-15T15:07:00.000-08:00

Goldie

Ginger

Penny

The Coup

We have 3 happy chickens!

We've been thinking about getting chickens for awhile, and when we heard the Carrolls were getting rid of theirs we jumped at the opportunity.

Eli loves "gathering" them. He lets them out in the yard and then puts them away again. He always want to take care of them, unfortunately chickens don't need a whole lot of taking care of. These are definitely well cared for chickens, they are fed, watered and herded around the yard several times a day!

Thank you Carrolls for this great experience you've given our family!

Toddler

2011-01-08T11:02:00.000-08:00

Lilly is growing so fast I can hardly keep up. She doesn't look like a little baby anymore, she's a toddler! She learned how to open the pantry this week and I keep finding canned food all over the house. It feels like we just went through this with Eli, I guess we're starting it all over again with Lilly!

She babbles to herself all day, no one has any idea what she's talking about, but she's very expressive. She's saying quite a few words now like:

Mama

Dahdah (Daddy)

DaDa (doll or baby)

shoes

cracker

cheese

Baba

Bock Bock (Chickens)

Eli

LaLaLa (Lilly)

Santa

Bye

UhOh

Cargo

GoGo (she wants to go somewhere)

Eye

She has a few animal sounds down like:

Dog

Bear

Bird

Fish

Chicken

Elephant

She also puts her finger up to her lips and Shushes people when her baby is going to sleep!

She's a lot like Eli about performing for anyone. If I try to get her to say anything she won't make a sound, but she'll spontaneously say/do things on her own. We've been practicing body parts, like "Where's your nose", and she always points to the wrong thing. I saw her in the corner once, and she was not only pointing to the right parts, but naming all of them. I think she knows a lot more than she's letting on!

Eli was the same way, we tried to teach him sign language but he'd never do it in front of us. We'd say "do you want more?" and you'd see his hands start to do the sign and then he'd quickly put them flat down on his tray and stare at you blankly. Later we'd see him practicing all the signs when he thought no one was looking.

I was hoping Lilly was going to be a cooperative child, but the signs aren't looking good!

Snuggle Bugs

2011-01-02T19:50:00.000-08:00

Sleepy Hiker

2011-01-01T01:11:00.000-08:00

My brother just found this picture he took during a hike we went on this summer. It's so funny because Ben did this same thing on the first hike we ever went on together. 5 miles into Eagle Creek Ben declared he was tired, sat down, leaned up against a rock, and went to sleep. Eli didn't actually go to sleep, but he had to "take a little rest" on this rock!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T18:28:00.000-08:00

Christmas is here!

Lilly got finger nail polish and her first pedicure.

Lilly got a Crusoe just like Hylton's from Grandma Rowe.

Eli got a sand construction set from Granny Paula.

Ben has the supplies to brew his own Root Beer, we'll have to wait to see how that turns out.

Eli got a real telescope, so he can see things far away while we're driving in the car.

Every Lady needs a purse to carry her important belongings around.

Santa came through and brought Eli a rescue helicopter for Little Teddy Beary to drive.

Michelle got new boots!

The kids got a bath toy that works like a faucet, so there's always running water in the tub.

Lilly got a custom doll bed hand crafted by Mom and Dad!

I just realized I never posted about going to see Santa. Lilly was scared to death of him, we couldn't get her to sit on his lap. Eli loved him and had an enchanting conversation with him. He asked for his rescue helicopter, and asked if he could leave carrots out for the reindeer. Santa told him the reindeer would love carrots, but to just leave them one. If they ate too many carrots they would be too fat to fly!

Eli working away.

Changing to the wrecking ball, time to do some demo.

Who is this bed for?

Lilly in all her Christmas finery. She hasn't gone a second without at least one necklace on since yesterday.

Here is Cargo, our new spring horse. Lilly is getting more confidant on him with every ride.

Eli loves Cargo, and named her. Cargo already has her own personality, she's a leader of the other horses, listens too all of Eli's commands and likes to eat seed. Eli even stops to let her go to the bathroom!

We feel so blessed to have such a wonderful Christmas season. We drove around many a night looking at Christmas Lights, went to Zoo Lights,

visited Santa, Skyped family and celebrated our 10 year anniversary on the 19th.

We're excited for a new year, and can't wait to see what life has in store for us in 2011!

Eli's School Program

2010-12-24T00:07:00.000-08:00

This was Eli's first school program. The kids had so much fun making crafts, doing activities and eating lunch together. They prepared a small program for the kids to sing 3 songs for the parents to watch. I saw them practice singing and bowing in the hallway, but that was about it. As soon as the kids got up in front of the classroom, Eli yelled "Mom, I have to go potty!". We ran to the bathroom as fast as we could, had a small fight because Eli wanted to button his own pants but I said there wasn't time, and ran back to the classroom. Sadly the kids had just finished when we returned, so we missed the whole thing. Oh well, I guess it's a funny story to tell about Eli's first school program, and I'm sure there will be many more to look forward to.

On the bright side, Eli didn't seem to care at all that he missed the program. He went right back to digging in the fake snow they had set out for the kids.

Wrestling

2010-12-13T14:18:00.000-08:00

Artist

2010-12-07T23:57:00.001-08:00

Eli's creation!
Whenever we do an art project Eli has to also make something of his own.
It usually involves mixing a lot of paint together and using different "tools" to smear it around the paper. I'm interested to see how this develops as Eli grows.

Clean up, the shirt didn't make it.

The wall of art. These are ABC projects we've done over the last year. I wanted to get to Z by the end of the year, but we're only at R. We started by doing 2 of each letter, now I kind of wish we'd just done 1. We've had a lot of fun though, it was worth it!

Christmas Tree

2010-11-29T17:17:00.000-08:00

We cut down our Christmas tree again this year, it's such a fun tradition!

There was snow on the ground, and the air was filled with the smell of pine. It doesn't get more Christmassy than that!

We tried to get a decent picture of the four of us together, but no luck.

We'll see if we get something in time to send out Christmas cards.

So much for getting a smaller tree this year, it's at least 11ft. I'll put up a pic of the tree as soon as I get around to taking one!

Snow, Snow, Snow, Snow, Snow.......

2010-11-29T17:12:00.001-08:00

We got a little bit of snow last week.

The kids loved it, and wished for more.

We hope there will be more in January, Eli really wants to use his sled!

Lego Creation

2010-11-21T20:01:00.001-08:00

Here's one of Eli's Lego creations he built the other day. He was so proud of himself for building it alone. I think the greater accomplishment was that he somehow kept Lilly from destroying it before it's completion.

Bye Bye Mullet

2010-11-17T11:51:00.001-08:00

Sweet Lilly

2010-11-12T23:43:00.000-08:00

Here's Lilly trying to help Eli feel better when he was sick.

Lilly's hair after the bath is so curly, I just love it. I'm still trying to decide what to do with her mullet, just let it grow or give her a bob until the front can grow more......

Eli Dancing

2010-11-09T16:15:00.001-08:00

I don't know where Eli gets his moves!

Lilly Walking

2010-11-09T14:39:00.001-08:00

Lilly has been taking a few steps since she was 13 months. Finally at 16 months she's walking everywhere she goes. The funny part is, I went to the coast for 1 night with the girls and she did this while I was gone. Maybe she felt like my baby, and in the 24 hours without me she decided to grow up!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T20:06:00.000-07:00

Eli and Herbie at Trunk or Treat

Eli on his way to preschool. Of course, he would only let me take a picture of the back of his costume!

The spoils from his preschool trick or treating.
This turned out to be the only candy he got. He was too sick to stay at trunk or treat long enough to get any candy. He also missed trick or treating around the neighborhood, when I asked if he wanted to go he said he just wanted to lay on the couch. You know a kid doesn't feel good when they turn down candy.

Lilly on her way to Trunk or Treat

I was too lazy to carve pumpkins this year, what with two kids with the stomach flu and all. I spray painted them white and decorated them with black paint. It took about 10 min. and left virtually no mess. I think this might become a tradition!

Pearl and Lilly just after trick or treating!
The girls were a little confused at the first couple of houses, but they got the hang of it quickly. They both kept taking more and more out of the candy bowls, because they're so little people thought it was cute and encouraged them to take as much as they wanted. When I told the neighbor Lilly's favorite candy was Almond Joy, and she'd been asking for it all day, she believed me. She only realized after giving Lilly 3 Almond Joy, and Lilly couldn't have cared less about the candy, that they we're really intended for Lilly. You've got to train them young, go for the chocolate!

Lilly's first experience with candy. I was surprised she loved it, Eli likes the idea of candy, but doesn't really eat any. Lilly couldn't get enough in her mouth fast enough.

The grown up party at the Churches house. So much fun, great friends, food, costumes and decorations, what more could you ask for?

My Victorian era costume put together with about a million safety pins. I was a little afraid to sit down, but it looked cool.

Ben and I together at the party. Thanks Dave for the great pictures!

Seesaw

2010-10-29T09:54:00.000-07:00

Eli and Emmett are perfectly matched on the seesaw. I think this is the first time either of them did the seesaw without a grownup helping. I was surprised at how much fun they thought this was, they kept it up for awhile.

Lilly clicking her tongue

2010-10-26T00:01:00.000-07:00

Preschool Field Trip

2010-10-20T13:21:00.000-07:00

Eli had his first preschool field trip today. Since I failed to get a picture of Eli on his first day of preschool, I thought I'd make up for it today. He started school about a month ago and loves it. Eli was awake until almost 10pm last night, he said he was too excited about the field trip to sleep. I don't think the trip to the pumpkin patch was what he anticipated most, it was the ride on the school bus.

Here he is with his friend Herbie who is not only in his preschool class, but in nursery at church. They were both so excited when we pulled up and saw the buses were waiting. They both ran right over and wanted to get on the bus. The driver thought they were so cute, and said "look how excited these little guys are". They handled it pretty well when I told them they had to go inside their class first, and the teacher would tell them when it was time to get on the bus.

Eli and Herbie are great friends, as Eli would say "Me and Herbie, we like to play rough". Herbie's mom Ciara and I had separate talks with them about being gentle to the other kids in nursery. We didn't want them to "wrestle" little girls in there. Herbie and Eli both promised not to, but asked if they could still wrestle with each other. We told them it was okay as long as they didn't do it to anyone else. Last week when I picked Eli up, his nursery leader (and a high school wrestling coach) was disappointed I came so soon. Apparently he told the boys if they cleaned up the toys fast they could go into an empty room and "go at it". Since they missed their chance last week, they're scheduled to try again next Sunday. When I asked which boy usually won, I was told it was whoever got on top of the other one first. Apparently they're pretty evenly matched, so let boys be boys and we'll see how the match turns out next week!

Lakeview Pumpkin Patch 2010

2010-10-16T09:47:00.001-07:00

Tricks

2010-10-08T14:25:00.000-07:00

Hair Accessories

2010-10-07T15:00:00.001-07:00

I'm still getting used to having a girl. Boys are easy, you just dress them in whatever truck shirt is clean. Girls have sweaters, tights, skirts and hair things. So far I haven't attempted much accessorizing, but thanks to my friend Rachel we made hair clips today. Thanks Carly for the rosette idea, you girls will save Lilly from being a tom boy yet!

P.S. I love Lilly's eyes in the second picture. She had been fussing because she didn't want to sit for a picture, but they're so clear and big. You can really tell what color they are.

Early Learner

2010-10-06T22:31:00.000-07:00

Mowing the lawn has gone to a whole new level. Not only does Eli follow Ben around with his toy lawn mower, he started imitating every step of the process. He "starts" his lawn mower, he even checks the gas when Ben does. I think it's hilarious how closely he watches Ben.

Lilly

2010-10-04T11:24:00.001-07:00

Lilly thinks she's such a big kid eating snack at the picnic table.
Too bad I didn't get a picture of her on top of the table, that's where she usually stands!

Her favorite book is The Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar she could read it all day.
What's not to love, there are little holes to stick your finger in, pictures of food and a cute little bug. Although I can see why she loves it, I lost interest around the 200th time we read it. Maybe I can teach Eli to read it to her, he must have it memorized by now.

Roar

2010-09-21T13:31:00.001-07:00

Crazy

2010-09-13T23:18:00.001-07:00

Ben snapped this picture of us on the couch tonight.
We look a little crazy if you ask me!

Lilly is trying to hard to keep up with Eli.
Here she is climbing up one of Eli's truck creations.

Portraits

2010-09-08T16:44:00.000-07:00

Eli's Creations

2010-09-05T21:50:00.000-07:00

Eli pretends that our couch is a trash truck. It drives me nuts because he loads every toy we own onto the couch and "drives" it to the dump. The pillows can also be arranged in different ways to create different trucks. It can be a dump truck, a trash truck, a moving truck. Sometimes it's even a trash grinder or compactor. I guess I should be grateful for a child with a wonderful imagination!

This is his recycling center. His trucks load Legos into different spots, effectively sorting all of the recycling into glass, plastic and paper. This will keep Eli occupied for hours, as long as Lilly doesn't knock it down!

All Wet

2010-08-30T12:11:00.000-07:00

Lilly wants to be one of the big kids so bad. The other day she just got wet in the sprinkler and then followed the big kids all around the yard. It's so sad how the get the idea to do things before they're actually able to do them. Even though she struggled to keep up, I think she had fun!

Update

2010-08-25T15:25:00.000-07:00

New Haircut
(Thanks Adrianna)

Lilly and her Raggedy Ann doll

Little Beary has been reunited to our family!
We called the landfill and asked them to search through piles of garbage for this guy.
It took them 6 weeks to find him, but they came through.
They sent him to the cleaners on his way home, since he was filthy from being buried in trash for so long. Little Beary looks as good and new, and is so happy to be home. Eli teared up when he opened the package, and won't go anywhere without him.
Apparently Little Beary not only missed Eli, but missed helping Eli drive his toy backhoe combo.

Oh, to be three and believe in magic!

Little Walker Lady

2010-08-17T10:13:00.000-07:00

Little Beary

2010-08-12T00:18:00.000-07:00

Eli lost his little Beary at the 4th of July Parade. He loved that little bear, and brought him everywhere we went. He still cries about him being lost, and we've made every effort to find a replacement. He talks about how the little guy is out there lost and scared, and Beary doesn't understand why Eli isn't coming to rescue him. He says the people who clean up after the parade must have thought Beary was "Parade Trash" and cleaned him up. He says Beary must have been put in a garbage truck, crushed in the hopper, and buried in the landfill.

It's such a sad story, I find myself missing the bear. He used to sit on the front seat next to me in the car, strapped into his own seat belt.

The problem with replacing him is that he's so small. He came with a bear snowsuit we bought when Eli was little. He's cream colored and about 2-3 inches tall. If you've seen this little guy we'd love to come and rescue him.

Here's a link to an auction on Ebay (that I missed) picturing the little bear in the pocket of the snowsuit.

Pigtails and Kisses

2010-08-05T12:02:00.000-07:00

Lilly's hair is finally long enough to put into little pigtails, and I couldn't be happier!

Yesterday Pearl and Lilly were kissing each other.
Pearl started it, she came in for a kiss and Lilly totally kissed her back!
I have never seen anything so cute in my entire life, we're definitely saving these for blackmail later.

Hot, Hot Day in July

2010-07-26T22:56:00.000-07:00

Just like Daddy

2010-07-19T15:46:00.000-07:00

When Ben mows the lawn Eli follows him around with his little plastic lawnmower.

We'll see if we can get Eli to mow the lawn when he's 13!

1 Year

2010-07-11T21:12:00.001-07:00

It's hard to believe that just a year ago Lilly came into our lives. We were so surprised by her early arrival, and shocked by her condition. That first month was filled with hope, worry, excitement and pride. Lilly is such a strong little girl, and did amazing at every stage of the game. She was a quiet and happy baby even in the most difficult of times. She recovered from her two surgeries so fast, and ate like a pro. We couldn't have asked for a better surgeon, or nursing staff. It seems like so long ago, that our happy, healthy baby was in the NICU. It's an experience we'll never forget, and will always make Lilly a precious addition to our family.

Earplugs

2010-06-30T12:43:00.001-07:00

Summer Fun

2010-06-25T12:31:00.000-07:00

Lilly has a new friend Pearl, or as Eli calls her "Curl"

Another First

2010-06-14T19:46:00.001-07:00

Lilly's first homemade dress!
I got the idea off of a blog here
it was so easy to make I want to make more.

Weekend Fun

2010-06-14T13:39:00.000-07:00

We stopped at Multnomah falls on the way to the Bonneville Fish Hatchery.

Lilly hanging out at the Fishing Event.

Eli and Ben fishing in a barrel.
Even though there were enough fish to reach in and touch we didn't catch one.
Eli hasn't made the connection between the fish that swim, and the fish that we eat. Maybe it was better we didn't catch anything, Eli didn't really care and we all had fun!

Potty Trained

2010-06-01T12:20:00.000-07:00

Dare I jinx it?
Eli has been going on the potty all by himself for a week.
He never needs to be reminded and he's only had one accident.
I can't believe it, but I think he's officially potty trained!

It only took us 5 attempts over about a year.
Who knew the stomach flu was the key to success?
It turns out a bad diaper rash is more motivation to use the toilet than anything I could have thought of on my own.
At least something good came from our epic ELEVEN DAY stomach flu.

The Little Lady

2010-05-28T14:09:00.000-07:00

She plays with matchbox cars

She makes cute faces

She's very flexible

She thinks Eli is the funniest person in the world

Machines at Work

2010-05-26T18:36:00.000-07:00

Eli was painting while I did Activity Days yesterday. After I was done with the girls a I came into the kitchen to find this! Leave it to Eli to find another use for trucks.