Ella was a good little helper when it came to the move. She made sure to put a toy in each box and learned quickly that markers were for writing on boxes. She also really enjoyed helping me clean. Isn't it cute?
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Helping Move
Ella was a good little helper when it came to the move. She made sure to put a toy in each box and learned quickly that markers were for writing on boxes. She also really enjoyed helping me clean. Isn't it cute?
Fold Your Arms
So, I am way behind on the blogging because of moving to Ohio. I am now trying to catch up. Before we left for Ohio we were working with Ella on folding her arms for prayer and she finally started doing it. Look how cute and reverent she is. We will work on the closing your eyes part later.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Vacation To Monkey Island
Chris' Thoughts:
So we just got back from a vacation to Monkey Island. No joke, that's the actual name of the place. We had a wonderful time, so much so that Dad slashed one of his tires in a ruse to stay an extra day or two. It was a real pleasure to be in a place where cell phone coverage was intermittent at best - where we could spend uninterrupted time enjoying each other's company.
Bobby and Debbie let us crash at their hotel (though we might have technically exceeded the fire code statute), and Mom and Dad stayed just outside of town. While the room was large for hotel standards (3 bedroom, 3 bath with a full kitchen), that space quickly disappeared with 10 of us bunking there overnight. But here's the funny thing: it was absolutely wonderful to be so close to loved ones. It was a thrill to wake up and watch cartoons with Josh, color with the girls, and act like a little boy with an older brother.
My only regret is that more of us weren't able to make it.
---
Kira's Thoughts:
I will let the pictures show you what we did on vacation and just focus on the things that are most important to me.
Before we left I was so excited for Ella to get to play with her cousin Gretchen. I thought they would really enjoy spending time together but I was so impressed to see all the kids spend time with Ella. Josh was always considerate of Ella and Ella always had a smile for him. Elizabeth said that Ella was her baby and Christine would bring toys to Ella and show her how to play with them. I thought it was sweet to see the older kids interact with her even though she was a baby.
I was also amazed at how well we could fit into a small space. It got me thinking about a talk that Pres. Kimball gave about family. In it he discussed going to visit a family where he was so comfortable that it didn't seem to matter that the rug was torn or there weren't enough bedrooms for all in the house. That was how it was for us on vacation. It didn't seem to matter that there weren't enough beds for all the kids or that Ella was sleeping in the bathroom. We were just comfortable being together.
So we just got back from a vacation to Monkey Island. No joke, that's the actual name of the place. We had a wonderful time, so much so that Dad slashed one of his tires in a ruse to stay an extra day or two. It was a real pleasure to be in a place where cell phone coverage was intermittent at best - where we could spend uninterrupted time enjoying each other's company.
Bobby and Debbie let us crash at their hotel (though we might have technically exceeded the fire code statute), and Mom and Dad stayed just outside of town. While the room was large for hotel standards (3 bedroom, 3 bath with a full kitchen), that space quickly disappeared with 10 of us bunking there overnight. But here's the funny thing: it was absolutely wonderful to be so close to loved ones. It was a thrill to wake up and watch cartoons with Josh, color with the girls, and act like a little boy with an older brother.
My only regret is that more of us weren't able to make it.
---
Kira's Thoughts:
I will let the pictures show you what we did on vacation and just focus on the things that are most important to me.
Before we left I was so excited for Ella to get to play with her cousin Gretchen. I thought they would really enjoy spending time together but I was so impressed to see all the kids spend time with Ella. Josh was always considerate of Ella and Ella always had a smile for him. Elizabeth said that Ella was her baby and Christine would bring toys to Ella and show her how to play with them. I thought it was sweet to see the older kids interact with her even though she was a baby.
I was also amazed at how well we could fit into a small space. It got me thinking about a talk that Pres. Kimball gave about family. In it he discussed going to visit a family where he was so comfortable that it didn't seem to matter that the rug was torn or there weren't enough bedrooms for all in the house. That was how it was for us on vacation. It didn't seem to matter that there weren't enough beds for all the kids or that Ella was sleeping in the bathroom. We were just comfortable being together.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
I'm Proud to be an American
The fourth of July was great fun. It was nice just to be outside with the family while listening to beautiful music. But the best part for me was seeing how much fun Ella had.
She had the best time eating snacks and staying up late. She also loved the flags that were passed out. Her favorite part by far though was the fireworks. It was so fun to see her stare at them in amazement with her mouth hung open and then out of nowhere she said "WOW." She continued to say "wow" after each firework. It was crazy. We didn't even know she knew the word wow.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Domestic Trouble
Since we were all sick I decided to be domestic and disinfect everything I could. I started by putting Ella's stuffed animals in the washing machine. I remember my mother doing this and didn't think it would be a problem. Well, one of the animals exploded in the washing machine and it wasn't stuffed with what one would except to find in a stuffed animal. It was stuffed with the tiniest plastic balls I have ever seen. They were everywhere in the washing machine and the utility room. I spent a great deal of time shaking the balls off of everything in the wash. I felt like I was back in Little House on the Prairie times with how long it took. Then, I used the vacuum cleaner to suck out all the excess balls in the washing machine and proceeded with the laundry. Only to find that the balls were still around and no matter how many loads I do and how many times I clean out that machine they keep coming back. I think they are multiplying and replenishing!
Baby Doll
Recently we have been having some serious bedtime battles. Ella used to go to sleep so nicely but we were having 2-3 hours of screaming before she would fall asleep. We felt like we had to come up with something to help ease her troubles. We decided that the baby doll was the answer.
Ella loves her baby doll. She rocks her baby, hums her songs, kiss her, feeds her a bottle, and even burps her baby doll. So, we decided to get the baby some PJs.
Now at bedtime we put PJs on the baby doll and put PJs on Ella and then they go to bed together. And what do you know but there is no more screaming. She just snuggles down next to her baby and goes to sleep. It is so cute!
Check out Ella playing with her baby doll:
Ella loves her baby doll. She rocks her baby, hums her songs, kiss her, feeds her a bottle, and even burps her baby doll. So, we decided to get the baby some PJs.
Now at bedtime we put PJs on the baby doll and put PJs on Ella and then they go to bed together. And what do you know but there is no more screaming. She just snuggles down next to her baby and goes to sleep. It is so cute!
Check out Ella playing with her baby doll:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)