The Mind of a Child

The mind of a child never ceases to amaze me. About 2 weeks ago Rick & I  went to look at some model homes & took Lucy & Eliza. Eliza lost a binky & since we had another one on us we didn't go look for it. Today we took the rest of kids to go look at the same models to get their opinions on the houses. In one of the home's master closets, Eliza jumped out of my arms & pointed at the hamper saying, "Bink!" Sure enough, I opened it up & there was her bink. Amazing!
Here's Andrew showing the look of surprise we all had.

Here's Eliza with the found green bink.

Anyone who says that little kids can't remember or think like "real people" do has never spent much time around children. Their minds are truly amazing!

Does anyone else have the problem with their kids having to touch everything in model homes? Eliza loves this elephant & has to "try it" over & over.

I Voted!

Today I voted! Hooray!

The kids helped me fill out my ballot. They have been way more involved in learning about the election than I ever remember being as a kid. I remember as a child driving around with Grandma Smith & she would have us pull down unauthorized signs from trees, poles, etc. And I remember taking around fliers sometimes, but I don't remember watching debates or asking lots of questions. But my children love it all & enjoy learning about things & asking lots of questions. It's been a lot of fun. But they really enjoyed watching me fill in who I chose to vote for. Hopefully they will try to be informed voters as well when they grow up & are allowed to vote themselves.

Just Being Cute

Halloween Party

One of our neighbors had a little Halloween Party. We got Lucy in one of her holiday outifts & went over. It was fun, they had some fun treats & face painting. The kids all had a good time.

We couldn't stay long because Joseph had a Colorado Rapids game to get to with his friend, Logan. It was cool, he got to have some of the Rapids' players & coach coach them for practice before the game & then he got to watch it. Too fun. But we didn't get to stay too long.

And Lucy also managed to soil her first outfit, so here she is in her 2nd outfit. Good thing we have a few. :)

To Grandmother's House We Go

After the girls' checkups we headed out to Kansas for the first few days of Fall Break. At our first stop, Eliza decided she was super thirsty!

We had so much fun at Grandma's house. The kids had a blast playing with cousins. Here are some pictures in no particular order of what some of the things that we did.
Joseph learned how to play Bejeweled 3 & loves it.

Eliza & Andrew could be found chasing each other a lot.

Lucy was really good at being cute.

Lexie did lots of reading to herself & to the other kids.

Andrew became an expert archer.

And again, Lucy was really good at being super cute!

There was  much playing outside in the gorgeous weather while our house was getting lots of snow.

Lexie had a play date with her birthday pen pal, Tobin. (And they also played lots with cousins.)

Cute girls.

Andrew made some fun creations with cousin's toys while they were at school. (They could hardly wait for school to be over each day so they could all play together.)

Aunt Janae gave Lexie a makeover. Just lovely!

Lucy met Aunt Mindy, Uncle Jeremy, their kids, Aunt Janae & here Uncle Nathan.

Mom & Dad got lots of walking in & also LOTS of Hand of Foot. Eliza was good at helping keep score. (Too bad I didn't teach her how to cook the books in my favor.)

But Lucy was good at helping Uncle Nathan-although I think his team lost this round.

 On Wednesday, we went up to KU to the School of Pharmacy building to have lunch. Here we are with our favorite Jayhawk.

 Lexie welcoming us to the building.

Behind the soda fountain we found my Dad's name. The kids had fun searching for Grandpa.

Yay, KU!

The basement is set up to be an emergency shelter & is strong enough to withstand a F5 tornado. The kids are practicing.

They survived!

And then we went to the Mortar & Pestle (building cafeteria) for lunch & dessert. The food was all good & the desserts were huge! None of the kids could finish.
Lexie's huge brownie sundae:

Andrew's float:

Liza's ice cream:

Delicious!

Giving the Jayhawk some love before leaving.

And that was a fun successful outing.

We headed home on Friday morning. And after our detour because I-70 was closed part of the way home, we finally made it home & Joseph got to head to his best friend's birthday party. On the way over there they saw a big snowball which shows how much snow we missed.

We had a blast in Kansas & always look forward to another trip to Grandmother's house!

Well Child Visit

One fun thing about birthday's is the next day. Everyone plays so kindly with the new toys. Here they are enjoying a fun picnic.

This morning Eliza & Lucy had their well child visits. Eliza is 34.75 inches tall & that puts her in the 75th percentile & weighs 23.4 lbs & that keeps her in the 10th percentile. At least she is consistent.
Lucy at 2 months is 24.75 inches tall & weighs 12 lbs 13 oz & that puts her in the 95th percentile for both height & weight. Her head is in the 45th. In other words, both of the girls are absolutely perfect!

EE-EE-OO-OO Eliza Sue is TWO!

Today our sweet Eliza Sue turns 2! She is such an awesome girl. We love her to pieces. Rick & I canned 20 qts of applesauce yesterday so we had a busy day ahead of us to get ready for her birthday. The older kids got really excited about her birthday & wanted to surprise her with balloons & confetti! It was awesome but Eliza wasn't quite sure to know what to think of it.

They buried her in them!

Our sweet little girl.

Next we made some birthday pancakes for breakfast. They were super tasty!

Ready for Stake Conference! It was wonderful as was the adult session last night.

Her birthday wall & presents.

Here's Lexie reading Eliza a book she wrote for her. It was awesome. It was called "The Very Silly Monkey." She did it kind of like the "Very Hungry Caterpillar" & she was so creative with it. We're thinking we could do some editing & she should try to publish it.

And here is my attempt at getting pictures of Liza & Lucy in their matching monkey onesies. So fun!

Today was gorgeous out & while Rick worked on the cake I took Eliza outside to run around in the pretty weather. She cracked me up! I videoed her running because she cracks me up how she breaths so hard after running & then says that she's "super fast!" She is!

All of that being outside & watching Eliza run around wore Lucy out.

And here is the finished product off all of Rick's good piping the frosting-the cake.

It's always fun trying to get a good picture of the kids with a cake. We got a decent one & then lots of not so great ones.

Then Eliza started getting really tired of the pictures.

Then we had her try to show us how old she was. It's cute trying to figure out how to make 2.

And here's our cutie 2 year old!

Cousins came over for presents & that is always fun!

And time for cake. I didn't get a great picture of her blowing out the candles because right after I lit them she blew them out so I had to light them again.

 But we caught her trying again.

We really love this sweet girl & all of the excitement she brings into our home. She is so kind to Lucy & the other kids most of the time. She has kind of decided that Andrew is her sibling that she likes to be mean to & he takes it fairly well. She LOVES to dance & music. She is also our first (at least from what I rem'ber) child who at 20 months could consistently sing the ABC's without skipping any letters.
Lexie & Joseph asked us things that we love about Eliza & they wrote them down as one of her presents. I said that she is such a great helper & whenever we need a diaper & wipes she's off to get them without complaining. I love that she delivers them with a smile. She is very concerned whenever Lucy cries & will say, "Lucy sad!" & make sure we quickly go remedy the situation. Lucy doesn't get a chance to be very sad when Eliza is around. And Lucy also helps to calm Liza down. Liza can be crying & screaming then see Lucy & immediately sweetly (& often with a giggle) say, "Hi Lucy, so cute!" & rest her forehead on Lucy's & Liza is happy once again.
Rick said that she is goofy, fun, very determined, independent, and she has such love for her family. Lexie said, "I love Eliza. She is very helpful, goofy, determined though sometimes very demanding, but I love my sweetie Eliza. Happy Birthday.
Joseph said, "She's super singy, cute, goofy, helpful, independent, determined, and snugly.
Andrew said, "Eliza is really hard to carry. Super-duper hard!"
And Lucy said, "I love my little adorer always cuddling with me."
We are so grateful for Eliza. Our family & home would certainly not be the same without her.
This year I'm going to try to ask all of the kids questions on their birthday & see how they change through the years.
1. What is your favorite color? blue
2. What is your favorite toy? baby dolls
3. What is your favorite fruit? apple
4. What is your favorite tv show? Team Umizoomi
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? yogurt
6. What is your favorite outfit? my monkey or jayhawk onesie
7. What is your favorite game? soccer
8. What is your favorite snack? banana or chocolate or square cheese
9. What is your favorite animal? monkey
10. What is your favorite song? Sunbeam
11. What is your favorite book? Blue Hat Green Hat
12. Who is your best friend? Katy
13. What is your favorite cereal? frosted  mini wheats
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? run
15. What is your favorite drink? juicey and milk
16. What is your favorite holiday? Sunbeam
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? my binky
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? pancakes
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? pizza
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? a mommy