2nd Article of Faith

Ella got her first primary assignment. She got asked to present the 2nd Article of Faith.

Now, if you didn't already know, Ella remembers everything. (Don't say something if don't want it on the permanent record!)

So, after following after Mommy once on Monday for practice it became clear that she would have it memorized by Sunday. But before she finished memorizing, we heard a lot of her excitedly exclaiming "We believe that men will be Punished!"

Stephen 6 month Update

Likes his "keys"
Loves his family
Plays piano with daddy
Loves his jumper
Just adorable

Ella Cutest Sayings

Ella has said some cute things:
After adding nothing to the toilet: "I have anything"
The thing Grandma has with songs and games: "a piglet"
On left over Thanksgiving ham: "It was good until you turned it into turkey"
When Mommy wants pie for breakfast the morning after Thanksgiving: "Pie is only for Thanksgiving!"

Stephen's first words

There is some debate on Stephen's first word so a tie has been declared.

The tie is between "hey" and "Ella".

Conveniently vowel filled, don't ya think?

If a Tree Falls Down

Guys. Our neighbors tree fell apart out on the blue. The front half just crashed down in the morning of a calm, cool day.

It got worse through the course of the day. Fortunately, the last half didn't crack in the breezes over night or before the tree removal people could show up. (Also fortunate, my flower pots all survived)

Stephen 5 Months

Baby giggles are the cutest!
First time in the jumper this month
"talking" to us more and more
Loves Mommy kisses (and the mirror baby too)
Likes the bouncy seat toys especially the crocodile.

Halloween Costumes

Purple Ballet Cat : let's be real though. She is a purple ballet cat every day. (Even without the ears and tutu)

Pooh Bear: Sometimes an idea so adorable convinces you to make an effort on making your infant a Halloween costume. Sometimes that requires same day craftiness.

Cute October Things

Just a collection of cute things:

Ella singing with Daddy
Stephen wearing a knitted sweater from my Grandma Landers
Cute Ella Hair
Adorable PJs

Stephen at 4 months

Thumb sucker
Rolls on side to sleep, but a catnapper.
Loves to "Fly" on Mommy's knees. He is a drooly flyer.
Handsome as can be.
Smiley Stephen!

Family Pictures

We got back our family pictures! (After much deliberation. Having too many good choices for pictures is a good problem to have)

Ella

Stephen

Daniel and Me

Intense and Curious

Ella's Water Adventures

Mommy may have felt guilty about having another, basically water free summer. So we jammed lots of water adventures into the last of the warm weather.
Splash pad as a family to the big one with buckets!
Splash pad on a whim
Washing the cars (like mother like daughter)

Contraptions

Ella watches a TV show called Creative Galaxy.  In one episode they make a contraption. She saw this very close to an episode of Mr Rogers Neighborhood where where they had a cool domino tip. And from this, Ella's contraptions were born.
Contraption
So. Many. Contraptions.

Stephen at Three Months

Smiley. So smiley
Talkative. Loves to make sounds.
Loves to "Stand " on feet.
A handsome little guy. (Takes after Daddy)
Working on tummy time

Grandma and Grandpa Visit Recap

It's so much fun when Grandma and Grandpa come! They came for Stephen's baby blessing, but they stayed and we had lots of fun.

Ella knows that Grandpa knows how to have fun!

We enjoyed going to the park and then enjoying a delicious dinner at the Salt Lick.

Stephen got lots of grandparent snuggles and attention too

Stephen's Baby Blessing

Stephen was given a name and blessing.  He was adorable in his suit. His dad and grandpa were there to basically make the circle.

And miraculously, he fell asleep 5 minutes before they went up and didn't make a peep. Good job buddy!

Stephen at Two Months

Stephen at 2 months is:
Smiley (and he make lots of silly faces)

Sweet 

Full of spit up

Going to repeat the anomalous roll over some day.
Getting so big! (Mommy should have taken prenatal weight lifting!)
Adorable 

Ella and the Night light

Ella has baby monitor in her room which also sports an orange nightlight (if you want). To be clear, this baby monitor is for us to monitor Ella. Like in the morning (around 6:15) when she cheerfully announces that 'it's day time,' or in the evening when she is in distress because Pooh Bear's blanket has come off, or her blanket is funny, or her book is lost or her book keeps hitting her.

Ella has come to the conclusion that when she turns the orange nightlight on she can hear baby brother's cries easier. Perhaps it is for her to 'monitor the baby.' I'll be honest. If I had her understanding and situation, I would not turn on the nightlight, but she is one dedicated big sister!

Ella's 3rd Birthday

For Ella's 3rd birthday she requested a rainbow Millie cake. Millie is a charcter on a children's math show. Fortunately for Ella, Daniel is a creative and willing cake maker. She even got to top it with rainbow sprinkles.

She got resusable stickers from Grandma and Grandpa Call, which is great because she had been very saddened over the fact that most stickers are one time use lots of times.

She got a new board game, and a fun magnetic fishing game.

Finally, her big present from mom and dad was a new balance bike. (Grandma Larsen gave her a helmet!)

Diabetes Test

If you have gestational diabetes they make you go take another glucose tolerance test. This takes 3 hours. I'm not sure what they think you'll do with a newborn. I decided to bring him and set up camp for the morning at the lab.

Note to self: I need to tell the lab to stock good flavors like orange or lemon lime instead of the really yucky fruit punch

Stephen and I not only survived the 3 hours and I passed the test!

Big Sister Ella!

Ella may have been little unimpressed by the new baby in the hospital bassinet, but she knew who he was even if she had no interest in holding him.

When we came home, she was interested enough to peak over the edge of the pack and play and into the bouncy seat.

Her 'Mama Baby Pooh' has taken some cues from Baby Stephen. Pooh now likes seats, Mama milk, and has to do tummy time.

Ella is growing into an excellent big sister!