{Halloween 2013}

We had a busy and fun time this year for Halloween.  The trunk or treat at church was the day before and we had fun watching the big kids at their parade at school.  We spent Halloween night at Aunt Judy's house celebrating with a spookie dinner and a little trick or treating.

This year we had:

A hobbit:

A skeleton:

A fairy princess:

A pirate:

And a pretty little ladybug:

And the group picture - well it turned out typical for our family.

Don't they look like they are up to something?

BAM!

 Happy Halloween!

{Eli!}

We celebrated a big day around here last week...

Eli earned two blue flashlights (his pick) by going potty!

He is still working on it, but after one week he finally was getting the hang of it and earned a trip to the store to pick out a new toy.  He said he had to have flashlights because "they are very awesome" and they had to be blue of course.

Seriously - even if he wears an occasional diaper, or even just one at night,having one in diapers full time (with no more babies on the way!) is a HUGE thing for us!

Way to go Eli!

{Eli is 3}

Look who turned 3...

Eli Owen!

Wednesday Eli celebrated the big day by turning "free"  He has been telling everyone he meets that his birthday is in August.  It took him a while to convince that he really was turning 3, he wanted to be 4, or 2, or even 1.  But finally he has got the hang of it.

Eli is a great little boy.  He loves to play outside and loves cars.  He does not like spiders, and will scream like it's an emergency if he sees one.  Ants, on the other hand he will play with and smash for days.

I asked Eli a few questions and got these fun answers:

Favorite color: blue

Favorite song: That's what makes you beautiful, and Popcorn Popping

Favorite toy: bike and scooter

Favorite movie: Cars

Favorite animal: "elephants, and giraffes, and tigers, and monkeys and dolphins and more dolphins"

Favorite food: candy

Favorite drink: chocolate milk

Favorite thing to do: play with Avery

Favorite person: Avery and Daddy

Eli is such a fun boy.  He really does eat just about anything we give him, although he does really love candy too.  If he can find it than he will eat it..and sneak it..and find a way to get it.  He loves to have drinks of juice or chocolate milk.  He loves sausage and pancakes.

Eli has been of my easiest babies.  Maybe it's because he has his fingers in his mouth all the time, but he really is a pretty easy going boy.  He loves his blankies (he has two) and his fingers.  Take those away (the blankies, not the fingers) and he gets pretty mad.  He sleeps really well, loves his big boy bed, and still takes a nap every afternoon.  

Eli loves his bike.  He could ride it all day every day.  One day I saw him riding in circles in the backyard this summer and when he saw me looking at him he yelled to me, "ME SO HAPPY MOM!"

Unfortunately, I hit his bike with my van last week and it damaged the wheels.  Wade says it is fixable, but we haven't done it yet.  We were thinking of getting him a scooter anyway, so he got a new scooter for his birthday!  He loves it.  He rides it in the house and out of the house.  He rides it pretty much all the time.  He got a new helmet from Grandpa.  He loves to wear it around and hit things with his head! haha.  

It took him a long time to come around to it, but Eli loves nursery class at church.  He walks in and waves goodbye and doesn't even look back.  His favorite part is in our new nursery he gets to eat gummy bears if he sings during singing time.  He loves to tell me after church every week, "I eat gummy bears without you mommy!"

For Eli's birthday we celebrated by taking a walk around the block with his scooter.  We went to the park and we played at home.  We went to McDonalds to play in the playplace and cheeseburgers and had ice cream cupcakes.  He had a great day!

Three is the terrible twos in our family - so this year will be a challenge, I am sure.  But Eli is great and we are so happy he is part of our family!

We love our Eli!!

{2.5}

Eli had his half birthday this week!

He is now 2 and half!

Mr. Eli is such a good kid!

He loves to play trains, legos, angry birds and cars.  He also says he likes to play zombies !!?? He is influenced so much by his older brothers.  But when I play with him alone in the play room, he always goes for the trains.  He hardly ever gets a chance to pick a show on his own when it comes to the tv, but he does love to watch Thomas, and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.

Eli can say almost anything.  I thought he might not talk as much because he always has his fingers in his mouth, but that is not the case.  He can talk up a storm.  I've been trying to teach him to say that he is 2 and half, or two point five (just to be funny) but he usually just says he is 3, or 5, when you ask how old he is.

Most of the time I can understand what he is saying, but sometimes he just throws things out there to stump me.  When he says Lucy's name it sounds like "sissy" but if I ask him if he is saying Lucy or Sissy, he just nodes his head and says, "YEAH"  He can call her either.  She is Lucy, or a sister, so whatever:)

He loves the color blue.  For the longest time every single thing was blue.  We have finally branched out and he has been learning his other colors.  He knows orange (because that is Noah's color) and he knows pink (because that is Avery's color) but this morning he told me all kinds of colors and got most right.  I'm not sure where he even picks this stuff up sometimes.

Eli loves his little toddler bed and loves being out of his crib.  He was a little sad to give it to Lucy at first, but now he likes to talk about how at Christmas he got a big bed and gave his crib to "sissy"  He is pretty good at staying in his bed and going to sleep when he is supposed to, but sometimes he falls out at night.  We go in to find him sitting in his bed crying.  He is so easy though, all we do is give him a hug and he goes right back to sleep!

Eli loves to eat just about anything at 2 and a half.  I don't think he has many favorites at this point - but candy.  And juice.  I think he can smell candy from a mile away.  If we are upstairs playing and he goes missing I can bet money that he is downstairs, pushing the bar stools around, looking through my cupboards for candy!  Just this week I found him, with chocolate on his breath, sitting on a bar stool, next to the counter and an empty box of valentine candy I got from Wade.  It was good stuff, and Wade had told the kids that I didn't have to share.  I was saving the last one...but Eli had a different idea.  He looked at me with his big eyes and said, "not me mom!"

Really, he is so independent, and I marvel and what he tries to do.  I am not sure if it is because he is a fourth kid, or just who he is, maybe it is a little of both.

Sometimes though...

He will go in the pantry, or fridge and find himself a snack anytime he wants.  He will try to get himself drinks.  And he knows how to start the washing machine!  Sometimes I hear the washing machine start and I go up to find one lonely little blanket rolling around in there.  He can't reach the soap, but he thinks he is so cleaver to wash his own blanket.

(if I could teach him how to fold and put away - I could have it made!)

Speaking of blankets, he loves his "ankies"  He has two, and they both have to go with him everywhere.  And his fingers.  We are going to be in big trouble when it comes time to take his fingers away.  He is such a tough kid though, he can take the biggest fall or hit and just run up, get a hug and love from his blanket and he is good to go.

He has finally, FINALLY, decided to like his nursery class at church.  He got the hang of it around the time Lucy was born.  He loves to go to class and play with trains and toys.

He loves to sing Ittsy Bittsy Spider and Popcorn Popping.

He loves Darth Vader, Batman and Spiderman. He loves to dress up and play swords.  He is better at Angry Bird Star Wars than me (which doesn't take much) and he loves to play games on my kindle or phone.

Sad, but true....He says his best friend is "slow guy."  (The plastic stand shaped like a kid that we put out in the street when the kids are playing outside.)  The kids nicknamed the stand, slow guy.  Eli LOVES this thing and if I try to take him back to the garage and put him away, Eli brings him back in.  It's pretty funny.  But they are the same size??!!

He is such a good kid.  

He is easy and good natured, and a pretty happy boy.

We are so glad he is in our family.  

{2 and a half!}

2013 Goals

A couple weeks ago we sat down at family night and worked on making some goals for 2013.

I found these fun worksheets on Pinterest that each kid filled out.

As you can tell, we tried to make suggestions, but in the end we wrote down exactly what they came up with.  

It made for some interesting answers!

Gage

Age: 8

Favorite color: white

Favorite food: pizza

Favorite activity: Legos

Favorite book: The Hobbit

Highlights of 2012:

Greatest lesson learned: cursive

Hardest thing of the year: reading

Favorite memory: Christmas

What I loved most about 2012: Legos

Looking forward to 2013:

Want to learn: Multiplication

Want to get better at: Reading

Biggest Goal: Get the most legos, legos, legos

Noah

Age: 6

Favorite color: orange

Favorite food: fried chicken Legs

Favorite activity: legos

Favorite book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Highlights of 2012:

Greatest lesson learned: site words

Hardest thing of the year: moving to Utah

Favorite memory: finishing preschool!

What I loved most about 2012: getting a huge bean bag!

Looking forward to 2013:

What to learn: to read

Want to get better at: wrestling, learning articles of faith

Biggest Goal: Get Better at Angry Birds

Avery

Age: 3

Favorite color: purple

Favorite food: chicken legs

Favorite activity: playing house

Favorite book: Barbie books

Highlights of 2012

Greatest lesson learned: be nice

Hardest thing of the year: leaving Linkin

Favorite memory: Linkin

What I loved most about 2012: When Lucy was born!

Looking Forward to 2013:

Want to learn: ABC sounds and write my name

Want to get better at: being nice

Biggest Goal: Learn a sport!

Eli

Age: 2

Favorite color: blue

Favorite food: food and candy

Favorite activity: flips, cars and trains

Favorite book: anything anyone else is reading

Highlights of 2012: 

Greatest lesson learned: to like nursery class at church

Hardest thing of the year: moving

Favorite memory: Lucy

What I loved most about 2012: Playing in the splash pad

Looking forward to 2013:

Want to learn: to go potty!

Want to get better at: sharing and singing

Biggest Goal: ABC's

Lucy May

Age: 2 months

Favorite Color: pink (just a guess) 

Favorite food: milk

Favorite activity: being with mom

Favorite book: The Hunger Games and McGlamery's Comprehensive Foot and Ankle Surgery 

(just kidding, just seeing if anyone is paying attention)

Highlights of 2012:

Being born and coming home

Looking forward to 2013:

Want to learn: roll over, sit up, crawl and walk

Want to get better at: not crying

Biggest Goal: Be as cute as I can be!

{Snow Shoveling}

Mr. Eli has become such a little ham!  

He thinks he is so funny and he is always trying to cause mischief.

Tonight when Wade and the big ones were outside shoveling he kept trying to get out there.

Well, he finally made it.

the little sneak

Nothing like shoveling (sweeping) snow in your brothers boots, your sisters hat, mismatching gloves and no pants.

I finally got him back in and dressed for bed.  

And then I got Lucy dressed for bed and I couldn't find Eli again.

He was back outside.

At least he grabbed some boots and a hat again.

What a goof.