Thursday, September 30, 2010

The Power of Moms

I thought I'd share something I've found to be super helpful to me as a new mom.  I am a member of a Power of Moms learning circle.  It meets once a month, and there is an article to read before you go, which is discussed at the meeting, along with whatever tangents the group goes on.  It meets at a different member's house each month.  It has really been a great experience for me.  We vent about our struggles, give each other ideas about what works and doesn't work for us, and generally laugh ourselves silly.  If you've never heard of Power of Moms, check out their website at: http://powerofmoms.com.  You can start your own learning circle if you don't know of one in your area.  Our learning circle will be held at my house this month, so I'm looking forward to playing hostess (which I rarely do)!

Sorry for the testimonial.  On a completely different note, I got Ellie a Jumparoo since she's getting tired of her exersaucer.  (Thanks for the idea Hannah!)  It has taken her some time to warm up to it, but she's finally starting to figure out the jumping part.

"What are these contraptions for anyway, Mom? Aren't you supposed to be holding me right now?"

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Where we live

Most of my family have not seen where we are living nowadays, so this post is for them.

Dave and I are currently living in this house:


We love it! It has enough room for all six of us.  Brittany, our 16-year-old even gets to stay in the "casita" which has it's own bathroom and mini-kitchen. Ellie has her own room. Brooke and Brianna share another room.

Here is a picture of the back of the house:


And here is our view:

We feel very blessed to live here.

This is Eliana's bedroom:










Decor courtesy of Susan Bennett (the Pottery Barn linens, Disney knick knacks, and the butterfly/flower wall hangings), Hannah Robinson (the bow board above the twin bed), and Krista Bennett (the letters above the crib,and glass block with Ellie's birth information on it, and general decoration of the room). Are Ellie and I spoiled, or what?

Saturday, September 25, 2010

My handsome husband

Looking all business-like.

Wearing his Bulldog Green!
Can I just tell you how excited I am to go to Jim Gaffigan's comedy show in Las Vegas with Dave tonight! We even get to stay the night in Vegas--without Ellie!  Thank you Mike and Krista for babysitting!  Hope she sleeps for you!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Recent Pictures

With Ellie's cold and ear infections, I haven't had much time to post anything.  Here are a few pics I've managed to snap over the last couple of weeks.

Ellie's getting bigger! She's 17 lbs and 8 oz.
Ellie loves being entertained by her big sisters!

Brianna is turning 10 on the 29th of September!
Brittany turned 16 on the 21st of September!
Ellie is wearing her Go Bulldogs! shirt. I have an identical adult sized shirt for me, too!
Ellie's got 6 teeth now! She loves exploring the house!

Ellie liked Brittany's lemon flavored birthday cake! First taste of cake! That's my girl!
Ellie went to the Lowe's Family concert on Tuesday. She loved the singing, instruments, and dancing! Even with her drippy eyes and drippy nose, she was happy watching the show for an hour or so!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Sick of sickness

Three weeks ago, Ellie had a cold that became an ear infection.  She got over that and less than two week later she caught another cold.  She is so miserable at nighttime when she is sick.  Waking up at all hours of the night with her is so hard!  I hope she'll get over her cold soon and be well for a while! 

Here's a picture of Ellie at the doctor's office.  She was a trooper!



Ellie is becoming much more social and at the same time plays more independently for longer periods of time.  She'll pick up a book by herself and turn through the pages, checking each one out! She is also starting to "dance" to music!  I'll try to catch her on video and post it.  Pretty cute!

She's had both of her top teeth in for over a week, and is cutting the third and fourth bottom teeth right now.  I can't wait to see her new toothy grin when they are all visible.

This past weekend, I took her to see the musical "Tarzan" at the Tuacahn Theater in St. George.  She was complete fascinated!  She stood up on my lap with her eyes glued on the stage for the entire first half!  At intermission she was done, so I spent the second half pacing at the back of the outdoor theater, trying to keep her entertained and quiet.  She fell asleep towards the end.  It was fun to see her react to the music  and dancing!  She got a kick out of the "flying" actors, too!  Fun, fun!

Here is a picture of her in some new P.J.'s standing by the bathtub.

















Rubadubdub!

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Football Season is here!

Dave said to me this morning (as the first college football game came on): "Football season is here! Yay!  Wives all across America are rueing this day!"  I'm glad I'm not one of the rueing wives.  I kind of like it when my hubby hurries home from work to catch a game.  Plus, I know I'll get to spend the weekend cuddling with him on the couch, watching football.  I like watching football, even though I ask stupid questions about what's going on at times. He doesn't mind waxing eloquent on the finer details of the game, fortunately.  Oh, and he often decides to cook up something yummy between games, and I certainly encourage his efforts.  (YUM!)


We took Ellie to her first high school football game last night, and she LOVED it!  She loved people watching, and had lots of admirers come by to play with her!  (Lots of kids from my school!)  She thought the marching band was really cool, and seemed to get a kick out of the cheerleaders and dancers.  Not sure how much football she watched, but she didn't fuss the entire time--and it was HOT!  We are glad she's such a social butterfly! It was fun to get out of the house and do something different!  Too bad our boys lost this one. :o(




We bought this VVHS onesie before she was born, and it only fit her for a couple of months (Which explains the very sad face in the picture--colic.) When we get her some new Bulldog attire, we'll post an updated picture--hopefully with a very happy face this time!


Go Bulldogs!
and
Hooray for Football Season!

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Nine Month Update

On September 1st, Eliana turned nine months old.  I can't believe that in three months she'll be a whole year!  Between her early 9 month doctor's appointment and now, she has started initiating a peekaboo game, where she hunkers down in her pack'n'play and pops up with a huge smile.  She has also finally cut a tooth on the top, with the second top tooth to follow shortly.  Her hair is finally growing and getting thicker--but it sticks out in tufts above her ears.  Pretty cute!  She has been very cheerful at daycare and with her aunt Krista, so that has been a huge relief!

Ellie loves to read with Mom and Dad!


I've enjoyed my first week of school.  The kids have been great so far, and I love my schedule with smaller classes this year!  I'm excited to get choir started, too.  I really like teaching music and I am very lucky to work at my school.  VVES is the best!  Now, if I only could get enough sleep and get rid of these headaches.  Life would be pretty much perfect.  :o)