Rear View

Ella, who has a very hard time filling her jeans, has no behind to keep her pants up. She's too tall to stay in a smaller size and too shape-less to move up to the next! She is constantly being told: "Pull up your pants, your butt crack is showin!"

Fast forward a few weeks, and she addresses the issue all by herself:
 "Mom! My butt's crackin!"

Fortunately, she got some "slim" sizes for Christmas!

Erin's 7 Month Appt

Erin had a busy morning at her doctor's appointment. She is doing very well and giggled non-stop with the doctor and nurse. Here is how she's doing:

Height: 81st percentile
Weight: 98th percentile (a whopping 21 lbs!)
Teeth: 2
Shots: 2
Hearing (at my request): No concerns
Developments: The doctor thinks she'll be walking by 9 mos. She was half kidding but it freaked me out.
Other: She's also being put on nebulizer treatments for a week to see if it helps with her wheezing.

Christmas Recap

I feel like I have too many good things to blog about... 
we've done nothing but celebrate for the last week!

December 21: My niece Jada's birthday party at the bowling alley!

December 22: My mom's birthday lunch @ Panera Bread before indulging in pedicures!

December 23: Christmas in Elkader at Grandma Betty's

December 24: Christmas in Readlyn with the Cozarts

December 24/25: The arrival of our sweet nephew Easton!!! He kept us on pins and needles ALL DAY LONG!

December 25: Opening Santa's gifts/Christmas in Readlyn with extended family/Meeting little Easton!

December 26: The very long drive to Richland Center, WI to get Derek's Christmas present... a new (used) Chevy Silverado.
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Funny conversation from the car dealership, as we were
trying to negotiate our trade-in (which is a lemon)!
Car salesman: "Here is where your car is priced at." (pointing to "rough" condition with a depressing price)
Derek: "No, I think 'average' condition is closer to the price we're looking at trading it for."
Car salesman: "Well it looks like there are a few things to fix.
The service engine light is on!"
Derek (laughing): "Yeah, but that's been on for 100,000 miles!"
Car salesman: "We have to fix that to sell it...."

Blizzard 2012

What a crazy storm! Ella insisted on going outside with Derek. I was probably a little overprotective when I bundled her up in thermals, socks, snow pants, winter coat, gloves, boots, a scarf, and a hat along with a face mask. Literally, only her eyes were exposed. To our surprise, she braved the cold and wind for about a half an hour!

 

A lesson in shoveling and snowblowing!

The Perfect Ornament

I've tried to make it a holiday tradition to get the girls an ornament that reminds me of them that year. Will I do it for 20 years? I don't know. But its fun to look for!

My biggest struggle of the holiday has been finding an ornament for lil Miss Erin. She's too young to like special characters or communicate what her favorite things are, but I was still hoping to find "the perfect ornament." If I had to sum her up, I would say she is very sweet, chubby, and made her scary debut by spending her first 8 days in the NICU.

 I present: my round little May angel ornament! It's actually in the form of a magnet that I'm going to add an ornament string to, but I just can't imagine finding something better.

Merry Christmas!

As we get closer to the holiday, we are enjoying all of the little traditions, surprises, and parties!

Saturday, we had our ugly sweater Christmas party with several friends! We enjoyed a fun night of food, movies, our gift exchange, pajama exchange (for the lil girls), Ugly Sweater vote, and of course games! We think this is our 6th Annual Holiday Party.

 

The kid population is expanding quite fast! All girls...

Evelyn (4), Mackenzie (4), Ella (3), Charlotte (2), Chelsea (1), Ali (1), Erin (7 mos)

Sunday, we had our Christmas goodie exchange in Readlyn. My sisters, Mom, and I were busy all afternoon frosting, dipping, and decorating. The little girls had a blast!

 Today, the girls had "pajama day" at the babysitters. All of the kids wore comfy clothes opening Christmas presents and celebrating the holiday. 

 

Tonight, the girls received beautiful stockings hand-made by Nana. They loved them!

I barely turned my back for a minute and our Christmas Stinker decided to try on the stockings.

A Christmas song for your enjoyment =)

First Word

It's always so hard to tell a baby's first word from the usual babbling. Today, I'm convinced it has happened!!

For the last two mornings, I've woken up to Erin cheerfully saying "ba-ba. ba-ba. ba-ba!" She continues to say it through her diaper change and change of clothes until.... breakfast! I think my little sunshine is reminding me its time for her "baba" (bottle)!!

Snow Hater

EVERY morning on the way to the babysitter's, Ella tells me she doesn't like the snow. This is not surprising since she has never liked any part of winter... the cold, bundling up, the snow, sledding, nothing! Perhaps a genetic trait from me? The ironic part is that she LOVES snowmen, but they have to be the fake kind, like a soft toy or a character on TV.

This is how the snow conversation went in the car on Wednesday:

Ella: "I dont like snow Mom."
Me: "Why? We can't have any snowmen without snow?"
Ella: "But I don't like the snow!"
Me: "Sorry Babe. I think you're stuck with it."
Ella: "But can we just sweep it away so we can't see it?"

She has also made it a habit to ask her Dad to "turn the heater on" when he leaves for work (aka start Mommy's car). I love that little girl.

For My Fellow Mommies

Things That Make Me Smile

Erin's laugh is the best therapy you can get!

(PS - sorry about the issue with my camera's focus!)

Soft Little Friends

Ella's love for baby dolls has been momentarily replaced with an obsession for stufffed animals. Her bed looks like an episode from Hoarders. Off the top of my head, she sleeps with MiMi, a bunny, a Barbie, the dog from the Grinch movie, a pug, Tigger, a singing snowman, and a puppy. And trust me, she notices when one is missing! It just so happens that her little sister likes stuffed animals too, so they're a hot commodity in this house. It makes me laugh when Ella crawls into our bed on weekend mornings because she always brings 3-4 stuffed animals to tuck in with her. Our bed is not big enough for her village.

3 years olds are SO funny to me. Here are a couple quotes from Ella today:

Ella (in the back seat): "You're crossing the line, Mom!"

Me: "Ella, do you want chicken nuggets for lunch?"
Ella: "Yeah!"
Me: "Ok, let's run through McDonalds quick."
Ella (confused): "Does McDonalds have a farm?" (referencing the song)

Christmas Traditions

Christmas just wouldn't be the same without traditions. Outside of our work and family Christmas gatherings, these are some of our family's favorite traditions in December!

• Christmas goody party with friends
• Deer hunting weekend (Derek is away chasing bucks while I partake in "Hunting wives club" with Papa Murphy's, wine, and a Xmas movie).
• Cozart Christmas goody party
• "Ugly Sweater Party" with about 20-25 or our friends. It is hilarious watching it get crazier every year with more and more kids!
• Ornament exchange with some of my friends
• Pajama exchange for Ella/Erin and 5 other little girls
• River Hills Christmas program

Erin the Worm

Erin is officially on the move! She is scootin her way across the floor, and I bet Gwen will be her first victim!

A Very Merry Christmas

I am still in love with our finished attic just as much as when we first bought the house. While it is normally my place to store crafts, pictures, and the girls' clothes, right now it is Santa's workshop! Nothing about it is fancy, it is definitely an eye sore and the carpet is hideous. But it is SO nice to have a place to store and wrap gifts, hide the mess, and have my own "escape." Without it, I know I would be wrapping gifts on the living room floor with Gwen sitting on the roll of paper, Erin eating the gift wrap, and Ella getting tape stuck in her hair. 

Maybe it is the age of the girls, but I am loving the Christmas season this year. The girls are enjoying all the simple things that Christmas is really about... the songs, the books, the lights, the ornaments.  Still wish I had that pause button.