"take my picture mom!"

yes, that's right, mom. not mama, or mommy...mom. i told him he's to young to be calling me mom, i should have at least few more years of mommy. anyway, he got new winter pjs...he loves them. he has been asking me to take his picture whenever i say, "you look so cute!" here are a few of those moments...

i wish...

...i could take the horns off a deer and put them on my head. then i could horn you.
-eli

poor baby

lyla just can't get a break...now she has a cold! she's sneezing, coughing, and is so very stuffy. her eyes are all glassy and red, it's so sad. she slept in late this morning, then after being up for only an hour or so went back to sleep for another 2.5 hours. eli has it also but not as bad (as far as i can see, anyway).

this is a pic from a few days ago. we had a cake for my mom to celebrate her birthday (a little late) eli decorated the cake and put the candle in.

apple picking

we went apple picking today. i must say it was not the best apple picking experience i've had. eli was up a lot last night, i was very tired and lyla cried much of the time until the very end when she had a nice little blowout and felt much better. of course the outfit (and undershirt) were the kind that you have to take over the head...ugg. better luck next year, i hope. wee kings is a beautiful orchard in emmett. the people that run the place are super nice and don't mind if you picnic on the grass. and the apples are really good. if you don't have a cranky baby and sleep derivation it is a good time.

just stuff

it's been a busy few days. yesterday adam, my dad and eli went fishing all day while lyla and i did some running around...shopping mostly. i know she is only three months old, but i feel like we are laying a foundation for many future shopping excursions. she is a great shopper. she has actually been great most of the time lately. she still has her cranky moments, but overall, she has been happy. this is her soaking after a long day of shopping...

i love this picture because it shows her cute little shoulders. the other one is eli rearranging the toys on her play gym. he does this a few times a day...he likes all of them to be hanging directly above her head. i think he does this for her enjoyment...he wants her to be able to see all of them.
when he got home from fishing yesterday he didn't say hi to me, he said, "where's yiwa?" he is loving that she is able to take baths with him (in her bath seat). he asked a few times tonight if they could take a bath together, and even though she did not need one i said ok because he really wanted to. so they're in there for two minutes and she poops...everybody out. question is, will he ask again tomorrow?

and lastly, this cracked me up. when i got his clothes out in the morning i forgot underwear and asked him to get me some (i was dressing him in the living room). he came out with all the underwear in his drawer and proceeded to sort them to figure out which ones to wear...batman won.

just for the record...

i'm keeping this blog not just to keep everyone updated, but to keep a record of all the fun things my kids do and say, family events and the day to day things in our home. so hopefully someday when i don't have two very little ones it is going to be put into sort of a scrap book for them to read when they grow up. that being said, here are some favorites from the last few days.

we were sitting down to dinner last night when lyla needed a nap. i put her in her crib and came out to sit down at the table. eli asked, "where is yiwa ?" i told him that i put her down for a nap. he said, "don't put her away, i like her, i want to look at her."

when we were praying last night before bed i was thanking God for all the important people in eli's life. i said, "thank you God for daddy, grandma and papa..." he interjected, "and for eyebrows aaaaannnnnd hair." so very random, but it is the second time he has thanked God for eyebrows.

he has also taken to quoting his favorite books and movies. yesterday i was explaining (again) that when he does not listen it makes mommy sad, but when he does it makes me happy. he said, "i am listening, buuuttt, i'm not. but don't worry, i'm going to take good care of you, and my friends will too." - the land before time II. i still don't know how it related to the conversation we were having at the time, but it sure lightened the mood.

she laughed!

two times to be exact. not belly laughter, more like a little chuckle. but o my gosh it was so cute! she is getting so big so fast, more long than wide. at her two month appointment she was 1/2 inch longer than eli at the same age, but weighed 4 pounds less (50% for weight, 90% for length). she is so long that she started wearing 6 month sleepers at 2 months, even though they are a bit wide on her, but she needs the length.
we did yet another photo shoot this weekend...

new friends

lyla is going to be in good company. my friend miranda just had a beautiful baby girl, esther. this is their first playgroup...it involved them laying on a blanket together while the boys played with dinosaurs. esther was 12 days and lyla 2.5 months.

and this is lovely little ellie, chloe's "little"sister. little is in quotes because i think ellie weighs almost as much as chloe:) i think ellie was 5 months and lyla 2 months. this was the day we spent 2.5 hours at carl's jr. we visited while eli and chloe played their little hearts out.

hay!

yesterday we went to a harvest fest with my cousin jamie and her kids, yogi and zion. they played games, painted pumpkins, bounced, and took a hay ride.

as i think i've mentioned before, eli lives for bounce houses. they had a good time on this one. yogi and zion got their faces painted. true to form, eli would not do it. he told me the "did not want to be brave."

who could resist a hay ride on a 43 degree windy day?

i think we're crazy

yesterday after story time at the library, stephanie, kristie and i took a walk with our respective children. taking 6 kids on a walk is an adventure for sure! it is fun to see little friendships form, to see them exploring together and expending all that young energy. it was also nice to visit with two of my good friends and take in the beautiful fall day.

on the left front to back - victor, kedrick, eli and chloe - on the right kedrick and eli, they remind me of two little old men taking a walk in their retirement years.

chloe and eli with his "walker stick"

victor and kedrick

lyla slept most of the time, she did not know there was so much fun to be had.

lions, tigers and bears

the zoo just opened a new exhibit with lions and giraffes. the lions were cool because you can get right up close to them...i was crouched down looking face to face at one when she made eye contact for a second or two. it was so cool! how many people in the world get to get 5 inches from a lion, look it in the eyes and live to tell about it. it was well worth the trip. eli liked the frogs:)

i can finally go on this without being sick! when i was pregnant i could not even look at it without feeling nauseous. though i love the end result, i love not being pregnant!!!

good morning

the last two mornings have been so sweet. lyla has slept in about 45 minutes later than eli, so i've had a chance to spend some "quality" time with him. it was nice to sit and talk without distractions. the conversation turned to dinosaurs, as it often does these days. i was trying to explain extinction but i think that's a few years beyond his comprehension. anyway, i told them that they all died a long time ago, he asked, "how did they die, did a race car run over them?" i will definitely miss these days when he's older and knows everything:)

best buds

lyla has a new best bud. she coos at her, smiles and blows bubbles...

i think they will be lifelong friends...at least until we get rid of the bouncy seat.

it is so nice to see her smiling, happy and not in pain. the medicine for the reflex is working amazingly well (after we got a higher dose). she has been sleeping SO well. the last two nights she has slept 8.5 hours straight! the two nights before that she slept 7 hours. i'm in heaven. eli did not do that until he was two and a half years old...so you can imagine my excitement.

speaking of eli...my new favorite vocab word - "loter." it is in frequet use around here. tonight he asked why i had a "loter" chips than him. when i gave him some juice he asked for a loter, and he wanted to go on a loter bike ride. ahhh the english language...how confusing for little minds.

multi tasking

it was a great day for a bike ride, eli had a grand time. up and down the street with his flamin' shoes and helmet twice the size of his head. when we were getting ready to go he kept bugging me, "can we go yet? can we go yet?" i told him i had to put on my makup first. "why?" he said. "so i look good," i told him. "you already look good," he told me! how sweet is that!

this is where the multi tasking comes in, on the left he's eating a pretzel and riding a bike...now that's talent!

backyard therapy

the last two nights during lyla's cranky time i've taken her outside and laid her under a tree. she loves to look up at it and i think the change of scenery is good for her little developing mind.

her view:)

big brother kisses