yummm...

lyla has been soooo fussy this whole week, so we took her to the doctor today. her nose and throat are red again so he thinks her acid reflux is getting worse. instead of giving her more medication he said to try rice cereal, thinking that it may help her keep the milk down. so she had her first real food today. it took her some time, but by the end of the day she was chowin' down...with eli's help. he was so cute, wanting to feed her and help out. such a good big brother.

it was much easier to give her a spoon to hold herself while i was feeding her. even with that she kept trying to grab the one i was feeding her with. i love how she is studying this magnificent spoon...i wish i found everything as interesting as she does. i think that is what heaven is going to be like. everything new and better and more beautiful.

this is from last night, her first time at the dinner table. she seemed pretty happy to there.

so much snow!

it has not stopped since we woke up this morning...i think it's about 5 inches. it's just beautiful:)

yesterday we had our "Christmas" dinner because kris, laurie, ben and julia were able to come if we had it a day late...but it was worth the wait. the kids had a good time playing, as you can see. while we were eating dinner i heard eli very enthusiastically tell someone, "we're dipping our olives into his coke!" yum! what would Christmas dinner be without olive fingers?

Merry Christmas!

sledding

adam and eli went sledding yesterday with greg, feyamita, and lucky (or, "yucky" as eli calls him). lyla and i came just at the end to see the action. it was a little cold for her (or me!) to be outside for to long, without snow clothes anyway. from what i hear feyamita got taken out by an out of control snowboarder and eli took out a boy who was not paying attention. they were both pretty spectacular crashes, or at least that's the word from the eyewitnesses.

eli doesn't hold just anybodies hand, greg, he must really like you. and it's not in this picture, but feyamita was holding adam's hand, too...it was really cute, though i have a feeling that she is not quite as selfish with hand holding:)

excited much? she is so cute!!!

snow

this is our fourth winter in idaho (i know, can you believe it!?!) and definitely the snowiest. adam built a "hill" in our front yard for eli to sled down. eli was even standing on the sled and trying (unsuccessfully) to go down. it was pretty funny:)

a shot from our front door...white Christmas, yipeeee!!!

wanting to play

"my baby is taking so yong to grow up. a yong, yong time" -eli

growing up

it seems like lyla has grown up exponentially this last week. i know people love newborns...their tininess is captivating and their newness exciting. but i gladly leave those behind for smiles, giggles and seeing her personality form. she is generous with her grins these days...sometimes even with strangers and she just adores her big brother.

chunkin'

this is eli and lyla at the same age (well, eli is actually 1 week older)...totally could have eaten her.

our tree

adam did a great job of picking out a tree this year...we love it!

fireworks...

at the "ball center" as eli calls it, aka hawks stadium. last night a local bank held a fireworks display in support of toys for tots. it was the first time we've watched fireworks while it was snowing. my parents came prepared with blankets and mats to sit on, so we were nice and comfy. even lyla liked the show...she just sat and watched. it was a good time.

it has snowed most of last night and today, probably about 4 inches. we had a "snowball fight" pictured below...maybe next year lyla can actually participate in the fun, but for now i think behind the glass is the safest place for her.

i love how eli is peeking out from behind his huge snowball before he throws it...snow is so fun! (when you only get a little:) and yes, that is adam pummeling our son with a snowball that probably weighs more than he does.

i look forward to the help

"when i get older i'll help change lyla's poopy diapers...and i'll try not to get it on my hands" -eli

sanity!

i got some sleep last night, i only got woken up once. i think it is the first time since before our trip that i woke up feeling rested. i felt like myself again today...a good feeling. i hope i get to feel like myself again tomorrow.
lyla had her 4 month check up today, shots and all. she is 14 lbs 2 oz and 26.5 inches long (70%/90%). i was looking at pictures of eli at this age and it just makes me laugh...he looks like he could have eaten her. i love God and His uniqueness!

tree cuttin'

adam, eli, and my dad went up to the mountains to cut down our Christmas tree. i went last year but thought it would be to long of a car ride for lyla, so we stayed home. we plan on making it a family tradition, next year all four of us will be able to go:) they got a great tree, very tall but airy, nice for hanging ornaments. here are some shots of the action...

eli cutting down the tree...

helping carry it to the car...

task accomplished...

Eli's Third Birthday

is today! can't believe it! he's such a big guy! today lyla was smiling at him, as she often does, and i said, "eli, she sure likes you. are you guys going to be best friends?" he said, "i'm going to hold her hand so she doesn't fall at the zoo. and i'll yift her up so she can see the giraffes, she may be a yittle heavy, but i'm strong." oh, love it!
we celebrated with some friends last night...our house is a little small so it was not big...but it was sure LOUD! he is really into dinosaurs (i know, what 3 year old boy isn't?) so we had a dino party. adam built cardboard "caves" and they got to do their own "cave drawings." it was a huge hit:) and best of all...eli had a great time.

i had to add this. i was just looking at old pictures (yes, my eyes are a little misty). this is his 2nd birthday, only one year ago...he so little! his little chubby cheeks now gone, his mispronunciations less frequent, and his baby years completely in the past...i'm so happy about that in many ways, but i do miss that little guy sometimes, sigh.

random trip pics

i love this picture...it is eli checking out his birthday presents before he got to open them. he was so patient. he got all kinds of cool toys, and what did he get most excited about? in the bottom of one bag (from jesse, molly, shane and hailey) he held up a small box and yelled, "TIC TACS!!!!"

i got to seep in one morning and came out into the living room and found this...it was so cute, them sitting there together watching cartoons.

jesse, with hailey lovin' on lyla

brotherly love

hailey decided to go for a walk by herself down the beach. this is shane bringing her back to us:) what a good big brother.

the big time...

...zoo, san diego. if you haven't noticed, we are a zoo type of family. we had passes to the zoo all of my childhood and visited often...sometimes just to get an ice cream and go on the sky ride. i think we have been successful in breeding another animal lover into the family. eli loves the zoo...yipeee! while we were in san diego for thanksgiving we got to use our passes one last time before they expire at the end of the year. it was the only day in san diego we were not sick.
i'll be posting more from our trip soon.

this "double" stroller was great and very popular with the kiddos. and lyla...awwww is all i have to say.

my favorite part of the zoo...the sky ride. i've always loved this, and still do. many happy memories. i have to thank my mom and dad for giving me such a great childhood...i'm very blessed to have had them as parents.