59/365

Here's what's left of a loaf of homemade bread I made (late) last night. I used this recipe and made the dough in the bread machine, but baked it in the oven. It's too good... Gavin calls it "mushroom bread."

58/365

This is what I came home to Sunday morning after Ward Council. Darin had given the kids baths, but apparently he doesn't do hair!

57/365

Our computer has a problem... we normally keep it on 24/7, but a couple days ago, it just started shutting down for no reason! So we've been seeing this black screen instead of our photo library screen saver. It will start up, but there's no telling how long you'll have--could be 10 minutes, could be 2 minutes. Frustrating! The poor thing IS over 8 years old--she ain't what she used to be! Luckily, we have our laptops for backup.

56/365

Darth Vader doesn't have a chance.

55/365

Today we made our second batch of Snickerdoodles this week at Gavin's request. In all fairness, we did give most of the first batch away to my visiting teaching gals on Tuesday. Gavin made sure he got his share this time! Snickerdoodles have always reminded me of my Aunt Jane... not sure if they were her favorite, but I remember her making them in Tucson when we were little.

54/365

Ellie brought this backpack to me after her nap, wanting it on. She wore it for a couple hours! Guess she thinks she's ready for school... She did just start saying her own name (Eh-ye) the other day!

53/365

First french braid! We had a busy day today with visiting teaching, preschool & pack meeting.

52/365

Presidents Day. I'm always a little shocked when I see the flag out there on our patriotic holiday mornings, courtesy of the Scouts. It's nice to see it waving throughout the day--I really enjoy it. And just as stealthily as it had appeared, at some point between 5:00 and 5:30pm, it was gone.

51/365

A family photo today after church. The word that comes to mind to describe Ellie today at church:

DELIGHTFUL! She was able to stay in all through Sacrament Meeting AND Sunday School, with the help of some books and a few puffs. We dropped her off at nursery for the last hour, and when Darin picked her up, they said she'd been the best one in there! Yeah Ellie! Gav was good too... but we can count on that!

50/365

Saturday morning snuggling... it doesn't get better than this.
Well, we could maybe lose the bottle.

49/365

Ellie still takes 2 naps a day, about 2 hours each... unless we're doing something that disrupts that plan. She usually goes down happily & wakes up happy. It's very nice. I can't remember how long Gavin took two naps, but I feel like he'd gone to one at this age. Either way, I'll take it as long as Ellie wants to do it! When she wakes up, Gavin likes to go & climb in her crib & play, or pretend like he's sleeping... Silly.

48/365

Gavin loves his shows... and Ellie's starting to pay attention to them too at times. This morning, I was asking Gavin some questions about preschool, and he said, "Mom, I really want to watch Mickey Mouse... when Suite Life on Deck comes on, THEN we can talk."

47/365

So much for spring! Just before 4:00pm, it got really dark, there was a loud clap of thunder, then almost immediately, this crazy hail-like snow started coming down fast & furious! When it slowed down, Gavin went out with his shovel to check it out. A half hour later, the sun was shining brightly, and it all melted off the roads & sidewalks. Crazy!

46/365

We're liking this spring weather--we went to our park for the first time today since it got cold back in November! Gavin fed the ducks, and both Gav & Ellie loved playing on the playground.

45/365

 

 I'd seen this idea online. I took the picture, and Darin added the words. Gavin sent these to his cousins, aunts, uncles, grandmas & grandpas... He wrote all their names on the back--49 in total, & we have one left for us to save in his scrapbook. I love my Valentines: Darin, Gavin & Ellie!

44/365

Yep, a little fever. Gavin got a good night's sleep last night, but stayed home from church with Darin, who also wasn't feeling great. Ellie stayed home by default, and I had a nice day of meetings & church, before coming back to my little family around 4:00. Gavin was already on the mend, and everyone was still in their jammies!

43/365

It was forecast to be the warmest day of the week... and they were right--it got up to 63 degrees! We celebrated by going to a new park downtown, where Ellie discovered her love of slides. She wanted to go again and again. And we realized that the last time we'd gone to the park, she couldn't really walk yet, so it was extra exciting for her. We also fed the ducks & geese, then went bowling (Darin & Gavin bowled while Ellie & I cheered them on). On our way home, we stopped at Walmart for some groceries, where Gavin started showing signs of coming down with a little something...

42/365

Ellie really loves books! She consistently will bring a book to me to read to her, and when we finish it,

(if Darin is home), she'll then take it to him to read to her again. Cute girl. Her newest thing: "F, G."
When we sing the alphabet song, she always comes in on "F, G," and sometimes we'll catch her just singing, "F, G," in the right tune!

41/365

We went to Cabela's tonight for fun, mainly to look at the big fish & animals,

and found the world's biggest camping chair!

40/365

We had Gavin's friend, Jaxon over to play, along with his little sister, Tallie, while their mom volunteered at their older sister's kindergarten class. Ellie loved talking to her, but when I'd set toys in front of Tallie, Ellie would immediately take them away from her. Poor Tallie... this was a classic look.

39/365

Gavin & Ellie, sharing a mid-afternoon snack.

Ellie's newest word: three (pronouced tee-eee, accent on the eee). She'll say it if you say, "one, two..."

38/365

File this under, "Things that make Gavin go, 'hmmmmm.' "

Gavin: "Mom, if you turn into a food, will you ever change back?"

Me: "You wouldn't ever turn into a food..."

Gavin: "Even if you eat a lot of it?"

37/365

Darin & Ellie were waiting for me & Gavin in the car after church... and they smelled strangely of onions. Apparently Ellie ALMOST made it through church--Darin ran home with her halfway through the last hour, because she was just exhausted, & he started our dinner: french onion soup. We enjoyed a nice night, including the Superbowl, some yummy nachos and a Skype and call with my mom & dad.

36/365

Finally, a picture taken outside our living room! We bundled up & went to the Boise Zoo today.

It was chilly, but not too bad... about 40 degrees.

35/365

The kids love playing in Darin's suitcase... in the week he was home between the China and NY trips, it stayed out in our bedroom and became a fort for Star Wars guys, a hiding place, etc. These guys jumped right in as soon as Darin unpacked it. Also pictured: the bag of maternity clothes from Orem, waiting to be carried upstairs, and our pumpkin from Halloween that never got carved.

34/365

Ellie, checking out the cover of the newest Friend magazine. She continues to add new words/things to her repertoire--the latest word, "stinky," and the action that comes with it: If you ask her if she's stinky, she'll lift up her shirt & look down at her diaper area. Also, if you ask her if she's sleepy, she'll rub her eyes with both hands & smile... because she knows she's being cute. Dad comes home tomorrow!

33/365

While unloading the dishwasher & putting away, Gavin found this contraption in our utensil drawer, and wondered what it was for... I told him it was for cutting a potato into french fries, and that was it... He would not let it go until we made some! It's pretty sharp! He actually got a little cut on his finger, just holding it, while we were debating on whether to make the fries today. I cut them out, he put them in the pan, we sprayed a little oil on & seasoned them with salt & pepper, then watched them bake for about 25 minutes. Before he knew it, he was enjoying the fruits (or fries) of his labor... they were good!
I had a Dr's appointment today--heard the heartbeat again, ultrasound in a month!

32/365

Gavin's almond jar is getting full! He earns an almond for minding the first time (and after Christmas, for picking up and throwing away any straggling pine needles he found--they seemed to reappear out of nowhere!) Gavin's been pretty good at minding, although he's also been lucky, because there have been times when I probably should have taken almonds out (for not minding), but I haven't... yet!
Ellie's new words for today: bubble & ball. I tried to get a picture of her with the bubbles, but it proved to be more difficult than one would think... I'd blow as many bubbles as I could, but by the time I'd grab the camera & try to get a good shot, they'd all have popped!