Happy Thoughts

I have been very emotional these last 3 days. I cannot remove from my mind the fear those little children felt...my mind goes to Ellie at school and her friends and being in that situation. It just makes me sick. I cannot imagine what the parents are now feeling. I want to put my kids in a bubble. I want to watch the news and read the articles but am a basketcase doing so. I don't know what the solution is, but I do believe there will be change as a result of this. I sure hope so.

My Mom reminded me this weekend that I haven't updated in a while. My only excuse is Christmas craziness. I thought I'd do a timely catch-up with happy thoughts to take my mind off things.

I've collected a few funny stories from the kids lately. They do say the funniest things =)

Ellie is at the Feedmill (work) with my Mom, and they are looking at my blog. Ellie wanted to watch some videos I posted from the Fresh Beat Band, but my Mom told her the speakers aren’t working. Ellie took the mouse and clicked something and the sound came on. She then showed my Mom that the volume was on mute =) (Telling Colin this story, he asked if Ellie could check the virus protection while she's at it!) =)

Eli (neighbor boy) and Emmit were playing hide and seek. Eli found Emmit so Emmit froze and said in a monotone voice, "I'm not Emmit, I'm just a decoration..."

Emmit and I were talking about being thankful and I told him that we're thankful for things that make us happy. He then says he's thankful for his 4 wheeler, candy, and his body pillow =)

On a road trip with Daddy, Ellie and Emmit were sleeping in the car. Emmit woke up and got upset because one of his toys had dropped on the floor while he was sleeping. Ellie, seemingly out of dead sleep wakes up then too, and says to Emmit, "It's ok Mr. Twister, your toy is right there!"

Emmit insists on dressing himself - you never know what he'll put on! He goes a little 'layer happy' at times...4 shirts, 3 pairs of shorts, things like that =) This was a shorts over pants day.

Thanksgiving dinner! As always fabulous food and fun with family =)

Two of my favorite people =)

Grandma's pies - always a hit!

We might not have a white Christmas, but we had a white Thanksgiving. The kids loved it! We played outside a lot!

The Dads were getting their workout!!

Hot chocolate and cookies with Great Grandma after sledding.

Cheers!

For whatever reason the kids insisted on wearing my Dad's hats all weekend =)

I have so many pictures like this...they're just so cute when they're sleeping =)

Building a fort in all the pillows and blankets. I think we had every pillow in the house in this pile!

Look at me! Princess in an Iron Man mask!

Emmit had his first dentist appointment a few weeks ago. He did not want to go all morning long. I debated on cancelling it, but decided to follow through. Well we got there, and he was still clinging to me through the whole waiting room wait. We then went back and he was sitting on my lap. The hygienist checked his teeth right there, and he did great! She cleaned and flossed his teeth (while he was sitting on my lap), and then painted his fluoride one. He let the dentist check him out too. This was his big happy smile after it was all done =)

And last, Emmit looking to audition for Kiss! =)

4K School Pictures

Our little school girl!

Her two best friends are the boys next to her - Ethan and Grant =)

Family Photos

We had gone almost 2 years without a professional family photo, so it was definitely time. My friend Melissa did a great job capturing the moment for us. You'd never know it, but Emmit was a total stinker for this - not cooperative AT ALL. We are holding him in every picture for that reason. Ellie really had fun with it though. The photo shoot was literally 10 minutes long, but it was just enough to get some great shots of all four of us, which was my only goal! =) We had just gotten the kids pictures taken too, so didn't really do just them, but we did get a couple cute ones as a bonus anyway.

Halloween 2012

We had a fun Halloween this year. The kids were really into all the activities, and of course loved eating all the candy! I quickly got rid of the candy by bringing to work, otherwise, I think Ellie and Emmit and would have eaten it ALL.

Our neighborhood always has fun sharing 'Boos' through the month of October. Basically you make a little Halloween gift up, put it on someone's porch, ring the doorbell, and run away. We got boo'd twice, and did 3 boo's of our own. The kids had a blast with it this year! Ellie got these vampire teeth in one of our gifts which she thought was pretty cool =)

The weekend before Halloween we had a little impromptu pumpkin carving party with our neighbors. It was pumpkin madness in our kitchen. The kids were wild, but they sure had fun. And I think the adults had fun too!

The next night we carved a couple more pumpkins on our own. Colin was all into the pumpkin carving this year =)

Our pumpkins all lit up

And then Halloween was here! Ellie was 'Brave' this year. Emmit was Ironman. This was the first year they weren't a 'pair', but they each picked out and loved their costumes =) I just got a picture in the house like this, and then Ellie took her wig off because it was itchy. This was actually her 'Daphne' wig from last year, so we got dual use out of it! =)

Ironman all ready to go!

Ellie LOVED trick-or-treating this year. She was out for almost 2 hours! Emmit didn't last as long, but enjoyed handing out candy at home just as much.

Avery, Ellie, Palmer, and Sydney

Emmit and Lukey

Things to Remember

Kim, who watches the kids during the day, walked in on this conversation not too long ago...she texted me the whole conversation, this is definitely one to remember =)

Emmit and Eli (3 yr old neighbor boy) were talking about getting married and having babies.

Emmit, "I am going to marry one boy."
Kim, "Well you might marry one girl."
Emmit, "Well then, I am going to marry Mommy!"
Kim, "Mommy already married Daddy."
Emmit, "Well who is going to drive me there then?"
Kim, "When you're old enough to get married, you will be big enough to drive yourself."
Emmit's jaw drops in disbelief, "I DON'T believe it!!!!"

I also had Ellie's first parent-teacher conference yesterday. She continues to love school, and is doing great. I thought I'd write down some of the comments on her first 'report card' (which consists of mostly smiley faces) =)

Ellie has settled into 4K well. She has quickly made a few friendships. She really likes to play with Ethan and Grant. Ellie is respectful and likes to share events from her life. Ellie needs a few reminders in remembering her clothing for outside. Ellie does not display a lot of upsetting emotions, and appears to avoid upsetting situations.

Ellie communicates well with adults and peers. She really enjoys book time and is typically the first one there. Her pre-reading skills are developing quickly.

Ellie enjoys drawing and coloring. She likes making creations of her own. She sometimes needs encouraging to do a planned teacher activity, but then enjoys it. Ellie has picked up on many classroom routines, and takes her time doing projects. She has meaningful conversations with peers and teachers.

Fresh Beat Band LIVE!

A few weeks ago my Mom, Ellie, Emmit, and I went to see the Fresh Beat Band Live. The show was really good...90 minutes of singing, dancing, and fun entertainment from Kiki, Marina, Twist, and Shout. It was more of a concert and less of a show, so the kids didn't get bored at all. They loved 'Twist' (he was really funny), and they sang along with many of the songs. They got t-shirts as souvenirs and are still talking about how fun it was over 3 weeks later =)