Well my little boy turned 4 today. I can’t believe that he is four. Where has the time gone too. For a year he has been talking about his Batman Birthday Party. This was his first friend party and we had a lot of fun.
We had a fun time today with all our friends. Ethan is very happy to be four years old now.
Last night Ethan decided to try and help me (without me knowing he was helping). He put on oven mitts and tried to carry a glass dish that had hot chicken in sauce in it. It slipped and broke all over the floor. I came running in and saw sauce all over his legs and worried that it was burning him. Put him in the kitchen sink and washed sauce off and then saw that his big toe was gushing blood. Lucky for me Brandon had worked days and was home. We took Ethan in and he needed five stitches. He is the first kid to get them. I am hoping the last for a while :)
He did great until they put the needle in to numb it and then he freaked and stayed freaked until it was over.
It was after all this drama that we got home and an hour later we were rushing Kramer to an after hours Vet clinic and he was put down (see previous post). It was a long night.
Tonight was a very sad night for us. We had to say goodbye to our dear dog Kramer. He has been apart of our family for a little over six years. We truly loved him and he will be missed.
When we went to pick a puppy. Kramer was the puppy with the most personality and so we just loved him from the start. Kramer kept that fun personality up to the end of his life.
Ellie had a really hard time letting go. He slept in their rooms and kept the monsters away. He loved to chase balls into the wall. When Ellie was a baby she would let him lick her and just giggle like it was the greatest thing ever. My heart was so sad tonight when I saw that he was dying. Brandon took him to the Vet and we had him put down so he would not suffer anymore. Ellie was so worried that Kramer would get to heaven and forget about our family. So we talked about how if we can remember him he will remember us. My house just seems a little bit empty tonight as I know that one of my “kids” is not here. All I can say is that I am grateful that we had Kramer in our family for those six years. His presence will be missed but his memory is with us forever!
Well little Marley is finally working on teeth. Four and the same time. Three are out and one top one is just sitting under the gums rubbing away. And making my life and Marley's much harder. While Marley is getting teeth Ellie is losing hers. Just the other night I was able to pull her second bottom tooth. Now hopefully her top teeth will come down. Brandon teases her that she will not know how to eat when she gets top teeth again. It has been a year and a half since they have been pulled (all four top teeth). When she gets those permanent teeth in I will no longer have to cut her apples, pears, plums and other round fruits up. And she will be able to eat corn on the cob again. We have been all about teeth this week.
On May 23rd Brandon and I were able to sit through the Gila Valley Temple dedication. It was truly a wonderful experience. This was the first temple dedication I have been able to participate in. This temple is special to me and our family because we have literally watched it be built. Since my parents live in Thatcher we have been so excited for this temple to come to their area. On February 14, 2009 we froze our toes off at the ground breaking ceremony. Ever time we drove to my parents Ellie and Ethan would check on how the temple was doing and was it bigger. They were so excited to see Angel Moroni on the top of the steeple.
Finally it was the open house and the kids were so excited to walk in the temple and see The House of the Lord. We explained that this was a special time that they would be able to go to the temple and we needed to be reverent and respectful. Before you went in the temple they had you watch a video in the Stake center about temples and the Gila Valley. As we watch the Prophet and Apostles testify of the importance of temple and the work done there. Ellie whispered to me “I know it is true, I can feel it in my heart”. I can’t tell you how my heart leap for joy that my young daughter could feel the presence of the Holy Ghost. As we walked through the temple I was touched by how beautiful it was. It may be a small temple but it is a such a big blessing. I told them about temple marriage and how someday they can be join for Eternity with someone they love. I feel so blessed that I was able to share this experience with my children. I can’t wait to be able to attend that temple and feel the blessing again and again.
Marley has been making this really cute fish face after she eats and I have been trying to get a video of her doing it for a while now. Today I had success. Enjoy!
Marley turns 9 months old this week. For over a month she has been working really hard at trying to walk. Right now she can take about 2 steps then falls over. Yesterday she discovered that she could use her highchair to balance and walk. She was cruising the kitchen. Can I just say I am not really ready for the walking stage!
Ellie wrote a poem about her Grandma Sullivan this morning that is so sweet I had to share. We had just finished reading Fancy Nancy Poet Extraordinaire. I told her that I had written a poem about her as a baby and so we read that and she decided that she needed to write one too. So here is the poem that she told and I wrote down.
Brandon tells me all the time that Ellie and Ethan get their love of playing in the mud from me. Which is probably true. Just ask my mom about Crystal and I playing in the mud in the lot next to our house in Bluewater. I still remember being sprayed down with the water hose in the backyard. Well my kids have been making mud almost everyday lately. We didn’t re-seed the backyard and the grass has died out. So any water and you get mud.
Maybe I am crazy to let them do this, but they are happy and I get time to do something I want before I have to clean them up. I do miss my grass because then mud would only happen sometimes not all the time. I know they had to get some of this mud craving from their Dad.
Everyday I say to Marley, “Stop you are growing to fast.” I love her little smiling face and she is growing so fast. She is crawling everywhere. She follows Ellie and Ethan around the house and just thinks that they are the greatest. Ellie is such a little lover to her. She wants to hold her and carry her everywhere. I am really trying to get her to stop carrying Marley because Ethan wants to carry her now. Scary! This is her new dress that I made her and I think that she looks so cute.
She is pulling herself up on everything and I have a feeling we wont have to wait very long before she will work on walking. She is still working on getting her legs to move with the rest of her. Give her a month or so and she will figure it out. Marley truly is a joy in my life. I am grateful for her smiles.
We had a great time at my parents house for Easter. Ellie and Ethan had their pick of eggs at the hunt because they were the only ones. Next year hopefully they will have more kids to gather eggs with.
While there we had some fun climbing a tree that is in the lot next to my parents house. Ellie loves to climb trees and had so much fun. We went back about four times before we went home.
Ethan got a really cool Dragon kite form my parents for Easter. He had to wait a whole day before we had enough wind to get it up. They had so much fun flying it. We even had about six kids show up on a four-wheeler with their dad to check it out. Some of the kids thought it was a real dragon.
This is Ellie wiggling her loose tooth.
Ellie pulled her first tooth last night. Well sort of her first tooth. This is her first tooth to be pulled that was ready to come out on its own. Unlike the four top teeth that had to be pulled after they were badly damaged a few years ago. She was so excited to have a wiggly tooth. Last night her Aunt Sandy asked her if she wanted her to pull it and Ellie said yes. She didn’t even cry when it was pulled. I laugh because Ellie can be quite the drama queen about things. Yet at times she can really surprise me. When she fell and hurt her teeth she did so good at letting the dentist check her mouth and take x-ray’s. When the dentist decided last year that they needed to come out she was awesome. What a strong little girl she can be when she wants to be :)
The funny thing is the note she left for the tooth fairy. She was torn because she wanted the tooth fairy to come but she also wanted to show her Dad her tooth. So she wrote a note asking the tooth fairy to leave her tooth and come back on Easter and get it. This way she could show her Dad and her Grandma this weekend. So the tooth fairy left her a “spanking new dollar” (she got this saying form a tooth fairy book we read) and her tooth. What a funny little girl.
Okay so Marley is all over the place and she loves to eat everything. Did I mention that I am not really ready for her to be crawling? Well, she has been crawling for almost a month and now she is getting fast and follows the kids from room to room. She is not on hands and knees yet but working on it. Last night I had to laugh because she crawled into her exersaucer and was just hanging out eating a toy. I love her little personality. She is a joy.
Okay so in my free time I enjoy sewing and creating new things. Just for fun I am doing a little blog that will show whatever I am working on. Feel free to check it out. It is new so not a whole lot on there. I just wanted to keep it separate from our family blog. inaquietafternoon.blogspot.com You may be saying where did she get that name? Well when I was trying to think of a name. Ethan was climbing on my back and I thought, man what could I accomplish with a quiet afternoon and the title was born. I do start projects in the afternoon and often finish them in the late hours of the night.
Marley has been on the move for a while but she has just recently gotten very good at army crawling. Just this morning Ellie said "Hey mom, where is Marley?" Well we found her in the laundry room. Am I ready for this? Not really. It means keeping her out of the dog food and everything else. She takes after Ellie and loves eating paper. You should see how her eyes light up when she spots some and she heads for it. Ellie was the same way. Heaven help us! Here is a short video of her crawling. Enjoy
No pictures and just a post about life. I just feel the need to post about my husband, my kids and everything in our life. I have an amazing husband who I love with all my heart. He is supportive and tells me everyday that I am beautiful. Even if my hair is in a ponytail, no make-up and not dressed to the T. He loves me on my good days and my bad. I love that we have an open and honest realtionship. When we were dating he told me that the loved how real I was. By this he meant that I didn't play games and would usually tell him what I thought. I really hope that after being married seven and a half year he still loves my honesty. I am sure I say things he may not want to hear at times. But he listens and he loves me. I am so grateful that I have him as my eternal companion. He is working so hard right now and I do miss seeing him.
My kids are so wonderful. I don't know if any other moms out there feel like failures as a parent but at times I do. When I lose my temper or just can't handle whatever it is. I am glad that my children know I love them and I am so glad that I know they love me. Ethan told me he is the boss tonight. He told me he is the boss because he is "grown-up". That made me laugh. Yet, they are growing up so fast. Where has the time gone. Some days I just want to yell stop I need more time with them. Don't grow up yet. Ellie is getting so tall and independent. She is smart, beautiful and sweet. She loves to touch everyone. I wonder if she just wants to make sure we are all still here. Ethan is such a joy and he makes me laugh. I love when he crawls on my lap and wants me to hold him. He has these big brown eyes and they just seem to twinkle with mischief and love at the same time. Marley smiles and my heart melts. Heavenly Father knew I needed her sunshine at this time in my life. When I was a baby my mom wrote a poem about my smiles. I feel the same way she did when I see Marley's smiles.
I am grateful everyday for my family. I am grateful for the joys and the hardships that we have had. I know that life is a great adventure full of ups and downs. I know that my Saviour loves. My Heavenly father knows my heart and that I really am trying my best. I am truly grateful for each new day that I can start over and try to be better than the day before (I don't always succeed but I try). My heart was full tonight and I wanted to share. Like I said just a post no pictures!
Okay so I am a little behind on my blogging. Ellie had a birthday over a month ago. She was so excited about this birthday and has been planning the party for a year. I think as soon as her last birthday ended she started planning the next. She invited eight of her closest friends and they had so much fun. All morning she kept saying “I can’t believe I am five, I can’t believe I am five.” We love Ellie so much and she is such a joy in our life. I can’t believe how big she is getting. Here is a fun video of her and her friends. I love all the conversation from the kids and Brandon. :)
We were able to meet Kip, Tasha's boyfriend at Christmas. He did a great tine handling all the people and kids. Because we are a large family things can get crazy and loud! The kids took to him right away and had a hard time leaving him alone. He took it all in stride. Here is a video of him being surrounded. He does great even with Ellie's fake crying and Rosin using the Bug Vacuum on him.
