Merry Christmas!!

I got this outfit for Molly for Christmas because I loved the little cupcake hat and matching mittens. A tremendous waste, because after about two minutes of wearing them she figured out she could take the gloves off by biting them and pulling them off (she's not even one yet!) which freed her hands to remove her hat. Oh well.

Molly's favorite gift was this little piano. It makes the most noise. :) If you push this one button it plays different songs, and this girl loves to boogie. So it was perfect.

This was Ella's big gift this year. I think I was as excited about it as she was! Unfortunately, after the first few minutes she proceeded to unload all the furniture out of the dollhouse and commence play on the ground. I think we could have saved ourselves $50 by forgetting the house and just buying the furniture.

I kept trying to force this present on Molly because I thought she would love it... She was much more interested in her sisters presents, though. We spent most of the morning trying to keep Molly out of Ella's dollhouse. Let the battles begin!

I just thought this was the cutest picture. This is Ella's "best friend" Kate. They came over on Christmas Eve. Ella had just given her a little present that she had picked out for her, and they were both very excited about it!

Wow, I can't believe that Christmas is over already! This season went by sooo fast. But we had a wonderful holiday. It was very relaxing. It was just nice to be together as a family. The girls had a great time. Today we were at the store making the customary day after Christmas exchanges, and Ella was still saying, "Can I get this for Christmas, Mom?" I can't really blame her, we talked about it for months, and then its over in a day!

The Smith Gingerbread House Competition

Yesterday we started our 'Twelve Days of Christmas' by decorating gingerbread houses. It was so much fun. Even Todd had a great time. But nobody had as much fun as Ella. She did a great job. She kept on working about 15 minutes after Todd and I had finished. I thought she would spend most of the time snacking on the decorations, but she didn't. She was 100% focused on decorating her house. And I have to admit, her house looked the best for it!

Todd's mother and grandmother came and visited this weekend also. It was a lot of fun. Ella loves having her grandparents around. So we were able to get a 4 generation picture that I had to share.

I've Been Tagged

Okay, here goes!

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.

B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.

C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. Fact: Since the holidays are upon us, I figure it is only fitting to share a holiday fact. I know that decorating the Christmas tree is supposed to be a fun family activity, and it always was when we were growing up. But not in our house. I'm afraid that Todd (or anyone else for that matter) will mess up the exact placing of the ornaments. Each color needs to be so far from another ornament of that color. Todd also has a box full of wonderful ornaments that he got growing up that I refuse to let him put on the tree because it doesn't match my color scheme. I know, its awful.

2. Habit: I've had this habit for as long as I can remember. Whenever I am talking on the phone for any length of time, I doodle. Any paper within arms reach is at risk. In fact once when I was in high school I got banned from talking on the phone in my dad's office because apparently I doodled all over some important documents of his. Oops.

3. Fact: I hate Valentine's day! Okay, I'm probably not the only person that feels that way, but I really really do. I think I always build it up so much in my mind before the day comes, that when the actual day comes, it never fails to disappoint. Usually Todd ends up having to go to work, or staying late when he wasn't supposed to, or something like that. Maybe that day is just bad luck. Maybe I should start celebrating Valentines day in August.

4. Habit: Okay, maybe I shouldn't admit this, but for a long time I had this thing for Days of our Lives. Don't ask me how it started, I don't really know. But I had to be home by 1:00 to watch it every day. It was kind of my unwinding time. I luckily cut that habit, but even now if I happen to be home at that time and the girls are napping, I still watch it every once in awhile. :)

5. Fact: I love reading cooking magazines. Todd thinks it is really weird, but I can't get enough of them. I currently subscribe to 4 different magazines, and I can't wait for them to come. I read the whole thing, front back. Then when I am finished, I go back through and write a list of all the recipes I want to try. Oh, thats another fact. I love making lists.

6. Habit: I have to smooth out the sheets and comforter on my bed perfectly before I can sleep. I can't sleep in a bed unless everything is in its place. Which is ironic, because Todd is the exact opposite. It drives me nuts. I am constantly instructing him on how to smooth out his side of the bed before we go to sleep. Wow, I think I am a little bit of a control freak.

Okay, well there it is. I hope you learned a little something about me. Since I think that everyone I know has already done this tag, I will let it die with me... unless you are reading this and it somehow missed you, please take this as your invitation. You've been tagged!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

Last week I took the girls to see Santa with some friends. We took them to this shopping center that has a ton of lights, lots of people all dressed up, and even a parade- which we missed (sorry Anne!). But it was still a lot of fun. The girls were so excited to see him. They kept running up to stand on the railings to catch a glimpse. The babies weren't quite as thrilled with the whole thing! But they were good sports. This is the first year that Ella has shown any interest in Santa Claus, so it has been pretty fun. We've taken to singing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" anytime Ella starts to act up. Todd has threatened a couple of times that Santa isn't coming, but it just makes me laugh. Has any parent in the history of Santa Claus ever followed through with that threat? If so, I would like to meet that person. They could teach the rest of us a thing or two about sticking to our guns. But when it comes to Ella, it doesn't work anyway. She just tells us, "Santa is too coming." Anyway, it was a great way to ring in the holiday season. We even broke out the Christmas music a few days early!

Say "Cheese!"

Ella has just discovered our camera. After two years of shrieking and covering her face every time I pulled it out, she will now seek it out to take pictures of everyone and everything. She loves taking pictures of her little sister the most. Everytime I take it out to take a picture of the girls she says, "Can my take a picture, M0m?" And she'll snap away until I take it away. Some of her pictures are actually pretty good, if I was needing a picture of the tv, candles, or Molly's diaper change. So in honor of her newfound passion, I thought I would post some of her pictures for you all. Enjoy!

A Time for Thanksgiving...

My friend Jamie tagged me to write a post about all the many things that I am grateful for. I am glad I have this excuse to ponder about all the many blessings in my life, especially before the holidays. So here I go!

First and foremost, I am grateful for the gospel. Honestly, where would I be without it? It brings peace to me throughout all the trials that life brings. I know that by living it, we will be blessed. We can be happy. We can live with Him again. And that is the greatest blessing.

I am grateful for the oppurtunity to serve. I love the joy it brings, and how it helps you to become a more selfless person. I love my calling to serve in the Primary. It is such a blessing to be a part of teaching those children and sharing in their special spirit.

I am thankful for Ella. She is such a loving little girl. She also teaches me to be a more patient person! She helps me to realize that there are more important things in life than a clean house. And also that it is okay to go to the store in a tutu, rain boots and fairy wings.

I am thankful for Molly. She has such a special spirit. She is always happy, and brings a lot of laughter to our home. Both of my girls make me so grateful for the oppurtunity to be a mother, something I try to never take advantage of. I wake up every morning so excited to see their little faces and get a big hug, and a sloppy kiss from Moose.

I am thankful for family. I am grateful for parents that raised me well, and led by example. I am grateful for the support that they are always giving us. Thank you!

I am grateful for Todd. He works so hard at work and school so that he can provide for us, and so that I can stay home and do what I love, being a mom. He is a great daddy to our little girls, and they love him so much. Thank you.

I am so blessed to have all of these things, to have a healthy family, to have a warm home and food on the table. I am grateful for all of my wonderful friends. They are always there to help. Even if its just to make those long hours until dinnertime seem a little shorter. :)

Thank you for having me do this Jamie! I am tagging my dad, Terra, Kara, Jamie B. and Jenny.

Is it Christmas yet?

So back in June, after Ella's birthday, she was thrilled with the fact that she asked for things for her birthday, and consequently, many of them ended up in her possession. So immediately after her birthday, she kept up the refrain of, "Can my get that for my birthday?" So I informed her that she just had her birthday, and she would have to wait until Christmas. So that started up the, "Can my get that for Christmas?" Lately, no doubt a result of the growing holiday decorations we are seeing all over town, it has increased tenfold. Every thing she sees, every commercial she watches, she wants for Christmas. And it is not limited to toys. Among the more odd things she has requested for Christmas include Lysol, vacuum cleaner deoderizer, bandaids, and eggs. And to everything I reply, "You can ask Santa." I realized the other night just how important it is to her that I respond, when I came downstairs from putting Molly to sleep to find her bawling uncontrollably on the couch. Since that was exactly where I had left her 5 minutes ago, I couldn't imagine that she could have hurt herself to the degree of which she was reacting, so I asked her what on earth was the problem. I finally got her calmed down enough to tell me- "Can my -hiccup- just get -hiccup- that one princess one -hiccup- for Christmas?" So I repeated the refrain- "You can ask Santa." She gave me a huge grin and said, "Okay!" All was well once again.

Yesterday I went to the Disney store where all of the Halloween costumes were super cheap. Most of them were picked over, but there was a Jasmine outfit left in her size, and since playing dress-up is her all-time favorite thing to do right now (she has worn her Snow White costume exactly 9 days -and counting- in a row now) I tried, unsuccessfully, to buy it without her knowledge as a Christmas gift. As soon as we got home she asked, "Can my wear that Jasmine outfit?" So I played innocent. "What Jasmine outfit?" Ella- "That pink one with the shoes from the Mickey mouse store. Its in the car." Crap! So I had to tell her that that was a surprise, and it was for Christmas, and Mommy had to wrap it so she could have it later. That night as she was saying her prayer she said, "And thank you for my new Jasmine clothes that my can wear at Christmas." So sweet!

Trick or Treat!!

What do you know? Shrek likes Halloween, too.

Our little 'soft serve' didn't last very long!

We had some friends over for a Halloween dinner. It was a lot of fun! The kids had a great time, too. :)

Happy Halloween!

Tonight was our ward Halloween party/Chili cook-off. It was a lot of fun. It was also our first chance to try out our costumes. Although Ella had been wearing hers since noon yesterday. But who's counting?

Cute sisters!

Ella is Snow White this year. Grandmom made her costume, and it turned out beautiful. Everyone loved it. But no one more then Ella. She has not worn anything else since Grandmom gave it to her yesterday morning. She loves the attention she gets when she wears it, too. She is so cute. Even though she is Snow White, she was definitely the 'Belle' of the ball. Ha ha ha. :)

Our sweet Molly was an ice cream cone. She was so cute, and such a trooper in her costume. It wasn't easy for her to move in it!

Sisters

The other day Ella wanted to put Molly in her dolly stroller and push her around the room. It was so cute, and they both loved it. I am so glad that they have each other, and I hope that they will remember that 15 years from now...

Pottery Masterpieces

I signed Ella and myself up for a Mommy and Me pottery class this year at our rec center. It has been a lot of fun for both of us. I get to try my hand at being creative (which I'm not very good at), and Ella gets to make a big mess every week! Our first project was to make a pinch bowl. So I got Ella started, and we both got to work. About 20 minutes later I looked around the table at the other little girls holding a perfectly formed little bowl. Then I look next to me at Ella, whose bowl could now only be described as a plate, as she was sticking her hand in the slip- water mixed with a little clay- (how smart am I already?) and smearing it all over her previously decorated 'bowl'. But she loved it, and I can say proudly that she made it 100% on her own. We glazed them the next week, and finally got to bring them home yesterday. As we were leaving the rec center after class, this guy walked up behind me and said- "So she's the one that made that. I'm in the Tuesday class, and we were all wondering." I'd like to think they were all wondering because of the sheer talent that is so obviously displayed in her work of art.

Yesterday we also got to work with red clay which our instructor pressed out of an extruder. It came out in a thick tube shape. She asked the girls what it looked like. I think she was looking for 'snake' or something like that. Ella looked at me confused, wondering if she was really supposed to say what she thought it looked like. Then the instructor asked again what it looked like, and so Ella looked up at me and said- "Poops?" I had to admit, that's exactly what it looked like.

Pumpkin Patch

Molly time!

It occured to me as I was looking at our blog that Molly was

somewhat underrepresented!! That could be because I spend so

many of my waking moments attending to my teething 8 month old,

that I feel the rest of us need some attention on the blog... either way,

she is a beautiful baby, and she is getting so big I needed to make a

post just for her! She is scooting herself all over the place now. She

loves her big sister, and Ella gets huge smiles from her everytime

she walks in the room. Molly's new favorite trick whenever we are

upstairs is to make a bee-line (how do you spell that??) for the stairs

every chance she gets. She loves that we all freak out and come

running, and she just laughs and laughs. As soon as we put her back

in the bedroom, she turns right back around and heads for the stairs

again. What we really need is a gate. The ironic thing is, that is the

only time she ever attempts to get away from me! The rest of the time,

she is following me around the house crying if she is not being held.

Ah, the joys of motherhood!

A video for Papa!

Hey Dad! We took a video of Ella watching the video of you so you could see how excited she was. We took it the second time around, so she was a little more focused. The first time was a lot of giggling and jumping. Sorry we missed that one! Hope you enjoy. Thanks for the video, Papa!! She loved it.

I did it!!

Todd and the girls were there at the finish line when I came through. It was the coolest feeling. They shake your hand as you cross the finish line, and then put the medal around your neck. It was a little depressing when the first place marathoner came in about three minutes after me, though... :)




Todd watched the girls while I ran, and even took them to a couple of mile markers to wave and cheer me on. It was awesome! Ella was pretty upset when I left. They waited at the 10 mile marker for me to run by, and when I did Ella came running out onto the course to give me a big hug, and started running after me. It was so sweet!




Yesterday we went to Akron and I finished the Roadrunner Half-Marathon!! What a rush!! It was so much fun. The weather was perfect and it was really exciting. Today I feel like I got hit by a bus, but it was totally worth it. I can't wait to do it again. Well, I can probably wait a few months. :) It was harder then I thought. Most of the course was uphill, including the last mile. But I did the whole thing without walking, so I was pretty proud of myself.