365 days of girl

Well it has happened. Elaine has turned one. I'm only a week or two behind posting about it but I'm just happy I had the chance to do it at all! We have loved the change of dynamics our little Miss has brought to our home. We love you girlie!

Elaine right now you...

Love to do ANYTHING with Daddy (he's your favorite)
Have three teeth
Want to eat anything with sugar in it (especially cake or ice cream)
Can say 6 words (Mama, Dada, night night, Hi, yeah, and dog)
Adore your brothers
Love to "read books" by yourself
Want dinner at 5pm every night (on the dot!)
Can blow kisses
Add sweetness to our lives :)

Love you baby girl, we don't know what we would do without you!

Posing in her birthday hat. There's some serious attitude in those lips :)

It's a special day...



 I've been saving that obnoxious bow just for this day! Happy St. Patricks day!!! Thank you Grandpa Bates (and perhaps some other mystery person on my dad's side, Help me out here Dad...) for a claim on this Irish holiday. While I may be a very small percentage Irish (and my children even smaller) I love this day. Beside loving the color green, it's just kinda cool to celebrate my cultural heritage for a day. Yea for that tiny island on the other side of the pond, I love your hills and your cheerful accent, I love your corned beef with cabbage and fish and chips. I REALLY want to kiss your Blarney Stone and search for Nessy. I hope to play a penny whistle with skill and reel on my fiddle. I will play a jig today in honor of you.

Are you having a St. Patty's themed dinner tonight? What's on the menu?

Who couldn't love this face...

                                    

Really, isn't he darling? I love the odd and silly tradition. In elementary school any holiday written on a calendar is always acknowledged, but this my friends was always my favorite. How strange you might say. I think it is wonderful. A charming community event, silly and frivolous and yet, so homey. I can picture the die hard fans (around 40,000 of them) with their warm drinks, bundled up, shouting hello to friends they may not have seen in a year. Hoping, chanting even, for an early spring. This little guy only prognosticates correctly about 39% of the time. Which is not very reliable, but I still love him!

I have another reason to love this usually chilly day in February. This is the day, six years ago, that I met my Jimmy.

I was on vacation, we ended up in the same institute class during the week and, in my naturally forward manner, invited him out to pizza with a few other friends. We talked the night away, were engaged a little more then a week later and the rest is history. So I guess this whole coming week is significant! How I love my Mr. And just like the movie, I get to repeat that feeling everyday for all eternity. *Happiness*

So Happy Groundhog day! Happy early spring! Do something wonderful today and hope it repeats all year long!


Catch you later!

Three is a magic number...

Since when did THREE MONTHS happen? Holy moly. Well Elaine has reached that magical milestone where babies get really fun! She is smiling, half giggling, sleeping mostly through the night and rolling over. I can't believe it. It has been a magical three months so far. I think we'll keep her :). Happy Birthday little girl! To celebrate we will:

Fold laundry
Shower for me
Bath for Elaine
Maybe a date with Daddy-o?
Crochet some gifts
Make visiting teaching appointments
and
Snuggle a super cute baby girl

Catch you later!

My new pal...

I'd like you to meet someone...

This is Roz (Rozalin) Isn't she pretty? I think we're going to get along great!

She has really great attributes such as; a drop in bobbin loader (awesome!)

And 25 stitch functions including a one step button hole maker!

I am so excited that she has come to live with me. Jimmy stuck gold this year on the birthday present giving (Love you!!!)

Oh the fabric we will see together.......

I'll be sure to share what creations result from this friendship :)

Hello, you look yummy....

Today we met dinner...

His name is Tom and he is Bob's turkey. Well, now he is our turkey! And he will be delicious.

If you would like your own heritage breed turkey You can call Bob and get one of your own!


Happy Thanksgiving week!!!

Hi HOOOOO!!!

I've been singing myself the dwarf song from Snow White for the past 24 hours or so. It's time to get down and dirty! I have acquired the supplies necessary for an awesome homemade Christmas and I am digging in. We may not get to chat much over the next little bit...but don't worry, I'll be back. I have some goodies to make!

Can you guess what I'm making?

The torch; be yours to hold it high...

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

to those who have fallen or who have lost.
- - John McCrae, May 1915

I find it so fitting that Veterans day falls in the month of November. I have always thought that this holiday is one of gratitude right up there with Thanksgiving. This year more then others I have felt rather emotional about the service that has been rendered down through the generations to provide what I enjoy today. What a legacy of dedication! I hope that I can show my thanks in the way I exercise my rights and freedoms, and in the way I teach my children to love their country. I hope today of all days we can recognize, regardless of what divides us, that we are all Americans.  Our idealism is the same whether on the left, right, tea room, or independant table. We are brothers and sisters, made such by these men and women who fought for their American family. I pray that those who have lost someone to battle will feel my love and appriciation for that sacrife, along with my neighbors and friends.

Little Boo's and a blessing...

This weekend was exciting! Actually the whole week was exciting, but I don't have enough time to blog about everything we did while the Grandparents were in town. Suffice it to say...it was totally awesome. Any who, back to the weekend. We decided to go to the Shaker Wards trunk or treat Saturday night for our Halloween fun...the boys looked amazing!

Here they are! Luke starring as BUZZ LIGHTYEAR! And Ammon as a Giant Yellow Lego! Grandpa made the Lego all possible. It turned out so cute. Nothing like a few cold stone cups, spray paint and cardboard boxes to brighten the life of a little boy! The Elders were totally drooling over it. (I think they must have been wondering why they weren't as cool as a four year old.)

Sunday was a special day around here. Elaine was named and blessed during sacrament meeting. My parents were both there with their respective spouses, which was really nice. Dad got to be in the circle, Jim was emotional and the long awaited dress that my mother in-law made had finally come in the mail. It was perfect.

Aren't they adorable?

So sweet!

The dress was so pretty, I loved the little details and the fact that it was made by her Nana. The bonnet was made out of a hanky that belonged to my Great Grandmother on my Mom's side and she was snuggled in my blessing blanket that was made by my Great Grandmother on my Dad's side. It made the day very special to me. Having a little girl has been such a dream come true. The way the blessing made it sound, this is one very special little girl.

We were all very sad later that afternoon. Grandma and Grandpa had to get back on the plane heading west this time. We were all pretty choked up after they left. It was a wonderful visit. Ammon is still saying that they need to come back to "..be here with me in Cleveland." Hopefully soon. Then we'll party again!

To console ourselves, we carved pumpkins!

Jim has mad skills with a pumpkin!

Happy Halloween!!!

COOKIES!!

Last night we went down to Olympia and took part in a tradition shared by most families, but never by mine. We made cookies! Jim's Mom is an amazing cook, and has been giving me pointers so that one day I too can feed my family delicious and edible food! Cookie baking has been a family favorite for them, and they where gracious to pass on the knowledge! We made two batches of loved and well known cookies, Jan Hagel (which is to die for!) and sugar cookies for decorating, we also made a new one, we'll just call them "stained glass cookies" instead of the weird name the recipe called them. In these cookies you basically make a sugar cookie dough, cut out your shapes then crush candies and put them into the middle cutout of the cookie (we used Jolley Ranchers) then when you bake them, the crushed candies melt then re-harden when cooled, and in the end they look like a very lovely stained glass window!

Despite one very un-timely and uncomfortable asthma attack, the evening was wonderful! Having everyone in the kitchen laughing and working was so much fun! I can see why families love to bake cookies for the holiday's!