This is a video that Matthew put together about a year ago. I was just looking through our files on the computer and found it again. It is definitely worth your time in my opinion. Some of the clips are of L before she is 1 year old, and now she is almost 3! It is a lot of fun to see how much she's grown and how much signing she does!

Cute Pics

I have taken several photos recently. E and L like to ride on a little red toy in the house. They take turns driving, so I took some pics of them. T is sitting up now, and he loves to be put in front of a container of toys and just goes wild. Simple photos, but I love to share!

L's Friend

So, every Monday and Wednesday I have an additional child. Her name is A (not giving you the rest for her privacy) and she is the same age as L. She also knows how to sign, so it is a big bonus for L to have a friend she can actually communicate with. I have a couple pics of the two girls playing with playdough. They're cute together - when L sees A at the front door she screams, and I mean SCREAMS in excitement and can't wait to start playing. Their favorite games are playing mommy with the baby dolls and cooking in the toy kitchen. Anyway, enjoy the two cute 2year olds!

It's Been a Long Time

Ok, my kids are so great! It is amazing to see their personalities shining through. I have noticed that E has so much compassion. She is so caring and watches out for her sister. For example, we were at a restaurant with Aunt T, and I went to change T's diaper. The girls were playing on the toys, and there were some boys that were teasing L because of her glasses. E heard, went to L, put her arm around her and said, "That's my sister, and she's cute. Be nice," and led L away from the boys. WOW! Talk about a proud mama teary eyes moment!

L is almost three, less than a month. She definitely has the 3-year old attitude to accompany her new age. She is trying so hard to be independent and to do everything herself. Her newest accomplishment is being able to open doors (she's so short it is a really big deal), and climbing into the van and into her car seat all by herself. It is fun to see her drive and determination, though there are still things and times she doesn't want to be 'grown up.'

T is so fun. I'm really enjoying this little boy. I loved my girls as babies, but I feel like I've really come into my own as a mom. I'm more comfortable with a baby, and feeding and sickness and poop and puke and sleep and all that stuff, so it is just fun to snuggle him, and see him be so curious and trying to get his hands on everything. He really loves to watch his sisters - it always makes him giggle.

Last week Matthew had the opportunity to present a paper that he submitted into a contest of sorts. It is something called the student symposium, and students at BYU write papers about religious topics and then if they are chosen, they get to present them to their peers. So, he presented last week, received a small cash award and was informed that they want to publish his paper! He said it isn't a big deal, but I think it is wonderful. So congrats to Matthew!

I'm not doing anything new. I've been involved with planning the PIP Camp this year that the Utah School for the Deaf puts on, and get to do some training for other parents, but for the rest of the time I just do the mom thing. Matthew and I have been exercising - P90x - since January, and it is working wonders on my energy and physique. (I still don't look like a million bucks, but I feel like it!)

Anyway, I'll send some photos in a bit!

Thanksgiving

Well, we headed to my parents' house in Menan, Idaho for the weekend of Thanksgiving. My folks have these fabulously huge trees surrounding their house, which makes for great leaf jumping. We were so excited to go and play in the leaves, but my dad, who recently retired from work, has been too good at keeping them clean! We found a spot that he had missed and piled up some leaves to jump in. It was sooo cold, but so fun! Here are a few photos of E and L jumping in the leaves and helping to rake them. Also, Aunt T and I went to take some pictures of a neat tree we had seen earlier in the year, and I put L in a tree because I thought she would like it and it would be a cute photo opportunity, but she didn't exactly smile for the camera! It was a great weekend. Matthew did homework all weekend, so we didn't see much of him, but at least he got most of his paper finished that is due tomorrow. My mom, sister and I went shopping on Black Friday and it was awesome! I love the crowds, the thrill of trying to get something impossible (this year it was a $400 laptop for me at Circuit City) and watching everyone else do the same. Yes, I got the laptop, and it's a pretty funny story, but we'll save that for later. We went to five or so stores and were finished by 8am! So fun! Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

So two months or so ago, E and L received a balloon from our local grocery store for free. While in the parking lot, L let go of hers, and it took two hours to calm her down from losing her balloon. Matthew tried everything from chocolate to ice cream to movies to who knows what else, but for that two hours she cried uncontrollably. Well, just last week we went to the grocery store again, and when E asked if she could have a balloon, we went to get the free balloons again (apparently I need to remember tramautic events in the lives of my children!). Immediately after getting hers, L began to cry and signed 'don't want' so I gave it back to the woman at the service desk and we continued on our way. Well, apparently she is seriously tramuatized, because once we got to the car, she was again crying hysterically and asking for her balloon. E ran back into the store and grabbed the balloon for L, who hugged the poor thing all the way home, with a white knuckle grip on it's string. I had to hold the string to get her out of the car and into the house, and once in the house, the hugging and crying continued. E finally put the balloons out of sight in a 'safe place' (the top of the stairs) and she calmed enough to go to bed. The next morning, however, she spotted her balloon, and thereafter ensued 45 minutes of her holding tight to the balloon and crying -no screaming - while following me. I tried to take it from her to put it in a safe place, but she wouldn't have it. I tried talking to her to explain that her balloon was safe in the house, but she scooted as far away as she could from me. So, finally at my wits end (because whenever L cries, T cries; he doesn't like her crying at all), I pried the string from her hands and tied it to a very stable piece of furniture so she could see it was safe. She continued to sit next to the balloon whimpering for another 10 minutes before it was really ok. Yeah, no more balloons for her as I think she is always going to be afraid to lose another one. Anyway, here's the photo of her crying and holding her balloon. I couldn't resist capturing this memory forever!

Halloween Fun

Well, our Halloween was much fun. E and L were princesses or ballerinas, depending on who you asked, but both were ecstatic to dress up in their costumes. T and Daddy were missionary companions, though T slept most of the time (not a very good missionary yet!). I was the ever famous girl from the 80's. Our neighbor told me he thought he went on a date with me in 1986, it was pretty fun and way out of my comfort zone to wear a miniskirt (I had leggings on, so no worries about showing too much.) After having three kids, I think it was a little too young for me, but for one night a year let's just throw caution to the wind!

Last year I was crazy and made pancakes that looked like pumpkins for breakfast on Halloween and at the time the girls thought I was crazy. However, E has seen photos of those pumpkin pancakes and this year requested jack-o-lantern pancakes. So, I suppose there is the beginnings of a new tradition, with chocolate chips for the face, they've got to be healthy, right?

We also, of course, carved pumpkins for the occasion, and it was quite fun to see the girls grimace while cleaning them out! They did have lots of fun making faces and putting candles inside. L actually understood some of the strange practices this year, which added to E's excitement. It's fun to watch how excited E gets now that L can share in her excitement and fun!