Ella-isms

Ella was singing "Ring Around the Rosie" and for some reason was putting a "t" at the end of "ashes" instead of an "s". Say that in your head and you'll see why I was cracking up! That darn falling down!!

Ella got in trouble for lying this morning. I could tell that she was racking her brain to find a way to get out of trouble. She came up with "Mommy! Your tummy's little again!" Hmm..... another lie. But it worked! :)

Ella ran out of marshmallows in her Lucky Charms and said "Mom, I've got some charms but I ran out of luckies!"

Eli's Baptism 3-7-11

Eli's Grandma Jolene made his baptism outfit. She did an amazing job... he looked so handsome!

The kids with their Great Grandma Van Roy

With Grandma Jolene and Grandpa Donnie. I clearly didn't get the memo that we were supposed to wear oatmeal colored sweaters.

The VanRoy clan

With Grandpa Tim and Grandma Mary. Noah has no patience for pictures.

With godparents Jeff and Lacey

If I could slow down time....

If I could find a way.....

Did I just get you picturing Cher? I don't want to turn back time, just slow it down a bit. I can't believe that Eli is already 2 months old!! 2 months!!! He's not a little newborn anymore, he is smiling and watching and growing out of his newborn clothes. I've found that people either love or hate the newborn phase. I personally love it, which makes it that more sad that it is over all too soon.

In a couple weeks Noah is going to be 7 years old. He is having a "tae kwon do party" where the kids will learn some moves and then get to practice them by using them to break a pinata. Noah is most excited about cutting the cake with a samurai sword! I am most excited about the mini lesson the kiddos are going to get about respect and listening! Oh, and by the fact that I don't have to do anything for the party except show up with the birthday boy and my camera.

And Ella is 3 going on 13. I am in for some serious trouble when that one is a teenager! She is a sassy pants. At home..... at preschool she is a friendly, happy, cooperative little girl who everyone loves. Tonight, she and I are having a Mommy/ Daughter date night and going to see "The Wizard of Oz" at Burke High School. Her babysitter's son is the wizard and it is Ella's favorite movie, so she is very excited for our date!

Mama Kangaroo

Eli has been living in the Baby Bjorn. I do almost everything with him in his carrier: clean, cook, laundry, go to the bathroom, blow-dry my hair, make the beds, put on makeup and sweep the garage for examples. I would probably take a shower with it on if it were waterproof.

I also eat with him in it, which has proven to be a bad idea. He has had rice, potato salad, and oatmeal all dropped on his poor little noggin. Poor buddy.

We have really been enjoying the nice weather the past couple days and I've discovered (to my delight) that Eli loves going for walks in the stroller. Ella can sit with him in the double stroller and Noah is able to ride his scooter. I have a certain route around the neighborhood that I like to go that is 3 miles and Noah is able to go that far and go fast so that I can also walk fast. That's the only way I'm going to lose this baby weight!

My Sweet Valentine

As soon as he turned 6 weeks, Eli turned into a major flirt and smiles all the time. I love talking to him first thing in the morning and seeing his big gummy grin. I adore him.

Snow Days

The kids were home on Tuesday and Wednesday because of the snow. My first reaction when I heard there was a snow day was "NOOOOOOO!!!!" Selfish, I know, but I really enjoy my days home with just Elijah. It's quiet and I can take a nap when he does.

On Tuesday I decided to make some "job cards" and "surprise cards". If either kid got a time out, they could not get out of time out until they picked a job card and finished the chore on it. If I saw them being nice or helpful, then they could pick a surprise card and we could do what it said.

Ella got a time out right away and then had to clean all the glass. That was the only time out of the day! I was a little disappointed because I had a lot of cleaning to get done! Later they got to pick a suprise card. It said "Beach Party". I read it and then said "Go get your swimsuits on!!" The look on Noah's face was priceless... he was so excited! They got to "swim" in the bathtub for awhile and then we had a picnic on their beach towels for lunch. They LOVED it! I kept hearing them say to each other "isn't this the best day ever?", "this is the most fun day", etc. Compared to what they usually say to each other, this truly was the best day ever!!

Later in the day they got to pick another card and have a "pajama party". They put on their p.j.s and then we snuggled in Ella's bed and read books and told ghost stories. They were so well behaved the whole day!

We found out that evening that the next day was also a snow day. Instead of hyperventilating again, I got excited thinking of more fun things we could do the next day. I let them bring in some snow to play with in the kitchen, we made a fort, and they played with Playdoh. Probably the most fun for them was lunch. I made little menus and set the table with a tablecloth. I wrapped their silverware in a napkin and got some coloring pages for them to color while they waited. Noah was dowstairs so I called him up and then said "welcome to Momma's Restaurant, can I show you to your table?" He had that same look on his face that he had when I announced the beach party. So sweet! It really reminded me that he is still just a little boy.

They loved choosing their meals from the menu and coloring while they waited for their food. They actually used good manners, and again were talking so nice to each other.

It was a lot of work to think of creative, fun things to do, and they did make a lot of messes that had to be cleaned up, but it was so worth it! It makes me sad to think that they are growing so fast. The past two days reminded me that they are just little kids who love surprises, having fun, and playing. Sometimes I feel like I expect them to be more grown up then they are because it's easier for me. My goal for now on is to just let them be little.

I need what??

Noah was watching some t.v. and a commercial for a birth control came on. Why there was a commercial for birth control on the Cartoon Network is beyond me. I noticed that he was intently watching the commercial and was bracing myself for the questions that were bound to come. When it was over he said "mom, you totally need that". "Oh really?" I tried to sound casual. "Why do you say that?"

"Well, because we spill a lot" he replied. I failed to see the connection. "So why do you think I need that?" I asked. "I don't really know what it is for, but I think it is for stress, and we stress you out when we spill stuff." I agreed that I do need some stress relief. Then we turned off the t.v.