Holidays, holidays

Nana's Christmas gift this year was a huge joint effort. We all got together for Uncle Richard's wedding after Christmas. Aunt Jenny made the boys matching ties. I scored the cutest dresses on clearance at Wal-mart in Waco the night before we had to leave to get to Gilmer.

Aunt Jenny bribed the boys with the promise of candy, but the girls weren't feeling it. Typical.

This is when she was happy to take a picture :).

Life happening: Ellen's baptism

While I've been away from blogging, life has definitely been happening. Even though I'm posting this in March, I'm going to date it in November so on the off chance I get around to printing a blog book, these memories will end up in the right year. 

We are so proud of Ellen's decision and excitement to be baptized. We took pictures of Ellen with her parents, grandparents and great grandparents, but most of her aunts, uncles, and cousins were there as well.

 

Eldest

I love this girl.

She is so happy.

She loves to laugh.

She loves to take crazy selfies with my phone.



She loves school and her teachers.

She loves taking silly selfies with my phone.














She loves to play with friends and sisters and cousins.

She loves to try new things!

Happy birthday, Ellen!!

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Oh, how I love this man.

I think I need to get him a new shirt for his birthday.

Apparently, he only has two.

Or maybe he has a closet full of green polo shirts and white dress shirts.

Happy birthday, my love!

How do you spell "peace"?

A friend gave me several printed pages and this frame as a housewarming/birthday gift a couple of years ago. I don't change it very often, and I still have a couple of pages I haven't displayed yet. I have it hanging over my stove in the kitchen where I can see it all the time, and last Thursday I retired "Charity Never Faileth" and installed "Peace, be still."

After school Jack Jack casually mentioned, "Oh, good. You finally changed the picture." Ellen looked over and exclaimed, "PEACH, be still?" I started laughing, and Jack responded, "No! PLEASE, be still." I laughed even harder, and Rose corrected them both. "PEACE, BE STILL!" Jack and Ellen looked more carefully, and then Jack said, "'Please, be still' makes more sense than 'Peach, be still.'"

Yes, yes it does. I'm going to like having this page up.

The Artist

Ellen brought a note home in her folder that said her artwork had been chosen for a display at the Hewitt Community Center. She didn't know anything about it.

So one day after school we went over to take a look and find her artwork.

I was super impressed. Ellen is always saying she wants to be an artist when she grows up. After we got home, we were talking about college, and she asked me what you do at college. I was telling her you take classes, and if you want to be a scientist you take science classes, and if you want to be a teacher, you take classes about teaching. She caught on really quickly, and got very excited about taking art classes. Then we started talking about different jobs artists can do. "What? Do you get paid to be an artist?!? I can't wait." Haha. Fortunately, there are lots of professions that an extremely creative person can do and not be a starving artist. I love seeing her creative work, and all she wants for her birthday and Christmas are more art and craft supplies.

The boss and the baby

So when I wrote the title, I was thinking Elijah was the boss and Rose the baby in these pictures.

Sometimes Rose is the boss and Elijah is the baby.

Most of the time, though, the baby is the boss. And he wants it his way, even though he doesn't always get it.

He keeps on trying though. Everyday he tells me, "I not take a nap today." He tells me every time I change his diaper, every time we have a drink, and every time I sit down to read him a book or pick him up. In other words, at any moment when he thinks it's possible that I might be getting ready to take him into his room and put him in his crib. He still takes a nap almost every day, and he still cries every time. What can I say? He is definitely my child. I was always worried about missing out on something good. So I tell him all the fun things we will do after he wakes up from his nap, sing him a song, get him a drink, and tell him I love him. Then he cries and screams as I shut the door, and then he falls asleep.

Thanks for pushing the stroller down that hill. Now if you'd just grow tall enough to sit on the toilet by yourself!

Breakfast with Santa

A friend gave us tickets to the Waco Junior League's Breakfast with Santa event.

I made a huge effort for once and made Rose wear something "Christmasy" and accessorized with pink shoes and skirt.

I put on make up, fixed my hair and wore a skirt and jacket.

I'm so glad I didn't just show up in jeans and a t-shirt. Most of the other kids there were wearing matching Christmas pajamas and giant hair bows, and accompanied by entourages of parents and grandparents.

We had a fancy catered breakfast. Rose loved the little sausages.

There were fun life-sized decorations.

They gave each child a huge jingle bell, and then asked them all to hold the bells still while Santa read The Polar Express. Ha.

Rose visited the hot chocolate bar several times, mostly for the sprinkles and marshmallows.

They made a craft while waiting for their turn for a picture with Santa.

Rose was all over the photo ops.

Elijah kept his distance, but the whole experience was an 11 as far as Rose was concerned. Everything a kid could want in a breakfast party. Thank you, Amber!!!

Wait, that's not a halloween plastic spider ring.

Yes,

that spider

was huge!

I escorted it out the front door with a broom, and I felt creepy crawly for the rest of the day, and every time I look at these pictures!