Christopher Popinkins ("He MOVED with his MAGIC!")
Christmas Pandora station
Christmas cookies (very 'rustic' this year b/c of two good little helpers)
Caroling (Silent Night, Away in a Manger. Mostly adorable, except one case of severe stage fright & awkwardness)
Lots and lots of Amazon boxes ("What did I order this time?? Oh. Yeah.")
Spitzbuben w/ Grandma
Christmas Eve:
Drive to Austin
Act out the Nativity
Christmas socks (Thanks, Joy!)
Reindeer Feed
Christmas Day:
Scooters!
SO perfect
It is my turn yet?
B/c every girl needs a 72oz Bubba mug
Mini Golf in the back yard
December 26-December 30:
Drive to Wichita for cousin Ethan's baptism (Loved the fun hotel room and family time. Didn't love the mean flu bug that reared its ugly head.)
Ahhhhh. Blessed silence.
Drive to Dallas.....except our kids were sick & the Dallas cousins had lice....
Skip Dallas, drive straight home to Houston.
Handsome Rob. Champion Road-Tripper
New Year's Eve:
Rob chaperones a Stake Dance
Kids in bed at 7:30pm
Christa fast asleep by 9pm.
Christmas was definitely magical this year. It was so fun to experience it all through the eyes of two, very enthusiastic 3-year olds. Being a parent makes life SO FUN! We are grateful we got to spend it with family--even though our time together much too short (as usual!).
I am so blessed and so thankful to my Savior. I'm thankful for the example of His life and I'm thankful for His love and support I feel as I try to do my best each day.
Until I get Christmas pictures sorted out, this is why it's SO AWESOME to live close to grandparents! I still can't get over how lucky we are to have them here.
My dad is a popcorn producing expert. And Lily is a popcorn consuming expert. It's a match made in heaven.
Prepping
Pouring
Popping
I love my dad.
Not pictured: entire bowl of popcorn vanishing as little hands feed little mouths.
It seems that 3 is the beginning of the magic age for holidays. The girls didn't remember last Halloween but the more we talked about it (costumes, candy, trick-or-treating, CANDY), the more excited they got.
Yee-Haw!
I used the power of suggestion to influence their choice of costumes (b/c how CUTE are they??). I'm sure my days of having thematic halloweens are numbered, so I'll make the most of it while I can.
As a Halloween warm-up, we went to Rob's firm party. And man, do those YetterColeman folks know how to throw a party!
The theme this year was Frozen, complete with Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, and Olaf. All of the kids were totally star-struck.
Kristoff making balloon characters
These people were AWESOME. They stayed in character the entire time--even when we ran into them in the parking lot on the way out.
Anna painting arms
Elsa, too.
SO happy
The pièce de résistance was when Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff acted out an abbreviated version of the movie. The only thing they didn't abbreviate was a full-throttle rendition of Let It Go. And it was really, legitimately good! The kids thought they had died and gone to heaven.
The entire room was so into it!
The party was such a big success that I was a little worried actual, normal trick-or-treating would be a let-down. But with a consistent intake of sugar, we made it through our church trunk-or-treat as well as a decent portion of the neighborhood in very good spirits.
Their trusty steeds (Max & Kuka) made it the whole way too
I think that Halloween kind of lags behind other holidays between ages 10 and whatever-age-you-are-when-your-kids-turn-3. And then, it's awesome again. :) Can't wait for next year!
The view from Dad's office--it's never been cuter!
Whenever anybody in the family hears that Jacqueline is coming to town, somehow it turns into a party!
Cutest baby ever? Probably.
This time Jacqueline was flying in for a few days before helping a friend drive back up to UT. And Mom & Dad were here house-hunting. And Grandma Ada/Grandpa Bob were wonderful to make the trip from CA to visit their great-grandbabies. And Grandma Emma from NV paused her busy cruising schedule to complete the party.
She always has something exciting to say!
I felt so blessed to have so much uninterrupted time with my grandparents. I don't get to see them very often, and when I do it's usually in the midst of a wedding or a family reunion. This trip we had about a week of relaxed excursions with plenty of downtime to talk, play in the driveway, and make some great memories.
Jacques had endless bubble-blowing energy. What a good sport!
I loved hearing stories about my Grandpa Bob's career as a firefighter, my Grandma Ada whipping the PTA into shape, and Grandma Emma's plans for the next phase of her life. And I really loved watching my kids learn to love their great-grandparents. Even shy Caroline was won over in the end.
Total concentration
While they were here we went down to Galveston & the beach, to the NASA museum, to the Children's Museum, the park, and a few other places I'm probably not remembering. It was just the perfect amount of busy.
My beautiful mother
Usually when guests leave I kind of breathe a sigh of relief, but this time I was just sad the party had to end. Maybe next time Jacqueline will plan a trip to visit another family member and we'll be the ones tagging along!
How YOU doin'?
Families are the best. And THANK YOU, everyone, for coming to see us!
It's hard to imagine life without our little Caroline.
I never imagined we'd have 3 kids in 2 years (miracles happen!), but I
got serious messages that there was somebody ready to come to our
family. And after waiting 5 years for Savannah and Lily, Caroline
arrived with hardly a hiccup.
Caroline is the teeniest, tiniest person but has a BIG personality and an even BIGGER will.
She's is the perfect addition to our family. Caroline is convinced that she's a 3 year-old stuck in a 1-year old's body and spends her days trying desperately to keep up with her sisters. She started crawling at about 7 months, realized she couldn't move fast enough so quickly worked on walking, running, stairs, and by her first birthday is VERY independent.
Caroline knows how to work a crowd. She has a million-watt smile that never fails to win fans wherever we are. And her laugh. It kills me.
Currently, Caroline loves baby dolls, avocados, hot dogs, books, her daddy (and mommy), her grandpa (and grandma), playing outside eating pebbles, closing doors, ice cream, and doing whatever Savannah & Lily are doing.
We love this little girl and I can't wait to see what life has in store for her. She has a powerful, happy spirit that is a total blessing in our home.
On one hand, I can't believe Savannah and Lily are ONLY three; I can hardly remember life without them! And on the other hand, it feels like last Halloween with my ladybugs & baby flower was just a few months ago; this year has FLOWN.
A few of my favorite funnies from life lately:
Lily mistaking a jar full of cilantro-lime dressing for a green smoothie, taking a small sip, licking her lips, and asking for more "spicy juice."
Savannah, in the middle of a crowded restaurant bathroom, saying "Hi big poopers! Nice to meetcha!"
Lily loves telling secrets. She puts her mouth right next to your ear and whispers total gibberish. And is totally convinced what she's said is very important.
Lily giving me a big hug, a smile, and saying, "Mom, you're so beautiful."
Savannah LOVES to play pretend. But she's never a princess, or fairy, or mermaid. Instead she's Jake (of Never-land Pirates fame), or a Cowboy ("Yee-haw Ma'am!"), or a Dinosaur ("RAWRRRRRR!!!"), or a Quiet Ninja (karate chopping while whispering, "HiiiiiiYA!").
Lily is the queen of the dance party. Whenever there is music, Lily is working her interpretive dance moves. "Y-y-y-you love it, Mom??" "Yes, Lily. I love it." :)
I am so grateful to be the mother of these sweet girls. And I LOVE this stage of life! At 3 I still get lots and lots of snuggles, I can still make almost any problem better with a kiss and a band-aid, and I get to see their amazing little minds learn and grow and make new connections every day. It is so fun to see life through the eyes of a three-year old!
Thanks to my amazing husband, the documentor of our little family, for yet another wonderful birthday video. :)
Every other summer the Ellis clan gets together without any of the grand-kids. That way all of the adults get to spend time with each other without having to worry about being Mom or Dad most of the time. It is a GREAT tradition.
I LOVE THESE PEOPLE!!!
My only beef with it is when we mistakenly say we're going on "Vacation." Because "vacation" implies sleeping in, lazy days, and serious R&R. None of which are on the docket when the Ellis crew gets together. Instead we have fun like it's our JOB....and we're working serious overtime! :)
Quick run-down of our 5-days in SLC:
Monday: Arrive, go out to dinner, play games, stay up late having FHE and going over the plan for the week
Hiking Ensign Peak
Tuesday: Wake up for an early morning hike, breakfast on the roof,
go to the temple, visit the Monte L. Bean museum in Provo, have dinner
at the MTC & attend devotional where all 9 of the Ellis kids spoke,
change clothes & night-hike the Y, drive back to SLC trying not to
fall asleep.
The Frenchies
The Portuguese (& Conlon)
Stan & KK pointing to their new, HUGE, area
Aup & Mark modeling how we all felt on the drive home
Wednesday: Wake up, play games, do an Amazing Race around SLC--organized by Kit & Kevin (SO fun), end the day with dinner and more more more GAMES.
Touring a chocolate factory
Massages before dinner
Thursday: Wake up early for a special Kevin-led workout, watch the Pioneer Day parade, grab lunch, head out to do some Olympic Curling, stop at a park to play 3+ hours of ultimate frisbee, eat dinner, go downtown to dance the night away with Conlon's band.
We're basically professionals now...
Friday: Drag ourselves out of bed, do a beautiful 6 mile hike up Big Cottonwood Canyon, stop at Cafe Rio for a late lunch, have dessert at a different restaurant, get together with the extended Ellis-clan for the rest of the evening, games games games.
BEAUTIFUL hike
Saturday: Up at the crack of dawn to catch an early flight back to Houston.
I'm exhausted just remembering all of this! So....do we really have to wait 2 years to do it again???
MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR thanks to our great friend, Lori & family, for watching our 3-under-3 for most of the week! And MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR props to my mom and dad for moving to Houston which meant they covered the last few days. I think they were all probably as exhausted as we were when we got home! ;)
