Colors, Crafts, Sleep and Such.

I've been trying to be better about providing Reese with learning activities and such. Keeps the both of us sane. Right now we're focusing mostly on colors. Sometimes this consistes of mixing cornstarch, water and food coloring to paint with and learn about a color. Sometimes it's holding a handful of mini m&m's and making her say the color of the m&m before she eats it. Today I decided to go to JoAnns and buy some crafts for Reese. They have the BEST $1 section. Tonight she got to paint a plaster magnet. She liked it, but definitely didn't like the taste of the paint. I wasn't watching closely enough and she said "hot", I look over at her and she has her tongue sticking out and blue paint smeared next to her cheek. Gross! Well, at least we got that out of the way, I don't think she'll be eating the paint anymore.

Geez, I love this girl! She is my little best friend!

And this is my little lover boy. I'm so in love with him. He is so happy and smiles so much! And as vain as it may sound, he LOVES his mama. That's simply the truth. Although my back is always sore, I do love that he wants to be in my arms pretty much all the time. And I love the way he snuggles into me when he's trying to fall asleep.

This blanket he's wrapped in is the best thing that ever happened. My friend Lindsay gave it to me on Sunday and I'm in awe! It is light weight, large enough to burrito wrap a large child in, and made of material that contours the babies body so preciously! I'm in love!...and so glad I can use it in the Summer time too! I've always hated how unfriendly blankets are in warm weather, but this one will be perfect!

After we were done painting, we made Reese a car out of a cardboard box. She thought that was pretty awesome. I cut out the bottom and added straps later so she could stand up and "drive" around, since she had to keep getting out of it to push it around the house.

Reese changed Ivan's diaper today. Sweet eh? It was purely accidental. I changed him and asked if Reese would throw away Ivan's dirty diaper while I went into the other room to do something. I came back and she said "ew gross!" She was holding a wipe in her hand and Ivan was lying on the floor de-diapered. She had misunderstood me and thought I'd asked her to change his dirty diaper. She took off his pants, undid the bottons on his onesie, took off the diaper, threw it away, and wiped his bum. What a good big sis. I know who I'm going to have change the diapers from now on ;)

Can I just say, motherhood (and really just life in general) is so much more enjoyable when you have a little sleep in ya. On Sunday I made myself a bedtime of 10pm Monday - Thursday (unless we're out doing something). I've only followed it 2 nights so far, but am feeling loads better. Pretty sure I should've done such a thing earlier, because no matter how much I need my sleep, the babies still wake up at the same time every morning, which means I do to :)

Wood Work

Here's Reese's bed! Eric just decided one day that he wanted to make her a bed. He hasn't done this kind of wood work before (carving and such) but he did an amazing job. Reese loves to run her fingers over the design and she talks about the moon, stars, and sun while she is trying to settle down at night. I love the shape of the bed and love that she now has her own keepsake that her dad made and she can have for her kids and such.

With all the wood projects I've put on Eric's to do list, we decided he best build himself a wood working bench :) It turned out pretty sweet too!

Home

We got home last night from our 3 weeks of babysitting. It feels nice to be home. I'm no longer living out of duffle bags, I have a larger selection of clothes, shoes and makeup.

I had to do a LOT of putting away today. Still not done. I also had to do a big grocery shopping trip. Everything was expired in our fridge. I forgot to buy bread - DOH!

This morning I asked Reese to throw Ivan's diaper in the garbage. It took her a minute to remember where that was. She was excited to see all her toys, books, and her favorite bed - which I am going to post a picture of soon. Eric made her the COOLEST bed for her birthday! It really is amazing!

I have a lot of mail to sort through, laundry to be done, and tidying to complete. Then I might find some time to catch up on my blog.

BB SITTING

So we're babysitting for a total of 20 days! We're on day 7. Two different families (each for 10 days), parents going on vacations to warm destinations, while we drop kids off at the bus stop in -16 degree weather = BURR!

Right now we're back in good old Heber, hanging out with the kids of one of our favorite families from our old ward. I miss our home. I can see it from the living room window. I talked to our tenants at church on Sunday, slightly jealous that they were cozying up to our fireplace this winter, and enjoying the bright stars from the hot tub on a freezing cold night. Slightly may be an understatement.

Whenever I stare out the window at it I can't help but reminisce in memories of Eric and I: young, engaged, going to see the house, buying it, then coming home early from our honeymoon simply because we couldn't wait to live together in our very own house. Driving up the dirt roads to our cozy home after a long day at work and school. The smells. Shoveling the crazy amounts of snow on our very long driveway to try to send myself into labor. Then learning how to sanely spend numerous hours inside that sweet little house once we brought our new baby girl home in the dead of winter and I got the blessing of staying home with her. Making the house ours. Spending our evenings together building a porch and swing then building a greenhouse. Hosting numerous dinners, sleepovers, and parties. Oh the memories.

I miss our ward. Going there last Sunday so felt like home. We were back in our comfort zone. It was great seeing so many people we love, that have known us from our existence as Mr. and Mrs. Ellis.

Maybe someday we'll be back :)