A Princess

If you ask Amelia, "Who are you?" She'll say, "I'm a princess." Ask her, "Who is Evelyn?" She'll respond, "She's a crabby." Ellie is a princess, Jack is a boy, and sometimes I'm a princess too . She's very much into the Disney Princesses right now. She'll play dress up quite a bit, and she's asking for princess music to be played too. The video is a night that Billy put some princess music on for her to dance.


Also, the other night she saw that I was putting my coat on and she asked me where I was going and before I could answer, she said, "Are you going crazy?" Sometimes when the kids ask where I'm going, or what I'm doing, I'll say I'm going crazy. It was funny to hear her say it.

Birthday Party

Billy and I gave Ellie a bean bag for her birthday. The box was so big that I wasn't going to wrap it - and it won't go thru a door frame. So I thought the best way to give it to her was with a scavenger hunt. Here is the last clue (of 4) and her finding it. It was a hit! The girls all loved being able to do the hunt thru the house.

The party was a big success. Supper, presents, scavenger hunt, cake, spa treatments, decorating dipped pretzels, and movie. She invited her two besties, Cousin Lilah and Neighbor Ali to sleep over. Old neighbor Lauren came over to help with the spa treatments. I think this was much more manageable than an afternoon with a bigger group of 7-yr olds!

Evelyn 9 months

Evelyn making a zerbert on the ottoman. I could not stop laughing!



Evelyn started clapping yesterday. Here is some video feed of her just being so silly today. Clapping, shaking her head, and I'm not sure where the "raise the roof" came from. Probably Kindermusik!

Ellie Turns 7

Can you believe it - my firstborn is turning 7?! Gabrielle "Ellie" Nicole has grown into quite the little smarty pants. And I mean that in both the nice way, and the not so nice way! First grade is going very well for her so far this year. She's excelling in all of her work; earning an O "Outstanding" in Spelling and S+ "Satisfactory" in Social Studies, Science, and Math. She's also made huge improvements over last year in her behavior and following rules. Overall, her teacher's conference was very positive! We are very proud of her.

At home, on the other hand, Ellie's behavior is like the Iowa weather. It changes very drastically from day to day. She has her "helper" days - where she loves to help me pick up (rearranging closets & organizing drawers), plays with her little sisters, and overall listens very well. Then she has her "attitude" days - where everything has a comeback ("i know!" "i told you so!" "ah - yeah"). Last, and my least favorite, her "wild" days - where she increases the energy level of all the kids in the house to crazy. She doesn't listen, she wrestles, she runs, she's nuts! And this gets the others going too and it's just mass chaos here.

I've known since this child could crawl that she would have a spirit that would want to fly -- and I've tried my hardest to not squelch it. But giving it direction can be very challenging some days! She's an awesome kid with a thoughtful heart, and I pray that God continues to help me lead all her enthusiasm and energy in the right direction!

Happy Birthday, Ellie! Mommy loves you, your beautiful blue eyes, and your toothless smile.

Fall Family Pictures

We weren't successful getting one of all 6 of us -- but individually, they all look great!