Winter updates

I feel like it has been forever since I have posted anything, even though it has only been a little over a week. I got Morgan's school picture, shown on left, and I love it! Her whole personality is shown in her face. She tells me she looks like a princess in it. It's funny that she even gets school pictures in preschool!

Morgan has been dressing up like a princess every single chance she gets. It is funny how quickly she went from tom-boy to super girly. She gets on a princess dress, wings, shoes, a crown, as many necklaces as she can locate, and of course, a magic wand. Elle follows suit, not because she necessarily wants to be a princess, but because Morgan does. What's hilarious is that Morgan can get dressed up so fast. I will be looking at her then turn around for only a moment to see what Elle is saying to me and by the time I turn around, Morgan has managed to dress herself in full princess attire!

I also went and got Elle's and Miles' pictures done. They will be ready the 22nd of this month and I will scan them in and post them when I get them. Afterwards the girls and I and Nana and Papa went to get some lunch in the mall and ran into Santa! What a coincidence to find him this time of year with a moment to spare to take a picture with our kids! Miles was not the happiest little boy in the world! He asked Elle what she wanted for Christmas and all she could come up with was a "Christmas present." Before he could even finish his question to Morgan she piped up with "a princess dress." Elle heard this and looked right up at Santa and said she wanted a princess dress too! It was really cute.

That night we all took the kids to temple square to see the lights. Morgan took her first look at the temple and proclaimed that it was the most beautiful castle she had ever seen! Then we saw a bride by the temple getting her wedding pictures taken, and Morgan cried out, "And look at that princess! Isn't she beautiful?!" It was the cutest thing I have ever heard in my entire life. Morgan was able to see a real live princess in front of her beautiful castle. It was a fantastic night!

Snow days

While Miles was taking a nap on Sunday, Matt and I decided it was well over due to take the girls out to play in the snow. Now I am a wuss when it comes to the cold, so Matt did most of the playing. He helped the girls build two snowmen, one little one and one the size of Morgan. Morgan really wanted to give the snowman a hat, but I didn't have any that I didn't care if someone stole it off of our snowman. I finally convinced her that the snowman needed hair instead of a hat, so I went and got the only thing in our house I could find that was suitable for snowman hair...broccoli. The girls thought it was pretty funny.

Matt also had a big snowball fight with the girls. Thanks to my spectacular skill as a photographer, I was able to capture this battle with snowballs in mid-air. I know, that is a fantastic feat! Anyway, every time Morgan tried to throw a snowball back at Matt, he would scoot in really close so she could hit him with it, she would pull her hand back behind her to get some power behind her throw, and then she would let go of the snowball way to soon and it would land right on her head...every single time! It was great! Everyone had a lot of fun!

Then I decided that everyone had had enough snow time and we all went in and had a cup of hot chocolate with teeny tiny marshmallows. Our little eskimos were pretty reluctant to take off their mittens and coats, but eventually we got them undressed and down for a nap.

Just some little tidbits

Here are just some random little things that have happened lately. I have been really busy with the kids lately so I haven't posted in a while, so I need to catch up!
The other day, I was getting really frustrated that Morgan and Elle weren't minding me and sitting down at the table for lunch. I finally started to almost yell at them to sit down and Morgan casually walks up to the table and sits down and says, "Yes. Let's sit down at the table. It's a beautiful day today!" I was laughing so hard I couldn't possibly be even the slightest bit mad any more! I don't know where she comes up with this stuff. Then later that day, we were playing hide and seek and she asked me to go in a corner in the kitchen to count. I told her I would just count where I was at, and she said, "Please go count in the kitchen...I'll give you a cookie!" After hide and seek she happily handed over a deliciously invisible cookie! Morgan has also discovered her hips. I think it is from dance class; the teacher was always telling them to move their hips for the dance. So I took a video of Morgan's new hippy dance!

Elle is beyond hilarious lately, too. She is really into playing with Miles. She hides and keeps peeking out until Miles finally comes to find her and then she runs off to a different hiding spot. And lately, every time she does something she is not supposed to and I tell her "no" she just looks at me and starts laughing and tells me, "No, Mommy, but it's funny!!" After that I have a hard time telling her "no" again.

Miles is doing well, also. He is getting more teeth already and loves to bite me right on that tender spot where my neck and shoulders meet. He is pulling himself up on everything and is starting to cruise along the couch (walking while holding on, for those of you who don't know what cruising is). He laughs at everything and loves to play with his big sisters...and take away whatever toy they may be playing with at the time!

Just in case you didn't know

There is this show on the Disney channel called the Doodlebops and Morgan is pretty sure we are them! She makes us say the theme at least once a day, especially in the car!

Hazel Tree Zitting

It's official. Hazel Tree Zitting is the newest member of our family. Elle tries really hard to say her name, but it just doesn't come out right. The first couple tries came out Poozle, then Puzzle. By now, she has progressed to Pazel. It is adorable to hear her say it! Kristi and Tom brought her over to Thanksgiving yesterday. She already looks a little bit different and more beautiful, if you can even believe it! We were all so thankful for that and for them letting us hold her. I had already forgotten how tiny she is! Morgan and Ava are counting down the days until Hazel is big enough for them to hold and Elle is pretty sure that Hazel is her baby! Miles got an ear to ear smile and laughed every time he saw her. It's funny how babies are so much fun!

The Beautiful New Baby Girl

Kristi had her new daughter at 4:29 this morning. She is a whopping 5lbs 14oz and 20 inches long. She is by far the tiniest thing I have ever seen in my life. Her head is so tiny that when she opens her eyes they look huge...but pretty! She is so beautiful and Kristi did a great job! Morgan was so excited when I told her this morning and she is already asking if the baby can please come over to play!

The Dance Recital

The recital went so well. Morgan was not shy at all...and of course, Elle wasn't either. They both did an excellent job dancing and looked exactly like ballerina princesses. I couldn't believe how tiny they looked up on stage. As soon as their dance was done, the next class got up to do their dance and as soon as they started dancing Elle jumped right out of her seat and ran to go up on stage and help them dance. Matt grabbed her before she could make her encore performance, and she cried so hard you would think he had told her that she couldn't have candy again as long as she lived. But then they got ribbons and treats so all was well. I am going to call around this week and find another class for them to be in for the winter now that this one is done. They are just too cute dancing and enjoy themselves too much for this to end now! In the video, Morgan is on the far right and Elle is second on the left. My favorite part is at the end of the dance when Morgan plugs her nose and wiggle dances down to the ground!

Kids simply amaze me!

I would like to start off by saying that I am thoroughly enjoying reading everyone else's blog. I am so excited all of you have decided to start one. Even though I talk to most of you every day, we seem to neglect to share with each other the wonderful little day to day things that make us smile.
You know how sometimes kids say something and you have no idea where they learned it from? That happened to me today. I was telling Morgan it was time to go to the store and would she please put her shoes on, for the third time! She looked up at me and smiled and when she opened her mouth, the strangest thing came out..."Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Even thought the sound of it is something quite atrocious!" (Forgive any spelling errors!) I laughed so hard, my eyes teared up. I ran and got the camera right away so she could say it again on film. After all, Matt didn't even believe me when I told him!

Then, when I put the camera away, I told Elle her kitty cat could not go grocery store, he needed to stay here. She quickly put it behind her back, quite sure it had disappeared completely from sight and I would have no idea as to where it had gone. It was adorable!

The Unexplainable

Yesterday was a long day. The last day of the weekend, moods seemed glum as we all prepared to face yet another week. It was not a bad day by any means, but surely a long one. I was counting down the minutes until the time I could put the kids in bed and relax to a movie with Matt. I was a little irritable when I put the girls in the tub that night. They kept splashing me and fighting with each other because they each had a foot or toe on the other one's side of the tub. Just when I was on my last bit of patience, Morgan looked up at me and asked me where I was from. I was a bit unsure of what she was asking of me, so I asked her what that meant. She said, "I am from preschool and dance class." I asked her where she thought I was from, and she replied "You are from Zurg and Elle is from Walmart. Miles is from work, like Daddy goes to work. But Daddy is not from work. He is from the aliens!" I can't tell you what this means, as it is unexplainable. All I can tell you is that it made the whole day worth getting through and it put a smile on my face! Hopefully it puts one on yours!

Have you ever seen a more handsome man??

Just wanted to show you the most handsome man I have ever seen. I bought him this shirt yesterday. It actually has a sweater vest that goes over it with a train on the front. I will post a picture of it next week. And below is Aunt Lisa's birthday card. Morgan drew a picture of Lisa on it for me. Thought everyone might want to see her fantastic artwork...I think it is better than Matt's!!!

Same old

Nothing new happening. We just get up every morning, play toys all day long, clean the house repeatedly, and go to bed. Morgan is a total smarty pants. She likes to point out every shape she sees and tell me how many sides it has. She tells me I need to take her to a stop sign so she can count how many sides an octagon has. Her favorite thing right now, though, is making shadow puppets...and telling Elle how she is doing it wrong! Her favorite shadow animals are ducks and rabbits.

Elle is super independent and has to do everything herself, including jumping off curbs onto the concrete without anyone helping her. She gets so mad when I try to hold the back of her shirt so I can catch her if she falls. If she catches me doing that, she has to start over from the beginning. I am always sure to know the route to the nearest hospital...just in case she ends up face planting onto the road. Her favorite thing in the whole wide world right now? Daddy. Her favorite thing to do with Daddycakes? Mokimo kisses, something the rest of you might know as Eskimo kisses, but that is how Elle pronounces it. She is beyond adorable.

As for Miles, he is a mess! He is the cutest little boy you've ever seen, though. He screams when he wakes up from naps, but the second he sees me walk in to get him, he starts laughing at ever single thing. He has also learned to climb stairs. Not my favorite thing in the world. The second I turn my back that is the first thing he heads for. It wouldn't really be that bad, except that he is constantly stopping after every stair and looking behind him to make sure I am chasing him. He is starting to babble "dada" but he does it with his tongue sticking out so it comes out "baba" instead.

Halloween

We had a good Halloween. Morgan had a party at school yesterday and then we dressed up in costumes and went to Matt's work. The kids went around to all of the cubicles trick-or-treating. There were only two other families there with kids, so we got a lot of candy! It was fun. Plus, the kids got to see Uncle Troy! Elle was pretty mad that Nicole wasn't there, but was quickly soothed with a sucker and a tootsie roll!

I think the girl's favorite part of Halloween was having other kids come to our door. Morgan got so excited every time the doorbell rang. She ran as fast as she could to the door and when we opened it, she would jump up and down and yell, "Happy Halloween!" She loved seeing all of the different costumes. When we woke up this morning and came downstairs she told me to get the candy ready because more kids would be coming to the door. I pretty much broke her heart when I told her that Halloween was over now, so no more kids would be coming until next year.

Miles' First Haircut

I was noticing how long Miles' hair was getting. Leave it up to the boy in the family to be able to grow long hair! So I decided to try and cut his hair. I put him in the highchair and gave him toys to play with to try and distract him. He was pretty sure the scissors looked like more fun than all of his toys, though! The girls helped by talking to him and saying Boo! It only took about 5 minutes and Miles had officially survived his first haircut without incident or injury! Plus, I think I did a fairly decent job. With shorter hair, he looks even more like Matt!!

Halloween party

The Halloween party was fantastic! I think everyone had a lot of fun. All of the food was spooky, like monster apples with slivered almond teeth, fruit salad in oranges carved out like jack-o-lanterns, pasta snails, and wicked witch ice cream for desert. I think the kids' favorite part was the gummy worms I froze into the ice cubes for the punch! It was so much fun, I think it will have to become a tradition!

Morgan has been learning The Five Little Pumpkin song at school, so here it is!!!

My little helpers

The girls have been doing nothing but helping me, and in consequence, making everything I do twice as much work! I was unloading the dishwasher and Elle kept trying to help unload the glasses. I told her to wait a minute while I did a quick load of laundry and when I got back she had loaded the dishwasher for me...with all of her toys! It was so cute. And whenever I say it's time to get ready to clean the house and pick up toys, Morgan stuffs her pockets with all of the tools she needs. I should probably get them both a little tool belt.

We are going to have a Halloween party tomorrow so I will try to put those picutres up shortly after. They should be cute!

Still cute, even when they're sick

All three of the kids were sick this weekend with the flu. Not the best weekend I've ever had! Morgan got it last. I slept on the couch with her and she was up from 2am until 6am throwing up. Daddy, Elle and Miles came down about 6:30. When Morgan saw Elle, she called her over and said, "Elle, I am sick. Do you want to get the doctor tools to make me feel better?" So Matt brought down the doctor tools and Dr. Elle had Morgan feeling better in no time!

Matt was teaching Elle how to say her full name. Her first attempt came out "Elle MacMurhpy." This is funny because that is what my dad's family thought my last name was forever! The second attempt is my favorite, "Elle MacMuffin." Now if I could change her name to that, believe me I would. That is the cutest thing I have ever heard! She is really close now and will tell you her name is Elle MacMerson. Also, Miles is getting all four top teeth at one time and is starting to pull himself up to standing. He thinks he is so big. I keep trying to tell him not to grow up so fast, but I don't think he is listening to me. He sees how much fun his sisters have together and just can't wait to join in!

Morgan's song

Morgan has been learning this song at school to help her learn the days of the week. I thought it was too adorable not to post! Oh, and Miles is getting all four top teeth in at the same time!!

Ballerina Princess

Morgan insisted on wearing a crown today to dance class. She has named herself Princess Mar and given Elle the name Ballerina R. I was so proud of Morgan today at class. She ran out there the second the teacher called for everybody and did everything the teacher told them to do. She had so much fun! They are learning a little routine and will be having a little recital on November 13th at 6:30...everyone is welcome to come!! I am posting a video of their routine since I am sure none of the kids will remember it in front of all those people! I am so proud that Morgan is getting more self-confident and having fun with other kids! Miles helped me film, so forgive if it is bouncy or crooked or whatever!

On another note, while everyone was up here for Matt's birthday party I was able to leave Elle and Miles home and go with Morgan to preschool. I got to watch how much she participates and sings and plays with other kids. When they were sitting in a circle on the rug and asking the kids questions, Morgan was always the first one to answer, and she usually had a story to go along with it! She is such a smart girl and not at all afraid to speak up in front of so many other kids! The teacher told me later on that she is the smartest girl in the class! She didn't really like me being there, though! When we got there, she told me,"Mom, when I get inside, you need to go home!" She was mad that I stayed and got mad at me every time I went near her! I can't even imagine how outgoing she is when I am not there!

Elle's 2nd Birthday

We had Elle's and Owen's 2nd birthday party yesterday. It was great! We had seven kids running around, which is more entertaining than I could ever say. Elle got so many great gifts, so thank you to all who read this. This morning was so easy with the girls because they had so many new things to entertain them. Morgan and Elle took turns wearing princess crowns and trying on 6 different pair of princess shoes, hiding in the teepee, and racing with eggs on a spoon. Elle laughs histerically when her egg drops and breaks open, but Morgan actually takes it quite seriously!

The funniest moment of the entire party was when Elle got her power wheels 4 wheeler from Grandpa and Grandma Lang. I didn't think she'd really know what to do, but she hopped right on that thing and took off, plowing down anything and everyone in her way! it turned out to be a wonderful party, I think, and we all had a good time!

Elle's many adventures

As you know, Elle will be turning 2 years old on Saturday. The funny thing is, she is so busy being busy that she hasn't really hit the "terrible 2's" yet. She has been going with Morgan to dance class and dancing her little heart out. You have never seen a little kid with so much energy having so much fun! I went out and bought Morgan a little ballerina tutu and tights and shoes and she picked out the most frilly pink girly outfit they had! Of course, I couldn't come home with an outfit for Morgan and not one for Elle, so she now has a little tutu and tights too!

We went over to Charise's house the other day, and a package arrived with Owen's Halloween costume - Buzz Lightyear. Owen was a little scared to put it on, so Elle tried on the costume! She looked adorable! She went around saying, "To infinity, and beyond!" When I show her the picture, she doesn't tell me it's Elle, she tells me it's Buzz Lightyear!

Big and Brave

Every day when I drop Morgan off at school we talk about how she is going to be "big and brave." If she cries when we get there I remind her how she is big and brave and she stops crying so hard. Today, I walked her inside and helped her pick out a book and sat her on the rug. She got a really stern look on her face and pointed toward the door. When I asked her what she wanted, she simply said, "Leave." I have never been so proud to be kicked out of somewhere! It just makes me smile that she wants to be at preschool by herself and is having fun!

Also, Elle is crying harder each time we leave Morgan at school. It is not necessarily that Elle wants to be with Morgan, it is more that she wants to stay at school! She is smarter than some of the kids in the class, but obviously not emotionally or socially ready for school! But when Morgan gets home and shows me how she is learning to write letters and numbers and draw shapes, Elle is sitting across from her doing everything her big sister does. She is singing the ABC's all day long, so I am putting up a video of it...it is so cute! You only really understand what she is saying because you know the song. When she gets to the end, she sings dugga-you, S, W, and Z! It is really cute!

Little tidbits

No new pictures, but some little stories I haven't had time to write down. The other day, the kids and I were watching this show called "Super Readers" and they were spelling the word "slide." This is an S, and then an L came up and they said where is L? Elle jumped up right off of the couch and yelled, "That's me!!" And she ran around in circles yelling "That's me! I'm Elle!" She was so excited that she was on her favorite TV show!

Morgan did so much better at school yesterday. I sent a picture of me and Miles with her school and every time she started to cry, the teacher got out the photo and let her look at it. She did so much better. I think she is finally starting to like it. Also, she started dance class this afternoon! She was really scared, so she sat along the wall and watched the whole class. Elle was crying because I was trying to make her sit with me, so the teacher finally told her to come up and dance. She was so excited!!! So at the end, Morgan just balled because she wanted to dance. The teacher said we could stay after and go to the next one that was right after it. Morgan danced the whole time...and Elle, too, again! I couldn't believe how well she did with the other kids! This will be so good for her!

Off to School

Morgan started preschool on Wednesday. She was so excited. She even picked out her own outfit. She told me, "I want to wear my brown shirt because dogs are brown, so that makes me a girl!" She and I went together for an hour. She was very shy, as expected, but I think she will warm up fast once I am not there. We had a lot of fun. We traced her body on a piece of butcher paper, which they said they would use for a project later in the year, played on the playground, and sang songs. There are lots of cute kids in her class, so I think she will make lots of friends. At one point, they had all of the kids sit around the edge of a rug, and when it was there turn, the said their name and could do a trick in the middle of the rug if they wanted to. Morgan was too shy to even say her name, so after I said it for her, the whole class had to say, "Hi, Morgan!" Then, after school when we were on our way back to the car, she started to cry. When I asked her what was wrong, she said she had to go back to school so she could do a trick! It was really sweet. She goes every Monday and Wednesday for 3 hours. I just don't know what I will do with so much free time!!

Miles is up on hands and knees all day long and started to crawl...backwards! But if you put a toy in front of him, he rolls, scoots and sqwuirms his way to it! He is such a sweetheart!

A Weekend Away Together

Matt, being the fantastic husband and father that he is, decided to send Morgan and I to a hotel together for the weekend. We stayed downtown and did a whole lot of nothing the whole weekend. When we got to the room, Morgan ran right to the bed and jumped in under the covers. She looked so tiny!! We watched "Meet the Robinsons" three times, swam in the pool, and basically just hung out. Morgan was simply amazed that people would bring food right up to our room and that we could eat it in bed. She adored the chocolate cake and demanded that we order it the second night, too. I did order it again, and it was divine! So after a weekend away together, we did a lot of bonding and are hopefully closer than we were before. We both had a great time.

Oh, and while I was away, Matt failed at the only task I left him...not letting Miles grow up! The little boy is up on hands and knees now rocking back and forth and trying his best to figure out how to move his legs forward!! And his two bottom teeth have finally broken through. He is all grown up already!!

A Day at the Park

The girls and I met Grandma, Ava and Owen at Liberty Park last weekend. We went through the Aviary, which was tons of fun. Elle chased away a peacock and spent the next half hour crying because she wanted her "keacock" back! We saw a bird show after lunch. They had a hawk fly in right ove our heads, and to my suprise, Morgan stood up and clapped! Then we took the kids swimming in the water area of the park. There were tons of kids there, but Morgan actually didn't mind. Elle is pretty sure she is actually a fish, and balled when we left. We ended the day on the swings, and all of the kids were asleep in the car before we left the parking lot!

Just Another Day

The kids and I went into the garage to play today because it is so windy outside and Miles doesn't like it. The girls rode bikes for a while and then we played with bubbles. Morgan had so much fun trying to catch them and stomp on them and Elle...well, she tried to eat them! Such typical Elle behavior! In her defense, they were apple scented bubbles!

I realized that I haven't written much about Miles, so here is an update on the handsome boy. I just took him to the doctor and he is 25 inches long and weighs 15 lbs. He is starting to sit up a little, but falls to side at the slightest excitement. He loves to watch his sisters play, and always giggles uncontrollably when they jump in front of him. This usually gives him the hicups, which makes the girls laugh, which makes him laugh even harder! They are way cute together.

Park City

We went up to Park City on Saturday to see Nana, Papa, Grandma Mimi and Papa Barry. Matt and Troy rode the zipline and the Alpine Coaster and the girls had fun riding the carousel and playing giant chess. Elle especially liked the knights and kept asking for more horses please! We all had a lot of fun and it was good to see everybody!

The best part of the toy is the box it came in

I ordered the girls a little farm online. It has four people, cats, mice, pigs, a wheelbarrow, and everything else needed for hours of fun (and maybe a little break for Mom!). The girls played with it for maybe 20 minutes before they discovered the box it had arrived in. The both jumped right in and played hide ans seek from Mommy. Then Morgan grabbed her mop and Elle grabbed Bullseye and the each used their "oars" to paddle their boat while they fished! Next time I will just spend the $5 for the box instead of paying for the toy!

Hogle Zoo

The kids and I went to the zoo today. I tried to get there early so we would hopefully get done before it got too hot, but it was too hot when we got there! I found out that a stroller with three kids in it is a lot heavier than one would think. And whoever designed all of the hills at the zoo obviously did not have children. It was terribly hard work pushing the stroller uphill, but when we went downhill the stroller was so heavy, I had to lean back so we didn't just fly right down!

The kids had a lot of fun, though. Miles was such a good boy and slept almost the entire time. Elle was pretty mad she couldn't just go on the other side of the cages to play with the animals...especially the monkeys! Morgan was really excited to see "real life giraffes" but tells me her favorite animal was the turtle...just like her daddy!!!My favorite part was that once the car cooled down, all three kids slept the whole way home and I got 20 minutes of piece and quiet!!

Fun With GrandParents

Nana and Papa just left back home. We had tons of fun. Nana bought Morgan a stick horse and Elle a Mickey Mouse doll. They haven't stopped playing with them since. The horse is named Bullseye...after Woody's horse in Toy Story 2. That is the favorite movie of the month. They watch it 2-4 times daily. I don't really mind because it is giving me plenty of time to keep up on my housework!

Morgan keeps asking to go to dance class, so I have been checking into that. I think she will be scared at first, but will love it by the third class. And Miles is just moving all over the place. Whenever I go to get him from a nap he is on the opposite side of the crib. If he has been awake for a while, he will even be on his tummy pushing up with his arms and I can see his little eyes peering out the crib for me!

7-11-07

Joe was in town and came over to our house yesterday. He brought a book that Emily had made filled with their pictures from Europe. It was gorgeous. He suggested we start a blog online to put up all of our pictures of the kids - you know I take a million! - and share all of those little stories most of you never get to hear. So here it is. I am hoping to get downstairs at least once or twice a week to add a posting, but with three kids 3 years old and under, it will not be my easiest task of the day.