Felt Forest

For Christmas, I made my kids a felt forest and little tiny animals to play in the forest. Some of you have seen my desert and rainforest, but I think this one is my favorite. I do need to give credit to the person who's idea I borrowed:
http://myplumpudding.blogspot.com/search/label/craft%3A%20fabric%20and%20fiber

I have been making a couple of felt habitats for some really good friends, but never made any animals for myself. So here it is: :)

Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Elle woke up just after 6am, then ran around the house waking the other kids up. Santa had left us tons of presents and filled our stockings well. Miles got Jesse and Bullseye, so he spent the majority of the day acting out Toy Story 3. Elle got Lotso Huggin' Bear, who interacts with your touch and voice, so she spent all day playing with him. Morgan got a panda bear, whom she has named Louis, but she spent all day on her new Hannah Montana guitar game and is getting pretty good. :)
After presents we ate a delicious breakfast that I was smart enough to prepare the night before and throw it in the oven this morning. Then we played games and toys all day and watched Despicable Me. Grama and Grandma & Grandpa Reay stopped by after lunch and we visited for a while and ate Grams rolls. Finally, Grandpa and Grandma Teri came over for dinner - delicious! Now we are waiting for pie and bed.
Hope your Christmas was as fabulous as ours!

Felt Dinos

Here is the present I made for my favorite neighbor and very good friend. She helps me out so much, so I made her a little Xmas present for her son who is Miles' age. Everything is hand-stitched, including the little dinosaurs. Now I just need to make one for me... Super proud of this one :)

First Lost Tooth

Morgan lost her first tooth last night! It's funny because none of us even knew she had a loose tooth. I was gone to Relief Society dinner, but Matt said she lost it while eating dinner. He also said she was really excited about it.
She put it under her pillow along with this note:


When she woke up, the Tooth Fairy had come and left her a gold dollar coin! Awesome!
I can't believe how grown up she seems all of a sudden. It makes me smile...and it makes me sad.

Breaking Tradition

This year, we had the opportunity to go see Mrs. Claus. She had an elf fly her in a special red airplane from the North Pole to our library. She told the kids stories and the kids helped her decorate a tree with ornaments from around the world. Then they all stood in a circle around the tree and sang Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Afterwards, the kids made a special mix of oatmeal (a reindeer's favorite food) and magic sparkles to sprinkle on our lawn on Christmas Eve to help the reindeer find our house. Last, the kids told Mrs. Claus what they wanted for Christmas and she promised to go home and tell Santa.

Camels...

(I just know this isn't going to translate well in print. You may want to read it out loud so you know how adorably cute it is in real life.)
We were watching Signing Time yesterday and the kids were learning signs for animals at the zoo. They got to "camel" and Miles looks up at me and says, "Mom, I love canimals!" Trust me, you would have laughed had you been there. :)

Seeing Things

I took Elle to the doctor yesterday for a well check. The first thing the nurse did was check her eyes. They have an eye chart for kids with pictures of things like sailboats, tea cups, hearts, stars, etc. Elle read all the way through the second to smallest line. When she got to the bottom line, she says, "Dot, dot, dot, dot, dot!" and smiled really big. The nurse didn't think it was nearly as cute as I did. :)

Thanksgiving

This year we had Lisa and Troy and families over to our house for Thanksgiving. Lisa did a wonderful job decorating the table and made all of the most delicious side dishes.
Nicole (Troy's, in case you are confused!) made one of the best turkeys I have ever had and a wonderful apple pie. I did three different types of potatoes and rolls. Everything was delicious. The kids decorated their own place mats, and Morgan did Miles' for him.






After Miles ate about 4 bites of food he marched over to me and grumpily announced that He was done! I told him to say it again, only nicer this time. He looked me right in the eye and said, "May I please have a piece of pie?" Is it just me or is that not the same thing he said the first time?! So cute. Then we all played Guitar Hero and Apples to Apples the rest of the night.
So thanks to all who contributed to our Thanksgiving this year. We had a great time and we love you all.

Primary Program

We had our Primary program today. The girls both did an awesome job singing the songs and I got compliments on how well Elle remembered all the sign language. Both the girls had speaking parts and Elle had her part memorized: "As Joseph Smith prayed in a grove of trees, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him. Joseph was told 'This is my beloved son. Hear him.'" Morgan was asked to talk for 30 seconds about how she tries to be like Jesus. She wrote her own talk: "I want to do the dishes and my mom said when I do my chores and that is what I did. I did my chores and my chores were my room, playroom, and laundry. I help my mom a lot because she has a hurt arm. I help my mom by being like Jesus Christ."
I am so proud of both my girls. :)

Happy Halloween!

We had an awesome Halloween this year! The kids had so much fun dressing up and tried really hard to wear their costumes at least once every day in October. We carved pumpkins and the girls were so excited to pull all the guts out for me, but Miles refused to even have the pumpkin near him! Trick or Treating was fun and the rain hardly bothered us at all. Oh, and we have enough candy now to last us until next year. :)

First Snow

We had our first snow of the season...before Halloween! Yikes! I was pretty mad about it and actually spent a good 10 extra minutes in bed that morning pouting. The kids, on the other hand, were thrilled! Morgan was at school all day, so Elle and Miles got all dressed up and headed out back. Elle told me that "Sorry you don't like winter, Mom," and vowed to eat all of the snow in the backyard so I wouldn't have to have winter. :) Five minutes later I remembered that my kids can't stand the cold for very long. In fact, it took more time to get the kids bundled up than it did for them to play outside. Luckily, Mom keeps a nice stash of hot chocolate in the pantry.

Together We Can!

Every year, Morgan's school does Reflections. They hand out a topic and the kids can either write a paper, do some artwork, a dance, or photography. This years topic is Together We Can and this is what Morgan came up with to submit.

It is a picture of friends cleaning up a park together. I think she did an awesome job and I am so proud of her!

Where do they get it?

I had Elle and Miles with me at Bed Bath and Beyond the other day. Miles was touching EVERYTHING in every aisle we walked down. I was pretty sure he was going to break something and I would have to pay for it, so after telling him not to touch things about 25 times, I stopped, knelt down in front of him and said, "I am serious! Stop touching things!" As soon as we started walking again, Miles pats himself down from the neck to the tummy yelling, "I'm touching myslef! I'm touching myself!" I sigh and tell him not to touch anything in the store. He continues patting himself saying "I'm in the store! I'm touching me!"
Where do they learn this?!? Luckily he is the most adorable little man in the world so I couldn't bring myself to actually get uspet. :)

Elle's Birthday Party

We had Elle's birthday party on Saturday and it was awesome. Last month, we watched an episode of Olivia and her school had a carnival. Elle fell in love with it, and thus her birthday party theme was born. I spent a couple of weeks making some games and painting a big poster of a guy with his head in a lion's mouth that the kids could stand behind and stick their head through. Everything was a big hit. Elle got tons of fantastic presents that are sure to keep all three kids occupied for weeks to come. Oh, and I made perhaps the ugliest cake known to man. I was yummy, but ugly. :) Thank you to everyone who was able to come. We had a blast. Happy birthday party, Elle!

Pre-School

I can't believe that I have all three kids in school!


Miles just seems so much tinier than the girls when they started school. The full sized backpack just makes him seem smaller. He loves school and cries every day that he doesn't get to go. Let's pray that this enthusiasm for school carries clear through high school. :)



Elle looks so grown up and so beautiful. She loves school and is friends with everyone in her class. Unlike her siblings, she will actually tell me what she does every day and I love hearing about it. She is super bright and loves doing all the work and crafts.

To The Thingamajigger!

Feeding the...ducks?

I realized the other day that after we drop Morgan off at school in the morning, I spend the rest of the morning cleaning. AKA, I am not taking advantage of having a chunk of free time with Elle and Miles. So on Thursday, I told the kids we could get in the wagon and take a walk. Now Miles has been saying his prayers every night, and for the last week he has prayed he could walk over a bridge. I don't know what he is talking about, but there is a tiny bridge at the pond down the street. So I loaded the kids in the wagon and grabbed the last English muffin because Elle really wanted to feed the ducks. Well, as it turns out, there are no ducks at the pond. We did spot two geese, but they swam away as soon as we approached. Elle tried throwing bread pieces to them, but ended up attracting a flock of seagulls instead. These birds really creep me out! They don't just sit there waiting for you to feed them, they fly and hover right by your face. If Miles hadn't been so nervous of them, I would have grabbed a picture of it. I did get a couple after the bread was gone, though. All in all a great morning. I definitely need to worry less about a clean house and more about getting in quality time with my kidderoos.

Morgan Update

Morgan is loving school. She says she understands a lot of what Mrs. Booth is saying in Spanish. I think that is her favorite part of her day, after lunch of course. :) Morgan can also say 9 words in Spanish: grapes, star, airplane, magnet, bear, hands, hat, fish, and moon. I am so proud of her. She comes home everyday and teaches our entire family her new words. We will all be fluent in no time! :)

What?!

Miles: Am I adopted?
Mom: No! Of course not.
Miles: Mom, you're as crazy as a road lizard!

First Grade!

Day 1

Morgan started first grade this week. Her school starts at 9am and I don't pick her up until 3:45. After lunch, her teacher puts on a horse apron that makes her forget how to speak English. She then teaches the rest of the day entirely in Spanish. Morgan says she does not get at all frustrated with this, and she already understands a little bit of what Mrs. Booth is saying.
She already has friends at school and is loving every minute of every day. She has been waking up so early in the mornings because she is so excited to go to school. I am so proud of her.



Day 2

Carnival

The girls ran in our room this evening with huge grins on thier faces. They told us they made a carnival in their rooms and needed some customers. Of course Matt and I were more than happy to be the first to try it out. It started in Elle's room with an obstacle course. They had two laid out side by side so Matt and I could race eachother. We had to jump over a stuffed animal, balance along a body pillow, jump on a square pillow, then go back. I won.
Then we had to hit a stuffed animal off of the toy box so that it landed on a dollhouse and rolled onto the floor. The best part was Elle played the drum after every game. Kind of a victory noise, I guess, like the bells ringning at real carnivals.
The girls worked really hard on thier carnival and even cleaned it up afterward, with a little persuasion. It was by far the best part of my whole day.

Cows

Miles informed Matt today that when cows laugh, milk comes out their noses. :)

Miles New Seat

We got back in town on Sunday from a wonderful week in Veags. When I moved the carseats back into my car, I put Elle in the middle instead of Miles. This gives the little guy his own window for the first time. The first time we all went on a drive, Matt asked Miles how he liked having his own window. Miles just smiled, peered outside, and sang, "I look out the window and what do I see?" So cute. :)

Swimming at Nana's

We are visiting family for the week in Vegas and Morgan and Elle are turning into little fish in Nana's pool! All three kids are totally comfortable in the water and love floating all by themselves. We are having so much fun!

Slumber Party

About a week ago, we had Ava over for a sleepover. The girls played with every toy we own, and then went out back to play pirates on the swingset. Then their ship sank, so they went back downstairs to play school. After dinner, the girls got jammies on and played the straw game. Ava won. :)

We then layed out sleeping bags, popped popcorn, and watched Barbie Fairytopia. They girls had a blast. The next morning, Morgan wrote Ava an invitation to another sleepover and had me fold it into a paper airplane so she could fly it to Ava's house. I foresee another slumber party in our near future!

Chalkboard Messages

I put an easel with a chalkboard in the playroom. Every day for last 2 weeks Morgan has written "I'm on vacation" with various spellings of vacation. Tonight I walk in to turn the light off, and there is a different message on the chalkboard. "I'm going to Mexico."

Blah, Blah...

Morgan's has this new habit when you are telling her to do something, like chores, she kind of rolls her eyes and says, "Blah, blah, blah..." and then walks off. It is both frustrating and adorably cute. What is a mom to do?

Toy Story 3

Our little family went out and saw Toy Story 3 in 3D last night. So cute! I think I may have liked it more than the kids. Elle only wore the 3D glasses the first half of the movie and then decided she didn't like them anymore. I'm surprised she didn't have a headache by the end. Morgan's face lit up several times. I love when she laughs and is genuinely happy. Miles wore his Buzz Lightyear shirt and shoes and brought Woody to see the movie. Woody waved at the characters onscreen and whenever they showed the word Andy on the bottom of Woody's boot, Miles would look on his Woody's boot. I love those moments when there is nothing but enjoyment with the kids and I realize all over again how much I truly love them.

Miles and Woody asleep on the ride home.

Just to Brighten Your Day

Chef Morgan and Chef Elle

An hour before church on Sunday, Morgan makes the announcement that she is making dinner that night and it will be pizza! So after church I took her to the store and she picked out all her own ingredients. She even asked a store clerk where to find the pepperoni; pretty brave for her. :)

When it came time to make dinner, she asked for a stool so she could reach the counter and asked me if we had an apron and a chef's hat. I could only find an apron. So she read the directions on the pizza crust box, spread her olive oil on the crust with a basting brush, spread the sauce with a spoon, and sprinkled cheese and pepperoni all by herself. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen. Eight minutes later, we had what was probably the yummiest pizza of our lives.

Not to be outdone, Elle made dessert. She scooped the ice cream (with a little help from Daddy), put sprinkles on it, and a tiny umbrella. So delicious and so cute.

I think I may never have to make dinner myself again! If anyone wishes they had a chef to prepare dinner for them, I have two for hire. :)