Happy St. Patrick's Day!

In case you can't tell, Dora will not SIT STILL ever anymore! That little chick has to be moving. Also, in the photo below, you can see my pathetic green eggs (and my delicious (turned green this am) vanilla pudding, which I made for the first time yesterday. I have never made pudding that wasn't from a box and it's really really good and really easy!)

The most surprising thing of all is that no pudding or egg goo wound up on Eli's white shirt. That is nothing short of miraculous!

Around the House

Whit's been out of town a lot lately moonlighting up in Williamsport. (Poor Whit--he works so hard!) Anyhow, I thought I would confess--he does not allow the kids around pill containers at all--it's too dangerous. In the last week, Eli and Dora have played with the pills (clearly loving them--best rattles ever)...

Also, two days ago Eli stuck a stick of cheese into the electric outlet--YES Cheese conducts electricity. His first shock therapy! Yikes.

And yesterday he was playing in the water at the kitchen sink and he got the dish soap and rubbed it in his eye. Mom was SO mean and held him under the running water to wash it out--even forcing his eye open.

NOTICE: NO children were harmed in the events recounted in this post. (not too badly, anyway)

This I had to document. Eli is learning (slowly) to share. BUT if you ask him to share something he is eating with the baby, he complies with the letter of the law, but not the spirit. Below you can see what he does. He gives her what Whit calls an Angstrom. He shares these tiny tiny pieces and justifies his miserliness when pressed because it is, "a baby piece for baby." Please see his plate, and her tray below.

If there was any doubt in your mind about whether Dora's a daddy's girl, throw it out. She loves her Dada above all else. Here she is, relaxing with Dad and a bottle.

Last Round of Family Photos at the Star Barn

Oh how I love my little man!

One last side note--we had these scheduled for NEXT Tuesday but the weather was so nice, we moved them up a week. Unfortunately, I moved them up before my hair appointment (on Wednesday!) So, sadly my hair hasn't been done since before Christmas. Can we say ROOTS anyone?? Oh well!

A good solid family photo. I am so glad Eli looks just like his dad--they are some handsome XYs.

Eli sure loves his daddy... With as fast as he is getting big, he still looks tiny around his daddy.

That stupid thing Eli's holding is his "orange dot", some promotional item we got in the mail from a moving company! He loves it and carries it around all over.

I really like Eli's face here!

Ah, every mother's dream--her kids being nice to one another. I really hope they become best friends!

I am glad we have a few where Dora is smiling. It's harder and harder to get her to smile for photos. I really miss the days when she would smile back every time you smiled at her!

I think this face looks just like one her cousin Jocelyn makes.

I love the Halo Dora's hair makes here! Haha.

There was totally a shot of me where I looked much better--but Dora wasn't looking at the camera. For the record, I choose my kids over myself. :-) Ignore that I look a little freaky here. I love to hug my kids a bit too much. Not 5 minutes ago, Eli told me to leave him alone (because I was force hugging him while he was trying to play.) Why don't they love to just sit around while I squeeze them??

Peeps Shots

Here are the shots we took of the Peeps (all but Dora's shot in the skates post...)

We are so excited for Easter!

I love these next two shots--they perfectly capture what kind of Dad Whit is. He's so fun and involved and cute!!

Spring Family Photos-Skates Photos

We had some family photos made last week. Annie does such a nice job we wanted some spring ones before we left. So, on one of the first nice days of the year, we pulled out the skates and played. (Actually, Eli found my rollerblades in the closet on Sunday and wore them all day, annoying as that was, since he kept falling.) We got him his first pair of skates and decided to play on them for some photos. Here are a few of those and then some other shots, mostly of Mom and Eli.

I also thought it would be fun to take some shots with peeps. I don't really like the taste, but I love the name! Here's Dora making a huge mess. Clearly she is in love with them... What's not to like!? Sugar dipped in colored sugar...

Is Eli's hair looking a little too long!? Well, he won't let me cut it. It apparently looks like the kid's on Meet the Robinsons (he thinks) and he loves it. Plus he hates haircuts...

This one is almost just like the new header--but our smiles are different. (Normal smiles.)

Root Canal!

Tomorrow I go in for my first (and hopefully last) root canal. I am not excited.

Also, you can check out some photos of our family (which will be posted in full here shortly) here.

:-)

Bridget

Day to Day

Nothing new going on here--we are just playing and working and making messes. Here's Dad and Dora and Eli on the stairs... Eli loves cookies. Dora loves stairs...

Okay Dora is TOTALLY a climber. She loves to climb. Lately, Eli has been obsessed with taking the cushions off the sofa and playing on them (my fault for cleaning them with him up--he saw they come off!!) Anyhow, I thought I would snap a shot or two of how my house looks every morning--the Bean bobbing up and down on the coffee table she has gleefully climbed up on and Eli (in his ROCKET PAJAMAS) on the cushionless couch. At least he wasn't leaping from the STAIR LANDING down to the cushions piled at the bottom of the stairs (his latest favorite thing to do when I am not watching closely enough. I thought I was having a heart attack. Luckily he didn't break anything. Unluckily he is now convinced it is both safe and outrageously fun.)

I love this little imp!

Okay this is HILARIOUS--Yesterday Eli kept calling, "Mama, watch me." I went in to see what he was doing--he said, "Mama, Eli helping momma clean floor". He was scrubbing the floor with my dish sponge. Can you tell I have been cleaning the floor a lot to keep the house in showing shape!? Yikes. He was really going to town, too, scrubbing and scrubbing! Hahaha.

It's Officially Begun!

This morning, Eli helped me make french toast. We do this a lot, with either pancakes or french toast. After selecting his specific piece (which he has a surprising number of opinions on), I cut it up for him and let him do his own syrup. (He always insists.) Sadly, MEAN OLD MOM wouldn't let him marinate his french toast in syrup like he wanted; I cut him off. Apparently, this was a horrible move on my part. He cried and threw a little tantrum and I took him up to his room (where the interior handle has a child safety handle) and left him to stew.

A few minutes later, I went to get him and he was in a better mood. Unfortunately, when brought into close proximity with said french toast again, he renewed his requests for more syrup. When I denied him again, and he started to whimper, I warned he would have to go right back up to his room if he cried more. He looked at me and said, "Mom Mean. Where Dada?" I told him Dad was at work, but Dad would tell him the same thing as mean old Mom. No more Syrup. He did not think that was true, "No Dada nice." He insisted. Great. We are apparently already trying to play one parent off the other. And why am I getting the short stick here!? (Probably because dad IS nicer and WOULD give him unlimited syrup.)

On a side note--French toast used to be my favorite. Back when I was trying to lose weight, I made a splenda pumpkin pie. I substituted Splenda for Sugar, Egg beaters for eggs, skim milk for cream and apple sauce for shortening in the crust. It was too much and the pie was awful. But, at the same time I was delighted to trade the good, thick, soft bread for my low fat, tiny, skinny, bread, the eggs for egg beaters, the syrup for no sugar syrup and the butter for spray on no cal butter. If I could still have french toast, it was okay. I have made one trade since then--I use the good bread. This morning though, my french toast with egg beaters, skim milk, no sugar syrup and spray on butter tasted like Splenda pie. Maybe I am losing the desire to stay skinny! Hahaha.

Three Years

I cannot believe it has been three years since Jesse left my life. How is the hole in my heart still so raw? I have been crying a lot today, and Jesse is still gone. One thing, though, has changed. Whit's been at work, but Eli has been here. He has followed me around all day and every time I start crying, he hugs me and then kisses me and hugs me again, saying, "Momma, Eli sorry Uncle Jesse die. Momma be so happy." Then he hugs me again.

I explained to him that Uncle Jesse had to leave the Earth to go live with God. He asked "Why?" I didn't know how to answer that question. I don't know the answer myself. Why? That's what still haunts me. Why? I won't know that for a long time, I think.

But I still miss you Jesse, yes every single day. You have missed so much--but I won't forget all the fun you were a part of--how when you were here, you loved so much.

You were there at my wedding. In fact, I kept that text message you sent me the night before until the phone got broken in half, telling me how much joy you had for me that I finally found Whitny. Your happiness for me and my blessings made my joy more full. I did not find out until after you died how much pain you were in at my wedding--how hard on you it was to be there for me. That was how you always were, though--if the day was about me, you made it about me.

Before the wedding though, you were there when we got engaged. Look at your mischevious grin in the back left of the photo! Happy as can be...

And always true to your personality, in the next one you were giving Whit bunny ears.

Here's a shot from a trip we all took to New Orleans.

Eloquence escapes me right now. I don't have the words to express how I feel. I miss you so much, Jesse. I still ask Heavenly Father in my prayers every night to tell you how much I miss you, so you know your family still thinks about you every day. I love you JV.

-BG

If you give a bean a cookie...

Dora is so sweet! I made cookies last night and she really wanted one, but I wouldn't give her one. Today, she convinced me. When I gave it to her, she put her head on my leg! Sweet! Luckily I had the camera handy.

Eli was too fat to climb on things. Dora's a big baby too, but she's not as rolly polly as he was. So, she loves climbing onto the futon. Note the cookie in her grabby hand!

Don't worry--I told her we don't usually take notes on cookies. I will get her a legal pad soon. (Or should I get her a diary? We legal folk are all confused.)

Here she is lying on the futon--happy as can be...

Uh, Lerdle-luh, I don't think we have enough toys. Could you send more?