Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Christmas Fun

They both loved decorating the tree this year.

Jack did most of it himself while Ella was napping.
But he saved a few for his sister to do after she woke up.



Our  neighborhood did a bonfire, fundraiser for a family in need in place of doing neighbor gifts this year.  We went and participated, but didn't linger too long.  It was pretty cold, even with the fires.


We rode front runner downtown with the Bingham family to see the Christmas lights.  It was fun and so beautiful with the snow, but oh was it cold!  The train was delayed on the way home so we ended up waiting outside for it for about 30 minutes.  The kids were little icicles by the time we got on the train.  The fun still outweighed the cold, though.

I've never seen Jack do this before, but he could not resist stopping to catch some snowflakes in his mouth.  Kids are the cutest!

Mom and Ella waiting for the train.  This girl was such a good sport.  I took her boots off on the train to check them out, and her feet were sooo cold. 





Scarred

Ella had a slip and fall accident the middle of  November.  I was at work and got a call from Steve.  I was surprised since he never calls me at work.  I wasn't sure he even knew the number.  He told me that Ella had fallen and hit the railing and split her head open.  I was able to leave work and meet up with them to take Ella to Instacare.  I had a hard time deciding if we should take her up to Primary Children's to have a plastic surgeon close it, but I remember when I worked up there that people would wait hours for a consult at times and I just didn't have it in me to wait.  The Pediatrician was able to use dermabond to close it, which I think was a good choice since a few days after she bumped it hard again.  I know it would have opened back up if she had facial stitches that have to be removed after just a few days.  She'll have a scar for sure, but it's healing up nicely.  It just gives her character!
Steve said the worst part was that it was bleeding so much and all going right in her eye.

Here she is with the numbing cream on.  She was not a fan of this part.  I was debating getting rid of her binkie around this time (which we have since done) but I'm really glad she had it for this night.  It sure helped her relax.

All better!  I still can't believe that she got a head gash before her wild big brother.  Who would have guessed?


Halloween

Ella was not afraid to get her hands dirty carving pumpkins

Jack, on the other hand, still won't touch the "gooey".  He saw a picture of himself carving a pumpkin when he was 2 years old and he had a sucker, so now he thinks it's a tradition.  He insisted on having a sucker while he carved.

The finished product!
Photo credit to Jack for this one.  We're centered and everything!
My cute little ladybug!  All creative credit goes to my friend Jess on this one.  She made this for her daughter a few years ago.

Jack wanted to be Optimus Prime from his favorite cartoon "Rescue Bots".  In retrospect I should have ordered up a size, but his little wedgie bum was actually pretty cute.

Checking out the loot!  Jack and his friend Charlie were die hard trick-or-treaters.  They were gone for a couple of hours and even had to have a potty break on an electrical box.  Thanks for that Dad (insert sarcasm).

Ella didn't get as much candy in her brief debut, but Jack was a good sharer and she loved answering the door with me at home.

Soccer

We signed Jack up for soccer this fall.  While I don't think he has a career in professional soccer in his future, he had a lot of fun.  It was fun to see him make friends with his teammates, and how much he improved throughout the season.  His coaches were two of the moms, and they were super positive with the boys.  Jack has a competitive nature, so that part was right up his alley.  The more we would yell encouragement from the side lines, the more he would dig in and run, with a super intense look on his face.  Too funny!  The great news is, he has 8 more games coming up this spring. 

You better believe this was an amazing in bounds kick!
Jack and his buddies Harper and Miles
These kids required constant instruction.  In this picture I think everyone on both teams were standing out of bounds.
To Jack, the game objective was not to score a goal, he saw it more as a foot race.

Dinosaur Park

 So, I haven't blogged in a few months, which leaves quite a bit of catching up to do.  We'll see how I can manage...  The beginning of October, my sister Heather and I decided winter was on it's way and we should take advantage of the warm weather.  We took the kids to the Ogden Dinosaur Park, and they had a great time.
Ella didn't get the "scared face" memo.
Jack and Brody.  These two are pretty good buddies.

Ella riding her first dinosaur.  She went up the tree trunk pictured behind her and down the slide all by herself, which I thought was pretty brave.  I was scared I was going to have to go in after her for the rescue.

Heather is such a fun Aunt!

This boy enjoys life so much!  Especially when we are anywhere but home.  He loves to be out seeing the world!