What a difference a year makes

I think sometimes as I am going about my life, I don't realize how my kids are gradually changing. When I think back to Elise a year ago, I picture her looking just exactly the same as she looks now. So, I decided to look back at a few pictures of her from her birthday a year ago to see how she has changed. I think she definitely looks older, but the changes are becoming more subtle from year to year than they were when she was younger.

Elise on her third birthday:
Elise on her fourth birthday:

By the way, a few people have asked, and yes I did make Elise's Minnie Mouse outfit. The shirt was the easiest thing I have ever made, and turned out really cute. I followed a tutorial I found on a blog to make it, so I thought I would share the link. You can see the tutorial here if you are interested: http://candacetodd.blogspot.com/2009/08/ruffle-sleeve-top-tutorial.html

A Four Year Old That Can Melt My Heart

Today is Elise's birthday. I can't believe that she is four! We had her cake yesterday because we are going to be spending most of today at Disneyland, and will likely be home too late for celebrations. She was so excited about her Minnie Mouse cake and cupcakes. This girl loves cake! It was so cute, after she blew out her candles she looked at me and said, "You know what I wished for Mom? I wished that we could be friends forever, and I wished that we could go on an airplane to Nana and Papa's house!" What a sweet little girl. I didn't even remind her to make a wish when she blew out her candles, so I'm glad she remembered on her own. Here are a few pictures of Elise with her cake.

I made the cake by using a small round cake and I made the ears with two large cupcakes. The polka dot cupcakes turned out cute, and were so simple! I frosted them with red frosting, and then I used halved marshmallows to make the polka dots. Elise couldn't have been happier.

All Boy

Steven was running around outside yesterday, and he insisted on wearing his hat. His face was kind of dirty, and he was running around in the dirt, playing with his ball, and pushing his bike up and down the driveway. When I looked at him I just thought he looked all boy, so I got out my camera and took a few pictures. Now that I am looking at them, I am wishing I had washed his face first because they actually turned out pretty cute. The green grass and blue hat really make his blue eyes pop. Here are a few for your viewing pleasure.

Ready for church?

As we were getting ready to head out the door for church this morning, I decided to snap a few photos of the kids. This was mostly because Elise was wearing a dress that I made last night, and I wanted a few photos of her in it. It cracked me up though, because the kids made faces that perfectly describe how they each feel about church. Elise loves primary and loves her class and teacher. She had a big smile on her face. Steven has finally gotten to the point where I can leave him in nursery and he doesn't cry the whole time. However, he is not a big fan of nursery either. His teacher told me that he doesn't scream or cry, but he spends a lot of time sitting by the door waiting for Mom and Dad to come back to get him. He sits there with his binky in his mouth and his blankie over his head. It cracks me up. There is another little girl in nursery that is just a month older than him, and she has decided that it is her job to mother him. So when he sits by the door with his blankie over his head, she sits with him and plays peek a boo under his blankee with him. When he does get up and wander around, she is apparently right there with him, sticking his binkie which is clipped on him back in his mouth whenever it comes out. Very cute! Their teacher says it is like she is saying to him, "It's okay Steven, I feel your pain." What funny kids!

Elise, excited she gets to go to primary!:

Steven, thinking "Uh oh, here we go again. I'm about to be taken to nursery!" Either that or he's thinking, "Yikes! Look at the haircut my mom gave me. Aunt Kathryn, help!":Maybe I'll just hide under my blankie and pretend this isn't happening:Elise, being a good big sister and giving Steven the, "It's okay buddy, I feel your pain," look.

Just 3, and already engaged!

On Sunday, Elise's primary teacher informed me that she got engaged to her best bud Zach during primary. According to her teacher, the scenario went something like this:

Elise and Zach were sitting coloring a picture in primary. Zach looks up and says, "Elise, when we get big enough to be a Mom and Dad, will you marry me?" Elise says, "Sure, but I'm going to have to get a pretty dress, and we'll have to dance." Zach says, "Alright! It's the perfect plan!" I was seriously lauging when their teacher told me this.

When we got home and we were eating lunch, I asked Elise, "So, did Zach ask you to marry him today?" She told me yes. I asked if she thought that was a good idea. She said, "Well yes, it's the perfect plan because if we are a Mom and Dad together, then we can be friends forever!" She's a pretty smart little cookie.

Zach's Mom had actually told me he might propose in primary, because the night before he had asked if he could marry his Mom when he grew up. She told him no because she was already married. She said he thought for a minute, and then said, "Hmmm... maybe I could marry Elise!" She told him that was a good idea. He then said, "Mom, I think in primary tomorrow I will tell Elise she looks pretty, and I'll ask her if she will marry me when I get bigger." These kids seriously crack me up.

Elise, Steven and Pasadena Miller

How do you like the flow of that one? Today was quite a clear morning, and so when we walked out our back door we could see a lot of the tall buildings in Pasadena. This only happens on clear days, so it kind of surprised Elise to see all the buildings. She said, "Hey Mom, I see a city! What is that city called?" I told her it was Pasadena. She got a big smile on her face and said, "Pasadena! That is a good name! I think we should get a baby girl and name her Pasadena!" What a great idea. Doesn't it just sound like a name that would fit right into our family? And no, I am NOT making any announcements, but in case we ever do have another child, Elise has a whole slew of good name ideas up her sleeve. Her two favorite names to call her babies and stuffed animals are Rejala and Morla. Those would fit right in as well, don't you think?

Better than Dessert!

Steven is our little veggie man. Sometimes I think he prefers veggies to dessert. Last night we were having corn on the cob for dinner, and so I cut a bunch off the cob and put it in a bowl for him. He loved the corn and was happy with that.... until he saw Mom and Dad with corn ON the cob. He pushed his bowl aside and started reaching for our corn and begging. I gave him a whole piece just to see what would happen, and he actually finished it off! What a funny kid. And then there is Elise who I believe is actually afraid of any sort of vegetable. How can two siblings be so completely opposite?

Steven, enjoying his corn:

Elise making her, "Ewww, corn! Isn't that a vegetable? There's no way that is getting near this mouth!" face.

Silly Sayings by Elise

1. A conversation I had with Elise as I was getting her dressed in a pink dress with flowers Sunday morning:
Elise: "Mom, do you think Zach likes pink?"
Me: "I don't know, honey"
Elise: "Well, do you think Zach likes flowers?"
Me: "I'm not sure... probably."
Elise: "Hmmm... Well, I'm just not sure if Zachy is going to think I look pretty today!"

And thus begins all the drama that comes with having a girl, before she is even four years old! And just for the record, Zach apparently did tell her in primary that he thought her dress was pretty, with maybe just a little prompting from his mom.

2. As Steven was picking up Elise's brand new worn only once or twice shoes, Elise said, "Ewww, that shoe is busgusting. It's dirty!" It was really barely dirty, I guess she doesn't have a thing for shoes like Steven does. And by the way, I just LOVE the way she says disgusting. I know I should teach her the correct way to say it, but it is just too cute.

A Dress Experiment

I saw on a blog that someone had made a girl's dress out of an old men's shirt, and I wanted to see if I could do it. Unfortunately, Chris cleaned out his closet a few months back and got rid of all the shirts he doesn't wear anymore. So, when he tossed this white shirt in the wastebasket in our closet last week because the collar wouldn't come clean, I dug it out and decided to see what I could do with it. I had no expectations for how it would turn out, and a lot of the design for it came out of necessity. I sort of cut everything a little too small, so I had to use bias tape on the sleeves and bottom hem instead of a rolled hem to keep it as large as possible, but I think it turned out alright for the first try. The best part of it is that the only thing I bought to make this dress was the heart buttons, so it ended up costing me about $2.50 to make. Not bad. I think I will have to try another one only a bit larger the next time Chris tosses a shirt. I'd like a striped shirt, but beggers can't be choosers so we'll just have to see what happens.

Here are some pictures of how the dress ended up, and the shirt I made it from. Like I said, a little small so she may not wear it much, but cute. We may end up giving this one away to someone who it will fit a little better.

Jibber Jabber by Steven

Steven is starting to say a few more words. Here are some of the newer words he says, in no particular order:

1. Binky

2. Monkey (he also makes a monkey noise)

3. Elise (Really, he just says "E", but since we know what he is trying to say, I count it as a word).

4. Blankie

5. No (sounds like "do")

6. Please

7. 1, 2, 3

8. eww and yucky

9. shoe

Here are some of the words he has been saying for a while:

1. Mom

2. Dad

3. Thank you

4. Ready, go!

5. Vrooom (like a car)

6. Yes

7. Uh oh

8. Ball

9. Hello (mostly into the phone, and it sounds like "uwo")

10. Bye

I might be forgetting a few, but these are the ones that come to mind immediately.

Silly Sayings... by Elise

1. Mom, I'm so tired I could eat a horse!

2. We were at the post office the other day, and Elise was being very naughty. When we left I said to her, "Everyone in the post office was looking at you and thinking, 'What a naughty little girl.' Do you like people thinking you are a naughty little girl?" She looked at me with sort of a mad face and said, "No! I am NOT little!" Hmmm... I think the point there kind of went over her head! Apparently it is okay if people think she is naughty, but not okay if they think she is little.

Nostalgia

As I was looking through my pictures to find one of Elise in her pink cowgirl hat, I came across a bunch of her at that age that made me feel a little sentimental. I realized that she has always had a thing for dress up, and while the pink cowgirl hat was definitely the favorite, she also like wearing gloves, glasses, hats, necklaces, dress up shoes, etc. She still does, so I guess some things never change. You'll have to humor me with a few(or maybe a lot) of flash back pictures here.

Elise working in the yard with Dad. If Dad had work gloves, then she needed them too. Elise in another favorite hat. This picture was actually taken right after her first real boo boo. She fell on her chin in the driveway - sad!

If Dad wears a tie, Elise needs one too.

Stylin in sunglasses.

This one was just cute - no real accessories other than her bows on her very first pigtails.

She loved Dad's big shoes, even though at a size 14 she could hardly pick them up and she could definitely not walk in them.

Wearing one glove (a Michael Jackson tribute, perhaps?) and trying on Mom's glasses.

More digging in the yard with work gloves. We put them to work early around here.

We can't forget the fireman hat, a favorite of Steven's now.

I love the heart sunglasses and the matching heart necklace. She still has that necklace... I wonder what ever happend to those darn cute glasses.

She has grown up so fast without me even realizing it. She starts kindergarten in a year, and I think that has me feeling a little sad that she's definitely not a baby, or even a toddler anymore. In fact, the other day I was saying something to Chris about having a toddler and a baby when I realized, wait... I don't have a toddler and a baby, I have a big girl and a toddler. When did that happen, by the way? Each new stage is fun and exciting though. Although I must admit, Steven was such a difficult baby that I don't really feel that sad that he isn't one anymore. Maybe someday I will, but the sleepless nights and hours on end of screaming are all a little too fresh in my memory still. For now we are just glad that he is a happy little toddler, and enjoying every minute of it.

Fetishes

Steven has a thing for shoes... a serious thing. He LOVES them. He never wants to be without them. It cracks me up because that is the exact opposite of most kids his age who are always tearing their shoes off! He insists on wearing them inside, outside, to bed, immediately after the bath, etc. If I happen to sneak his shoes off his feet after he falls asleep, when he gets out of bed in the morning one of the first things he does is run to his closet and reach up towards his shoe basket which is out of his reach going, "uh, uh,uh..." (Steven language for give me that). It just cracks me up. His crocs are definitely his favorite, but any shoes will do in a pinch. Even if you strip off all the rest of his clothes and he has just a diaper on, he still insists on keeping his shoes on. It kind of reminds me of Elise and her hat fetish at that age... she LOVED them. She always needed to be wearing one. But most especially she loved her pink cowgirl hat. She and that hat were practically inseparable. These pictures of Steven were taken just before bath time the other night, and they are cracking me up. They got me to thinking of some pictures of Elise in her cowgirl hat at his age, so I had to include those as well.

What happens when Dad is in charge?

The other day after dinner, we decided to switch things up a little bit. Usually Chris does the dishes while I give the kids baths, but we decided to change and have Chris do baths while I did dishes. I stripped the kids down and sent them off with Dad for "baths" while I started the dishes. I could hear a lot of laughing and giggling and bumping on the stairs... obviously not bath noise. After a while I decided to go check on what they were doing, and here is what I found:

He was putting the kids in laundry baskets and letting them take turns "riding" down the stairs in them. At least they were sticking to the small bottom stairs. Chris told me to grab the camera because he wanted photo evidence that they were doing it and having fun... I think mostly to bug the worriers in my family. After a while that was no longer good enough and he decided to switch them to the very steep top stairs. I refused to watch or photograph. At least he didn't let go of Steven's basket on the top stairs, but he just let Elise go flying. Uggh! She had a good time though, and was begging to do it over and over again. Although he wouldn't admit it, I think he decided it wasn't such a good idea as well, because after only about two runs he made the little daredevil go back to the small stairs, much to her dismay. At least it was good exercise for the kids though because he made them haul their baskets back to the to each time they finished if they wanted another ride. It was quite funny to see little Steven trying to manhandle a basket up the stairs.

If I could choose my problems...

I know that in life we all have a given set of problems and trials, and we usually don't have a lot of choice in what those problems are that we have to deal with. However, if I could choose my problems, this one would definitely be towards the top of my list...

That's right, I think I could deal pretty well with the problem of my pants always falling down due to a lack of hips and a very small bum. Just invest in a few more belts, and life would be good :-). Unfortunately for Steven, belts in size 18-24 months are pretty hard to come by, and when I do find one it is generally in the $20 - $30 range. So, since he's still in diapers, we just let his pants fall down most of the time. Like I said, I would trade problems with him if I could and let him have a little of my flab. After all, chub is cute on a one year old anyway.