ellie says

This last summer, I started keeping track of some of the funny things Ellie would say.  At first, I didn't write down the date, but starting in October, I realized I'd probably want to remember that, too. :)  I'm going to try to do semi-regular blog posts about them so I'll have a record somewhere.

I just think she's hilarious.

Summer Comments:

"Follow me, guys!"

"I'll be right back!  I got stuff!"

Ellie: Mama I need a bandaid!
Me: No, baby, you only need a bandaid if you are bleeding.
Ellie: Oh.
*a couple of minutes later*
Ellie: *starts breathing heavily*
Me: What are you doing?
Ellie: I bweathing! I need a bandaid, please!

"You are sad, Mommy?" *touches my cheek*  "Look at me.  I'm here to save you."

"Oh, that's pretty cool!"  (Like, all the time.)

"Oh ohh-kayyy."  (Said in an annoyed teenager tone, every time I'd ask her to do something she didn't want to do.)

"Ok, sure!"  (When I'd ask her to do something she did want to do.)

(For this one, you have to understand that I get a Dr. Pepper from McDonald's more often than I'd like to admit.  Their D-Pep is just the best!)
"Mom, are we going to 'Old McDonald's' today?"

(To understand this one, you have to know that every Saturday, we do a soda run at a gas station and often get corndogs or something, too.  I know.  Healthy.  On this particular day, we'd just gotten her an icee without anything to eat.  Once we'd gotten back to the car, she looked around, confused.)
"Where's my corndog?"

When we went to the Martin Harris pageant in Clarkston, Tim took Ellie to the very crowded public restroom.  He said that she just sang "sitting on the potty" over and over, very loudly.

Ellie: You are Ellie, and I am Mommy!
Me:  That's pretty funny!
Ellie:  It's not funny, it's cute!

Ellie:  We're gonna roast marshmallows!
Me:  Yep, mini ones.
Ellie:  We're gonna roast Mickey Mouse marshmallows!

*watching the wind outside*
"Mommy, the trees are dancing!"

"Mommy, look at this ant!  I punched it in the face and it died."

Ellie:  I'm cleaning the house!
Me:  Oh thank you!
Ellie:  My pleasure!

Ellie:  Why does daddy need medicine?
Me:  Because it helps him be happy!
Ellie:  Oh.  I like ice cream!

10/25/15
*GASP* "That's not 'bery bery' nice!  (She said this almost daily, especially during scripture time.)

11/5/2015
*my conversation with her almost every morning*
Me:  How did you sleep?
Ellie:  Good!  I wake up for 20 hours and sleep two hours.

1/2/16 (and every day)
"Oh  Yeah.  Right.  Sorry."

1/10/16
Ellie:  George is dancing with his wife!
Me:  Oh, Curious George and Minnie Mouse are married?
Ellie:  Yes.  But George isn't Jesus!
Me:  Oh...okay.

1/11/16
Tim: Who made trees?
Ellie:  Jesus.
Tim:  Who made water?
Ellie:  Jesus.
Tim:  Who made mountains?
Ellie:  Curious George.

1/12/16
*pointing at a picture she'd just drawn*
Ellie:  That one's the daddy and the big one's the mommy!
Me:  Oh...well what's in the mommy's mouth?
Ellie:  A pill!

1/13/16
Me:  We leave for Grandma's house today!  You, me, Daddy, and baby Brett!
Ellie:  And Curious George!  You know the rules!

1/17/16
*after I'd finished singing*
"Mommy, that was so beautiful!  That makes my heart sing.  I love that."

1/20/16
*watching a cartoon with a villain in it*
"I can't believe myself this guy!"

2/4/16
Ellie:  Daddy, how was work today?
Tim:  It was good!  We got in some samples of freeze-dried food to try.
Ellie:  I don't like samples!  It weirds me out.

2/13/16
Ellie:  Where's daddy?
Me:  He's helping someone from church!
Ellie:  When we go to people that hurt, we bless them and help them.

2/15/16
*during family prayer, her battery-powered, stuffed animal Elmo started talking*
Ellie:  Elmo wasn't 'bery' reverent.
Me:  No, he wasn't, was he?
Ellie: No, he wasn't.  I'm gonna marry Elmo.  He's my daddy.
Tim:  Oh, well...that's weird.

a visit to my grandma's

At the beginning of January, we went to my grandma's house in California.  We were already planning on going to see them in March, but we didn't want to wait that long to show off Brett!

My grandma and Brett bonded pretty much instantly.  He smiled up at her the first time she held him, and he loved having her rock him in the rocking chair.

Ellie loves being at my grandma's, too, and spent the first 30 minutes running around like a crazy little ball of energy.  (The 7 hour car ride - and the 7 hour one the day before that - could have had something to do with that.  She was ready to be out of that car!)

My Uncle Paul, seemed pretty fond of Brett, too. :)  And Brett was loving all the attention after being cooped up in his carseat for so long.

While we were there, Brett turned two months old, so naturally, I had to take a ridiculous amount of pictures of him.  (Yes, I did narrow it down profusely.  You're welcome.)

But seriously, I think he's the cutest thing ever.

Chewing on his fist is hands-down his favorite hobby.  (Hands down?  Punny, right?  Right?)  He won't take a pacifier, but whoa boy, watch him try to fit his entire fist in his mouth!

Anyone else have a hard time keeping baby socks on?  Anyone?  Anyone?  Bueller?

He wasn't feeling particularly smiley at this moment, but I managed to kiss a couple smiles out of him.

Ginny liked Brett, too.  Just a little bit. ;)

Ginny and I got to go shopping while we were there, thanks to Tim and my grandma watching the kids!  It's such an odd feeling spending an extended period of time away from my kiddos.  (Well Brett especially, right now, since he's still nursing.)  But it was so fun shopping for my birthday in March!  Ginny spoiled me.  Again.

We ate out the entire time we were there, and it was marvelous.  We ate so well.  (Spoiled yet again.)  (Mexican foooood.)

Ellie loved cuddling and trying to play with their dog, Cody.  Cody, not so much.  Let's just say he tolerated her.

Ha!  I just love this next picture of Cody's laser beam eyes.

As if I weren't already missing the warmth and the sun enough, Ellie's reaction to it had me ready to move, like, yesterday.  She was outside every possible second, riding her tricycle and her scooter and playing in the dirt.  The girl was in heaven.  One day as I took her in for her nap, tears filled her eyes as she looked up at me and said, "Oh, but Mommy, I'm having so much fun!"  The Utah winters are hard for this Vitamin D deprived family.

We were so sad to leave!  Being with my family is the best.  The only thing that made it marginally easier was knowing we'd be back in March.

Warmth, we're coming for you.

christmas 2015

This year (last year?) for Christmas, Tim and I were feeling a little paranoid about traveling with a newborn.  We decided we'd stay home for Christmas, just like we had Thanksgiving, just to be safe.  Our favorite place to be at Christmas is at my grandma's in California, so we figured that's where the rest of my family would end up.  But miracle of miracles, my parents and brother decided to come up to our house in Utah instead!

My family wasn't due to arrive until late Saturday, which meant that we still had time for our weekly soda run.  The kids and I waited in the car while Tim ran in to get our sodas.  We had a few minutes to kill, so I taught Ellie how to take a selfie...

She thought that was a pretty fun game.

Then, of course, I had to take one of Brett and me...

He wasn't as thrilled with our little game.

On Sunday morning, my family got to go with us to church!  And by "us," I mean Ellie and me.  Tim had gone earlier in the day so he could stay home with Brett later.  (Paranoid parents, remember?)  But we did manage a family picture!

My dad will probably kill me for posting this picture (close your eyes, Dad!), but I get these posts printed out into books every year, and gosh dang it, this precious picture needs to be in it!  Ellie loves her "Papa."

And our sweet baby boy loves to be held by Grandma!

I swear I could take pictures of Brett all day.  I promise, I even narrowed these down.

I know it's blurry, but this next face kills me...

It's his "I'm trying really hard not to cry right now" face.  And I love it.  So, so much.

It is possible I shouldn't take such pleasure in his sweet sadness.  But it's the cutest thing ever!

My mom spent probably the majority of her time painting our basement.  Isn't that the sweetest thing ever?  She knew we were having a hard time getting around to it, so she just did it.  (And now we're about to have our fireplace installed!  We wouldn't have gotten nearly that far without her help.  Pictures to come.  Someday.)

As soon as I realized my parents would be there right after Star Wars entered theaters, I asked if they wouldn't mind watching my kids whilst Tim and I went to see it.  They graciously accepted.  I was absolutely thrilled to see it, and it didn't disappoint!

We came home from the movie to find everyone on the couch like this:

After the movie, we all went out to eat at Maddox!  Then we drove around to look at Christmas lights and stopped at this Nativity by the tabernacle.  It was freezing cold and snowing harder by the minute, but I couldn't help snapping this picture of Ellie wrapped up in my dad's coat with him looking at baby Jesus.

And this one without the flash.  I just couldn't decide which one I liked better.

On Christmas Eve, we continued my grandma's tradition of serving appetizers for dinner.  They were amazing!

I love traditions!

And most of all I love my family!  (We missed you, Eric and Annie.)  (And Grandma and Ginny and Paul.)  (And Cody.)

Ellie had a best friend in Uncle Jeff this trip!  He played hide and seek with her, read to her, and cuddled with her.  She was in heaven.

Tim gave a little Christmas Eve devotional where Ellie played a shepherd.

And my dad told me not to take anymore pictures.  I am a very obedient child, as evidenced by this next picture:

I got a selfie stick as my Christmas Eve present, and we had fun trying to figure it out...

And all that fun really tuckered the boys out.

Ellie looked totally dumbfounded on Christmas morning when she came down the stairs to see all of her presents.  She rotated between all of them every two or three minutes, and I think the only thing she was disappointed about was that she couldn't somehow play with them all at once!

She did, however, probably spend most of her time at this Doc McStuffins doctor station.

I loved that in the midst of all the commotion, I happened to catch her quietly reading.  The girl loves books!  (Like mother, like daughter.  I'm so proud!)

I was so sad to have my family leave.  For a short period of time, they fit seamlessly into our everyday life.  I loved having so many of my best friends in the same place all at once.  I wish it could happen more often!

After they left, I was lucky enough to finally catch on camera a couple of the new smiles Brett had been giving us that week!  Merry Christmas to me!

That helped ease the sorrow of my family's absence :)

It was an amazing Christmas!

brett's 1 month pictures

I know what you're thinking.

Isn't Brett two months already?

Why yes.  Yes, he is.  Thank you for noticing.  Alas, as per usual, I am behind on posting.  But I will keep on keeping on!

Isn't he handsome?  (I will not accept any answer, save it be "yes."  Or "of course!"  Or possibly, "yes, ma'am!"  All other answers will be voided.  For obvious reasons.)

Ellie was being really loud during this picture taking sesh.  Can you tell by the wide-eyed look on his face?  Ha! 

To the untrained eye, many of these pictures may look exactly the same.  Let me assure you that they are not.  Each has its own nuanced cuteness and thus cannot be left out from this post.

I know I have already said this, but he is just the sweetest little guy.  He's patient and calm and amazing!  And he sleeps!  He's a miracle.  (And I mean that.)

Around this time, he rolled over for the first time.  Totally involuntarily, I'm sure.  But it was still shocking!  Then he did it again a week or two later.  Not a routine thing yet.  (But his strength explains why I had internal bruising during this pregnancy!)  (I'm going to bring that up at the most opportune times during his teenage years.  "I went through all that pain for you!")

He is, and always has been, an amazing eater.  He loves to eat.  All the time.  (My little Hoover.)

Ellie is still completely enamored by him, too.  I was expecting a lot more jealousy, but she truly just loves him.  Sometimes too much.  I am always pleasantly surprised by how much she talks to him and wants to include him.  I'm hopeful it's a sign of good things to come.

We cannot get enough of our little man!

a visit from the deveys

Tim's parents came to visit in Brett's third week of life.  They arrived the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and Brett and Ellie were in heaven.

 Brett and his Grandpa Devey :)  (We'll blame Tim for the blurriness of this picture.)

 Grandma Devey with two of her grandkids.  (Two out of thirty-something.)

Brett was especially spoiled this week.  I'm trying to think of a time when he was put down, ever, and I'm drawing a blank.  He got lots and lots of cuddles, and I don't think anyone was complaining. :)

Brett had his two week appointment while they were visiting, and they were kind enough to be Ellie's "babysitters" (she just loves the idea of having babysitters) while we went.  The doctor was so pleased that Brett was 8 pounds, 8 ounces (a pound and a half more than he was at birth) and 21.75 inches (3/4 of an inch more than at birth), and he said he looked perfect in every other way.  And while everyone who remarked how handsome Brett looked probably says that about every baby, I chose to believe them 100%.  Because, well, he is.

Ellie got more than her fair share of attention, too.  And she was loving every second of it.  She woke up at least an hour earlier than normal the entire time they were here, and I'm pretty sure it was so she could cuddle with Grandma Devey every morning.

This next picture of me isn't super flattering, but I love it because my little man is such a snuggler.  It's the best feeling in the world.

It was pretty snowy outside, so we spent most of our time indoors snuggling the kids.  And since Tim's mom loves holding da babies, I got a lot done around the house.  It was great having an extra pair of hands!  (And I even got to go on a short walk with Ellie in the snow while Priscilla watched Brett.  Thanks, Grandma!)

Tim's parents graciously offered to watch the kids while Tim and I went to the movies.  After Ellie was born, I didn't want to leave her for months.  It almost physically pained me.  And this time, although I was nervous and missed both my kids, I knew it would be okay.  And let's be honest, who better to watch my kids than the sweetest couple ever with ten kids and thirty-something grandkids?

We went to see Mockingjay Part 2 and loved it.  It was kind of an odd experience for me, because I spent the first half of the movie feeling strangely nauseous, finally went to the bathroom to throw up, and came back for the rest of the movie feeling much better.  Then I ended up throwing up again later that night.  I think it was a mild form of food poisoning.  Not exactly what I would have chosen to happen during my first date post partum, but we had a great time nonetheless.

There were two other odd occurrences that week.  The first was when Tim smashed his finger so hard at work that he almost passed out.  And the second was when Tim and his dad got in a car accident.  The moment I found out they'd been in a crash was a horrifying one, and it was matched in intensity only by the relief I felt when I knew they were both okay.  Tim typed up the story for me to post in the next day or so, since this is basically our family journal.  I'll let him give you all the details.  For now, let's just say that I'm endlessly grateful that angels were watching out for them that day.

We loved having the Deveys here and are already wishing they could come back!

Another set of Deveys came to visit, too; Jeremy and Talon came while Tim's parents were here, and the rest of their fam came soon after.  It was great to see them!  Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of everyone, but I did get one of Brett and Skyler.

Obviously this baby boy is completely loved already!