Sitting Pretty

I don't really have much to say for this post... just wanted to share some pictures of Ellie crawling and sitting by herself. We put up our Christmas tree yesterday and it made a fun backdrop. :)

5 Months

I hate how fast time is flying with Ellie. I just love this age and I want it to last forever!

We officially have a crawler! She's still not really great at it, though, and usually resorts to the inchworm method of getting around. She gradually makes her way from one thing to another, exploring and tasting everything she can get her little hands on. She really is pretty adorable trying to figure out how it all works. :)

A few pictures from the past month:

Watching mommy make dinner.

(She has already figured out how to climb out of this bumbo chair. Stinker.)





Playing with daddy.


Ben tried to wipe some drool from her chin but she just wanted to eat his finger.


Funny face.


"Mom, where'd my toy go?" (She had been raising the toy up really high and then slamming it down on the tray.)

Ellie's favorite sound

I'm not sure why this is upside down because it's right side up when I play it on my comptuer. Oh well... you can still hear the sound that Ellie loves to make right now.

Sock fishing!

The other night, I decided we should try out "sock fishing".



You put a magnet in the toe of a bunch of socks and then go "fishing" for them. The boys LOVED it... especially Asher.


{Yes, we keep 2x4s and a level behind the couch.}

We pulled out the couch and put the "fish" behind it so that we couldn't see them, but that ended up being a little too hard, so the boys got to peek.



Fun was had by all.



I think we've found a new rainy day activity. :)

Our newest addition

Ben has been begging me to get a cat and I have been adamantly against it. I had just had a baby and our living arrangements were up in the air... It wasn't a good time. BUT now that I'm settling into a routine with Ellie and we just signed a new contract to stay in our apartment, I decided that it wouldn't be so bad to have a kitty around again.

I told Ben about two weeks ago that I thought we should get a cat. At first, he didn't believe me and thought I was mean for teasing him like that. Then, once he believed me, it took me a few days to convince him that there wasn't a catch.

And so, the search for the perfect cat began. Ben spent hours looking at cats on the websites of all the local adoption groups and we went to a couple animal shelters last weekend, but didn't find "the one". Finally, on Thursday, he found one he wanted and we went to pick her up.

So, meet the newest addition to our family:


She's a two year old female and so far she's been super sweet. Ben hasn't decided on a name yet (apparently we have issues with that.... kids, pets, doesn't matter.)



The boys love her, of course, and luckily, she doesn't seem to mind them either. We're all excited to have her as part of our family. :)

Proud mommy moment

The boy were upset this afternoon because they wanted to play the Wii and couldn't find one of the controllers. I went in my bedroom to change Ellie's diaper and as I was finishing up, Evan came in all excited and said, "Mom! I couldn't find the Wii mote so I had the idea to pray and then I looked under the high chair and then I turned around it was right there by me!"

:)

He also got up in sacrament meeting on Sunday to bear his testimony about how when he needs God's help, he just has to pray.

I love his innocence and faith. :)

The Ballard Locks

The Ballard Locks (officially called the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks) are working locks that connect Lake Washington to the Sound and the public can go watch them in action. Ever since I heard about this, I've wanted to take the boys because I knew they'd love it. Evan didn't have school today and the weather was beautiful, so we packed up a lunch and headed over there.

We were all starving when we got there, so the first thing we did was eat lunch.


Right along side a flock of geese.




After we ate, we went down to watch the boats pass through the locks. The big lock was closed for cleaning (it was pretty cool to see that huge thing when it was empty), but the small one was busy.



Lots of retired people on their big fancy yachts... and even a canoe!






After watching the locks fill and empty a few times, we headed to the other side of the canal to see the fish ladder. When they built the locks, they were nice enough to include a way for the salmon to still get up and down stream. You can go under and see the fish swimming along through the windows. (It was super dark inside.)


They had this sculpture there that the boys thought was pretty cool. (Asher is showing me the light inside it.)




We also saw a seal! (The little black speck out there in the water.)










The boys had fun climbing up and down this hill...


...until Asher slipped and got his bum all wet and muddy.


That's when we decided it was time to go home.

What a great way to spend a day off of school... and we had such gorgeous weather, too! We'll definitely be going back, especially when the big lock is operating again.

Rice Cereal

Ellie has been watching me very intently every time I eat lately, so I decided maybe she'd like to try some rice cereal.



She LOVED it! Both the boys gave me funny looks the first time I gave them rice cereal. Like, "What the heck are you putting in my mouth?", but not Ellie. She gobbled it right up, laughing and smiling the whole time. She gave me a huge smile after almost every bite (I couldn't catch it on camera, though. I'll have to enlist Ben's help next time!)



She kept trying to shove her fingers in her mouth along with the spoon.

She started to realize that the spoon coming towards her meant more and so she'd lean forward and snatch it right up.


{This photo cracks me up.}

Of course she made a nice little mess. Asher said, "She keeps making a beard!" every time she'd let it dribble down her chin.



Love that messy face! :)

Happy Halloween!

This year for Halloween, Evan and Asher both wanted to be pirates.

Again.

Part of me wanted to let it go because that would make costumes really easy. The other part of me won, however, and I convinced them that it would be fun to try something else this year.



Evan settled on Harry Potter...


...and Asher fell in love with the big muscles on this Power Ranger costume.


Ellie's costume was decided at Peach Days during our trip to Utah, when I bought a cute little pair of cat ears for her. :)


On Saturday night, the kids got all dressed up and we went to the church party. Chili, cornbread, games for the kids and trunk-or-treat. What more could you ask for?

Last night for Halloween, we ran out of time to carve pumpkins, so the kids decorated them with markers. I have to say... I think I prefer this method over carving. Quick and easy with no mess to clean up. ;)


With the pumpkins decorated, it was time to get dressed up again and head out for trick-or-treating.




We went trick-or-treating around our apartment complex and the kids sure got their exercise! Each building is three stories, so the kids climbed LOTS of stairs.



It was worth it, though. By the time we were done, Asher literally could not fit one more piece of candy into his bucket.



When we got home, the sorting and counting of the candy began.





Even Ellie got in on the fun. :)





Mmmm... candy!

Happy Halloween!!