Lady, Branoon, The Bubbush, and Boy

Snow!

2012-01-26T17:47:00.001-08:00

Brothee and His Baby

2012-01-23T07:23:00.001-08:00

Cowboy

2012-01-21T21:01:00.001-08:00

I don't know where he gets these ideas, but this is the outfit he was rockin' today.

Christmas Dinner

2012-01-16T12:13:00.000-08:00

As drawn by Elly...

Stuff I like about it:

Everyone's clothing is accurate- Mom and Dad in jeans, Doc in a grey suit, K-ma in a dress, Elly in a shirt with a flower on it.
Miles' hair is just like Dad's, except brown instead of black.
Doc has grey hair and his hospital name tag around his neck that says, of course, "Doc".
The coat rack in the back with Dad's hoody hanging on it.

Elly Quotes - Santa and Fire

2011-12-23T19:10:00.000-08:00

At the dinner table tonight...

Elly (looking at our fireplace): How will Santa come out of our fireplace? It has a cover on it.

Lacy: He's magic. He can just come through.

Elly: Oh. The cover is there so the fire doesn't come in our house and ruin everything right?

Brandon: That's right. Fire is very dangerous. But it's also very useful. Do you know what useful means?

Elly: It means something you can use.

Brandon (super proud): That's right! That's exactly right! We can use fire for lots of things. Can you think of some uses for fire?

Elly: Candles on birthday cakes.

Brandon: Yup. That's one. What else?

Elly: Uhhhh...I don't know.

Brandon: What do we do with fire in the backyard.

Elly: Oh! Roast marshmallows!

(We discussed some of the more practical uses of fire as well, but none seemed as interesting or important as those relating to sweets and treats.)

"Sisters"

2011-12-20T15:24:00.000-08:00

This is what life would have been like if Elly had a little sister instead of a Brothee. This is Elly's doing, and Miles just plays along.

Garden

2011-12-15T19:24:00.000-08:00

Elly just turned 5, and she also recently started reading and writing really well. She loves sounding out words on her own, both to read them and to write them. The other day she drew this garden.

The garden signs read (from top to bottom):
Squash
Carrots
Apples
Strawberries

Then she lists the family members, of course, with "Noo Baby" at the bottom. Her initials - ECA - are apparently how she signed this particular piece of art. She also threw in a little portrait of her and me.

Elly Quotes

2011-11-28T09:29:00.000-08:00

Lest any of our readers think that Elly is a perfect angel child all the time, here is today's Elly Quote:

Elly: "Mom, I want to play with new toys this morning."

Me: "Great, where are they?" (Meaning the thousands of new toys she got for her birthday two weeks ago.)

Elly, with a confused look on her face: "What do you mean?"

Me: "Where are all the new toys you got for your birthday?"

Elly: "No. I mean NEW toys. New toys that I don't have yet."

Ugh. Do you think we spoiled her a bit?

Elly's Art - Surprise Birthday for Brothee

2011-11-27T10:27:00.000-08:00

Elly just turned 5. She's always loved making art, and now she also loves reading and writing. She made this "card" for Miles completely by herself - no help at all!

"Surprise"

"Dear Miles, Happy Birthday. To Miles. From Elly."

Isn't this amazing?

Our Sunset The Other Night

2011-11-25T22:42:00.000-08:00

Baking

2011-11-24T13:35:00.001-08:00

Elly Quotes - Persuasion

2011-11-24T12:41:00.001-08:00

We had just finished building a fort for Elly and Miles...

Elly: Dad, you can't fit in here. You're too big.

Brandon: Yeah. That's OK.

Elly: Well, you need to build your own fort.

Brandon: No thanks. I'm good.

Elly: Then you'll have to sleep outside.

Brandon: That's fine.

Elly: Well... It's gonna be raining. Do you want to sleep in the rain?

Fall

2011-11-23T13:35:00.000-08:00

Elly's 5th Birthday- Princess Party!

2011-11-21T14:02:00.000-08:00

Elly turned 5 last week. I can't believe it. We had so much fun planning birthday fun for her!

On her actual birthday, she got to take cupcakes to share with her school friends. I brought them to her class when they were already seated. Miles didn't skip a beat; he just found an empty chair (nowhere near Elly), sat himself down, and waited for his cupcake like the other kids. He's ready for preschool!

After school, K-ma and Lily came from Salt Lake and the four of us (Thank you, Karen for taking the Boy home for a nap) went to Color Me Mine. It was so much fun! Then, we went to the Pizza Factory for some birthday dinner. They made a personal pizza for Elly in the shape of the number 5! She opened presents from
K-ma & Doc and Keri & Lily. We went home and opened one million teeny tiny pieces from her Littlest Pet Shop, Strawberry Shortcake, and Arial sets. It looks like a lot of presents, but I think they are just big packages.

The Birthday Loot from Mommy and Daddy, K-ma and Doc, and Keri and Lily

On Saturday, we invited her friends to dress like princesses and come to a Princess Party! It was so fun to see all the girls in their princess attire. But, the best part of the party (according to Elly, herself) was that the REAL Cinderella came to her party!!! She made a grand entrance and all the girls were completely shocked! They just stared at her in amazement. It was adorable. She read them a story and taught them how to be princesses, including how to be kind to everyone, walk like a princess, and dance like a princess. Then, we took a photo of each girl with Cinderella and she had to get back to the castle. They were all thrilled that she came in person!

Guess who would NOT let Cinderella leave without getting his picture with her, too?

A friend of mine has a small cake business out of her home and she is AMAZING! She made this awesome Castle Cake for Elly and I was floored with the amount of detail work. She is awesome. Thanks, Caytee!

We sure love that 5 year old!

Just like Daddy.

2011-11-17T13:50:00.000-08:00

Happy You You!

2011-11-14T20:06:00.001-08:00

Elly's birthday is on Wednesday, and we've all been pretty excited. Miles has been learning "Happy Birthday", which comes out as "Happy You You". It's pretty funny.

http://youtu.be/U47TovgXMBw

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T13:42:00.000-07:00

From: Snow White, The Magic Mirror, Dopey, and the Poison Apple

Swimming at Mima and Papa's

2011-10-28T18:19:00.000-07:00

We went out to CA earlier this summer to visit my (Brandon's) family. My parents have this awesome pool with slide and waterfall. When we first got there Elly wouldn't dare to go down the slide. So I went with her a few times. Then I convinced her to go by herself from about a foot up the slide, then two, then three etc. After about 10 minutes she was doing this:

If you want to remember one of her first times swimming, click here:
http://brandonandlacy.blogspot.com/2007/06/swimming-with-teeth.html

The Show

2011-10-25T19:20:00.000-07:00

The kids love putting on shows. This impromptu little number happened on the front porch the other day. Miles appreciates our laughter and praise at about 0:58 when he says, "Thank you".

Autumn Leaves

2011-10-24T21:01:00.000-07:00

Here's Elly playing in the leaves with some friends of ours and their kids. Warning: Lots of high-pitched squeals of joy ahead. (Sorry for the video choppiness; it was getting pretty dark outside.)

Thanks, LeCheminants, for the good times!

Ridin'

2011-10-22T14:57:00.000-07:00

Our neighbors across the street have these fun little "motorcycles" the kids love to ride.

Thanks, Carliles, for the good times and the pictures!

Chase, and Putting the Roomba to Sleep

2011-10-18T20:14:00.000-07:00

Here's a fun little video of the kids chasing each other. Also, of Miles putting the Roomba down for a nap. Yeah, the Roomba. And yeah, to sleep...with blankets.

So we got this Roomba last week, and since then the kids have been mesmerized (and a little frightened in Miles' case) by it. But they love putting it "to sleep", which means they push the button to send it to its dock for charging and then they put blankets on it. Miles calls it "robot". So he says, "Night-night, Robot." It's like part of the family now.

On Campus

2011-10-17T20:44:00.000-07:00

This is the new path on BYU campus. It's beautiful. We took the kids there recently. They loved it!

Uh Oh

2011-10-16T17:37:00.001-07:00

Sometimes Brothee likes dressing up in Elly's clothes and shoes and playing with her dolls.

Chillin' at the Mall

2011-10-13T19:09:00.000-07:00

We went to lunch at the mall the other day and ate outside since the weather was so nice. I love that the kids can have fun anywhere doing anything. That day, they just played on the rocks while we finished eating. I don't know if they were sunbathing or just climbing or what. But it was pretty funny to see.

Elly Quotes

2011-09-30T08:27:00.000-07:00

Today at 8:30am, Elly woke up and came downstairs. 15 minutes later she was crying because I suggested she eat breakfast before she begin painting (watercolors on paper). I was stumped. I asked her what was really wrong and she said:

"Mommy, I'm just still so tired!"

So, I said "Why don't you go back upstairs and go back to sleep, then?"

She didn't even say a word, turned and walked up the stairs. She's been asleep for the last 45 minutes.

Elly on Picture Day

2011-09-24T11:49:00.000-07:00

I snapped a few pictures of Elly on her picture day before school. (Although, I still paid the $1,000 it costs to buy the cheapest package!)

My Preschool Girl:

Gateway Fountain

2011-09-05T20:33:00.000-07:00

just LOVE that smile!


Brothee did NOT like the surprise of the water coming up at him.

sweet, sweet, girl...and look at that toe pointing!

Brandon was such a good sport. It isn't every dad who willingly gets soaked to the bone for the sake of the fun of his daughter!

I LOVE my Bosch!

2011-09-05T19:54:00.000-07:00

I recently made these...from scratch:

If you know me at all, you'll know that this was a pretty amazing break through in my attempts to be domestic and stuff. Let's take a little trip down memory lane...

When we were first married, Brandon did all the cooking. We had a consistent diet of hamburger helper and canned chili. It was fine with me, of course. I would've been happy eating dirt, as long as I was next to him. Ah, the newlywed phase. But, I have a feeling that Bran didn't feel the same way. He dreamed of the day that his loving wife could whip up a Sunday Roast complete with mashed potatoes and delicious dinner rolls.

Brandon was so patient, people. He stuck by my through all the failed dinners (of which we still have many, to be honest). But, I am happy to say that day has finally come. I can now make a kick butt Sunday Roast with "the best mashed potatoes [he's] ever tasted" and homemade dinner rolls from scratch. And I even love doing it. I love making meals that my family thinks are delicious. I love being "homemakey".

A lot of this is due to 9 long years of practice, but I owe my recent success in the kitchen to my new love: The BOSCH. It is the most awesome piece of kitchen machinery ever. I now make all our family's whole wheat bread. I make awesome rolls, cookies, and smoothies (with the blender attachment). Thank goodness for my Bosch is all I can say and thank goodness my husband waited so patiently for me to be competent in the kitchen. It's been a long road and it's still bumpy sometimes!

Scenes from Home

2011-09-05T19:41:00.000-07:00

I've said this before and I'll say it again: I have the best job in the world.

"Dress ups"

Brothee, Elly's pet dog

Elly loves to paint

Elly Riding Her Bike

2011-09-04T19:10:00.000-07:00

Elly recently learned how to ride a "big girl" bike, meaning with pedals and no training wheels:

The part about having pedals is key because we started her on a balance bike (aka running bike) a few months ago. These little bikes are awesome. They have no pedals and the child can easily touch their feet to the ground while sitting on the seat. The idea is that it's harder to learn balance than to learn pedals. So these bikes allow the child to comfortably and safely learn balance as they "run" the bike. Soon, they're gliding with their feet up. Then it's a relatively easy transition to a pedal bike with no training wheels. That's another key. Elly never rode a bike with training wheels, so she never learned to rely on them.

Here's a little video of some of our first sessions learning the balance on the balance bike. Check out this site for the brand we got - Strider. We highly recommend it.

New Haircut

2011-09-01T12:17:00.000-07:00

Mother/Daughter Portraits

2011-09-01T08:55:00.000-07:00

For my mom's Mother's Day gift this year, my sisters and I gave her a portrait session of the four of us.

Our photographer was Justin Hackworth and he is brilliant. I originally applied to be part of his Mother/Daughter Project. We had our session just a couple of weeks ago when Madelyn was in town from Texas. It was so fun to be there just the four of us. Justin was super nice to talk to and the whole thing was a really great experience.

So...something very interesting happened during our photo shoot that you might like. Check it out HERE.

Cruisin'

2011-08-31T20:49:00.000-07:00

Elly at Old Navy

2011-08-28T15:43:00.000-07:00

Many of the Old Navy stores have these mannequins right inside the front door. One day Elly noticed the little mannequin girl and said, "She looks just like me!". She's grown a bit since that first time she noticed her, but she's always kind of been in love with her. So the other day we snapped a picture.

After the Pool

2011-08-27T17:51:00.000-07:00

The kids love going in the little kiddie pool we got this summer. And they love getting wrapped up in their towels too.

Elly Quotes: Our World

2011-08-25T14:56:00.000-07:00

Me: Did you know that Brooklyn (Elly's friend) moved to a new house?

Elly: Far away?

Me: No, just down the street a little bit.

Elly: Oh, good! So, she's still in our world.

(I'm not sure, but I think she meant ward.)

Our Wedding Day

2011-08-24T15:42:00.000-07:00

by Elly Anderson:

MBA Reunion

2011-08-24T15:34:00.000-07:00

Some of our MBA classmates (yes, I said OUR) were in town in July, so we had a big BBQ at our house as a little one year reunion. It was super fun and it made me miss the MBA program so much. What amazing people we met and became such good friends with. What awesome experiences we had together. We will not soon forget how wonderful those two years were!

Lemmons, Andrew, Campbells, Bishops, Anderson, Fullmers, Blairs, Heymans

The girls had a great time in their swimsuits with bubbles...the babies ALL hung out all night in just diapers (there were 7 of them).

Aw.

The Heyman Family

Of course, a little horsing around...

with waterguns

these masters of business will never outgrow squirting each other in the face.

These two babies were born on the same day during the MBA program...half an hour apart.

Elly Quotes - Color Wonder

2011-08-22T21:10:00.000-07:00

Elly has some Color Wonder markers and coloring books. If you're not familiar with these, the markers appear to have no color unless you use them on the Color Wonder paper. When you do, the color "magically" appears. Elly and her Aunt Madelyn were playing with them this evening.

Madelyn: Oh, what are these markers?

Elly: They're called "Color Wonders" as in, "I wonder where the color is."

Playing and Screaming

2011-08-13T14:26:00.000-07:00

This is why it's NEVER quiet at our house, except when they're asleep.

Brothee in the Box

2011-07-22T07:34:00.000-07:00

The other day Brothee kept climbing in and out of this ottoman that had toys in it. His technique for getting in is pretty hilarious.

Elly Quotes

2011-07-19T10:14:00.000-07:00

Playing Restaurant:

Elly: "What would you like to order? We have toast and jam."

Mom: "I'll have toast with jam on the side."

Elly: "Would you like to order for your husband?"

Mom: "Sure. He'll have toast with jam right on it."

Elly: "And a large Pepsi?"

Mom: "Yep."

Elly Quotes

2011-07-12T17:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we were outside in the backyard. I was sitting in a low lawn chair, and the kids were playing in the water. Elly came over and asked for a ride on my leg.

Elly: Dad, lift me up high!

Brandon: I can't right now.

Elly: Why not?

Brandon: I have no leverage.

Elly: Why? Cuz only girls have leverage?

Brothee's Words at 16 Months

2011-07-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

Last week we tried to get Brothee to say some of the words he knows. Some he says just with signs, some verbally, and some both.

It's amazing how fast things have changed in just the past few weeks. He's growing so fast. Even since we took this video he's learned a ton of new words including "movie" and "Elmo".

For Elly - Double Rainbow

2011-07-06T10:26:00.000-07:00

If you've been reading for a while, you know that Elly is a rainbow hunter. See here. Yesterday as I was driving home, I caught this double rainbow. The picture doesn't do it justice. As in the amazing and hilarious Double Rainbow YouTube video, this was a "full-on double rainbow all the way across the sky". I could see both entire rainbows. Fortunately, I didn't start crying since I was driving...on the freeway...and I'm a man.

Cupcakes

2011-07-03T10:38:00.000-07:00

Elly's friend Ayda had a birthday at the park the other day. Everyone had these amazing cupcakes, including The Broth.

Anniversary trip to Las Vegas

2011-06-29T10:55:00.000-07:00

For our anniversary this year (in May), Brandon and I left the kiddos with my favorite babysitter slash cousin slash friend, Karen, and went to Vegas for a couple of days. We saw two shows there which were both amazing! The performers in these shows are just incredible. I kept telling Brandon that it's too bad that these awesome shows are in Vegas because...yuck! After walking around the strip, I felt like coming back a taking a shower to get the "sleaziness" of the place off of me. It wasn't too physically dirty (actually, the hotels do a good job of keeping the garbage off the sidewalks, etc.) It was just the amount of horrible language, smoking in my face, disrespectful, drunken behavior, and all around immorality of the place that bothered me. Thankfully, we stayed at the Marriott Hotel (no smoking or casino) and we spent time at the pool which was relaxing. We also listened to an audio book: The Hunger Games. Which was very interesting. We both liked it and we are looking forward to getting the second one. Get ready for a bunch of self-taken photos:

In front of the Marriott Grand Chateau Las Vegas

At the Lion King

Our favorite part of the Lion King was the woman who played Rafiki. Her voice was just incredible and she was hilarious. All of the voices were amazing, though, including the two children who played Simba and Nala. I wished we had been able to be closer to the stage for this show, the costumes were amazing and the interaction between actors was moving.

Beatles- LOVE by Cirque Du Soleil

This show was super fun because of all the Beatles music. I think that Brandon and I sang out loud the whole time...much to the dismay of the people sitting next to us. We sat at the very top of the theater, which were almost the cheapest seats, but it turns out, (we thought) they were actually the best! We could see all of the stage from above and the acrobats up closer. It was so awesome. We both loved it.

The Volcano at the Mirage

Brandon's reaction to the fact that the Volcano was CRAZY hot. (Brandon said later that it was unfair that I knew the photo was being taken...since I took it.)

The last time Brandon and I went to Vegas together (to the strip) was in 2003. We took these photos then and this time, we tried to re-create them. How do you think we've aged in 8 years?

2003

2011

2003

2011

Not bad, eh?

Daddy Day

2011-06-28T20:24:00.001-07:00

Not too long ago the kids and I had a Daddy day while Lacy was at her Power of Moms meetings. It was a super fun day. One of the things we did was go to lunch at Elly's favorite spot - Panda Express. Yeah, you read that right. She loves Panda. We went to the one in the mall so we could ride rides afterwards. Elly got to ride one solo and one with the Broth.

Like I said, it was super fun!

Brothee and the Window

2011-06-27T18:09:00.001-07:00

Miles loves looking out the window at the birds. He yells to them and points at them, and if you tell him to go look out the window he says "OK!" and runs over to it.

Brothee and the Dishwasher

2011-06-27T18:02:00.001-07:00

Elly Quotes

2011-06-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

Elly: "Mom, are you allergic to horses?"

Me: "Um, I don't know."

Elly: "Well, I hope not because I'm going to be a cowgirl when I grow up...a Cowgirl, a Mom, and a Dancer."

Me: "Awesome."

The Power of Moms

2011-06-16T11:15:00.000-07:00

Me, Karen, Mandy, Tiffany, Saren

I have been avoiding this post for a while because I didn't think that what I would write would do justice to the experience that I've had with The Power of Moms, my obsession as of late. My personal description of The Power of Moms is: an organization of mothers, mothers in all kinds of different positions and stages of life, with the same goal- to be deliberate about being a mom. Moms who feel like rearing and teaching children is the most important job on earth. Moms who understand that the decisions they make as a mother guide not only their lives, but the lives of their children and families. Moms who want to create an atmosphere in their homes where children learn the lessons of life and build character so they can be strong, responsible contributors to the world. Moms that I want to be around and talk to and learn from.

I started reading articles on the website several months ago (this one is my favorite to start with). When I learned more about the retreats that they have- I wanted to go. I didn't know what to expect from a retreat, but in a complete stroke of serendipity, I was treated to two days of immeasurable, empowering, practical information about motherhood- the kind I needed and absolutely loved to hear. Here is a little excerpt from a thank you note I wrote to the organizers:

A few months ago, some fellow mothers and I decided that we needed a "getaway". We left our homes at 5pm on a Friday evening (after Dads got home from work) and went to a friend's cabin. We were home the next day after lunch. It was less than 24 hours, but we did our best to relax. Before the overnight, I told one of my friends that the thing I was the most excited about was being able to sit down on a comfy couch...and not HAVE TO GET UP. Not have to get up and get anyone anything or pick anyone up or make anyone food. I was clearly in need of some sort of break. The overnight was divine. We ate wonderful food, soaked in a hot tub, talked until all hours of the night. Pure fun and no responsibility.

The funny thing was that all I wanted after those hours of break...was more break. When I got home, everything was the same. People still needed me to get them things and fix their problems and make them a sandwich. I felt like getting back in the car that very instant.

The Power of Moms Retreat was miraculous. Meeting other moms with the same desires to change, hearing answers to questions I had, learning ways to do things I badly wanted to do as a mother but didn't know how. I enjoyed literally every minute of it. It was uplifting and inspiring. The food was delicious, the conversations were moving. The whole event was like a little hand-tied package and inside was a gift personalized just for me: the gift I have always wanted for every Mother's Day, Christmas, and Birthday in years. It was the gift of hope, knowledge, and promise to be able to become the mother I always wanted to be. And that mother is not the mother across the street, or that one of my high school friends who seems to be the perfect mother in every way. The mother I'm talking about is me. The best me I can be. For the first time I saw myself as the mother I always wanted to be. And that is a gift that is truly priceless.

The funny thing was, when I got home from the Power of Moms retreat...everything was the same. People still needed me to get them things and fix their problems and make them a sandwich. But this time...I was different. I scooped them all up into my arms and smiled at them. Over the past few days, I have had more patience than I thought existed inside of me. I have taken care of their needs (and my own) with more of me to spare. How is this possible? Because I see motherhood differently now. Motherhood is my gift...to me.

I feel like there is a lot of information "out there" about how to dress your kids well, make an adorable DIY nursery for your baby, refinish old furniture for kids' bedrooms, put on a fantastic kids birthday party complete with homemade cake, party favors, and games, how to make the best chocolate chip cookies, the best and newest apps for kids, etc. There is even a ton of stuff now about how to be a super cute mom with a great fashion sense and a tight body, with links to awesome work-outs and online boutique stores with one of a kind items.

I don't feel like this is the information I need to teach children responsibility, work ethic, confidence, tolerance, patience, service, gratitude, love, obedience, respect and all the other things I think will make them amazing grown-up people. I think those other things are worthwhile and can be great additions to my life (I'd love to refinish and old piece of furniture!), but for right now- I'd like to find out a way I can get Elly to stop whining "I don't want to go bed" each and every night. And Power of Moms has already helped me with a couple of ideas to try. (Another post on "Obey Land" coming up).

If you have the same motherhood goals as I do and need a resource to empower you to be the best mom you can be, check out Power of Moms. Seriously. And keep your eyes peeled for the next retreat in your area because you will absolutely LOVE it!

Rainbows - Part 3: The Final Chapter in the Rainbows Trilogy

2011-06-05T14:02:00.000-07:00

Since last year, Elly has been hunting for a rainbow. Several friends sent her photos of rainbows, and I snapped a shot earlier this year in Part 2 of our rainbow saga. Despite our efforts, we just had no luck spotting a real one...until yesterday.

As is the case with many other stories of dreams coming true and wishes being fulfilled, our tale unfolds at the magical place we call In 'N Out, which (as you can see below) sits just across from the Burlington Coat Factory. And the best part of the whole thing is that Elly was the first to see this rainbow, as we sat waiting for our food and looking out the windows. She was SOOO excited, shouting, "Mom! Dad! Look! There's a rainbow!" We immediately ran outside and quickly snapped these photos before the moment slipped away.

In other good news, our butterflies emerged from their cocoons yesterday (or as Elly has learned to call them - chrysalises). But more on that learning adventure in another post...

Elly Quotes: Lunch

2011-06-01T16:01:00.000-07:00

This is what I was offered in Elly's Play-Doh Restaurant today:

Tomato, Blueberry and Coconut Soup
Orange Juice to drink
Strawberry Shake for dessert

Boy

2011-05-23T12:32:00.000-07:00

Boy is tough. As seen from a previous post, he gets scrapes, gouges, gashes, bruises, dents of all kinds from the natural process of being a boy, I suppose. But, he rarely cries about them; and if he does, it doesn't last long.

The other day, Boy got his regular immunization shots. The nurse got all ready with the bandaid half stuck to the exam table, loosened the cap on the syringe, had me hold his arms while she pinned his legs with her torso and said "here we go". When the needle went into his little thigh, Boy did nothing. He looked down at his leg for a second. But, no shriek, no scream, no wince of any kind. ? What ? Okay, it was only one injection- but it packed three different immunization fluids in it. After the shot was over, all he wanted to do was play with the band-aid on his leg. The nurse was as stunned as I was. "That's never happened to me before" she said. "He didn't even flinch."

Fast Forward

Later that day, I was strapping Boy into his car seat when I accidentally took my phone out of my pocket within his view to look at the time. He immediately began whining and reaching out to grab it. Whenever he wants the phone he says "Hi...hi...hi." When I quickly put it back in my pocket, closed the door and got into the driver's seat- he began to wail! Big huge tears streaming down his face. He screamed the entire drive home from the store (20 minutes), intermittently yelling "Hiiiiii..aaaaah..hiiiii!"

Shot in the leg? No biggie. Cell phone denial? Complete devastation.

Boy

2011-05-19T09:46:00.000-07:00

Brothee loves being outside, and he doesn't mind if his bare feet and legs get all scraped up by the ground, rocks, bushes, trees, etc. He really liked this tree on campus the other day.

Elly's Easter Talk for Primary - "Alive Again"

2011-05-14T19:32:00.000-07:00

Elly gave a talk in Primary about Easter. We helped her decide what to say, then Lacy drew pictures of the 3 concepts so Elly could talk about them in her own words (instead of us whispering in her ear). She did a great job! She talked about the Savior's resurrection ("He came alive again"), an Easter walk she took with Doc and Lily where they noticed nature coming alive again, and Grammie and Camille who died and who will come alive again. The she shared her testimony in her own words.

Here's our practice that morning before church:

Playing on the Couch

2011-05-09T10:28:00.000-07:00

We bought this couch a few years ago, and it's been (by far) the best toy we've ever purchased for the kids. Elly loved crawling and jumping on it, and now Miles does too. The best part is that he's old enough now for them to play together.

Haircut for The Broth

2011-05-05T19:23:00.000-07:00

I was super nervous about cutting The Broth's hair myself, but it was getting way out of hand:

BEFORE

AFTER

I think I did a pretty darn good job cutting my one year old's hair with electric clippers, if I do say so. My secret was putting him in his high chair with a movie in front of him on my laptop and letting Elly feed him smarties one by one. Still, it was NOT easy.

SUPER CUTE AFTER

"Typical BOY face" AFTER

I think it makes him look so much older...and also so much more adorable...if that is possible.

Sibling Love

2011-05-05T19:07:00.000-07:00

I walked into the playroom this afternoon and found these siblings like this (I honestly did NOT pose them like this, I promise.):

watching a show

Then, a few minutes later, they did this:

reading

Miles Tells A Story

2011-05-05T14:24:00.001-07:00

Miles talks (gibberish) like crazy now. Here's a little story he told us the other day as he was drawing.

Frisbee in the Backyard

2011-05-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

The other day I taught Elly how to throw a frisbee. She picked it up right away.

In true Elly style, she made plenty of faces as we played.

Brothee drew with chalk on the ground...

until he spotted the frisbee...

then he wanted to play, of course.

The New Fort

2011-04-30T16:04:00.000-07:00

We bought this new play structure for the kids to play on. We were going to put it outside, but it's been too cold and rainy/snowy, so it's inside right now. The kids love it. It's everything from a climbing wall to a slide to a fort to a ship to a dog pound (we watch Lady and the Tramp a lot) to whatever.

Easter Sunday

2011-04-26T18:49:00.000-07:00

Elly Quotes

2011-04-25T20:28:00.000-07:00

Elly: Dad, you had a day off today.

Brandon: Today was Friday. I went to work today, so I didn't have a day off. I had to work.

Elly: Yeah, you went off to work. You had a day off.

Boy

2011-04-23T15:09:00.000-07:00

Brothee has been getting a lot of bumps, bruises, cuts and scrapes lately as he explores, climbs, falls, etc. He's pretty much fearless, and he loves being outside. We have some rocks in our backyard that lead up to a higher area above the grass. He climbed right up the rocks last week. Elly definitely wasn't doing that kind of thing when she was 14 months old.

Here's a little sample of his current injuries. The cut on his hand happened at Church on Sunday. I have no idea how, and he didn't even cry. I just looked down at one point, and he had this nasty cut.

Elly Quotes- Boy Edition

2011-04-19T14:04:00.001-07:00

Elly's Friend: Does your brother love pirates?
Elly: Yeah. He loves everything.

Boy

2011-04-19T10:08:00.000-07:00

Rocks

2011-04-18T15:34:00.000-07:00

We went to dinner the other night, and Miles started to get antsy towards the end. So I took the kids outside while to play while everyone else finished up. I thought they might want to play on the grass or play a game or whatever. Nope. All they wanted to do was play with the rocks. Both of them.

Elly liked jumping around on them or gathering them and picking out cool looking ones. Miles just wanted to hit them against the wall. He did it over and over for like 15 minutes.

Snow on April 3rd

2011-04-03T19:50:00.000-07:00

We woke up this morning to quite a bit of snow on the ground. Yeah. April 3rd. It was 75 degrees the past couple of days, and then literally overnight it turned back into winter. But it was pretty awesome cuz we put the snow gear on and had some fun.

Drawing During Conference

2011-04-03T19:40:00.000-07:00

This is what Elly and Miles did during conference (at least for a little while). Elly's sheet was given to her by her Primary teachers. It has a picture of each Apostle and a little tie next to each for her to color. She loved it. Brothee loved pretending to color too.

Boy

2011-04-01T09:21:00.000-07:00

The weather was beautiful yesterday, so we were outside playing. Elly was riding her trike, but then she abandoned it to go play with neighborhood friends. Brothee jumped right on.

Yeah, he's in just his diaper. And yeah, he's on a pink trike. He doesn't seem to care. He's just excited to be riding. He's not a baby anymore. He's totally a little boy.

Elly Quotes - Elly the Scientist

2011-03-31T20:10:00.000-07:00

Elly was having some Grape-Nuts tonight and put a little sugar on it.

Elly: "Dad, when the milk goes on it will melt the sugar. Watch!"

I talked to her about her observation and asked her if she thought water would dissolve the sugar (after teaching her the word "dissolve"). She thought it would, so we performed an experiment and observed the outcome. She was right and got excited to do more experiments.

So we tested salt. Her hypothesis that it would also dissolve in water was confirmed by her experiment and observation. So she formed a new hypothesis. I asked her what else might dissolve. She went over to Lacy and said, "Mom, what color is baking soda?" She was forming a hypothesis around the color - white.

Sure enough, the baking soda dissolved. But then we tested brown sugar. It dissolved too. I asked her why it dissolved even though it wasn't white. She said, "I think because it's a type of powder." (So smart!). I told her I thought she was right. The color didn't matter, just that it was a powder.

By now she was enthralled.

Brandon: "Do you think something that's not a powder will dissolve? Like a little piece of plastic?"

Elly: "Mmm, probably not."

Brandon: "What about if it's white?"

Elly: "Mmm, I don't know. Let's just try it and find out!" (I was bursting - so happy!)

We put a little white solid object in the bowl and poured the water. It, of course, did not dissolve.

Elly: "Dad, it's too big. It didn't dissolve!"

Our first foray into the world of science. I'm super excited to keep doing more experiments with my little girl!

Elly Quotes

2011-03-28T17:27:00.001-07:00

Elly (to Mom and Dad): Pretend that we were at a museum and there were lots of statues and I was an Egypt girl and you saw me and I was the coolest statue in the museum.

Brandon and Lacy: OK.

Elly Quotes

2011-03-20T19:40:00.001-07:00

Brandon (calling out): Elly, where are you?

Elly (calling back): In the bathroom.

Brandon: Ok. That's cool.

Elly: No. It's not cool. (exiting the bathroom) And it's not funny and it's not important and it's not fun.

Brandon: Oh. Right. Sorry.

Elly: Well, it is important.

Elly Quotes

2011-03-20T19:25:00.001-07:00

Elly: Dad, one night after I went to bed I came back downstairs and saw you and Mom saying your prayers and you said that you were grateful for me.

Brandon: We are very grateful for you. How did that make you feel?

Elly: Happy. Love you.

Brandon: Love you too.

Elly Quotes

2011-03-17T15:51:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, Elly was playing with her 'My Little Ponies' when I definitely heard one of the ponies say to another: "Gracias".

I also heard "Oh, Mrs. Wilson..." in a high pitched voice.

UPDATE:

Today, the Spanish soap opera that Elly began the other day continued.

One of the ponies said in a harsh tone: "Lori! Get back to work!"

Then Lori sheepishly said "Yes, Mrs. Wilson".

I can't wait to see what happens!

Elly Quotes

2011-03-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

Elly was watching The Backyardigans on the iPod today, which we don't normally allow on Sundays. As we tried to convince her to put it down and come watch a Book of Mormon video, this exchanged happened:

Lacy: "Elly, please put down the iPod. You can come watch the Book of Mormon show."

Elly: "But I want to watch this."

Lacy: "We need to do things on Sunday that help us think about Jesus."

Elly: (With eyes still fixed on The Backyardigans) "I'm thinking about Jesus right now."

Lacy: "Oh? What about?"

Elly: "About how he loved children...and helped children."

Needless to say, we were caught off guard by her trickery.

Pizza Makes Us Happy

2011-03-12T17:35:00.000-08:00

It's Saturday night, so that means pizza at our house. And everyone in our family loves pizza, including Miles.

Here's a video of Elly at pretty much the exact same age, in the same chair, eating...what else? Pizza!

Hit the "pizza" label below to see our family's love affair with pizza.

Man Date

2011-03-08T12:45:00.000-08:00

Brothee and I had a man date the other day. Lacy was enjoying some time with friends, and Elly was at a birthday party. So Miles and I did a bunch of dude stuff, which included:

Eating meat and fried food (see below at In 'N Out)
Shopping for electronics
Looking at cars
Checking out golf clubs (I want new irons)
and Wearing geeky t-shirts with popular sci-fi references

Good times hanging out with my boy.

BTW, I call this photo "Eyes on the Prize".

Brothee Walks!

2011-03-06T13:50:00.000-08:00

Miles has been able to take a few steps here and there for a while now, but he finally got enough balance and courage this past week to actually start walking. He often still prefers crawling, but he's pretty much got walking down now.

Elly's friend, Addy, came over to play the other day. When she saw Miles walking she said, "Brothee can walk? I didn't know Brothee could walk!" I guess we call him Boy and Brothee more than we call him Miles. Whatever you want to call him, Brothee can indeed walk.

Elly Quotes

2011-03-05T08:31:00.000-08:00

Brandon (after looking in the dishwasher): "The dishes are all clean."

Elly: "That's recycling."

Brandon: "Recycling?" (baffled that she even knows the word or what it means)

Elly: "Yeah, because after we wash the dishes we reuse them. Reuse is part of recycling."

Brandon: (again amazed that she knows the word 'reuse') "Where did you learn that? At school?"

Elly: "No. Abby's Flying Fairy School on Sesame Street."

Thank you, TV, for teaching my kid stuff.

Rainbows - Part 2

2011-03-04T08:08:00.000-08:00

You might remember last year when we posted about Elly really wanting to see a rainbow. Unfortunately, she never got the opportunity, but some great friends sent us pictures of rainbows for her to see. Yesterday it was raining, and I snapped this shot for her:

When I got home from work, we went rainbow hunting, but it had stopped raining by then....so we didn't have any luck. But we won't give up!

Timp

2011-03-04T08:04:00.000-08:00

The view through my windshield on the way to work this morning. The mountains in Utah are amazing.

"Shortcut"

2011-02-28T15:21:00.000-08:00

Elly likes to refer to haircuts as "shortcuts"; you can't cut hair without it getting shorter, right? She got a new "shortcut" last week:

I didn't bother combing her hair before we went, as you can see.

long hair

While we were waiting, we got a cupcake next door.

styling

I said "Elly, show me your new haircut".

The back

The best part of getting a "shortcut" is the sucker afterward.

Boy is 1!

2011-02-21T15:54:00.000-08:00

Boy turned 1 year old a couple of weeks ago. He is awesome and also hilarious. We had an awesome technology themed birthday party for him and he loved it.

The Birthday BOY

The Invitation

Some of my favorite things Boy did this year:

Get Born

Smile more than any child on earth ever has

Ask for Elly ("Eehh") the moment he wakes up, everytime

Wave "Hello" and "Goodbye" with his palm pointing to the sky like he's serving a plate in a restaurant

Learn how to say: Dog ("Dahhh"), Hi ("Ai"), Dada, Elly

Learn how to sign: Eat, Please, and More

Learn how to walk

Hug and Kiss us all whenever we want

Some of my NOT favorite things Boy did this year:

Spit up more than any newborn on earth

Shovel food into his mouth so quickly we had to do the baby Heimlich several times a day

Get Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease a few weeks ago

Lick the dustpan

Swallow an entire Jolly Rancher whole

Put his hands in the toilet

Dig through the garbage

Eat Children's Mentholatum

The Party:

Boy liked ~~opening~~ watching Elly open his presents

This was his absolute FAVORITE present- his OWN laptop! (Notice him looking around to make sure no one takes it away)

The party goers laughed out loud while watching him play with his new laptop for 20 minutes.

The TiVO remote Cake I made him; he LOVES the TiVO remote.

The obligatory eating of the cake shots

Fed some to Aunt Keri

This hat lasted for 5 seconds.

Elly Quotes

2011-02-09T13:44:00.000-08:00

Elly: Mom, I love you 10.

Me: I love you, too, honey. (not wanting to put a number on my love for her.)

Elly: I love Dad 10, too.

Me: Dad loves you, too.

She runs away.

Later, I overhear her say in a whisper to Miles:

Miles, I love you 8.

Elly Quotes

2011-02-06T10:41:00.000-08:00

While making Macaroni and Cheese...

Elly: I want to put in the little seeds that make it taste good.

Brandon: The seeds?

Elly: Oh, I mean the, um, seasonings.

Brandon: The cheese powder?

Elly: Yeah, the cheese seasonings.

Elly and Hailey

2011-02-05T09:53:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of videos from last May. Hailey was Elly's best friend during the MBA program. They played together practically every day. We miss you, Wankiers!

Yes, we do have two children...

2011-02-03T13:41:00.000-08:00

Boy was asleep when I did Elly's photo shoot, but Brandon was just saying the other day how few pictures I take of him compared to the millions we have of Elly, so I tried to make him sit still for two seconds. This is the result (at the end, he got really mad when I wouldn't let him have the camera):

The Result

2011-02-03T12:47:00.000-08:00

This is the result of the preceding Elly Quote:

Elly Quotes

2011-02-03T11:29:00.000-08:00

Me: Elly, you are so beautiful, will you let me take your picture?

Elly: To where?

(Have I honestly never said this to her before? That seems ridiculous.)

Elly's Art - Dinner Calendar

2011-01-30T09:24:00.000-08:00

Lacy's been doing a great job planning a dinner calendar every week. The other day Elly wanted to help, so this is what resulted. How awesome is her drawing of a taco?

Elly's Art - Going to a Movie

2011-01-29T09:11:00.000-08:00

Elly is a pretty amazing artist. She's always drawing, coloring, painting, etc. And she'll just do it on her own, drawing whatever pops into her head, which is usually our family. She did this piece the other day, which she calls "Going to a Movie".

There are several things I love about this:

It's night time...cuz that's when you go to the movies, right?
Her handwriting is awesome (better than mine!)
That she colored in the "o" of "going"
Dad's hair
Mom and Elly's painted nails
Tiny Brothee
And that the boys have legs and the girls just have dresses w/o legs

Elly and Gigi Cruisin' in the Jeep

2011-01-25T19:19:00.000-08:00

Elly's cousin, Gigi, is just a few months older than Elly. They had a blast playing together over Christmas. My parents have this kiddie Jeep and big lot to drive it around on. Gigi loved driving, and Elly hated it. She only wanted to ride while Gigi drove. Win-win.

Miles Banana

2011-01-24T18:47:00.000-08:00

Here's a little clip of Miles trying to say "banana". Yes, he's upset until we give him the food. That's pretty much every moment of his life so far.

Elly - Just Dance 2

2011-01-23T09:57:00.000-08:00

My brother's kids have this game for the Wii called Just Dance 2. It's hilarious. You just hold the Wii controller and mimic the dancing figure on the screen. We played it over Christmas. Elly is pretty awesome at it:

Our Christmas Card

2011-01-22T11:53:00.000-08:00

For our Christmas Card this year, we couldn't decide if we should use the photo of the kids on Santa's lap or these photos taken of us at the Adobe Christmas party. I think we made the right choice...don't you?

Elly Thoughts on Work, Moms, and Princesses

2011-01-20T18:40:00.000-08:00