Our visit to Chi-town

We just got back from a 5 day vacation to Chicago. We were able to visit with Edward's sister Katie and her family. We had a great time. We were able to see the Chicago Children's Museum, Shedd Aquarium, and The Field Museum. We were able to cooridinate our vacation with baby Ellie's blessing.

Chicago Museums

On the first night we were there we went to the Children's Musuem. I coordinated our visit with free admission night. The kids had a great time, although the big kids said it was a bit "babyish." They could have fooled me.

Fun with the Reall family

We had a WONDERFUL time visiting with the Realls! They are so much fun! Matt really looked up to Ross. I think he especially appreciated Ross sharing his gameboy with him. He and Ross would both tease each other about the Cubs & Cards. That rivalary starts early.

Sam cracked us up! He has such a great little personality. He is ALWAYS some sort of superhero, and he makes up a lot of rules to go with his alter egos. He couldn't remember any of our names during our visit. He kept asking, "What's the big ones name?" or "What's the boy's name that I've been playing with?" My favorite would be when Katie and I were holding the babies, and he would ask Katie, "Is this my baby sister?" I guess we were throwing him off.

Baby Ellie is such a little sweetie. She is so tiny compared to her three-month-older cousin Mallory. We were glad we could be there for her blessing.

Baby Talk

Baby Talk from stephanie felker and Vimeo.


Mallory's little baby talk is so sweet. Turn up the volume and enjoy. Also, note how my little genius waves when I say "bye-bye."

Mr. Popular

When I picked the kids up from school yesterday, Ross and I had the following conversation:

Ross: You know mom, I'm becoming pretty popular in the third grade.

Me: Oh yeah? Why do you say that?

Ross: Because I go tell Brandon to stop picking on kids (Brandon is a HUGE bully. He's twice the size of the other third graders. The poor kid doesn't have many advantages in his life. The one advantage he does have is his size, and he's ALWAYS using it to intimidate the other kids).

Me: How do you do that?

Ross: At recess I see him picking on kids so I go up to him and say, "Brandon, you need to walk

away and leave him/her alone."

Me: How does Brandon respond to that?

Ross: He says, "I'm big and scary! You better run away."

Me: Then what do you do?

Ross: I just say, "Brandon, I'm not leaving until you walk away." I'm not scared of him, Mom.

We'll see if he still feels that way when he comes home with a black eye. Watch for more on this subject.

Tasty tidbits

Drew is my little chef. He loves to help me in the kitchen. He pretty much asks me anytime I cook or bake if he can help. For anyone who's ever cooked with a 3 year-old, you know it can get messy, but I usually bite my tongue and let him "help" me. Last night he wanted to help me make meatloaf. We usually take turns putting in the ingredients. When I was taking my turn I added dried minced onions. He watched me with a concerned look on his face and asked, "Are those fingernails?"

WARNING...

...take caution when watching this! Actually, if you are easily grossed out, DON'T WATCH! My Dad and brother, Aaron, had to turn away. Ben couldn't even look. For everyone else, this is hysterical. The first time I saw this clip of babies spitting-up, I laughed until tears were rolling down my cheeks. My favorite is the grandma holding the baby. I guess these clips are so funny to me because all of our babies have been major pukers. To quote the great Pee-wee Herman, "I lived it, Dottie." Poor Drew got it from Mallory right in the mouth last week. He started gagging until he nearly threw up. Good times. Good times.

And the winner is...

A few days ago, Mallory rolled over three times in a row. Drew seriously told me, "We need to put her in a baby contest so she can win." If anyone hears of a baby rolling contest, let me know and we'll sign her up!

Cartoon cuddle time

Drew wanted Mallory to watch cartoons with him this morning. She actually wouldn't take her eyes off the T.V.

Ode to Sterling

Drew's cousin, Sterling, is hands down his favorite person on the planet. Dad - #3. Mom - #2. Sterling - #1. The following is a correspondence between these two cuties. Their mommies helped them to e-mail each other tonight.

(From Sterling)

Drew,

I love you. I think that might be it.

I love Drew. B/c drew has a great time at his house. I love drew. "He is the best friend I never had" He is so grateful for Heavenly Father to make him on the earth. Thankful that we have a great day.

Bye Drew

From Sterling

I will see you next time because I love you I love Drew because he is my best friend because I love him.

(From Drew)

STERLING,

I LOVE YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE MY BEST FRIEND EVER. I LIKE TO COME TO YOUR HOUSE. I ATE YOUR FOOD. I GOT YOUR DRINKS. I ATE YOUR RICE KRISPY TREATS. I HOPE YOU HAVE THE BOOK "CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS."

I LOVE YOU,
DREW

Best buddies in action
When we were on vacation last year, everyone was downstairs visiting one afternoon. My dad said, "Does that sound like water running?" I ran upstairs to investigate after I noticed Drew and Sterling were missing. They were buck naked and getting themselves into the tub. I had to Photo Shop this picture to make it rated G.

Drew's two favorite things: Sterling and earlobes.

Meeting for the first time
February 2004

Playing together at the playground

Performing in Columbia

Ben is off to BYU

Ben and his crew

My little bro, Ben, is headed off to college this week. He leaves Saturday for Brigham Young University in Provo, UT. He is excited about his new adventure. We're happy for him too. Well, most of us are. Some of the nieces and nephews are having a hard time knowing he'll be so far away. Elizabeth can hardly bear to think about it. I keep telling her we'll see him in October, then again for Thanksgiving, and then he'll be back for Christmas break. That's not good enough for her. I don't know what Ben will do without having little munchkins crawling and jumping all over him each Sunday. Maybe take a nap.

He is heading out with a bit of a disadvantage: Mono. He'd been feeling under the weather for a while, and a blood test confirmed last week that he has mononucleosis. Maybe that will detract him from kissing all of the, as he would say, "Smokin' Hot" girls for a while.

Our little songbird

Mallory loves to sing...at the top of her lungs. She piped in at church today while the congregation was singing. She talks, sings, screeches, and howls constantly now. It's pretty cute. I've actually recorded a small clip of her doing her "baby talk," but I can't figure out how to post it. Any suggestions?

Drew likes to hop in and go for a ride.

La la la la la!

I think she hit a high G.

Goodbye, Andrea!

Andrea and her adoring fans

Andrea had to head back to Germany today. We tried to talk her in to staying, just like we have tried to do every other time she's gone back. It didn't work. She thought she'd better get back to her family, boyfriend, and job.

Before she left, she gave each of the kids some German money. They were very excited. Elizabeth told me she now has money from America, Germany, Canada, and Mexico. She wants to go to each country to buy something with her money.

Elizabeth's dental appointment

I couldn't resist taking this shot of Elizabeth at the dentist's office. I threw my camera in my bag because at her last appointment she was absolutely hilarious after receiving the laughing gas. She sang "Zipp-a-dee-doo-da" at the top of her lungs and was overly animated in her movements. She acted pretty normally today, although she was convinced that a bug flew into the nose piece. She had the dental assistant checking it out. Anyway this is before...
...and after. She looked so silly! The left side of her face was numb for hours. You'll notice even her left nostril is numb. We had some good laughs out of it.

Pool fun

All decked out and ready for fun!

Harrison is just about to make a monster splash with his cannon ball.
Grant does a handstand on the water.
Ross' dive
Grant has to out perform Harrison with his cannon ball.
Elizabeth performs what she calls her "fancy move."

Ross tries to make a tiny splash.
Mallory is not quite so sure she wants to back float. Actually, she really likes the pool as long as it's warm enough. Of course the other kids swarm her as soon as she gets in.

Drew always either hangs out on the steps or in my arms. He definitely doesn't take after Elizabeth in the adventure department.

Elizabeth could live in the pool.

Ross is also a little fish.

Drew, me, Elizabeth, and Andrea

Fun with stickers

Tonight we went to visit our neighbors. We baked them some chocolate chip cookies to return the favor when they did the same thing for us. They invited us in for a visit. Mrs. Wolo brought out a toy chest that she keeps for her grandchildren. In the chest were many, many stickers. I noticed Elizabeth and Drew playing with the stickers and then putting several on Mallory. By the time I actually looked at their faces, this is what they had created. I think the Wolos enjoyed our visit.

I can't help but sing to myself the Sesame Street Song, "One of these things is not like the others. One of these things just doesn't belong. Can you tell which thing is not like the others by the time I finish this song."

My German Sister!

My German sister, Andrea, is "back home" visiting us for two weeks! Wunderbar! She lived with my family in 1994 & 1995 as an exchange student. We met in September of 1994 when we were on the high school volleyball team together. She originally lived with another family. One evening in November, I was giving her a ride home from practice. I was asking her how she was enjoying America and living with the family she was with. She told me she was loving her experience, but she felt very sad because she was going to have to live with a different family because the other family was having some problems. After I dropped her off, I went home and begged my parents to let her come live with us. I kept asking, "Can we get her?" They agreed, and our entire family has come to love her as one of our own. We love her dearly.

Andrea has just completed her studies to become a lawyer. In Germany, their schooling takes a very long time. It's not uncommon to be in law school for six or more years. She is very relieved to have passed her exams. She starts her new job in September and will be working in Real Estate Law. I'm so happy for her.

My group of friends from high school and I had a lot of fun with Andrea. We had her teach us how to say silly and sometimes naughty things in German. In our huddles during our volleyball games, we would shout, "Ich liebe dich!" (I love you!) or "Ich habe grate ge furtz" (I have to fart). Mature - no. Hysterically funny - yes. Who knows what our opposing teams and the spectators thought. We would also take her through drive-thrus at fast food restaurants and make her order her food in German. Once we took her through the drive-thru at Steak-n-Shake and we told her to order a chocolate shake in German. When she finally agreed and placed her order, there was silence on the other end for a while. A teen-aged boy finally replied, "Um. No comprende." Andrea was kind of shy, but we always talked her into doing crazy things just so we could get a laugh. She was such a good sport.



This is Alivia. She is such a smiley baby. Her mom and dad, Andrea & Josh S., are friends from high school. Andrea S. was part of our group of friends from high school that did silly things with Andrea (kind of confusing I know, but the Andrea's are pronounced differently). Andrea S. and Alivia came to visit with Andrea at a little party we had for her.

Elizabeth and Drew enjoyed playing with Alivia.

Ellie, Katie, and Jason also came to visit. Ellie is getting so big! She turns one at the end of the month.