summer in january.

Clay had a day off last week, and we took advantage of it by going to a fun indoor pool.

I got my exercise for the day in by swimming some laps (my new favorite workout)

then I joined Clay and Ellie in the lazy river.

Playing in the water reminded me of summer, and it was so fun.

Winter always brings bouts of the blues to our house, so I'm always looking for new ways to fight them. The extended fall weather has helped a lot ... but now that the snow is here, we will just have to bundle up and fight the cold to get a little but of sunshine.

I thought winter would be hard with an active toddler on top of the lack of happy-mood-inducing sunshine, but that part hasn't been too bad. Most of the time, Ellie is content to pretend, color and play with play dough all day and I often have to bribe her to leave her "projects" behind to go outside or hop in the car so we can get out of the house.

Luckily, there are storytimes galore at libraries, book stores, etc. around here and we take full advantage of those. And I am slowly getting back into sewing some simple things (so far -- some fun yellow curtains for our bedroom, headbands and a hooded towel. Lots more on the list -- like this adorable cardigan).

But, still, I am already holding out for those days in March, April, May . . . when the sun starts peeking through the clouds and we can go outside without a heavy coat!

Ellie's Christmas Surprise

Christmas Eve had Ellie jumping on the bed singing "Santa Clause is Coming to Town" in her jammies before bed. 

The morning brought a great Christmas program at church, a yummy breakfast, then time to open presents with family. 

Ellie's last-but-not-least presents to open were these babies: 

My mom gave me a play kitchen my siblings and I played with as kids and Clay and I had fun refinishing it for Ellie. 

Before:

After:

 I made a little apron for her too, and she was in business. 

I love watching this little girl pretend in her new kitchen. 

Christmas, Part II

On Christmas Eve morning, we took Ellie to a Breakfast with Santa.

{Showing her excitement to sit on Santa's lap}

{Wondering why this guy looked different from the first Santa she saw}

{Her favorite part of the morning was riding rides and playing arcade games.}

 {Mini bowling with dad}

That evening, we headed to Clay's mom's house for the annual Christmas Eve party.

{The kids had fun decorating cookies for Santa.}

{Ellie couldn't wait to put them out for him.}

{When she discovered this the next morning, she told everyone all about how Santa ate the cookies and milk she put out for him.}

Next up: Christmas morning!

The photo fest is almost done, I promise. :)

Christmas, Part I

Annual Christmas party in Gunnison with Clay's grandma

{Ellie learned a new trick from one of the kiddies there.}

{She also charmed her audience with "Jingle Bells," with the help of her twinner cousin, Kayda}

{Sittin' with grandpa Jed}

{Ellie and her great grandma Marion. This lady is amazing. Her memory always impresses me, and she still plays the piano and accordion like a pro.}

{Our nephew Chase snugglin' on Clay}

Christmas Caroling with the girls

{For the past 2 years, my friend Kate has organized a night of Christmas caroling to some widowers and other cute old couples in her grandma's neighborhood. Every year, it is the highlight of my season. The people are always so appreciative and have been known to shed a tear or even sing along. It really helps me feel the true spirit of Christmas.}

The Princess Festival

{This year, our Pass of All Passes included tickets to The Princess Festival, so I thought we would check it out. Young actors dress up like princesses and princes and do a little Christmas musical. They teach the kids a little dance and give them a present at the end. Very cute.}

I love all of the festivities of Christmastime -- and that there are even more for us to go to now that we have a kid! I already can't wait for next year.

Merry Christmas!

Best Buds

El got to spend some quality time with her cousin last week.

Here's how they kept busy . . .

Baking:

Shopping:

Riding in the bike trailer:

Going to gymnastics:

And doing lunch.

We loved visiting a cool, somewhat random farm/petting zoo.

But the ostriches looked a little dangerous.

{feeding the Lorikeets}

 

The highlight of the trip was definitely watching these two cute girls pretend together and be stuck to each other's sides.

One night, my sister and I caught Ellie and Kate going through a tub of clothes, pulling them out one at a time and saying things like, "This one's cute!" "That one's so pretty!" but once they found a swimsuit, it was time to pretend swim on the carpet.

 

 {train ride at the zoo}

It was so nice to be with family instead of at home alone while Clay traveled for work.

Now if I can just get my sister to move back to Utah!

My birthday girl

This little girl had a birthday. We celebrated with a simple get-together with close friends and grandparents.

It was perfect. 

Ellie (thankfully) got a nap in on our way to my mom's. She's a sprawler like her mama.

Ellie was so excited as we waited for everyone to come over.

First, we enjoyed some pizza. Since it was her birthday and all, we let Ellie have her request of holding and eating a full size piece by herself.

When she opened her presents, she was good about saying, "Wooooow!" and "Thank you." When she opened a handmade little skirt from the Waltons, she said, "It's so cute!" That's my girl.

She requested a pink birthday cake, so I tried a new red velvet recipe (close enough to pink, right?) and made some mint oreo ice cream. Mmmm. Ellie excitedly joined in the "Happy Birthday" song and loved blowing her candles out (with dad's help).

Cute new jammies and slippers from grandma

She was showered with presents and love and had the time of her life. The fun thing is that we still have Christmas to look forward to with her!

Now I am going to record some fun things she does at this stage in her life so we can read back and remember them:

The other day she said, “Mommy, I miss you.” “I love you, mommy.”

She also said in the car one day, “Mom, you’re gorgeous.” melted my heart.

She is a great eater and says “mmmm” when she eats something she loves.

Every time she sees a dog she wants to go pet it, even if it is the size of a horse like the Great Dane we saw the other day.

She loves playing with other kids, regardless of their ages. She will make friends with random kids at restaurants or playgrounds and run around laughing with them.

All she wants to do all day every day is pretend. Her favorite pretending games:

-In the middle of doing something she will randomly say, “The babies are throwin' up!” we instantly have to go take their temperatures and get them some medicine, stat. She loves playing with her dolls – taking them on picnics, on the “school bus” and saying, “where we goin', mom?”

-She also plays what she calls the “bye” game. She will put a tote bag around her shoulder and say, “I’m goin on a trip to Florida/Australia/Arizona,” then leave. About 5 seconds later, she runs back with a huge smile on her face and says, “I came back!”

-She comes up to me and either says, “Mom, I wanna buy!” (I know, scary.) or “I gotta buy my food.” I then play the cashier and offer her different items from her toy box for her to buy. She hands me her card from her play wallet and I swipe it. One time I said, “Thank you, Mrs. Christenson,” and she said in a corrective tone, “E-O-N.” I realized she meant “S-O-N,” which I constantly find myself spelling to people since Christensen is more common.

-She is potty training like a champ.

We love our baby girl!