Valentine's Door Hanger

So Jay and I made a craft together!

We moved to a new place and we actually have a front door that you can see- and it's a pretty door- it needed something to celebrate this LOVE holiday. I almost bought something at Walmart but we've been talking about doing more projects together (which I am SUPER excited about! I think I'll have to post our plan for the year).

It turned out super cute! I love making things! 

And then Grant and I decorated the big windows with some hearts. And funny story- so we wanted to see what it all looked like so we stepped out of the house and Grant closed the door. Locked out! I was in disbelief. I was so grateful I grabbed Esther before we stepped outside! We lived at our old place for 1 year with 3 free lock out coupons. Never used one. Then the second week we are here I had to call the office for someone to come let us in. Luckily it was during office hours and my neighbor across the street had their number.  Kind of embarrassing though. Just so glad I wasn't in pajamas running around - we didn't have shoes though- but no snow- eh but still I'm going to be WAY careful from now on. Phew!

The view from the street did look fabulous though :)

Esther 11 Months

 Esther Joy 

11 Months

It works this way. Esther as the 2nd child. I don't think it would have worked the other way around- personality wise.

When I would read to Grant, he would sit there contently as I made expressions and inflections and he would smile.

Esther is a whirlwind. She demands to be read to. "Uhhhh Uuuuh!!!!" is her plea. I had to move the bookshelf out of her room so she wouldn't jump off my lap and break her neck from all flinging herself in despair that we can't keep reading and take a nap.

But really- I had time with Grant- he was my first baby, I had time and attention all for him as he was just patient and content. Esther needed her personality as the 2nd because there is a toddler and if she's going to be read to it's because she makes it perfectly clear that it must be done.

She is demanding. That's the word for the month. Okay, and FUN. I can't not say that word this month as well.

She dances and sings and copies little noises.

Exhibit A:

Her first one was "Uh-oh" and she would say it all day into the night as this and that drops to the ground- on purpose of course, just for the joy of using her words! Then lately it's been wagging a finger and saying "Uh-uh" (meaning "no"). 

From her curly blonde hair, blue eyes, to her "Mater teeth". Have you seen Cars? Yes, she has Mater teeth right now. And her fat playdoe feet! I could watch her all day- oh wait I do and I love it! She is so beautiful and lively.

She is just full of LIFE.

Mater Teeth

Did you know one night I was feeling sad. I was just needing some comfort. I remember thinking how wonderful it would be if God could just send me an angel to give me a big hug. Guess who woke up not 5 seconds later?

At first, I sigh, going, "You have to be a mom even when you don't feel like it" to realizing that God was telling me he sent me an angel. And as I held her and caressed her sweet cheek with mine I felt my Heavenly Father's love.  She is one of my angels. I'm so blessed to be able to feel her little heart beat so close to mine.

She keeps me on my toes. Especially when she is tired. At church today I realized she isn't going to sleep as long as we are out somewhere and there are people.  I could persuade Grant with some nursing but Esther is a different creature. So I brought this tired tired baby to Relief Society with me (did I mention we have 1 o'clock church- right during her long big nap) and she's sitting there blowing raspberries, demanding the lady next to me she must open her bag and see what's inside- which the kind lady let her look and gave her some snacks- which of course are better than the snacks I brought her- and then dancing to the hymns.

I don't think my heart can take it. How can I have been so blessed?

I love you Esther girl and can't wait to celebrate 1 YEAR here at the end of the month!

E 10 Months

Ladies and Gentlemen....

We have some changes here.

Crawling! On Thanksgiving day- and of course it was at Nana and Papa's! (Big milestones for the kids are always reached there for some reason as we visit).

Binky throwing champion! She grabs it and flings it angrily across the room thinking that means she doesn't have to sleep. I'm not going to fumble through the dark to go get it- guess that means no binky but sleep is still part of the program missy. I'm such a mean mom sometimes.

Biting! Yikes- Grant takes a toy and watch out! Attack mode happens quickly along with a screech of anger in a split second with Grant around.

Laughing- there is always plenty of that too- they do play well together a lot of the time. And it's the cutest darn thing. It's music to my ears.

Screaming...okay so after the laughter inevitably comes the warrior cries. Now that we have a mover, I've come to terms that I do actually have to teach my children to share and play nice. Grant just has to learn now- I guess that's where I come in the picture. Wish me luck. It really is a battlefield. 

Nursing- wars are over though! She finally loves nursing- still on her time table of course- but she actually enjoys cuddles with mommy now! I'm so glad!

Favorites?
Frozen peas of course. Great for those tender gums as the teeth come through.
Baths!
Going anywhere outside and different people and places. She gets bored at home.
People- but favorite is mom at the moment.
BOOKS!!! Oh my she can't get enough of them. She'll be dead tired and scream if I close the book and have the lights off so she can sleep. But then she'll zonk out- oh man but wow- very expressive about her love of books.



How would you describe your little E?

"Whipper snapper"-Jay
"Feisty"-Grant
"Strong-willed"- Aubrey
"FUN!"- both parents
"Inquisitive"
"Special"- friends

I don't know what it is about this little girl but she does have a special spirit. There is something important on this earth that she is meant to do here and she has an effect on others. I've had a few people say that they feel they know her or have known her before. Well, it doesn't surprise me I guess that people would know her because I totally know we existed before this earth life- but that they will tell me that and know it themselves.  This girl has the personality to be strong. I can only imagine what she will need to face going into this crazy world we live in nowadays.

I kind of question sometimes if I can be a mother to one so strong. She makes me want to do better and be better and learn more about our Heavenly Father and our purpose here with our family. We are so very blessed to have her influence and light in our lives. Oh and how we love her.

She enjoys eating! All by herself. 

Pointing and "talking" She babbles about EVERYTHING!

after bathtime she has the SWEETEST blonde little curls! 

Homemade Yogurt

I just made homemade yogurt for 1/3 of the cost, without the fillers and thickening junk they add in the store bought stuff and to top it all off, it was probably the easiest thing I've ever done in my life.

I googled a recipe, check it out: Here

I probably spent 5 minutes (maybe a little more because it was my first time) total actually touching the concoction. 

It was sooooooo easy!!!

Now to flavor it: I've tried strawberry jam, stevia powder, maple syrup and honey.

It is delish.

Step one was cook the milk to 180 degrees so it kills any bacteria- you want a clean slate (takes about 3-4 hours)
Then after it gets to that point, let it come back down to 110 degrees (took about 3 hours)- then add the 2 TBS of plain yogurt start. Let it sit overnight in the crock in the oven (turned off) to keep it warm 12 hours.

Strain it- I just used a dish towel and a big bowl.

It was thick! But runny- so I did want to separate some of the whey.

There's the whey! 

There was a lot of whey (and that goop at the bottom is yogurt that fell in because I was clumsy and dropped some as I was trying to get the thickened yogurt in a container. I don't know much about it or how to use it so I tossed it but maybe there is something people do with it? I'll look it up next time.

2 jars!!! I estimate that would have made at least 2- probably 3 bigger containers of yogurt (if I hadn't dropped some in the whey) from the store.

My next adventure I would love to make kefir.....if I can make yogurt, I bet I could make kefir!!! 

Can you believe how easy it can be to make something like yogurt? 

I love that it's that good bacteria for our guts and and free from nasty ingredients and fillers!!! And did I say it was cheap? Like less than a dollar per container? So awesome. 

It's weird too the kind beautiful happiness you get from knowing you made something like this. 

Like I feel like I can do ANYTHING!!! 

Thanksgiving

You guys! I forgot my camera.
I know.
So so sad.

So I stole a couple photos from family posts- so thanks because it's hard for me to post sometimes without at least one of the kids!

But Grant finally got to play with his Montana cousins which was soooooo cute. It's fun watching how kids can just pick up and be friends together and laugh (and fight) so easily.

Pretty sure Grant just stayed in his jammies every day.

Mandi's pumpkin pie was G's favorite.

Don't Eat Pete- Grant won this game both times he played it. Like how does that happen? Seriously, he got to eat all the chocolate from off the board (without CHEATING PATRICK!!!- the kids learned that you just pick the whole paper up and bend it down the middle and dump all the chocolate in your mouth)

Favorites:
1. Esther learned to CRAWL on Thanksgiving Day!
2. Grant learned how to do walk up legs while holding hands to do a backflip from his cousin Quincy.
3. Mandi's play: The Grouch Who Stole Christmas- oh that was sooooo fun. Nana and Papa watched the kids and Jay and I had an actual DATE. And so neat to see your sister-in-law and enjoy her wonderful talents- her solo was BEAutiful! I felt the message of the words so clearly- that Christ is the reason for Christmas.
4. We got to see everybody! (except my siblings on missions)
5. Amazing bowling games celebrating birthdays- I think I got like 75 or 80 on one game- it was cute watching the kids push the ball. Jay got like 108! (He says put that he got like 170--- ha ha) nope.
6. I have the most amazing family. Ever. I got the CUTEST outfit for my birthday and some cute cute headbands for my short hair. Oh I am so in love. Like my in-laws know how to make a girl feel good and loved. THANK YOU!!!
7. Pie- so I was determined not to eat ANY sugar because Jay and I had this cold for a couple weeks and we were really trying to get better. But, guess what? A couple slices of pie made with love actually healed our illness. No really. Like we got better a few days after eating pie. And a lot of pie. And ice cream. I am now a believer of sugar made with love as being a GOOD healthy thing.
8. We watched The Giver which was very good.
9. My mom made the most delicious stew out of FOOD STORAGE in a pumpkin. It was really good.
10. I loved just being around all those good people we call family. We are so lucky.

Pear and Pumpkin Picking

G's favorite book for the passed 2 months has been "Picking Apples and Pumpkins".

After reading it night after night we decided we better finally just live it! So we did. Sort of. We got pears instead of apples....and we couldn't find a local ACTUAL pumpkin patch so we ended up picking some that had already been picked but it was fun nonetheless.

We actually "planted" pears where G could reach since all the low ones had been picked. He loved it.

We picked the small one for Esther but when we got home Grant wanted the small one for himself.

Happy Halloween

This year I knew what we had to be for Halloween and had all these ideas on how to accomplish our final "look" as a family.

Since becoming "crunchy" I've had to figure out how to still have fun because a lot of "fun" involves SUGAR! And Halloween is the biggest SUGAR (but not like good sugar- like homemade pies and ice cream- a lot of it is these junky little sugary hard candies that I still find myself eating even when I know it's not even that good).

So, I felt a little stuck in the fact that Grant is only 2 and 1/2. Not old enough to really understand what is going on but old enough to trick-or-treat. I knew though, being the parents of a child who doesn't really get it yet that I would be tempted to eat his treats- but I would know that it was not only because I would want some for my own taste buds, but that I would be "saving" my son from all the sugar too. Such a good mom- eating her child's Halloween candy to save him. Well, as I'm typing I'm scarfing nerds and a cookie. Jay got the Reese's- I'm expecting one for my upcoming birthday to make up for that one- he didn't even split it! See look at me with my child's stash of candy! This is terrible. I become a little bit of a monster with all this candy!

So finally the day came and I had talked to a friend who told me she was going to make caramel popcorn and watch a fun movie with her kids and I thought, "Now there is a fun little tradition that doesn't have to be filling our bodies with junk for the next month because we know we shouldn't be eating all the candy but not having the will-power to give it away or throw it away." That sounded fun and we still get a treat!

I ran into a neighbor talking about this carnival and ran into another friend telling me about our local grocery store and how they give out other things other than candy so I caved. We would be going trick-or-treating after all, which you already know from reading about me eating nerds huh? Anyway....

I whipped out the scissors and began snipping and hot-gluing like a maniac.
Threw the kids into the appropriate attire to match the idea and jumped in the car.

Our local market was wonderful and it IS so fun seeing all the costumes. And the store was great- we got a toothbrush, cheese stick, eye-ball ring- and they had a haunted house.

Well, I know you are dying to know what we dressed up as so dun da da DUN!:

And in case you are like everyone else who said, "Oh how fun, a monkey, bear and girl in a dress?" Read Jay's name tag....We are Goldilocks and the 3 bears :)

Of course Jay's original ears did look like this:

Now you know why people were confused originally. HA!

G also tried on my wig from another year as we were looking through out Halloween Stuff:

He even did cutsie smiles for me- ha ha. Wow. Oh I love that kid.