Chirstmas a day late :)

I completely skipped a Christmas blog...what can I say, it was a crazy month :)
We had a great time celebrating with the Caines in WA, the Robinsons in Enoch and the Scotts in Orem. Elina made her debut singing Jingle Bells for our New Years Program. It's so cute, she doesn't know when to stop and sings it over and over again! We visited the festival of trees this year. Elina loved the "Live" princesses wandering around. She was especially excited when Snow White (her new favorite) called out her name! It was one of my old Young Women! Very Fun!
Elina was at the PERFECT Christmas Magic age and "ate up" the Christmas lights, tree, ornaments, gifts, the Nativity Story, etc. Her eyes would sparkle any time we drove by some Christmas lights especially the fun lights down Main Street! Aaron's favorite was, by far, the Christmas tree. He would sign "tree" over and over again with a huge smile on his face! I can see why Christmas is made for Children! What a beautiful holiday season!

Happy Birthday Elina! January 12th!!

Wow, having two children around the holidays makes for TONS of celebrating!!
I asked Elina if she wanted cake, cookies or brownies for her Birthday. As she told her Grandma, "we made a silly cake out of cookies!" We didn't even need to tell her to blow out the candles...as soon as we finished singing, she went to town!!

Elina opened her first gift of talking letter fridge magnets and loved it so much, we had to convince her to open the rest!

Here's 10 things I love about Elina:
1. When she really wants something, she says, "Mom can you say, "Yes, you may?" Without even asking the question :)
2. That she can sit for an hour reading books!
3. I've been trying to teach her not to yell for me in the middle of the night. Instead, she comes in right by my bed and whispers..."Mom, can you hold me please?". Even though I'm dead tired, it really is cute:)
4. Helping her write letters...she gets soo excited
when one is actually legible!
5. She'll say something like, "I know, lets have some ice cream...that's a good idea"!
6. When Elina is the only one who can make Aaron laugh. They love to play peek-a-boo through the spokes of the stair railing
7. I love that Elina will occasionally want her Daddy instead of me :) Yeah!
8. When she tutors Jenna on saying words:
Elina: Jenna, say, "Monkey".
Jenna: "Montey"
Elina: "Good, now try it again"
The whole conversation repeats over and over!
9. I love to watch her learn new things. She especially loves to practice somersaults and skipping!
10. I love how sweet, loving, intelligent and silly my little Elina is!!

Birthdays Birthdays!

Happy Birthday Aaron!! November 25th

We read our children Twilight for Aaron's Birthday!...j/k This picture just looked so funny with the red frosting from Aaron's Birthday Cake (A big thank you to Aimee for making the cake)

With Elina's 1st birthday, we started a tradition of the tissue box. It's the only gift we give. What could be more fun for a one- year-old than to pull out an entire box of tissues!! Aaron loved it :)

I'm also going to start posting 10 things I love about the birthday child! Maybe this will help me enjoy the moment's more often and appreciate the little things more fully :)

So, here goes

10 things I love about Aaron:

1. I love how excited he gets to learn a new sign, word, or sound. His favorite is to pant like a dog. He does it over and over again and is soo proud of himself every time!

2. His AWESOME red hair!

3. When he's trying to get my attention, he pulls my face right in front of his, makes sure I have eye contact, then points to what he wants.

4. He is just starting to love his fuzzy blanket and pulls if over to me when he's tired and wants to go to sleep. It's soo cute!

5. I love his "high fives". Strangers become instant friends as soon as they hold out their hand for a "high 5"

6. Ever since Aaron could make sounds, he would point at pictures of Jesus with such excitement and say, "Jjjs, Jjjs". It amazes me every time.

7. His extreme LOVE of babies. He can't get enough of little Hannah. Any time he hears her, he signs "BABY" over and over again with a big grin!

8. I love that he is FINALLY starting to warm up to other people. I can actually get a babysitter and he doesn't scream the entire time :)

9. He is just starting to understand books. I love to watch how excited he gets when we open a book and he knows how to sign or say something on the page. He really likes sheep..."Bba"

10. Even though he has quite the temper, I love how sweet, cuddly & affectionate my little Aaron is!