Ella Dancing

We're doing lots of girl stuff while Lear's at school.

Just hanging out

Quinn always looks so excited. I need to get some pictures of her smiling - she's been smiling a lot. I can't wait to hear her laugh! The last picture is what I found my kids doing after school one day. I'm very grateful that Lear and Ella are best friends. I hope it lasts for the rest of their lives.

Lear quote: "Remember we saw sea lions at the Sea Lion Caves? I even saw a mommy sea lion guarding her eggs." (Don't worry, I made sure he knows that they're mammals, and have live young.)

Ella quote: "I need to make sure my imaginary friend's pet turtle's babies haven't gotten lost."

Just the girls

Ella decided to put on her leotard and dance shoes - and she's never even been in a dance class. I guess I need to get her in one. She keeps asking me to teach her ballet, because she knows I've taken a couple years of ballet classes. I showed her a few simple things, like Grand Jetes and the five arm and foot positions. Click on the picture to enlarge it - Ella's sticking her tongue out in concentration, which I think is hilarious.

And here are all us girls. I feel blessed to have such beautiful children. I try to remind myself of that every time I feel overwhelmed and frustrated. Which can be relatively often.

Ella quote: "No, Mommy, it's a ballet dress, not a leotard."

Lear quote: (This is a song that he's composed recently.) "Mars, Mars, what is Mars? Stick in some bubblegum, and you got Mars!"

National Lampoon's Jaynes Vacation

Ever had one of those trips when nothing seemed to go right? Well, this was ours. We got stuck in Boise while out Yukon got it's transfer case replaced (Gary's Automotive in Boise rocks!) which cost us about $2200. We left Cory's phone charger in Boise. The kids got sick. We almost hit a deer on the way home. It was fun. We did, however, get a lot of swimming in at the hotel in Boise. Here's Quinn's first swimsuit.

And Cory doing cannonballs.

We went to the Oregon coast where we visited the sea lion caves.

And where Lear did a face plant at the beach.

We were going to go to OMSI in Portland, too, but we decided to stay home to give Lear and Ella a chance to recover from their colds. On the trip home, which took 15 1/2 hours, we stopped at a pizza joint in Boise (where I left our baby wipes).

It was still worth it to visit the family in Oregon, in spite of everything.

Ella quote #1: "I think my eye spit something out." (She had eye slime.)

Ella quote #2: "I can't eat that because a bug peed on it." (She comes up with a lot of creative reasons not to finish her food lately.)

Lear quote: "Mommy, you're my scubapicklegum collection." (It's apparently a term of endearment. He likes to say random things that make no sense. He thinks it's fun.)

Ella Quote of the Year

We are going to Oregon to visit my parents for a week. I went out to get some last minute things, and when I came back, Ella was in bed, but still awake. Here was our conversation:

Ella: Mommy, will you stay home with me tomorrow?

Me: Why? Don't you want to go to Oregon?

E: No. Not anymore.

Me: Why not?

E: Because Bigfoot lives there.

Me: (Trying not to laugh) You don't have to worry about Bigfoot. He's not real.

E: Are you sure?

Me: Yes, I'm positive.

E: Because Grandma Janes told you so?

Me: Uh, sure. Besides, you have a strong, tall, handsome Daddy who can beat up Bigfoot any time. You'll be safe. Where did you hear about Bigfoot, anyway?

E: It was on iCarly.

(For the record, Lear has also watched a show called Monster Quest on the History Channel about Bigfoot. iCarly is not solely to blame.)

What's with my kids falling on their faces?

Recently, mother left a message requesting that I make another post, because she didn't like looking at Ella's beat-up face every day. Sooooo, I've decided I'd see if she liked seeing Lear's beat-up face any better. He got the scrape from falling off his bike, and I think the scratch under his eye came from Ella, whose fingernails are her favorite weapon.

Quinn is now two months old. I'm not a photographer, so I can't post really cool pictures of her like some great people do, but here's a pic of her in her blessing outfit, anyway. She has grown four inches, and gained almost five pounds in the last two months. She is in the 88th percentile for her height, and 60th for her weight! Not bad, for a preemie that the doctors wouldn't let me take home because she wasn't gaining enough weight (among other things, of course.)

And finally, my three terrorists (I mean beautiful, wonderful children) all enjoying each other's company.

Lear quote: "Ella thinks she can tell me what to do! She CAN'T! Only Mommy and Daddy can!"

Ella quote: "Quinn is learning how to use her hands. She says, 'Wow, that's mine! What can I do with it now?' and stuff."

It's a Shiner!

Ella was playing at her cousin's house, and forgot that they had a front porch. She fell forward and slammed her face into the sidewalk. According to reports, however, she didn't cry - she's a tough one, and so is her noggin, apparently. She's bruised and scraped up, but she didn't suffer a concussion. (Don't feel guilty, Carolee - we know accidents happen, and Ella can be pretty klutzy. It's all good!)

Ella quote: "Mommy, why do we have two heads?"

Mommy: "I don't understand."

Ella: "You know, the head, and the forehead. Why are there two?"

Lear quote: "Quinn's the cutest baby I've ever seen since Ella."