Thanks, Uncles!

Rob's mom and dad from Vernon, BC arrived today for a visit. I went in to get Ellie from her nap this afternoon and told her that Grandpa and Grandma would soon be at our house. "PREEESSSANTS?!?" Ellie said with a few bounces in her crib. HA! They sure figure that one out quickly. Sure enough, Grandpa and Grandma arrived an hour later, arms laden with gifts from afar! Ellie wanted to send out a big thank you to her uncles for their very special birthday presents:She loved the hat from Uncle James!! (and the pillow too...she'll love it even more when she realizes what it's for. But she's big on pillows ever since she started sleeping with one a few weeks ago.)

Very vogue, Ellie.

I'm going to have to go out and find her a bathing suit to match. Thanks Uncle James!

Ellie thought the dress from Uncle Tom and Uncle Farzad was beautiful. She right aways ran to get a hat to go with it. A future career in fashion design? Maybe!!

She couldn't stop bouncing up and down...
Thanks Tom and Farzad!!
We appreciate your thoughtfulness!

Could it be 2 Years Already?

So yesterday was Ellie's second birthday. In the morning Rob and I walked into her bedroom singing, "Happy Birthday" and she stood there and beamed and said, "It's my BIRTHDAY now!" The day she was born was one of the most vivid, breath-taking, awesome days of my life, and it transformed me forever. I had no clue on that day how fulfilling, how FUN, and how difficult it was going to be to be a mom. But mostly fun. I could write books of memories that have shaped who I am and who she is and who we are as a family. I know that every mom thinks their kid is the best. I guess I'm no exception to that rule. I thank the Lord for this gift, this little girl who makes me laugh out loud every day.

1 month old (sleeping wonder)

1 year old (eyes full of wonder)

And 2!! (I wonder what I can get into today...?)

The following are some of the way-too-many photos we took of Ellie's birthday celebrations...

Birthday Bash #2

This morning was Ellie's "real" birthday party. When Ellie came upstairs from her bedroom the kitchen was decked out in decorations. She was pumped! Three of her best girl friends and their moms came over for an early princess lunch. Man. Parties. A lot of work, a lot of fun, a lot of mess.

This photo was actually taken last night. Rob had become a bit delirious from being ordered around by his wife all weekend. He was learning how to multi task, blowing up two balloons at once. (This is a talented man, folks!)

Ellie and her fellow princesses.

Princess #1: Azelin.
Four months younger than Ellie, she often follows Ellie around watching the psychotic things that a two year old likes to do. They're great buds and play together often!

Princess #2: Chloe.
Ellie and Chloe enjoy waving flags around and running wild together at church.

Princess #3: Alexandra.
Two weeks older than Ellie and goes by the name "Ali" which gets awfully confusing. When they were babies Ellie would often make Ali cry just because her 'happy shouts' were so darn loud!
Princess #4: Elianna. She was trying very hard to balance the tiara on her head.

Presents time! Ellie already had a blast this evening with this brand new princess play dough. She likes to wear the pail on her head like a hat (are we surprised?) Thanks Chloe!
Although she's a girlie girl, she's not afraid of getting down and dirty. Ellie is going to have hours of fun outside with her very first DUMP TRUCK! (Thanks Ali!)
And Ellie was totally thrilled about getting the umbrella that she's had her eye on at Superstore! This evening she was standing in the living room for a looong time with the umbrella over her head, pretending it was raining. I went downstairs to get something and came back up and she was still just standing there... Thanks Azelin!!
Time for cupcakes! Ellie wasn't completely sure she was ready for more fire. But she did a fine job of blowing the candle out (must have picked up that skill from Jon last night).
She WAS completely sure, however, that cupcakes are a good thing.
Yes, cupcakes are a very good thing indeed!

This is a vast improvement over last year (see older posts for proof).
Happy Birthday, Girlie!

(Only one party left to go...when Grandma and Grandpa Balfour get here later in the week!)

Birthday Bash #1

Last night (Sunday) we celebrated both Ellie and her Uncle Jon's birthdays together with lasagna and cheese cake at my mom and dad's house. Mmm...good times had by all!

The boys who have purposed in their hearts to eat mom and dad out of house and home. They haven't managed yet but they just keep on trying! My dad will never be able to retire because of them...

Just look at them go!

"More please, mommy?" (I think they each had 3 pieces of lasagna.) Note Rob's cheeks, stuffed full of food.
Ellie enjoying Papa's lap.
Purple-lipped Joshua snuggling with Nana (for explanation on the purple lips see post titled "Lessons learned from purple medicine.")

We're not entirely sure what they were doing, but it was Regan's idea.

Ellie licking her place mat clean. Must have been good.

Looks like Regan enjoyed herself, too.
My sister Dana, soon-to-be-famous painter! I'm not biased...she's really good!
The cake!
Ellie and Jon waiting for the cake.
Jon did most of the blowing.
Ellie was THRILLED with her gift from Nana and Papa...a Little People playground!

Josh being Josh

Joshua turned 10 weeks old this week. When he's not sleeping, eating, or crying, here's some of his favorite things to do (like I say, he's 10 weeks old...his interests aren't very diversified):1.Staring at his swing. He much prefers this to actually sitting IN the swing. Hey, whatever floats his boat!

2.Posing.

3.Gazing intently.

4. Lookin' cute.

5. Melting hearts.

And 6. Releasing incredibly gross-looking puke bubbles. Good job, Little Guy. You let it allll out.

Sometimes you post pictures just because you think they're cute.

Curing cabin fever

Yesterday we said "BOO" to winter and decided to take the kids out for a lovely winter stroll (it was only -14 or something...almost balmy, really). So we bundled Ellie up in her winter clothes and got her all snuggly in her stroller. Then we put Joshua in his snowsuit and Rob carried him in the Baby Bjorn all covered with a big blanket. We were quite the sight. It was Joshua's very first outdoor expedition. How exciting.

Unfortunately Joshua didn't even notice he'd been outside. Apparently cabin fever just isn't an issue for him yet.

Lessons Learned from Purple Medicine

So you're all probably tired of hearing about thrush this and thrush that (and if you haven't ever heard of thrush - Google it!:)...but hopefully this'll be the last post on the topic. After 2 rounds of Nystatin and all sorts of other measures taken, Joshua and I still haven't completely ridden ourselves of this annoying, persistent infection. So I took the plunge and invested ($3) in a bottle of Gentian Violet. I don't know exactly what Gentian Violet is, but I do know that it's safe, it's apparently very effective.....and it's very very PURPLE. And it STAINS. As you can see from the photo above, I should have looked up how to apply this medicine before I gave Joshua too much and turned him into Barney's child. This stuff is nasty. It even stained its orange bottle purple.

Anyhow, on to my point. In a quiet (and rare) spare moment yesterday I flipped open my Bible to the book of Isaiah and began to read chapter 1. Verse 18 hit me like a brick in the face: "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow, though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." Replace the word 'scarlet' with 'violet' and I had one very clear picture in my home of just what kind of nasty mess we're talking about. Gentian violet only comes off as you shed your skin cells. Sin in my life, unfortunately, doesn't fall off so easily. All of a sudden I gained a new appreciation for what Jesus did for me...taking my dirty, stained heart and making it white as snow. And not without cost to Himself.

But the story doesn't end there. Rob came home from work and I was telling him about my day and this little illustration and we were totally engrossed in our conversation, not paying any attention to what Ellie was doing. I have no idea what possessed her, but she took the black crayon she'd been holding and SCRIBBLED all over the exact verse I've been talking about! (Please understand that Ellie very very rarely tries drawing on something that isn't a piece of paper or a coloring book - this was quite out of character for her, and she looked as shocked as we did when she realized what she'd done!) Black crayon is next to impossible to remove from the pages of a book. So now, in my Bible, I have another very clear (permanent) reminder of the miracle of forgiveness in my life: my black, scribbled-up heart is made white again and again because of Jesus. It's so easy to take it for granted. I pray I don't forget.

p.s. Joshua's face looks much better today.
p.p.s. And the Gentian Violet is working!

Idea #87 of Things to Do in Winter in Manitoba:

Fill up your Aqua Doodle pen with water and draw all over your body.
When that gets boring, draw all over the walls.