End of May

This is how we roll these days...

My hardest days are always on a Thursday. I just checked and I had made these cookies on Thursday, May 17th.

But I also got to give plenty of kisses to these tiny toes today; almost as satisfying as those chocolate chip cookies...

Last night we had dinner in the valley with Kevin and Vicki for Kevin's birthday and poor little Ellie fell off of a steep stair onto the gravel, right smack onto her nose! Poor thing has a huge scab today.

I love having my babies up against my heart in a moby wrap.

Last night we were at an Elder's Quorum BBQ with the ward and there were a ton of kids playing on a huge swing set. Then Hazel came running up to me and asked me to play hide-n-seek with her. I agreed and followed her back to where the kids were, thinking she had gathered an entire group. Then when I started counting, I realized that she was the only one hiding. In the midst of all those kids, she wanted to play with me. And my favorite part about it was that she felt confident that I would say yes.

Playing at our local Ogden park. Like ninjas.

Ellie is very independent. Hazel and Charlotte have always done everything together, and I know Ellie isn't really old enough yet to keep up, but she's quite content to be on her own most of the time.

Right before we left for our San Diego trip, Hazel and I worked on her birthday invitations, since her party is a week after we get back. Since she's turning FIVE we decided to use her hand print. These might be my favorite yet.

Eloise Ruth

I managed to get some shots of Ellie on Wednesday while the girls were at Joy School. No smiles, no poses, but I'm learning to work with that.

Here's what I wrote in my journal about this little one today: I do love Ellie's age. She's still so small and is such a sponge. It's amazing how much she understands even though she's not talking yet. She's been able to say Mom, Dad, and Papa for a while now. Yesterday she said, "sister" clear as day. She signs the rest and now she'll shake her head "no" a lot. Sometimes she nods. I remember about six months ago when she first learned to shake her head "no" and nod "yes," which she would do very emphatically.

This is my favorite.

She has this beautiful little sprinkle of freckles across her nose that I've been counting on Sundays while we snuggle and struggle during Sacrament. I think she's up to twenty-two.

This one has got me wrapped around that tiny finger. Has since I worked so hard to get her here.

Edison is Two Months

Edison is two months old! Time flies when you have kids. Here are his two month shots:

Here's what I wrote about this boy in my journal today: He is so so SO smiley these days. He's the cutest thing with those dimples. He coos a lot and is getting close to giving us a little giggle. Charlotte loves him. She'll lay on his little legs, her face in his face, and sing to him. He usually stares at her and smiles. Eloise loves to hold him and hug him. There's something special about seeing little ones love babies. It's like they understand how precious and special they are. Good, good day.

This morning, we took the girls to the Eccles Art Museum for a field trip with Joy School. It was awesome. How neat to have such an amazing place right here in Ogden. Here they are getting cozy with one of the statues outside.

Lucky for us, my mom was in the neighborhood and stopped by on Monday night to stay the night with us! She read books to the girls that night and kept getting the giggles as you can see in this picture!

On Tuesday, I took him in for his two month appointment at the doctor's and he had to get shots in both legs. Poor brave boy.

Mother's Day

David woke up early this morning and made me a lovely breakfast. And with his help, the girls had made me a card out of a cardboard box that had pop-up pictures of our entire family when I opened it up. David had stayed up late tying in each member of the family. It said, "We love you more than the world itself." And here we are right before heading out to church:

 

Doesn't that say it all? Motherhood is messy. I have a huge pile of laundry on my couch, my house isn't immaculate and Lottie is throwing a tantrum because she's three and as we say in our house, "Three is the hardest to be."

Here's a few things I am so grateful for today:

In two days, he'll be two months old!

I love this picture of Lottie from yesterday. Can't get a better ensemble than black boots, a strawberry swimsuit and a pink Hawaiian hat.

That bow tie!

Happy, happy Mother's Day. Although I have much to learn, I'm so grateful to be a full-time Mom.

Gymnastics Recital

We got back from Cedar City around midnight and crashed. Then we woke up early the next morning to get the girls ready for their recital. Kevin and Vicki came early to help and the girls were surprisingly cooperative! We arrived on time and in good spirits, but once Charlotte saw all the people there, she suddenly clammed up and didn't want to go out onto the floor with the other kids. So she sat in the teacher's lap for a while and we just kept hoping that she'd remember that "Phipps are brave" and do her routine.

This is when the kids line up before their performance and were introduced by class. Hazel became shy as well but they did what they were told and luckily they got to stand next to one another, which helped.

Eloise spent the entire time cleaning out this tube of snacks. She was great!

Charlotte did eventually come out of her shell and she did her performance just right. They both did well and we were so proud!

Grandma and Grandpa Phipps came and watched the performance, which was so nice. Then when the girls were done, Papa Kevin went out to the car and brought the girls some flowers! We're so lucky to have so much family support and love. The girls felt very special, which they are.