Since my last post it's been in the 40's every day with a prediction of snow tonight! So much for spring huh? I should have known I'd be jinxing it when I packed up the snowsuits, hats, gloves, and scarves, and got out the shorts, flip flops, and swim suits. Oh well, I fly out Wednesday morning and am positive it'll be in the 70' and 80's by the time I return mid April- so in the attic the snowsuits will stay!

I've needed to be indoors these past few days anyway. Things I've been up to:

- getting ready for my trip (I've never put so much time and thought into a plane ride)

- cleaning the house

- preparing for our brother-in-law's visit tomorrow

- helping Madi write her first primary talk (did that today- so against Spencer's wishes, it won't be memorized by tomorrow)

- getting youth choir music ready

- planning music time for primary- I'm teaching our Easter song tomorrow since I won't see the kids again until Easter Sunday!

The majority of my list is stuff for tomorrow. Why does is always seem like Sunday's the craziest day of the week? Can it just be Thursday already!?

71 and Sun!

I woke up this morning to a torrent of hail pounding down on our house, and thunder and lightning. I thought for sure it was going to be an "inside day". Boy was I wrong. Today was my first shorts, t-shirt, and flip flop day of the year! I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. We've had several 70 degree days in the last week or two but usually with a breeze, so I'd either wear jeans and/or a light jacket, but not today! After Elle's nap we headed out for a walk.

I haven't busted out the girls shorts yet, plus Madi always freaks out when it starts to get too cold or windy, so I always try to make sure she's nice and warm- hence the sweater (which was shed minutes into our walk).

Go Madi GO!!

Then there's Elle who always likes to get out of the stroller when we pass the swans (which I'm pretty sure she thinks are real)!

She sat here with these swans for a good 5 minutes before giving hugs and kisses goodbye!

20 months

Not the clearest picture, but too cute not to keep!

I forgot how much I love this age. Elle seemed to grow up so much this month. Her vocabulary exploded and she'll now answer in full, simple, and super clear sentences (not all the time, but oh how I love it when she does):

-"This is a barbie, this is a baby." (explaining to Spencer the difference between her "dolls" in the cradle)

-"I wan this story" (she's always knows exactly what books she wants read to her before nap and bed, and she'll keep handing me stories until I tell her no more).

-"I wan this dress" (she's recently become completely obsessed with wearing dresses everyday)

-"I don know" (she's very clear with answering "yes" or "no" when she knows the answer to something we ask, but there have been a few times when I've asked something and she'll honestly tell me, "I don know").

Most of the time she still answers using only one or two words, and she especially loves saying the word back to me (see video below):

Her cute smile, laugh , and shrug of the shoulders at 1:08 is my favorite.

I'm definitely gonna miss some of Elle's cute "baby talk". Cookies were always "cook cook" (she just recently started clearly saying "cookie"), all done was, "Da Da" (now she just says "DONE!"), she used to call geese "ducks", now she can tell the difference and asks to go see the "GEESE!"

She now refers to her binky as a "she she", and she pluralizes words like more and door- so when she uses these words she'll say: "mores" and "doors"

One of my favorite things is how Elle answers questions with such enthusiasm. It's too hard to explain the cuteness of her higher pitch "Yes" answer to something she agrees with and even her "No" which is also usually said in a higher tone. It's pretty funny and we all find ourselves asking Elle question after question just to hear her "yes" or "no" answers.

She's still super reserved around other people. It usually takes 15-30 minutes for Elle to warm up. Until then she'll give the death stare to strangers and won't crack a smile. In nursery and/ or when unfamiliar kids come to play, I feel like she's always on guard- assuming that they're gonna take something of hers, and preparing herself to fight back. She's definitely learned to be a fighter and stick up for herself.

Nursery is going fabulous now. At first, Spencer tried the shock and awe method - dropping her off and then sneaking out. Elle did not like this! Spencer finally learned that in order to help Elle not cry, he had to have a good heart to heart with her-explain to her that he has to go, but that he will be back to pick her up. Who would have thought that all she needed was a little reasoning. I hope this translates into her teenage years!!

Elle knows when she's done something wrong, and is really good with putting herself in time-out. A couple weeks ago she threw a fit and I sternly told her how she can't throw fits like that. She then walked over to the laundry room (our downstairs time-out place) and sat down against the dryer. She always genuinely feels bad and wants to say sorry and give a hug afterwards.

She loves her bed and many times has told me when she's ready to lay down for a nap. Then when she wakes up from naps, I sometimes won't even know she's awake because of how quiet she is- Elle loves just chillin at the head of her bed, thinking about who knows what.

Elle's recently really gotten into "school time" and will now sit with Madi and I for 20-30 minutes. There's lots of times I'll find her coloring at the table by herself. The other day she was flipping though a Bernstein Bears coloring book, adding her touch to each page. Then she found a picture Madi had done about half of, added her scribbles to it, and brought it to me- beaming! It was the cutest thing how she wanted me to be so proud of her.

Elle's also become a regular at the kitchen table for projects and meals now. She insists on sitting at the table (without a booster) and joining us like a big kid.

She's gotten into singing this month (probably from hanging out with Madi so much) and will finish the sentences to a good dozen songs, nursery rhymes, etc.

This one's for Gram:

Elle loves going on walks and will ask to go on one every single time she sees the stroller. I just love how she still likes to sit in the stroller- I know how most kids are refusing the stroller by this age. When Elle does want to get out and walk she's great about holding hands and will make Madi hold hands with her. It's adorable!

Oh, and did I forget to mention that Elle's bilingual? Here's a clip of her speaking her second language:

PS. Please let me know if you can translate.

St. Patty's

It wasn't the easiest thing explaining why we celebrate St. Patrick's Day to our group of preschoolers today. When I asked them about the holiday, each of the girls thought long and hard about it, but couldn't come up with anything. It was Madi who broke the ice with "GO BYU COUGARS!!" Obviously, Madi took to heart the real reason why today was important (today was the first round of the NCAA tourney. Thankfully, BYU and Jimmer Fredette took care of business)!

But hey, regardless of the holiday, I was just happy to have a reason to plan something fun and celebrate! On the menu today:

Breakfast- green pancakes and eggs

Lunch- green mac-n-cheese, pickles, kiwis, grapes, lime jello jigglers, cupcakes (with green sprinkles & skittles) and lime bars.

Dinner- Grilled Cheese and Edamames

I kinda lost interest with the green foods by dinner time. I forgot to serve the edamames for lunch so I was completely satisfied with having them as my only "green" for dinner. I'm just glad that Spencer's not a fan of the traditional corned beef and cabbage (corned beef and garbage as he calls it) meal.

Preschool Activities:

- Shamrock, clover, leprechaun coloring

- Leprechaun Footprints (using green paint and gold glitter)

- St. Patrick's Day crowns (thanks Becky for the great idea)

-Pattern making with leprechauns, gold, and clovers for homework (Madi loves having homework)

The 3 preschool girls + Brooklyn.

Abby and Elle were running around and not willing to pose for any pictures.

We had a fun party in the morning, a delicious lunch with 6 little girls, and ended with doing bubbles and sidewalk chalk outside. It was a gorgeous day, so after Elle's nap we headed to the park and stayed for almost 2 hours!!

I love this time of year. The trees are starting to bloom (which I thought for sure I was going to miss- being in CA for 3 weeks and all) and I love the longer days and of course the warmer weather!! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Elle turned 20 months today! I tried really hard to get her to wear a green sweater, but she's in a total dress phase right now. She wants to wear a dress every single day. And some days, like today, she'll wear two dresses at a time! At least one of the dresses she chose did have some green flowers on it! :)

Visit from the Gertsch's

This past weekend was a busy one, but a LOT of fun! The Gertschs drove up from NC to visit. Matt had a conference in DC but it was just for an hour Saturday morning, which left us with the rest of the weekend to play! We had a blast- it was great having the whole gang (Gertsch's, Lundell's, and Jenkins) together again. We hit up the St. Patty's Parade on Saturday (I was happy to see that candy throwing still happens- it was the amount of candy throw that was very disappointing). We took the kids to the park in the afternoon, and then hit up Red Robin in the evening. And of course a visit from the Gertschs wouldn't be complete without some game playing. We stayed up late into the night chatting and playing Hearts.

Our ward doesn't meet until 1pm, so Sunday morning Matt and Spencer spoiled us with a full blown waffle breakfast, including: bacon, hash browns, OJ, strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream. It was DElicious!

Thanks Gersch's for the fun visit!

Out of the ordinary

A couple of things made this past week a little bit different than just an ordinary week.

1) Monday morning I woke up with a black eye! Pretty crazy huh! After laughing at Michelle on The Bachelor- commenting on her dramatic/ attention seeking personality, I guess it serves me right to now know that waking up with a black eye is possible!

2) Monday night I went to bed feeling fine. After reading for a couple hours my stomach started to ache and I had a hard time falling asleep. I woke up at 4:45am and threw up. I threw up two more times before 8am. I guess the strangest part of it all is that- 1) I never get sick. I don't remember the last time I was sick. When everyone in my family catches something I'm always the only person who doesn't get it. 2) I still can't figure out what caused it- I'm guessing it was just a 24 hour flu or something.

3) Then Friday morning Madi sat down for breakfast and mentioned that her stomach hurt. I told her not to eat if she didn't feel good. She ate a couple of bites but that was it. She layed around until about 8:30am when she frantically asks, "Mom, where'd that pan go?" I grab the bathroom garbage and she threw up into it. Now usually Madi's a completely dramatic sick kid, but this was different. She threw up once, wiped off her mouth, and was as good as new! Complete Shock! I'd even let Spencer take the car and changed my plans for the day cause I figured Madi wouldn't be in any position to do anything. But boy was I wrong- she was eating completely normal by lunchtime and was out riding her scooter in the afternoon!

4) Friday night Spencer came home with 2 dozen roses in hand. I'm not the type of girl to ask for flowers, but it sure was a nice surprise after a long week stuck at home. Note to husbands (especially those with wives who say not to waste money on flowers): sometimes that's all it takes to make a wife feel better- some pretty flowers with an "I love you and I appreciate all you do."

Aren't they gorgeous!

5) Oh ya, and I should also mention how last night our "killer" fish (I'm not kidding when I say he intentionally killed the 4 other fish he ever shared our tank with) was put into "time-out" for being mean to our new fish that Spencer and the girls picked up that afternoon on their daddy-daughter date. I'd been super annoyed with his "unfriendly" behavior and told Spencer to do something about it. Spencer put Swordtail into his own bowl, and wondered outloud whether he should find some type of lid so he didn't try to escape. I assured Spencer that wasn't possible. HA! 30 minutes later, Spencer looks up from the couch and notices that the fish was gone. Suicide! he took his life by leaping from his bowl and landing in the kitchen sink. While "all drains lead to the ocean", our's was plugged and full of hot sudsy dishwater. It was a fish-fry! He was a mean fish and it probably serves him right, but I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness for his loss.