Winter Fun

My kids are so lucky to have such a great dad! I don't enjoy the snow, I hate being cold. Luckily the kids have a dad that will play with them in the snow & show them how to make snow angels & snowmen.
Here they are making the first snowman of the season. Lexi didn't last too long, I think she's like me & doesn't enjoy being cold either.

TaDa!

My sister gave me such a cute idea I had to share it. You get sugar cones & paint them with green frosting & decorate them as a tree. The kids had so much fun doing this for family night last night... Jeff liked it too. The kids probably had more fun licking their fingers & knives filled with frosting.

Lexi ended up decorating two, she just had too much fun.

I am terrible at sending out Christmas cards. I have good intentions every year... most years I even get them addressed, but never sent, I don't know what my problem is. So consider this your Christmas greeting from the Ellingson family

Merry Christmas!

I just can't believe it!

I have had the flu 3 times this pregnancy. I had no morning sickness, but thrown up more this pregnancy than I have since being pregnant with Lexi. Makelle started throwing up on Thursday night. We thought it was too much oil in her tummy from dinner, there was no fever or any other symptoms. And she was fine the next day. Saturday night on the way home from my parents Ethan started throwing up.... why do my kids ALWAYS throw up in the car? Luckily I had a garbage bag & we caught it all. We also ended up on the side of the road with him puking some more. Saturday night I started feeling nausious & was out all day Sunday. So far everyone is feeling better... we're hoping no one else gets it & those who have had it are all over it! I want to enjoy the holiday parties & not worry about whether we should even go, so as not to get anyone sick. I know that was kind of a gross post, but I'm so sick of being sick!!

Loving the holidays

Thanksgiving has come & gone. We had a wonderful time with Jeff's family & then we went over to my family's for pie, well... more pie. It's been over a year since ALL of Jeff's family has gotten together, we were actually only missing one person, nothing like the holiday's to bring a family together. The day after Thanksgiving I decided it was time to use the treadmill that just sits in my room. It didn't take long for the kids to come in & want a turn too. Lexi is patiently waiting for another turn
I'm hoping to instill in my kids the importance of exercising & eating right now. They seem to enjoy exercising... it was Makelle's first time on the treadmill, I think she liked it.

Jeff decided to put the tree up. If he would've asked me I would've wanted to wait until the middle of December... I hate keeping Makelle away from the tree. She's drawn to it & loves to take the ornaments off, I think she loves to drive me crazy. I'm looking forward to all the Christmas parties we have going on. My most favorite tradition is boys against girls on Christmas Eve. We go with my family to shop for a family in need. We see who can get the most stuff without going over our limit. Then we doorbell ditch & leave their stuff on the doorstep. We get food & some gifts... I love teaching my kids that there are people out there that don't have as much as we do. When I asked Ethan why we celebrate Christmas he told me it's because when we want a toy Santa can bring it to us... we had a family night lesson on the real reason & now we have brain washed him to say exactly what we told him. One day he'll find out for himself, but for now me & Jeff try to teach our kids through our testimonies.

So Much to be Grateful for!

Our days have been filled with Ethan's soccer games. He loves playing & looks forward to his games. He had his last game on Saturday & scored 17 goals. I was so proud!! I hope the other parents enjoyed coming to watch my little boy dominate. He actually had an ok team this time... 3 other boys on his team scored too & helped a lot with defense. All his other teams, he's been the only one who knows how to play, so he does all the work.
I know this picture is blurry, but I thought it was cute anyway. He's giving his coach knuckles after one of his goals. He had 10 goals the 1st half & the 2nd half the coach tried to get him to pass the ball to his team. He got the game rolling & his teammates got into the game. We will definately keep him in soccer as long as he enjoys it.

Ethan and Lexi taught Makelle ring-around-the-rosies. She absolutely loved it!

She always got a little too excited & fell down before it was time. But she got the jist of the game.

I am so grateful for my kids! I love how good they play together. I love everything that they teach each other. I loved that when they were sick they wanted to cuddle me & stay by me; I'm grateful that now that they're better I have space & don't have 3 tag-a-longs. I'm so grateful for the conference edition of the Ensign. I love the reminders I get as I read it of ALL the things I need to do to be a better mom & a better wife. And I'm so grateful for my family & friends, for their love & service. It makes me want to do better at finding ways to serve others.

Catching Up

On Halloween Ethan started coughing & not feeling so good. Two days later I started coughing & not feeling so good, I got a fever & the body aches. I called my OB & they treated me for the swine flu. I was down for 3 days with no energy... literally. I just layed around for 3 days, barely able to get up & shower. I kept watching the kids & calling the pediatrician with any symptoms they had that were remotely like mine. None of them ever got the body aches & none of them lost their energy. The kids & Jeff were spared, how? I don't know, but I'm grateful they were. The kids have had coughs & low grade fevers & we are now just getting back to our normal selves. I now have the energy to blog again... last night ALL of the kids slept through the night!! It's been 2 1/2 weeks, but we finally pulled through it.

I haven't had the energy to do much, but I saw this cute idea on another blog & just had to do it. The kids feet are the body of the turkey & their hands are the feathers. They had so much fun doing this, Ethan did a lot of the cutting himself, the hands were a little tricky, so I did help him out there. But he did all the gluing & placing... Lexi put the glue on & drew her eyes, I thought they were pretty good considering it's her first time drawing eyes.
Makelle has been my challenge through all of this. She's been so needy & clingy. We have read book after book after book. And gone through so much motrin it's ridiculous. Apples have kept her happy for a half an hour or so... she did get 3 teeth while being sick, so I'm sure that made it twice as bad as just being sick. I can't tell you how happy I was when after two weeks of being cooped up in the house I got to go grocery shopping... the kids were excited too, & they were so good. I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving & normalcy.

All rolled into 1

We should start with Halloween, because that happened first. Ethan is a knight (he chose that because he got to carry a sword & a shield around), Lexi is Cinderella & Makelle is a ballerina. Jeff took E.E. & Lexi trick or treating, while I stayed home with Makelle & handed out candy. The kids had a blast, they stayed out for about an hour and a half & came home freezing but happy.

Happy 1st birthday Makelle! The year flew by fast! She was funny & kept those sunglasses on the entire time she opened her presents. We had a hard time getting her to move on to the next gift, she always liked the one she opened. We also had a hard time keeping Ethan & Lexi from opening them for her, they were too excited. She got some books & babies & pretty's... Lexi was so excited everytime she opened up a baby, "For me!!" She was heartbroken when we told her they were for Makelle... even though she has a billion babies herself. Makelle tried reaching her cake while we were still singing to her... apparently she couldn't wait. She REALLY enjoyed the frosting on her cake. She never actually ate the cake, she just smeared the frosting all over her hair. I thought it was adorable, but a little hard to get out. We're so blessed to have her in our family! What a joy!

Just making memories

Makelle's new thing is to hide under the table, eat an apple & poop. I think it's adorable! It keeps her happy & healthy.
One thing I look forward to every day is having dinner as a family. We never miss a night. I love that Ethan volunteers to say the prayer every time & Lexi repeats exactly what he says. What a good example!

Ethan had his pre-school Halloween party. He was so excited to dress up. His eyes are half closed in this picture, so he doesn't look excited. But he sure came home happy!

My knight & his valiant steed. He was so excited when we called to tell him he was going to have a little brother. He ran to tell Grandma, screaming "It's a boy! Grandma, it's a boy!" He was so excited that he tripped & fell & then kneeled on his fingers trying to get up. Oh the memories we create!