Capturing Moments

I love moments like these, I tried so hard to burn it into my memory. No kids were crying, no kids were fighting. Ethan was at Grandma's playing. Lexi wanted to play with make up & Makelle wanted to join in. We painted fingernails, put make up & jewelry on & had a girly day. The girls put jewelry & make up on me & we just enjoyed being girls. Makelle was so cooperative, she felt so big & loved having jewelry & make up put on.
Lexi got make up & lots of jewelry for Christmas & has loved using it! The picture below on the top right corner is when she did it herself. She put lipstick all over her cheeks & hair & when we tried to scrub it off it wouldn't come off. It died her cheeks, but she sure had fun. She also got some dress ups that she rarely takes off.. she loves feeling pretty.

Santa always comes to my mother-in-laws Christmas party on the 22nd. Lexi & Ethan patiently waited their turn to sit on his lap (there's 23 grandkids & they were one of the last to get their turn). Ethan was so excited when Santa walked in, he screamed "Santa's here!" I asked Lexi if she was gonna tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas & she said, "No, I already did." Santa had come to our ward party. She was right, why did she have to tell him again? Makelle did not like him! But at least we got the picture. The kids enjoyed opening their presents on Christmas morning. It was fun to watch their faces light up. We had a wonderful Christmas & enjoyed celebrating the birth of our Savior.

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.