Finger painting!

 A couple of weeks ago (told you I was horrible at blogging!) I let the kids fingerpaint...actually, they started out using brushes and before I knew it, they were just dipping they're fingers in the paint and smearing it on the paper. Since they were having so much fun doing it, and the paint was washable, I decided to let the continue to use fingers...and make a GIANT mess! While they were busy making the 'mess-terpieces' Jax looked at me and said "Mom, you're filling my bucket right now. Do you know what that means? When you are nice to people, you fill their bucket, and when you are mad, you empty their bucket. So since you are letting me and Ella finger paint, and because we are having good behavior, you aren't upset with us, so you are filling my bucket. It makes me feel really happy." I have no idea where he came up with that, but it was so cute! They had a blast finger painting, and when they were done, they were a MESS!! I had them take off their shirts so they didn't get ruined, and they had paint all over their stomach, face, arms, it was even in their hair. When they were done, they thought it was pretty fun to watch the colors go down the drain in the shower. Luckily, they used up all of the paint, so we won't have to worry about that kind of a mess for a while. But, they still manage to make plenty of other messes!

Catching up

I am so horrible at remembering to blog lately! So, I will just have to to a catch-up post about a few of the things that the kids have done since I last blogged...which was two months ago!

Jax started 1st grade at the end of August, and he likes it more than he wants to admit. He is a little worrier and he thinks he has to be nervous before school EVERY morning, but, when I pick him up after school, he always says that he had a fun day. He had a hard time adjusting to being there all day, and his favorite subjects are recess and lunch :) He loves his teacher and he is making a lot of new friends. Hopefully we can get to the point where he isn't nervous and upset every morning. He very rarely complains when it's time to do homework, which is a huge improvement from last year, but then again, he is a big 1st grader now!

A few days before school started, Jax earned his yellow belt in karate! He worked very hard and practiced all of his techniques. He was so proud of himself for getting the yellow belt, and we were very proud of him for working so hard to get it! I absolutely love the karate school and his teacher is so great with all of them, and Jax loves it. They focus on respect and discipline as well as the techniques.

Little miss Ella is still her sassy, princess self! She isn't quite sure how she feels about big brother being at school all day, and her just being home with Mommy. She gets pretty bored while he is gone. She loves it when Gabe is here so she has someone to play with! Hopefully I can find a preschool for her that I actually like, and maybe she will be able to start in January, since she is offically "potty twained like a big gull" (translation: potty trained like a big girl!) although im really not excited to have both of my babies in school, even if Ella will only be there for a few hours! She loves to do "homework" when her big brother does it. She mostly just draws pictures, but sometimes I have her do things out of a preschool work book, and she loves it. She is getting really good at saying her ABC's and counting to 10, even if she does like to skip numbers 5 and 6.

I can't believe how fast time goes, and how big our kids are getting. They are both growing up so fast and we couldn't be more proud of them!

Ella Jo's 3rd Birthday!

Our beautiful, sassy, independent, stubborn, hard-headed little princess turned 3 on Saturday! Ho.w did she get so old so quick?? I swear she was just a brand new baby! Miss Ella is so much fun to have around, she keeps all of us entertained with the funny things she says and all of her funny little facial expressions. Even her sassy attitude and temper tantrums are pretty entertaining too, not to mention frustrating. Ella doesn't do anything she doesn't want to do, everything is in her own time and in her own way, and if you make her mad she doesn't hesitate to let you know! Ella loves her big brother and she looks up to him, and he loves her and is very protective of her. However, this doesn't mean that they don't have the occasional argument or that they don't try to annoy each other, but, what siblings don't do that from time to time? Ella is very into playing make believe lately, she loves to play with her baby dolls and pretend to feed and take care of them, and she copies everything Mommy, Daddy, and big brother does. When I am putting on my makeup or doing my hair, she loves to pretend to do the same thing, and on occasion, Mommy lets her put on some lip gloss, which she loves! When her daddy comes home from work, she loves to run up to him and give him a big, huge, wet kiss!
Our little girl is growing up so fast, and while I wish that she could just stay this little forever, it's so much fun to watch her grow and learn, and to watch her little personality develop more everyday. We couldn't be more thankful to have this sweet little girl in our lives! Mommy, Daddy and Big Brother love you SOOOO much, sweet Ella Jo! Happy Birthday, big girl!

Lake Powell

We went to Lake Powell in July...yes, I know im behind on blogging. Nick and I decided that Miss Ella Jo was old enough to come with us this year. The kids practically live in their lifejackets the whole time were there, they only take them off to sleep.  Fortunately,  the kids don't seem to mind wearing them and it makes the adults feel better knowing they have them on.  We had a blast again this year, of course, and I loved having both of my kids with me...although Ella did have a blast last year at home with her Grandma Bonnie, and of course she got spoiled by her Grandma!
We played around on the waverunner's, rode on the boats, played on the beach, Nick had a blast surfing, and of course, we ate WAY TOO MUCH food! Lake Powell is one of my favorite places ever and having a nice houseboat to stay on makes it that much nicer! Thanks for the fun trip, Mom!