Caleb's 25th Birthday and Halloween...

I'm still catching up...

Caleb's birthday was on the 24th of October, one week before Halloween. It was a Saturday so I let him choose what he wanted to do. He chose to drive up to where his trail camera is and hike for a bit. It was gorgeous weather and we had a great time, though I didn't take any pics silly me. We stopped at the burger house in Globe for the best bean burros EVER, seriously you must try them if you get the chance! I would say Caleb got all that he wanted on his b-day...a big breakfast in the morning, presents, a trip to the mountains and a BH bean burro!



So I've been on this cake high for a while now and thought how cool would it be to make Caleb a mounted deer head for his cake! Well, what started as a great idea ended as a mounted weiner dog. My antlers were too heavy and my cake was super soft so it turned into an unstable mess! I had fun trying though and Caleb thought it was pretty funny and thoughtful...at least it tasted good! Red Velvet...get it?



At least he saw it before it took this dump...next time I will stick to something much more simple.



I was supposed to bring his awesome cake to our friends pumkin carving party, but instead I went with plan B after all went south with my deer head. So I made these cupcakes! Ellery looks so big next to her buddies Aspyn and Kade...





We were so happy to see our friends and were having a splendid evening when Ellery totally started throwing up, with all their new babies we had to bail, didn't want it to spread. Sure enough, Ellery had the stomach flu for a couple days poor thing.





This was the results of the pumpkin carving party we had with my sister's family. My pumpkin was the little monster on the far right.



So I was going to have Ellery wear her ladybug outfit for Halloween but I just couldn't help myself. My sister turned her two oldest boys into mummies and I got the idea to do the same to my sweet adorable baby girl...
However, I liked that she was something "scary" but I had to make her "cute scary" so she got a little flower on her beanie and some lace for a girly touch, otherwise all night I would have heard "what's HIS name?" and we just can't have that.



We joined my parents and some siblings to mine and Caleb's parents ward's trunk or treat! It was freezing! Glad Ellery had on long johns instead of that ladybug tutu.
Her costume was easy to make. It was cheap long johns from walmart then I bought muslin and cut it into strips, died them in black tea and wrapped it around her with fabric glue. Problem was getting her to hold still and then getting it on and off. I had to cut a few pieces of muslin strips to get her out then glue them back together when I put it on, good thing it looks good when it's falling apart!



These are my sister's mummies, they were scary



This was at our wards truck or treat, it was in the afternoon on halloween and we all laid out blankets at the park. It was fun, I know I'm a dork for wearing my candy corn costume, but I love halloween! I made Caleb wear a shirt that said "I'm with Candy Corn"

More from October...

We took another trip to the cabin for the weekend last month and spent the day watching my dad and mom build and perfect this rope swing. My family appreciates a swing that pushes itself. My dad built a cool platform for the kids to jump off of. I personally have a hard time jumping off and getting my feet around and on the swing...I didn't dare try this time but hats off to my brave nephews!












This would be Ellery eating her very first pb and j sandwhich and mandarin oranges. The first of many I'm sure, it was just fun to put her lunch on her tray and walk away. Usually, I have to sit and feed her babyfood. She is getting better and better with solids, very exciting!


This smile is so stinkin cute, yet creepy at the same time.


So once again this is the creative work of my dad. Ellery's physical therapist wants Ellery to put more weight on her feet. She doesn't just stand like other kids, she curls up her legs and crosses her feet. So we have been working on sitting her on stools while she plays or on my leg so she can put her feet on the ground and lean on them. Well, my dad was so kind as to make Ellery her very own table and chair! Isn't it so cute! She obviously loves it! She looks so big in it and it definitely works for her therapy and she is already much better at putting weight on her feet! Wahoo!

This picture is just funny to me, after a walk crying the first half she finally settled and was just so content in this position, one leg up the whole time.

Ellery Kisses

Way back in October, my sister and I ventured over to Bass Pro Shops for their kid's night! It was really cool, they had a lot for the kids to do and it was all free! You like Ellery's hat?



They have a laser arcade with a life-like desert scene with targets to shoot at. Usually it's a quarter for like 4 shots but on Tuesday nights it's free all you want!

We also were able to take my nephews back for a little lesson on shooting a bb gun and a bow. They were naturals...





They also had rock climbing for bigger kids, a scavenger hunt, they fed the big fish in the tank and free popcorn all you want! It was really fun and we didn't spend a thing! Oh wait, we did buy some fudge...mmm

Ellery helped herself to a dum dum, messy stuff

3 Years down...Eternity to go

So I know its been forever since I last blogged, my computer got a nasty virus and it took forever to get it fixed, but now it is and I have internet back wahoo! Now it is time to play catch-up on my blogging.



First, all the way back in September, Caleb and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary! Back in the mayhem and stress that was living in the hospital, Caleb promised me when it was all over that he would take me to Disneyland! He isnt the disney type so this was a big deal that he was willing to take me and pretend to enjoy it. I was super excited, I hadn't had any sort of vacation except maybe a couple camping trips since Ellery was born, so I was anxious to go somewhere.

I am so sad because I had the cutest picture of her actually wearing her helmet just before we left for Cali and somehow I deleted it or something because I can't find it anywhere!





So yes I was excited to get away with my hubby, but it was definitely a challenge leaving Ellery behind. I was super stressed with all her high maintenace and all and plus just being a mom you know. I was going to miss my baby for 3 whole days! So to make thing easy for the grandmas, I put together a picture intruction book on her schedule, how to work her pump, give medicine and everything in between. It was very helpful and still is for anyone that babysits.



This was my "Disneyland Fund" that I jokingly started when we first got married, but we both already had coin jars that we dumped together and then kept adding to it until we busted it open for this trip...guess how much moola is in there?



is it about,

A. $172.00
B. $86.00
C. $340.00

The answer is at the end of this post.

So I didn't take very many pics at Disneyland, just too into playing or something to remember I guess, but I was bummed out when I realized I missed some good times. Anyways, this pic with Goofy was funny because we were the only adults for one and goofy decided to pose us himself.




This is on the Buzz Lightyear ride and it was Caleb's favorite because he got to shoot a gun and double my score...



Okay so just before this picture was taken, which by the way was taken by this funny older woman who kept taking more and more because she liked my camera and was getting creative, she probably took 10 and she kept posing us, it was funny. Anyway, as we were walking up to the spot I noticed this lady in work clothes and a totally awsome camera, then I notice a woman holding a child and getting teary eyed. Then, I see an old man with a book that he is reading from and he is facing a couple holding hands, the girl was wearing a veil. Oh my, we were suddenly at a wedding. This young couple was just right there on the pier at California Adventure getting married!





We went on the first day of the Halloween theme, it was really cool how they decorated and re-did space mountain and the fireworks show to be all haunted, I love halloween so it made it just that more fun!



Day two was so relaxing. We drove to the beach, rented bikes and rode them all over to shops, lunch and all down the board walk. So fun and it was so nice out but too cold to swim in the ocean though. We found a new hotel nearby and swam there instead. At night we hit up the old spagetti factory for dinner and it was really neat inside and the food was good.








We were trying to get the name of the restaurant in the picture and we both forgot to smile...



Day 3 we woke up super early to go deep sea fishing, Caleb's choice and my first time fishing! It was cold and smelly, but I was excited. Caleb gets motion sickness on huge roller coasters and I don't so we thought he would get sick and I would be fine. Well, I spent the first 4 hours on this boat sick. It was very cloudy and it felt like we were in the middle of no where and that made me chlostriphobic (sp?) in a way to not see land. Then with the mixture of fish and people smoking smells, which are my top two most nausiating smells, I was done for. No fresh air to be found. I finally slept for a while and then felt better. I had dum dum lollipops and those were my saving grace. They helped mask the strong odors and I was able to fish at the end. In fact, I caught a fish before Caleb!




So this is gross and sad. The kid next to me caught a shark, yeah it was like 2 feet long and my line was tangled all around the tail of it so I like to pretend I caught it too. They cut up all the fish on the ride back and when they cut up the shark it was pregnant! It had two of these sacks in it and if you look you can see the little sharks floating in it there are 3, they are the dark red areas. They say eventually the mom just squirts these pods out and the sharks are born from there! Crazy!



After fishing we drove back home to AZ...It was a really great trip and a much needed getaway, but I was so excited to see my Ellery again! She was still in one peice, but it felt the grandmas were a little over stressed....I warned them she is high maitenance!

The answer to the "Disney Fund" was C. $340.00 more than I thought it would be

My One Year Old...

So last Sunday, September 13th, Ellery turned one wow, I still can't believe it, yet it seems like "that's it?" I feel like she's been here forever! I love my baby girl and I'm so happy she is so happy! At one year of age Ellery is:

Weight: 17 lbs. 1 oz.
Height: 26.5 in.

-Practically sitting all by herself

-She makes a gurgle/purr noise when she's happy and playing

-Gives the biggest smiles and laughs silently, but if you get noise out of her it's like extra points!

-When laying on her back she kicks so fast and hard, it's like an excited dog wagging it's tail...I love it!

-She has four teeth all on the bottom

-She LOVES balls larger than herself and she makes the cutest turtle-like face when she grabs at it!

-Her favorite noise is Daddy's duck impression

-If you are holding her, just expect her to grab your whole face, this is how she says hi

-She will hold still when I go in for a kiss, she doesn't pucker, but she thinks she is!








This was her on her actual birthday all ready for church...



Grandpa gave her an oreo at her party, which is not on the "ok for ellery to eat" list, but Caleb was right there and apparently she wasn't going to give it back! According to Caleb she was all about this oreo and she ate it pretty quick! Apparently she is getting better with the solid food! So on Sunday we treated her to another one and I think she enjoyed it!

The LadyBug Birthday!

So to celebrate Ellery's turing one, we decided to have a ladybug themed party! I have been looking forward to this for a very long time, it was to celebrate more than just that she's now one, it was to celebrate all she's accomplished in that first year...a whole lot! Ellery has come a long way and this was something fun to end such an eventful year!
I made her little tutu and wings, not perfect but I had fun and it was only like 5 bucks to make both!

We served a small dinner of hot dogs and a lot of finger foods and salads...thanks mom and kim! I decorated the table cloths with oreos to be "spots".



This was my first attempt at fondant and I really enjoyed making these cakes! I made the fondant out of marshmallows and powdered sugar, messy but actually very easy and it tastes good! However, coloring it red and black was a challenging task involving a lot of food coloring, kneading and stained hands. I cooked the chocolate cake (two mixes) in a large metal bowl on a lower tempurature for a longer time...took 3 hours to cook to the center! It was yummy and moist to perfection!



We had the party at my mom's house with mostly just immediate famliy invited since that alone is a big crowd.



Ellery has a lot of cousins so we had to play a few games including pin the spot on the ladybug! If you got your spot on the wings, you got a prize! My very talented mom put together this ladybug...isn't she cute?!



We played a game just like a cake walk, but with leaves and the kids had their own pipe cleaner antanae on so they were the ladybugs flying around until the music stopped and if their leaf number was called out, they won a prize!



I also had them decorate their own cupcakes to look like ladybugs, but I forgot to make a sample and I never got a picture of the completed cupcake so sorry! But they were super fun!



Side Note: I had purchased live ladybugs online at homedepot and I wanted to put a few into some re-designed baby food jars as the party favors. Well, I ordered them on Thursday a week before the party because they had implied that such an order wouldn't be shipped until Monday so I was thinking I would get them two days before the party. However, the very next day after ordering a half-pint of these bugs, they arrived on my doorstep a week before the party! Ahh, how do I keep them alive that long? Apparently, you are supposed to keep them in the fridge till ready to release them...weird, but okay so that is what I did. Online it said they can last a couple weeks in their sleeping. So, the night before the party Caleb dumped them into the jars, but the lids holes he poked were really tiny and only 4. It was a little late to fix it and in the end the ladybug mortality rate was high. Poor kids had 75% dead ladybugs in them...oh well. We ended up just releasing them all that night instead of the kids taking them home. Learn from my mistake, order ladybugs later and poke more, larger holes.

So we have been working on Ellery sitting up because I wanted her to be able to sit and open her gifts, well I still sat behind her to help, but she didn't need much, she went to town on those presents! She is very curious now and grabs at everything so it worked out to her advantage here, because she ripped and pulled each gift wrapping very quickly, she's a natural! She got the jack pot on books, toys and clothes! Our three favorite things, thanks everyone!!







So then came cake time, another task we have been working towards, Ellery feeding herself and also being able to handle chewing and swallowing cake safely. We practiced with bread the whole week before and about 2 weeks before she stared to pick up little snacks and put them in her mouth! So just in time, still I wasn't sure what she would do if I put a cake in front of her, I had an idea though and I was right...

First she stares at it...



Then tastes it...



Then dives right in...



Rubs it all over her head...



And enjoys every second of it!



So I think it is safe to say that Ellery had a great party and a great time! I'm so glad it went well and grateful to all who came, it wouldn't have been a party with out you! I wish others could have been there, out of towners and busy peeps, you were missed. It was a grand celebration and an opening to a new chapter in Ellery's life! One full of growing, learning and playing!



This was the next day Ellery playing in her new jumperoo, she seems to like it!