Coloring by the Computer

I used to let Eli sit or stand on the desk while I was at the computer because that was the only way to keep him happy while I was at the computer desk. But a couple months ago, much to his dismay, I decided to put an end to that. He was getting too big and wreaking too much havoc on things to allow this habit to continue. But finally, FINALLY, we have found a solution that we both can agree on: he sits near me and colors.

We found this solution once I moved the coloring things to a shelf in the office near the computer that he had access to, and once I got him his own coloring box. Why I have to have three boxes of crayons instead of two-or even better one-before he feels like he can color is a question for another day.

Alone Time

A few days ago Ali created this little doll house in her room, and she has been disappearing up there to play with her dolls and animals more and more. Lately she has really seemed to need some quite time to play on her own; she is a happier, kinder friend after she's had some alone time to play quietly.

I love it when she lets me watch without stopping her play. I love to see her creative mind at work. Here the one monkey was sick and the other was the doctor working to make her feel better.

Three little Piggies

Walking down my hall yesterday, this is the view I saw. Lest you're confused about the angle of this picture...

...here is the normal view. The top one was the view from down below and behind them. Such cute little piggies!

Hi

Most days, Eli carries something around with him all day. Ususally it is a ball, but sometimes it is sunglasses or often his "Hi"--his cell phone.

Frankenstein

This is what Logan used his tooth fairy money for: a Frankenstein mask. We got it at the dollar store, but I've been pretty impressed with the quality of the mask; it's held up through about a week's worth of scaring so far:) It is getting us even more ready for Halloween than we already were, something I might not have thought possible!

Love/Hate Relationship

Eli is getting more and more interested in trains. He wants to play with them every day, but to say that he loves trains wouldn't quite be accurate--he has a love/hate relationship with the trains. We get as many, if not more, of these faces when he's playing...

..as we get these kinds of faces (you can tell he's saying "Choo Choo" here can't you):

He gets very frustrated when the trains fall off the tracks, when he can't fit two pieces of track together, or sometimes for no apparent reason at all. But he still wants to play, even when it's giving him fits.

Made You Smile

Our Protectors

Eli loves to be our resident Fireman:

 And Logan spent the morning being a tough Army Man ridding our house of bad-guys:

First Day

Yesterday was our first day of four-year-old preschool. Once again this year we are feeling very blessed that our kids qualified for a government funded preschool. It is a five day a week program with no cost to us! They had such a fantastic experience last year, and we are expecting no less this year.

Look at the confidence! There wasn't nearly the same level of nervousness as last year from any of us--myself included:)

I love these big, smart, fun, kind, happy, silly preschoolers!

Emily's Baptism

Our sweet neice Emily got baptised way back in May. It was great for our family to get to go, not only to support her on her special day, but also to show a couple four-year-olds that being baptised is nothing to be scared of. Before the baptism, if you asked Ali or Logan if they were going to be baptised someday, they would empatically say, "NO!" They do not like the idea of going under the water. So it was great for them to see Emily do just that and live to tell the tale. I had them talk to her afterwards and she assured them that it wasn't scary, that in fact she liked it. Now if you ask them if they will be baptised someday, at least some of the time they say yes, qualifying it that it won't be until they are much bigger. We are so grateful for big cousins who are such good examples to our kids!

Chicago Temple

Believe it or not, this is our kids' first trip to the Chicago Temple. I decided they finally needed to see the place Mom and Dad go off to once a month. This time they knew they wouldn't get to go inside, so there wasn't the frustration and bad moods that accompanied our trip to the Denver Temple.

Of course their favorite parts were the fountains.

Pretty Ali. I love how she just naturally poses herself these cute ways.

 And silly Logan.

Eli didn't want to pose for a picture, but he had a great time too:)