Seven Year Itch

Now that we are in our seventh year of marriage, Jenn has become very itchy. To Benji’s relief it’s not for another man. It’s attack of the killer fleas!!!

So, we’ve been in our new home a little over a month when all of the sudden mysterious things start happening. It started with one little bite and progressed to 33 bites below my knees alone. It never occurred to us that we might have fleas hibernating in our carpet. Imagine that. We tried vacuuming and flea powder and, finally, the flea fogger. Hopefully we prevailed. I’m sick to death of little ugly bugs!

On Saturday while our house was being de-fleaed we attended a Chinese auction to raise money for George’s preschool. George put his tickets into the raffle for a new bike helmet that he really, really wanted and Isaac put his tickets into the raffle for a really ugly red plastic Mickey Mouse chair that he already thought was his. Well, George won the helmet and I have never seen him so excited. When he heard the number called out he jumped off his chair and ran to the front of the gym, performing a Toyota jump (you remember the commercials) into a slide into home base, all the while yelling, “I did it!!” People were just laughing. He then proceeded to don the helmet and race around the gym in a few victory laps. And just to show you the difference in our sons’ personalities. Isaac was gone getting his pants changed when his winning number was picked. Upon returning and being informed of his good fortune he looked at me like, “Of course it’s my chair, I put my ticket in the bag didn’t I?” All in all it was a good experience and both the “brothers” came away happy. The only down side was that Mom and Dad didn’t win any free pizza or the lawn mower.

Cookie Monster

Isaac loves (very passionately) treats of any shape and size. Today he woke up from his nap just as I was finishing a cake for a BBQ tonight. I gave him a spoon to lick and he went to work. I couldn't help but take a picture. He obviously enjoyed the treat, even though he still had his tired face on!

Good Morning

It's been awhile since I last posted. Ella turned 8 months yesterday. I can't believe how fast time has gone with her. All of the sudden she's big! Benji and I were commenting on how the first year with George seemed like the longest year EVER! Now time is just flying along. Good thing, too. I think I'd be dead if I had to endure any more 2003's. :)

George woke up extra early and in a great mood today. So other than having to get out of bed sooner than usual things were going great. Until time to put his shoes on. All of the sudden he refused to go to preschool, put his shoes on, and get his backpack. I tried bribing, threatening, etc. and nothing worked. I wasn't quite sure what to do. I was wondering if he was just trying out some new control method, or maybe something happened yesterday to make him not want to go back. He's never not wanted to go to school before. Usually he's way excited. When I asked him why he didn't want to go he said he didn't feel like walking all the way to the car (about 10 feet) and all the way to preschool from the car (across a parking lot). Hmm! So, in the end he won out and Benji left for work. I was mad because it meant Isaac didn't get to go to play hour at the gym. Of course, 5 minutes after Benji drove off George announces he wants to go to school now. I told him he decided it 5 minutes too late and WOW! It was quite a tantrum! I wish I would have video taped it. I could have posted it on YouTube or something. Ah, 4 year olds!

Teeth

We were delighted to discover this week that Ella cut her first tooth! We weren't even watching for it and then all of the sudden...there it was! I'm glad to finally understand why she's been congested and not sleeping well.

Ella is getting so cute. She has started teasing-especially George. She grabs at him whenever he gets close and then laughs and laughs. She has also started to interact with Isaac more. He has really enjoyed being her fun big brother. However, she is absolutely refusing to eat solid food. She loves to sit in her chair by the table at meal time and she'll eat crackers, but baby food? I might as well go jump in a lake as far as she's concerned.

We are excited for General Conference this weekend and hope you all get a chance to watch or listen!

Ouch!

So, I had the terrible experience on Sunday of having one of my children get hurt-and it was my fault! Poor little Ella was sick on Sunday, but I dragged her to church anyway because I had to teach. After the meetings I was trying to find one of my little Sunbeams for her grandma and Ella stuck her hand in the door as I was closing it and I smashed her finger! We spent the afternoon in the ER. She has an open fracture on the tip of her tall finger on her left hand. The doc said it should heal fine, but I was just sick. You love your kids so much and when you cause them pain-especially the little ones that don't understand-it just hurts the heart. By the way, I'm NOT including a picture for those of you that like the gory details.

Our New House!

Well, we finally did it! We bought a house. And it's green for St. Patrick's Day! Our beautiful house was originally built in 1850 and, surprisingly, has survived to the present day. It also has a cute little porch with a swing, which we love, and an old barn for a garage out back! We are all moved in and trying to unpack boxes while continuing on with real life. You all know how that goes. :) The kids are pretty excited, but ready to have all their toys in order. We've had a few little tantrums because mom couldn't find something they were looking for. I didn't label any boxes because we only moved 2 blocks. I just threw everything in the nearest box and loaded it in the truck. You'd think I'd know better after 6 moves!

Num Nums

Ella has officially entered the world of solid food. She's been begging for weeks now and we've finally given in. I wish I could have captured her delight upon first being set in the high chair. I've never seen her so proud of herself. She's been pulling things off the table for weeks now in an attempt to join in all the fun and now she has her chance! You can't tell in these pictures, but instead of biting or gumming the cracker, she licks it to death. Ella and her famouse tongue! I can't believe how fast time has passed with her. I'm afraid I'm going to wake up one morning and be looking at her with make-up on or something. Anyway, she's our princess! We love you Ellie!