18 months old

Eleri is 18 months old today!!! I attempted a photo shoot at what I thought was a great location yesterday, but it didn't turn out as amazing as I would have liked. Eleri is doing great at 18 months old. She does very little that is reminiscent of her baby-ness. Eleri has finally become a good sleeper and napper. Her naps have moved to about 2.5-3 hours a day which is a nice chunk of time for me to get things done (or nap myself and get things done). Eleri still loves to eat, preferring beef over chicken. Eleri is becoming Miss Independent and gets VERY upset when she isn't allowed to express her independence. She wants to do what she wants to do and the way she wants to do it. Eric thinks she will be more independent that even Mali. We have had many many temper tantrums from this girl. And these include flailing on the floor and screaming. Eleri still loves shoes and wants to be wearing her shoes all day. Eleri loves playing with Mali and really just goes along with the pretend play Mali tells her to do. I think she must be confused because Mali loves to play that Eleri is the mommy and she is the baby and I'm the Sunday School teacher. But Eleri goes right along with it as much as an 18 month old can. Eleri loves being outside and playing with balls. She also enjoys swinging when we play in the backyard. Making messes and being mischievous are really Eleri's favorite thing. We currently have a clogged toilet that has a bar of soap stuck in it thanks to Miss Eleri. She is always pushing the limits a little (not another one, or maybe its just being a toddler). If we play out front in the water the next thing I know she is dunking her head in the run off water! Eleri is a climber!!! We had moved Mali's chair up on her desk so that Eleri couldn't climb it, but she has now discovered how to climb up into her highchair and our bar height table chairs. She also likes to climb on top of the toilets and Mali's bed. She is really good at climbing but it requires much more supervision from this busy mom. Along with her mischievousness, the other night I was sick and shut her out of the bathroom. She was crying and knocking on the door...but then it got quiet. When I was done, I came out to find her outside and naked!!! This sounds nothing like another little girl that ran away naked to the park in Dumas when she was three. Eleri is so goofy too. She loves to just laugh at everybody and everything and has the cutest smile with her scrunched up eyes and nose! She loves just being goofy and trying to make herself, us and Mali laugh and she gets the greatest belly laugh out of it. The other day we were sitting on the couch and she accidentally burped. It made us laugh, and so she kept trying to burp again which was an even funnier sound and we just laughed and laughed. Eleri is also beginning the potty training stage. We take her diaper off and set her on the toilet at her request or when she has a poopy diaper. She "wipes" and flushes the toilet. I'm excited she is getting ready but I'm not sure I'm ready. But I do strongly believe in going with my children's interest when they are interested, so I guess I'll just have to suck it up and do it. The previously mentioned clogged toilet and previously mentioned me getting sick have begun to send a mixed message I'm afraid but hopefully they will all be corrected soon. Eleri is talking quite a bit now too and says many many words. I looked at her with such thankfulness for how she has turned out despite my lacking as a parent of two. Eleri loves to read right now too. I think she would sit in my lap and be read to all day if she could be. Another cute Eleri thing, is she counts 1, 2, 3 and holds up her little finger right next to her mouth. She also "prays". When I pray at meals times, she curls her hands up underneath her chin and will say amen after I say it. It is very cute! As always, I know that there is so much more to this sweet little girl, but this is what I can think of right now.

Another day, another ultrasound

Today I had another ultrasound. I sure am high maintenance when I'm pregnant, I guess it makes up for me not being high maintenance in normal life!;) In the last two/three weeks I've been bleeding and so this was just to check on baby again. When the tech put in all my information, I told her that we still weren't really sure how far along I was but that if I could give her the date of conception that it would probably be right. Sure enough she said that #3 was measuring exactly with that date of conception. So without further ado, real due date is March 3, 2011 and I'm 8-9 weeks along. Only three to five more weeks of my head remaining in the toilet! Yes, I'm sick and exhausted. In fact today I took an hour long nap and wanted to sleep more! The mornings and evenings are the worst and evenings the most difficult. I really can't eat dinner at all or keep it down if I do. I can't stand the look, smell or taste of chicken and as I get sick off something, I can no longer eat that. The ginger beer is helping some but isn't full proof. Eric said he's willing to pay for a prescription of Zofran for me my OB will prescribe it. We will see. This sure is hard the third time around (and really the fourth since my paperwork reads 4 pregnancies. Can you believe I've really been pregnant four times?). It was wonderful seeing #3 on the screen. Especially since baby looks more like a...baby. Can you see the little legs? I saw the heartbeat right away. That always sends a shock of amazingness through me. Then we heard the good strong, fast heartbeat. It was at 170 this time. Everything with the baby looked good. The tech did say she could see evidence of bleeding around the gestational sac but with baby healthy and heartbeat so strong it wasn't a concern to her and probably something that will self correct. We are trusting God! I'm so thankful for this baby but had a realization/talking time with God. Since God had clearly told us to do this, I think part of me expected his blessing and favor on this pregnancy. In my mind some what translating into easy, fun pregnancy. Which it is not. Then God just showed me that just because I'm obedient or follow his path doesn't mean its going to be easy. Carrie helped me to see that even when Jesus told the disciples to go out on a boat, he KNEW a storm was coming, and told them anyway. And like we've been studying in church, Paul was absolutely in God's will but was imprisoned, beat, stoned...etc. So, with God's strength I will get through #3. The other night after being sick, I asked Eric to tell me it was going to be worth it. He was silent. But then said "in five years". Once again, I find myself saying, in two years this will be worth it. I see how funny and amazing Eleri is at this age and know that in a short season #3 will be at that adorable stage too.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

After Brandon's wedding, we decided to take the girls to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo since we were so close to Colorado Springs and it was Eric's last official week of summer. We hoped that Eleri would nap in the car but just as it goes anytime you plan soemthing fun for your kids, she didn't nap. We ate lunch at Qdobas (our favorite burrito place thanks to Laura!) and then arrived at the zoo right at nap time. Perfect timing! It was also very very hot. Eric rented a wagon and bought the girls cute, pink safari hats while I waited for my mom and Zina who were joining us. The giraffes were too hot to want to eat their crackers, so Eleri ate them for them. Then we were on to the rest of the animals. Our highlight was probably watching the grizzly bear play in the water, the girls riding the ponies and petting the snake. Eleri also loved the turtle. We were sprinkled on at one point, which felt so nice and then ran into the Ape area right before a huge downpour hit. We waited out the rain for the most part and looked at the primates. One of the primates was playing at the glass with Eleri. We left the zoo and said good-byes and Eleri was out fast! Eric made a stop at Dillards in Colorado Springs while Eleri and I slept in the car. We stayed in a hotel that night and then the next morning drove into Castle Rock for Eric to do some back to school shopping since he will be in the classroom this year and was "in need" of new clothes. After our shopping excursion that was pretty successfully, we headed all hte way home. We were stopped in standstill traffic in Pueblo for about 30 minutes which caused us to not quite make it all the way back home so we stayed with Mimi and Papa that night and let them spoil the girls a little.

Kindergarten Woes

The past few weeks Mali has started to become a little anxious about going to kindergarten. Some of her woes are that she won't be able to go to Wal-Mart with me any more and the more heart breaking one, that she won't be able to learn about God. During one of our kindergarten discussions, Mali said she was excited about going to kindergarten and learning about God. I made the mistake of telling her that she wouldn't be learning about God like she did in preschool. I should've have been more thoughtful when I talked with her about it. Maybe saying that we can always learn about God no matter where we are, because that is so true and I want her to know that. I received more of a "spiritual education" at a secular university than my brother received at a Christian college. Or maybe I could have said, "you can teach people about God." At any rate, I'm trying to make up for my careless words now. We have purchased a backpack and a few school clothes. Eric has made sure that his big girl well be well dressed and fit in as much as possible at Sleepyhollow. We still have to get school supplies, hopefully I will this week, and end my nightmares about it being 7:30 on the first day of school and Mali not having school supplies. I've been thinking a lot about how I'm going to start having to pack lunches every day!!!! And how I will have to be thrifty and creative. I'm still unsure what to do about drinks and how to go about that the cheapest. I asked Mali if water bottles would work for her and she said "yes." We are used to eating leftover at lunch so this is going to stretch me. And, I realized, I will have to wake her up more than likely rather than let her sleep until she naturally wakes up. Not that she ever sleeps too late, but we will need to be prepared! Oh, the winds of change are blowing! On a positive note of this subject, we read in her Princess Bible about singing the song "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" but trading out your worry, so we've been singing "He's got Mali going to Kindergarten, in His Hands...". I love it and she loves it (I'm actually going to use that little technique with clients too!) I'm in prayer for this sweet big girl and know she will do fantastic. We each have our own worries and concerns.

A Nice Day for a "White" Wedding

On July 19, 2010 my brother, Brandon, got married. It was fun but exhausting weekend. The girls and I went up Thursday with my dad to start getting things ready for the wedding. Friday my mom, zina, and I hosted a bridal luncheon for Liza in La Veta, Colorado at a bed and breakfast there. My mom did a great job planning it and preparing for it. After the luncheon, we went back into Cuchara and got ready for the rehearsal. The rehearsal went well although Brandon put me in charge and my brain capacity seems to be very limited right now, but with help from the other members of the White family we got it all figured out. After the rehearsal we went back to the cabin and had pizza from the Dog Bar on the deck. It was fun to relax and hear Brandon and his friends tell stories from their crazy days at Wayland. My dad tried to get stories about Liza but her mom (translated) that she was a very good child. After the dinner, the girls and guys parted ways. At about 8pm, I went up to Liza's condo for a Mehendi party. I was so excited about them incorporating this tradition into their wedding. Liza and all the bridesmaids had our hands painted with henna. The bride goes first and Liza's alone took four hours. Everyone took pity on me and let me go next. I didn't get home until 2am which is super super late for me especially being pregnant but I was glad that I was able to stay since Liza really wanted us to do this. Saturday morning came quickly and we spent time helping Brandon get ready for the reception and ceremony. After lunch and an early nap for Eleri, I started getting ready so that I could help Brandon with the flowers. I went to take pictures of Liza getting ready but then had to leave to go get all of the girls' flowers and bring them up to the cabin. By that time, it was time to get the girls ready and meet for pictures. We met at the ski resort base to take pictures. Liza looked absolutely beautiful. The highlight of pictures had to be when the groomsmen carried Liza across the resort to take pictures. I can't wait to see the pictures! I was fortunate enough to be able to drive Liza down to the ceremony, after a potty break at the cabin. The ceremony went really great. They did a great job choosing beautiful music that captured their personalities. My little flower girls looked beautiful and did a good job even though Eleri's pomander broke before the ceremony! Bryon Potter, Brandon's high school friend and college roommate, performed the ceremony and did good job, Mali leaned over to me and said "I really like this story". After the ceremony and more pictures we went to the reception that was held in the town of Cuchara at a rental cabin along the river. It was very pretty and serene. I was exhausted and just wanted to rest so I slacked in the area of pictures. I'm so sad I never got pictures with Brandon and Liza and myself or the girls!!! We had a good evening and enjoyed spending time with family and friends. Our family left early but the rest of the wedding party and friends stayed on to celebrate into the evening. We are excited to have Liza as a permanent member of the White family. She is so kind and loving and understanding with our girls. And with Brandon!;) congratulations Mr. & Mrs. White. We loved being a part of your special day...have fun in Hawaii!

Such a sweet sound

Today the girls and I heard one of the sweetest sounds...#3's heartbeat. I had another ultrasound today and everything looked great and sounded great. The heartbeat was at 117 for all of those gender predictors out there. No signs of problems at all. I have started throwing up but God just really spoke to me that it will be okay, this will just make me depend on him even more. And that I'm okay with. I might have to ask Eric to shower immediately after mowing the lawn and might have some extreme rage that the spicy chicken sandwich I ordered was not in the bag but regular chicken sandwich that I can not stomach was...but we'll manage!:)
Here is another picture!

GOALLLL

No, I did not watch even a fraction of the soccer stuff that was going on, whatever it was called!;)
I just wanted to share this so that I have a chance to come back to this one day, or every day for that matter, and to share with my friends too.
A while back, a friend had sent me this new blog, Inspired to Action. She has a free e-book for moms on how to maximize your morning. It has helped me so much, well until I got pregnant again!;) On her blog, she also encourages moms to make a mission statement. I hate that kind of stuff and always have. I hate setting goals and defining objectives, blah blah blah. It makes my head and stomach hurt and just feels like a waste of time. I just want to get to it. And, the reality for me has been that my goal is simply obedience to God. If he calls me to do something I do it, if he tells me no in an area I don't do it. Simple. God called me to stay at home to raise my kids during this season of life. I did it...do it. No goals or objectives needed. Except that I go to bed nearly every day with regret that I just didn't read to Mali or Eleri one more time (or any time at all), that I cleaned too much or that I didn't clean at all. Just loads of regret and guilt that having #2 seemed to exacerbate as I'm sure #3 will too. Then in the shower, which is for all accounts and purposes my real quiet time and time with God, I felt God talking to me about a goal and a mission statement for motherhood. I had read this post that day:
http://inspiredtoaction.com/2010/07/motherhood-and-identity-comparison-and-the-list-you-need-to-tape-to-your-forehead
So in the shower, God and I discussed what my mission statement as a mom should be. And here it is

To provide my children with a safe, loving environment at home where I teach them and help them to learn while also teaching them about loving God.

So now the past few nights when I've laid in bed and the guilt (the Enemy) is whispering in my ear, I can say yes today I was a good mom because I was home with them and gave them a safe place to learn. I taught Eleri how to say bubble and that once again that was a cat not a dog. I taught Mali a verse about arguing and complaining and helped her to understand to rest when her body was out of control with crying. Even though those were just a few moments in the long span of the day, I did "well" (which is even hard for me to say). This certainly does not mean I'm going to do the minimal job but that there will be days when there are moments and not hours that fulfill this statement and I won't bog myself down in the guilt that time is just slipping away from me and that my girls will not be raised well.
I hope this helps someone else that reads this blog too!

An update

Since I've had the lovely pump and fanny pack installed life hasn't been easy. I had hoped it would work wonders. We've spent the past two days trying to get the dosage correct and slowly increasing it so that my skin isn't too irritated. Which is another side effect. Zofran is injected right into my skin but is an irritant so this means that my "site" has to be moved regularly. Today the nurse came and removed my old site and put a new one in. My old site is pretty red and swollen and painful. Yesterday my dad and Terry came and helped me and then last night my mom showed up and is helping me out. Yesterday I had 7 "episodes" , including one at Chickfila, and I've only been sick once today, so it's an improvement but I'm still naseous. My dosage is now at it's max at 1mL an hour and I'm hoping this works!!!

Triple Threat

In case you missed the end of my last post...here it is much more clear. We are Eric and Brie + Three! We are expecting our third child. I'm super super early and wasn't really ready to get it "out there" but a.) I'm showing (according to my dad and Terry I've been showing for about 2 months now. I'm blaming my previous pregnancies on this one and my Dr. Pepper consumption). And I'd rather be seen as "pregnant" than "fat"!:) b.) There have been lots of postings on Facebook about it. So to not withhold it any longer and so that I can explain it all myself, I'm pregnant.
Today I had an ultrasound because my pregnancy brain has already kicked in and I'm not really sure the first day of my last period. The pregnancy looks good so far. There were no signs of it being a molar pregnancy, which was and always is a concern. But after having a healthy pregnancy (Eleri), it feels much more safe. As you can see there is clearly a little bitty baby there. I'm still too early to see a heartbeat though. The sonographer was thinking that I was probably about 5 1/2 weeks. So we still don't have a due date but probably end of February or beginning of March. This baby will also be born via c-section which will mean #3's birthday will be about 10-14 days before my due date, whenever that is.
Now to my feelings that I so want so share. Before I was pregnant with Eleri, I felt that God just put it on my heart that we would not just have two children; a boy and girl and be done with it. Eric also has felt the same way. We both had decided that we would not prevent pregnancy after Eleri and just have our third as soon as possible. We didn't really want to be completely out of the baby stage and also felt like it would be easier this way. Not in a negative way, but we could have our last child and could just get on with our family. The pregnancy and baby stage just takes so much out of me. Back in early May sometime, we were driving down Soncy and Eric said that he felt that God had told him that it was time for #3. I was quiet for a minute and my heart rate probably increased exponentially, and I replied that I had felt that same thing from God. So, a month later we were pregnant. We are pretty much 100% sure that this sweet baby was conceived while we were on a marriage intensive in early June and will some how have a name in tribute to that weekend that has changed our marriage and our family forever.
Am I worried about having a third child? Absolutely. I'm not sure I do a good enough job with #1, and #2, but I have no doubt that God put this on our hearts and allowed this baby to be conceived. I feel such a peace with this baby. I would have loved to see a heartbeat today, but I have peace. I've had bleeding again, but I have peace. We only have a 3 bedroom house, but I have peace. Plus, I've also felt that if we had two same gender children that they should share a room. I think that it creates a humble spirit and diminishes the egocentrism, as in "that's mine, MY room, MY toys." God knows that at least our oldest certainly needs that spirit! I do, however, wish we had a sunroom/playroom/toy storage room. I'm excited about this though. It feels good remembering pregnancy and not being so far withdrawn from it (4 years between Mali and Eleri), but on the flip-side, didn't I JUST stop nursing and JUST start running diligently again??? My room is now stocked with Palmer's Stretch Mark cream and prenatal vitamins and I need to go ahead and make a trip to the attic to retrieve my freshly put away maternity clothes. There is just an excitement knowing this is our last baby and I just want to enjoy this pregnancy. Granted, I haven't started throwing up yet. I've had lots of people ask how I'm feeling. I haven't started throwing up but have been nauseous and just had food aversions. I have a huge chicken aversion and really starch and carbs are about all I'll eat. Decaf sweet tea is pretty good too. I've completely kicked my caffeine. I think I drank enough in the first few weeks for entire trimester before I knew! I'm pretty exhausted. That is how that I knew I was pregnant, or rather what prompted me to take a pregnancy test. I had drunk two large Dr. Peppers and taken a nap two Sundays ago and still could not shake the tiredness, so my $1 worth of peace of mind pregnancy test from Dollar Tree was purchased. I didn't think it would be positive. I took it really quick while Eric was gone and glanced at it. It didn't show up as positive right away. I heard the garage door and stashed it away. I didn't want Eric thinking I was silly for taking one, although he had thought I was pregnant any way and so had Mali (that weekend she had told my in laws I was. I said I wasn't I just had a fat tummy from having babies and drinking Dr. Pepper). Later that evening I remembered it and checked and sure enough it was positive. Eric was taking a final for grad school and I rushed my majorily disheveled girls and self (I had been cleaning all day) to Kohl's and bought a "Little Brother" onesie. I presented that and the pregnancy test to Eric. Eric was pretty happy and is very hopeful that this will be a boy. The onesie will remain with its tags on and will be given as a gift if #3 turns out to be a girl. I really wanted to tell Eric in a big way, but when he had got home he told me he needed help spraying weeds in the garden and that it was pretty toxic so the girls needed to be in bed. I thought that I needed to tell him before he made me spray weeds, otherwise he would have had more of a surprise and exciting way of being told. We told the grandparents this past weekend with the girls' "I'm the Big Sister" shirts. I think they were excited. My dad and Terry as mentioned before have "known" for about 2 months although I'm only 5 weeks pregnant. Eric's parents also inervertdendly found out when Eric texted his sister and unknowingly texted them.
I feel full and feel complete. We are living in God's plan for our family! This is still super early and the first trimester is a risky one. I'm fully aware that my blog posts about this pregnancy could go either way at this point. Even though it is early, and we haven't seen a heart beat, it is out there now...and I have peace.
So here we are....Eric and Brie + 3
"He gives childless couples a family, gives them joy as the parents of children. Hallelujah!" Psalm 113:9

Eleri's laughter is contagious

Here is a video of Eleri's love for popcorn and love of laughing!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Cow Appreciation Day

Today is Cow Appreciation Day at ChickFilA. If you dress like a cow from head to toe you get a free meal. Both girls were dressed up and each got a kids meal. I printed off cow ears, nose, spots, and tail from the ChikFilA website and got my free combo meal. The girls and I had so much fun. After eating and all the excitement indoors, the girls got to ride in the cow train outside. They had a lot of fun and didn't want to leave. Eleri could've rode the train all day I think!

He gently leads those with young

For once in the past week, I have not wanted to just crawl into bed. It could have been the effect of adrenaline coursing through my body from trying to catch a thief who had stolen a blower off of a landscaper mowing our neighbors yard early today, or it may have been because I just wanted to write and rest in what God spoke to me today.
There are two main reasons that I blog (which I’m sure I’ve referenced on several occasions whether for my own purpose or to defend my immense posts). The first reason is to vent and to share. I love sharing what God has shown me or even new things that I’m learning in hopes that I can just help others out there…other tired moms or women going through difficult times. I know so many times that I read other blogs that in just a sentence draw me closer to God, convict me and teach me. I want that for my blog. But this is where I’ve fallen by the wayside probably since Eleri’s birth. I don’t have the blogging time that I used to…pause for major interruption from my 5 year old (see what I mean? Even the quiet hours of the night don’t provide solace to blog.) And let me tell you, I’m so distracted. I can’t blog with any semblance of noise or interruptions from previously mentioned 5 year olds. I completely loose all train of thought. So with great sadness, this is what has been missing from my blog, but it hasn’t been missing from my life. This past year God has continued to speak to me and guide me in mothering. I have to strive much much more to find those quiet moments so that I can be with him and hear him, but I long for those moments. And, I’ve experienced God’s grace too. He knows where I am in life…not that its an excuse and I don’t want to use it as an excuse, but its His grace evident in my life and that loving Him and seeking Him is what matters to Him. I even told Mali today that God doesn’t care how we talk to Him just that we do talk to him. My second reason to blog has been to document the girls. I’ve even slacked in that area.
Tonight I came across a wonderful blog. It really encouraged me and has so many great quotes that just free me as a mom. One of my huge fears is failure and even before getting married I knew that I was terrified to get married and to have kids because I was terrified to fail but knew that I would fail. It was so gripping. And even though I was afraid of failing, it was love that has motivated me not to fail not that fear. I had that fear of failing because I love Eric and I love my girls and I love being married and love being their mommy and I don’t want to fail at it. I want to do my best and give my best and love them all through out their lives and leave them with legacies of love. Having a loving family and being a loving mom is success to me. But I feel bogged down and don’t believe that I’m succeeding too many times when my nights end with counting down the minutes until bed time and frustration with Mali not going to bed. Today I read this quote: "I tell myself this, that I can't go to jail over toilet bowls and there is grace and a smile behind all the ethereal veil and I can just rest. That God's will for a day is never to shoulder a burden but to come rest on His shoulder". I felt encouraged and hopeful and saw a fullness of God’s grace. And of course since this post was sooo good I kept reading the new blog I stumbled across. I won’t tell you that I was captivated by the blog and finding my place of rest while my girls were in the bath splashing every where and making a water slide. But don’t worry, Mali was holding Eleri while they slid down the side of the bathtub. Nope I didn’t do that, or maybe I did. And if I did, I was sitting right next to the bathtub and might or might not have the wet clothes to prove it.I read some one’s Facebook status the other day that said something to the effect of bathtime being a great babysitter.
After reading on , I read through this post. Can I tell you how much even more it encouraged me? Now this is what led me to write this post to begin with
"Isaiah 40:11….he gently leads those that have young.
I felt the strangling terror give way to realization. Motherhood does not require, thankfully, perfection. It simply requires commitment and humility.
He was not leading this Mother to be a Hallmark version of perfection.

But rather a committed, humble, real one.

Lord...let me sing the refrain this Mother's Day: Relationships cost. It is not that I won't blow it. It is what I do with it afterwards."

God will gently lead those that have young…He will gently lead me with my young…my young 5 year old that looks so big, my young 17 month old that didn’t stay a baby for long, and my young baby that is growing inside of me. Even though I will blow it, and have already blown it, even though I’ve blown it with my first, and my second, and I’m still having a third….God’s grace remains and he will gently lead me.

And I hate to end this blog on this note. I had intended to write ahead of time all that I was feeling about #3…but this will do for today.

4th of July

We had a fantastic Fourth of July this year.  We went up the cabin as always and just enjoyed breathing in the mountain air.  When we got there, Mali showed her daddy and Grandpa the fort we had built and the girls just played outside.  We ate dinner on the patio of the Dog Bar that night and just took in the fourth of July atmosphere.  Saturday the girls and I took a little walk and then Brandon, Eric and Mali all headed into town to get fishing licensees.  Before lunch, we packed lunches and went up to a lake to fish.  Brandon caught the first fish.  By that time Eleri was ready for her nap so I took her home and then came back to bring the guys some fishing supplies they had forgotten.  While I was gone, Mali had “gotten stung by a bee” and Eric had taken her back to the cabin.  After tracking her down, I found out it wasn’t a bee but maybe stinging nettle or some other bug.  At any rate, with no fish caught, Mali was done too.  We went back to the cabin and rested in the hammock.  Then Mali decided she wanted to show Daddy and Grandpa the skeleton bones we had found the last time we were up there.  Grandpa was busy with helping Brandon cut down a tree, so we took the four wheeler just as a family.  Just as we were pulling up to the spot, there was a large brown bear right in front of us.  I couldn’t get my camera out fast enough and missed snapping a good picture of him. We are pretty sure that is why the skeleton was there.  Brandon actually saw the same bear in about the same place last weekend. That night we got to enjoy family time with Chris, Megan, Liza, Brandon, Grandpa and Nana.  Chris cooked a good meal and Uncle Rodney and Aunt Alice came over too.  It was  a lot of fun and enjoyment.  I really enjoy when my family gets together like this.  It doesn’t feel like it happens for often and so I really treasure when it does happen.  That night, Eric managed to drag me out to the Dog Bar for about an hour and a half.  My tired eyes wouldn’t stay open and so I called it a night early.  Sunday we enjoyed blueberry pancakes made by Grandpa and rushed to get ready for the parade that at the last minute we realized was about 3 hours later than what we had thought. So, our little family drove down to the town to make sure of the time, then up to Bear and Blue Lake hoping that the very fussy Eleri would get a nap.  After her nap in the car and some relaxing time at the cabin, it was finally time for the parade.  Mali lived for this day.  She staked out her spot and camped there.  She wouldn’t move for anything and she wouldn’t smile for my pictures…I guess she had her game face on.  The parade was fun and hot.  We missed seeing the guys in it this year but I think that they enjoyed the year off, although we heard several comments about people that had seen them in the parade the previous years and were looking forward to seeing them again. After the parade, Chris cooked a big bbq meal and we watched the girls play with Uncle Rodney and Aunt Alice’s beagles (Katy’s too).  Then it was time to head home.  We gave Brandon a ride home to Dalhart so that Liza could take their car to Denver to see her mom who flew in from Nepal.  She hadn’t seen her in two years, I’m so excited for her and the time they will get together.  On the way home, we got to watch a huge rotating cloud and encountered some serious hail in front of us that looked like snow.  We stopped in Dalhart for Mali to pop firecrackers with Mimi and Papa and then finally headed back home (late).  We got caught in another huge, very scary storm. It was hailing really bad and cars were pulled over on the side of the road every where.  We were pretty worried that it was tornadic.  About that time we realized we had forgot to get gas in Dalhart! And we were on empty!!!  Thankfully, we stopped at a pay at the pump and filled up and as we made our way into Amarillo we were able to watch several fireworks shows.

Little Eleri

I really loves this age that Eleri is.  She can start doing more big girl things, like sitting on the couch and eating popcorn with us. Eleri LOVES popcorn! She will sign "popcorn" and say something that sounds like "pop pop".  She gets sooo excited about it.  Another cute thing that Eleri does is when you say "blow kisses", she actually blows out her nose.  I haven't corrected her because I just think it is too cute and makes her Eleri.  Eleri loves to smile and pose for pictures with her big smile.  She also loves to laugh.  If she hears someone laughing, she lets out a big cackle too.  Today we went to eat donuts and some old men started laughing, and Eleri got a big grin on her face and laughed along with them.  Eleri also has a temper.  She has started to just hit Mali when Mali makes her mad.  And Mali is not the only one.  Eleri will hit any one and everything in her way when she is mad.  She also has fits like none we have ever seen. You'd never know with that cute little smile though!  Eleri still has four teeth on bottom and top but is working on getting two bottom molars in.  I'm attributing her fussyness/fit throwing to those big ole teeth trying to come through.  Eleri can say several words, like popcorn, mama, daddy, papa, mimi, Granpa, Nana, Chris, doggie, bird, duck, milk, drink,bye bye, uh oh, bubble, ball, football, eat eat, go, poo poo, baby, bee, and probably a few others I haven't remembered.  Her favorite word by far, is uh uh.  As in, do you want to take a nap, "uh uh". Do you want to eat this, "uh uh".  We need to work on "yes". Eleri loves to be outside.  She also loves to just play and figure things out.  She is very good at playing by herself, as sad as that sometimes makes me.  But she still loves to sit in my lap when I'm still enough and she's still enough.  Eleri loves to look at books and have them read to her.  I really love this age and all the learning and exploring she is doing.  But at times this is such a trying age too.  The other night I went to bed almost dreading the next day and all the messes I would be cleaning up.  Eleri can be a mess.  She wants to be so independent, like drinking water from a cup without a lid and will throw a fit to do this, but then water ends ups every where.  This pretty much happens with everything (like the bottle of bubbles in the first picture that ended up empty in a matter of minutes).

Oh My Mali

Mali is just growing like a weed daisy!!! It seems like she has grown a foot this summer.  I'm not really sure of her actual measurements but it is close to 4' and she is several inches taller on the wall of the garage at the cabin since she was last measured at the cabin at Thanksgiving. This summer, Mali has started to read and write several more sight words.  I know she is so ready for kindergarten and for reading.  I love watching her write and her little brain work.  Mali has also started chores this summer.  She makes her bed and unloads the silverware from the dishwasher.  She also has extra little chores when neccessary too, like cleaning base boards.  Yesterday she helped me clean my bathroom.  Towards the end she wanted to finish it on her own and this is what she did.  In case you can't tell, she got items out of our baskets and put them in a line all the way around our sink.  It was pretty cute! Mali also loves to sit and color.  Yesterday alone she colored about 50 coloring pages and we had spent the entire morning at the Discovery Center!  Guess that is what happens when you don't nap anymore!  Mali also loves to pose for pictures and dress stylish. Mali has really been a delight lately.  I just look at her and see a big girl!

Just as an aside...blogger's editing has totally changed, and I am not a fan.