little elise is 5 months!

1. Isaac noticed the holes in Uncle Mark's ears and asked him if they were holes for earrings. Uncle Mark said yes, and Isaac said, "Why did you take them out? Because, you realized earrings are for girls?"

2. You know the preschool saying, "You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit."? Here's Luke's version, "You get what you want, and you don't throw a fit." It's amazing how just one word completely changes the point of a quote. I love when he uses that on his brothers, thinking he knows what he's talking about. Isaac just laughs.

3. Adam was driving home with the boys the other night when, unfortunately, he hit a deer. Another horrifying, exciting, and saddening moment of reality for my boys. Isaac made sure to tell me that he said a prayer for the deer. And, as Luke was saying the family prayer that night, this is what he prayed for: "Grateful that the deer is dead so that animals can eat it. Bless it to be alive before they eat it all." I'm hoping for the sake of the deer that that child's prayer is not answered.

4. Elise is 5 months old! My, oh my, how time flies! She is just about the sweetest thing there is, next to sugar. We are at a really nice stage right now. She is fun, interactive, immobile, and takes good naps. I guess she isn't completely immobile - she has figured out how to roll over the last month.

My boys are more than willing to talk to her every minute they can (sometimes, I have to force them to give her a break... mean mom). Adam is even starting to become quite taken by her now that she is out of that 'boring newborn stage'. She's just so stinkin' sweet. Luke has an assortment of nicknames for her: 'Sweat, sweat', 'Missy, miss', 'Little miss, miss', and 'Cutie miss'. He continues to be her biggest fan.

She is my first baby to fall into a nap schedule on her own... well, with a little help from me, I guess. From the very start I have been able to lay her down when she needs a nap and she will just go to sleep... no pacing for what feels like hours, no having to fall asleep while nursing, no binkies. Nights, on the other hand, could use some improvement. For some reason, she won't fall asleep on her own at night, and it ends up being quite a process to get her to bed. We'll get there.

As good and sweet as she is, I definitely feel maxed out with this one. In sort of an arrogant way, I expected this fourth one to be a piece of cake - you know, because I'm such a pro. Not so. I can't seem to accomplish the simplest of tasks these days. But, I figure there will be plenty of time for clean houses, bathed children, and exercise down the road.

Pics:

I sure hope that Elise will someday look as cute in her hair accessories as her brothers do.

Some super cool posing going on during one of the boy's photo shoots. This one turned out so well that I just had to post it :)

So, I was telling Isaac about how me and my bff from childhood, Bethany, used to stick toilet paper in our waistband's and pretend that we were tigers, leopards, cheetahs, and such. Of course, he had to try it out for himself.

I have to show off Elise's rolls. I've never had such a chunky baby!

Luke finally got the ladybug pillow pet that he had been dreaming of since the first time he saw the commercial. He earned it by filling up his sticker chart. And let me tell you, we were on our way to Walmart the second that last sticker had been earned.

Christmas 2010

I can't believe Christmas is over... I'm pretty sure that's what I have been saying for the past six years now. I had a bunch of "Christmas things" I wanted to do to celebrate this special time of year, but the time flew by way too quickly for this procrastinator. But, we did manage a few simple things that brought in some Christmas Spirit. We went to some family Christmas parties and enjoyed catching up with loved ones. Isaac really wanted to go to Temple Square and see the lights, but he settled for a family drive around town to see the lights on the houses. It was actually really enjoyable... Isaac and Luke yelling out, "LOOK AT THOSE ONES!", while Asa would say, "'Mas 'ights (Christmas lights)" every time he spotted some.

Christmas morning came and I ended up waking the boys up... of course it's the only time they decide to sleep in. I guess they made it on the 'nice' list, because Santa delivered the goods. And, he even got them a few things that were on their lists (although, Luke didn't really remember what was on his list... except for a tie). Isaac was very excited that he got the Air Hog that he had requested.

Christmas Pictures:

The snacks that Isaac chose for Santa along with a snack for the reindeer, a picture for Santa, and a note telling Santa he was sorry for a mistake he made. He wanted to make sure and leave him a healthy snack along with the cookies.

Luke a little excited about a slinky.

The Air Hog!

Luke was the most excited about his new tie. And it goes nicely with his new snowshoes.

Adam enjoying the new toys as well.

Isaac's actually quite good at flying his Air Hog. He made the comment, "Everyone loves watching my mad skills of my Air Hog, huh?"

I forgot to get some pictures of Elise on Christmas, so here are a couple of random ones so that she isn't left out.

we've got smiles!

1. Elise started smiling and cooing within the last couple of weeks. Yay! What a wonderful day it is when those vacant expressions turn into acknowledging smiles. The boys are eating it up. She is getting so big and so cute!

2. Adam was complaining about his calf bothering him and Luke asked him, "Does your leg have issues?"

Adam says, "What? You have issues?"

Luke laughs and says, "Daddy thinks I have issues. That's funny."

3. My boys got to meet Santa for the first time. He decided to make an appearance at Heber City's Christmas celebration, so of course we just had to go. Isaac asked me if it would be the real Santa and I told him I wasn't sure. But, once we got there Santa's assistant assured Isaac that he was the real deal. They were very excited.

4. We let the boys unleash their artistic talents upon some gingerbread houses and the results were... messy.

5. Isaac lost yet another tooth, earning himself the nickname of "Toothless". I asked him to give me a big smile and he asked me (in a non-insecure way) if he looked like a dork. Oh, and the tooth fairy actually made it here that very same night. She had been dropping the ball with some previous teeth. Maybe she had been very busy... or just down right tired.

A ton of pictures:

Oh yeah, Thanksgiving! We broke Grandma Loveridge out of rehab (knee surgery) and enjoyed a low key Thanksgiving dinner with her. It was the first time that I made an entire Thanksgiving meal by myself... what a grown up I am becoming :)

Asa hitchin a ride on Grandma's sweet walker.

I love the excited kicking when babies are happy.

Asa took a fall off the play kitchen and got this shiner. Maybe it will be played with properly now that we have a girl.

An entire poptart shoved into his mouth (well except for the pieces stuck on his shirt and face). I'm not sure if he was just extremely excited for his first ever poptart, or if he was extremely hungry, but he didn't waste time with biting or chewing.

This is how Luke hugs Elise. He does this about 500 times a day.

I'm pretty sure this is Luke's hand as well. He has to constantly be touching her... so much love!

Asa trying to write with his toes. What a funny little guy.

Luke preparing for his big role as a wise man in his preschool Christmas play.

a blur of a month

Has it really been six weeks since Elise was born?... Crazy. It's been a blur of sleep deprivation and breast feeding. Despite feeling like I am incapable of accomplishing the smallest task, we are loving our wee one.

Although, nothing too exciting has happened around here aside from the poopy diapers and endless feedings, I have dug deep to come up with enough for my 'list of 5':

1. Halloween came in the knick of time to offer some excitement for my poor boys. We managed to carve pumpkins (Adam manned that one, thank goodness) and hit a few Halloween bashes. The boys had some good times. Isaac was a very scary vampire. On our way to the Pulley party, he was asking me if I thought people would recognize him. Bless Uncle Mark - he was very surprised that the super scary vampire was actually Isaac... just what Isaac was hoping for. Luke wanted to be Spiderman and has loved dressing up as the super hero on a daily basis. Asa was Mickey Mouse thanks to Grandma Pulley giving him a costume that saved me from having one more thing to do.

Isaac carved his all by himself.

Not Luke. But, he did pick out which picture he wanted on his :)

2. We finished the home improvement project that was started about a week before Elise was born. Yes, it was poor timing. Now that it's all done I'm glad that we did it and I feel like I have regained a tiny bit of my sanity since finishing... between trying to get everything painted and taking care of a newborn, I was worried I had completely lost it (my poor boys).

3. Isaac lost his 3rd tooth. Luke wanted to try to pull it out for him once he saw that Adam and I were unsuccessful. Unfortunately, not even his tiny fingers could get a good enough grip on it and it was Uncle Neil who ended up pulling it out a few days later.

4. We blessed Elise last Sunday. It was a great day with tons of family. I was a little worried about trying to squeeze two very large families with oodles of kids into our humble home, but it worked out. We are so blessed to have such an abundance of love and support around us.

5. I finally managed to schedule a 2 week checkup for Elise... just four weeks late. I knew she is doing fine, so I wasn't too concerned it. But, I was curious to see how she was looking on the growth charts... to see if all that eating is paying off (for her :). Here are her impressive stats: Weight - 8 lbs 5 oz (14%), Height - 21.5 inches (49%), Head - 15.5 inches (86% - yes, she is one of ours).

She has been a pretty good baby. I do wish that she slept better at night and that she was more chill, but at least she eats good and she isn't colicky, so I guess I'll keep her :). I think the hardest part about her is that she has horrible timing (I know - she's a newborn). It seems like anytime I need to go someplace immediately, or I need to stop Asa from taking off a poopy diaper, or someone knocks on the door, or I need to get my boys ready for school, etc., she is at her neediest. I know that I shouldn't expect anything else with four kids, but she could throw me a bone every once in a while :).

We all continue to love her to pieces, though. The boys still think she is the greatest thing since chocolate cake. She enjoys constant kisses and sweet words being whispered in her ears. Luke is still the one who is the most enamored by her. He cannot help but kiss and hug her almost constantly. Anytime she cries, he wants to know, "Why is my baby sister is crying?". Isaac still enjoys picking out which bow he thinks I should put on her. Asa continues to surprise me with how gentle he is with her.

So, what do you get when you have a newborn and don't do a post for a month? A butt load of pictures:

Luke wanted to show off his scarecrow.

Asa trying out a little pink.

Deer in headlights

Little goofball