Friday, July 24, 2015

Ellie is 1!


ellie is 1!!

Can you believe that Ellie is ONE already? I can't. I keep reminding myself that today is her birthday.  Our birthday plans are to just take it easy today (we will be doing a cupcake smash though) and then tomorrow we will have a handful of friends come by for a birthday breakfast.

In case you find yourself wondering all about Ellie, I made an info-graph* for her first birthday. It's packed with information about Ellie's first year and all of the things she has come to love so far.

*I have seen infographic charts for babies first birthdays on Pinterest and loved them, but they are expensive! So I decided to try my amateur hand at anything computer design-y and actually had a lot of fun learning some new tricks and hopefully will get better with more time and practice.

Monday, July 20, 2015

Tornado?!

Last Wednesday me and the girls were playing in the back room when my phone made the Amber Alert sound. I was fully expecting to see information regarding a missing child and a possible vehicle to look out for but instead saw this:

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I first thought it was a joke. Yeahhhh right there are no tornados in Idaho! A minute or so later our lights started to flicker and then finally the electricity shut out completely, then back on, off, on and off for the span of 20 minutes. Loud sirens started blaring through town and the loud hum of firetrucks driving by. That's when I started to panic. Austin works at the University and it's notoriously known for having poor cell reception, so I was happy he got my text right away informing me he got the alert. I was trying to stay outwardly calm for the sake of the girls, but Maisie could tell something was wrong and she grew more curious the louder the sirens got. I explained that there was a storm that was nearby and that we needed to stay safe. It wasn't until she overheard me talking to Austin on the phone that she heard me say "tornado". That started a slew of conversations about the tornado in The Wizard of Oz- "But Dorothy got taken by the tornado and she was just fine! Maisie's blasé attitude towards the tornado helped soothe my uneasiness, but then my thoughts of the deadly tornados that have ripped through Oklahoma in previous years were running on loop in my brain as well. All I wanted was for Austin to get home and FAST. The thought of being without him if a tornado did hit nearby was too much. Plus possibly being stranded away from each other hours and hours or worse the whole night would have scared me to death. While we were waiting for Austin to get home safely I refreshed webpages following the storm and that looked like this:

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Thankfully Austin was able to get home relatively soon and the minute he walked in the door I felt immense relief because at least if something did happen now, we would all be together. 

The conclusion to this story is that the storm headed more north and other than some crazy wind nothing happened- we didn't even end up getting a drop of rain. Turns out a tornado started to form, but never touched down (thank goodness). I think it was a good wake up call because I realized how ill prepared we were. So my new goal now is to be better prepared in case of an emergency. Here's to starting 72 hour kits emergency kits, first aid and ample food storage.


sidenote: In my whirlwind of emotions (mostly panic and fear) I realized that if we lost water usage we would be in real trouble, but thankfully we had two empty 5-gallon jugs that I filled up in the bath tub. It makes me laugh now thinking about it, but it did help ease my fears a little bit at the time. Austin still laughs at me for how scared I was, but better safe than sorry right? 


Sunday, July 19, 2015

Ellie @ 11 months

Each month we are figuring out more and more about our little Ellie Hazel. She's still so sweet and cuddly, but sleeping a little less and getting into trouble more (oy vey). Ellie enjoys doing things that either endanger her life or things she knows she's not supposed to do. I joke around that she's going to be our E.R child because where Maisie is filled to the brim with caution, Ellie is not. I love that about her, but I get truly scared at least once a day because of her antics. Outlets? Let me put my fingers in one. Outlet covers? Let's just take those out, put one in my mouth, gag on it and THEN put my finger in the outlet. Our brick hearth? Let's climb it and attempt to crack my head open on the edge. She's constantly finding things to climb, get into or eat choke on. Life isn't dull that's for sure and between my comedian and my Knievel it's an out right circus in the Lee household.

Today before church.
Don't let the coy smile fool you, this girl is trouble, but the cutest kind.

-Tricks: waves, claps, points blows kisses, gives real kisses and makes kissy noises.

-Prefers her pluggie (pacifier) upside down. Even when she's on the verge of sleep, she will rotate her little wrist until it's in the right spot.

-Still taking two naps (mostly. She's just now starting to phase out her second nap.)

-Still no teeth and I'm not complaining because not only does she eat real food now (lots of it too) she's still nursing like a champ and being toothless helps keep that going.

-Officially walking everywhere. She can also stand up from a sitting position without pulling herself up on something, turn in circles, bend down to grab something and correct herself perfectly when she gets a little unstable. This girl is a champion walker. She's already starting to experiment with going faster, so I'm guessing not much longer until she tries to run.

-Lately she's been sleeping in this strange position- it's like this hybrid downward dog thing where her bum is in the air and her head cocked to the side. Its really funny and I can't imagine to be very comfortable.

-Words: hi, Mama and Dada

-She is a full fledged trouble maker (see above) not only does she know when she's doing something she's not supposed to, do but if you call her out on it she will glance over her shoulder and smile as she decides to do it anyway. It's equal parts cute and infuriating.

Conquered the step ladder.

-We are chasing her around every where we go. She's a busy body and likes to keep moving so my life now insists on chasing my child everywhere.

-Loves when Maisie plays with her by tickling her belly or playing from behind/under the door. Big belly laughs every time.

Their under the door game.

-Has been throwing mini-fits. Austin is convinced she learned some of these things from Maisie, but I just think it's her determined and adventurous spirit. She doesn't like to be interrupted or stopped from her goal (which sometimes I think is a one way ticket to the hospital).

-Favorite toys: Sebastain (yes the crab) duplo block, a gold glitter ball and pink cell phone toy.

-Favorite foods: blueberries, bread, yogurt, Annie's mac and cheese. This girl will eat anything and everything, which is odd seeing how she refused food for so long. I have yet to find something she actually hates. She is indifferent to mashed potatoes- weird huh?


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-Firsts: 1-peanut butter experience because Maisie left a peanut butter spoon in reach of Ellie's grasp- I nearly had a heart attack and was expecting some horrible life threatening reaction, but thankfully we dodged that bullet. 2- Swimming at Rexburg rapids (photo above). First sip of cows milk (today) and she loved it so I think we will start giving her some in a sippy cup soon, but I'm not ready to wean yet, so we will phase it in gradually.


-Likes: bike rides, sitting in Maisie's blue chair, trying to use the teeter totter in the backyard, climbing in the vegetable garden (much to my dismay), wagon rides and climbing everything she sees.

Getting ready for a bike ride.

If you cant find Ellie and the bathroom door is shut I.E she's not in it, here's another spot she has come to love. I can't tell you how many times a day she will just go to this chair and proudly sit there while Maisie destroys plays in their room nearby.

Just wishing someone her size would come teeter totter with her.

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Oh you know, just sitting on a squash blossom. 

Wagon ride with Ava.

-Dislikes: 1- the vacuum. She legitimately hates it. It may or may not have something to do with big sister chasing her around with it (gah). Even when it's not on she can't stand to be by it and will often hide under the desk or insist on being held until it's put away. 2- When we don't give her a bite or sip of something we are eating/drinking. She whines pitifully or semi-politely yells until you give her the thing she seeks.

I can't believe Ellie is going to be ONE in 5 days!! Ah!

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Last day of Preschool

Today was Maisie's last day of Preschool EVER. She was sad to be done, but the prospect of Kindergarten is keeping her happy- only a little over a month until she starts! Eek! I wasn't nearly as emotional as I thought I would be (I think I'm saving it all for the first day of Kindergarten. It's the calm before the storm haha). Honestly, I feel relieved that we can almost officially kick off summer. I say almost because Austin has a week left of school- so it's finals week yayyyy. 

A little before 8 am Maisie made a little sign and then we went around the side of the house to take pictures of her last day. All I could think of was my little 3 1/2 year old baby who took her first preschool pictures in the freezing winter and now here she is a full fledged kid! She has grown leaps and bounds in that short year and a half- not only physically, but intellectually as well. While she is still her silly self, she has grown more confident and capable and we couldn't be more proud of her. 

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And a comparison:
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Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Arizona Part 5 - iPhone Photos

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Lunch stop in Provo at J-Dawgs.

First night at the hotel and first swim of our trip.

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Sunset in St. George
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Ellie being a little unsure of this person who sounds/kind of looks like mama.


traditional Maisie & Auntie Katie selfies
Organ Stop Pizza in Mesa.

Maisie insisted on taking a picture with Auntie Katie with this statue in TJ Maxx/Home Goods

Nightly Bonfire

Rufus normally doesn't like kids, but he adored Maisie. Where ever she went he was right there with her.

Sleepy baby.

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Poolside hotel room with sliding doors to get outside. It made it so much easier going back and forth.

Pool to ourselves.
Pretty pitstop.

Arizona Part 4 - Stretching Our Legs

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On our way home we took a more scenic route and within a couple hours in, we decided to stretch our legs. It was insanely beautiful out. Too beautiful in fact, that it lead to a little impromptu photoshoot. Even if I don't take nearly as many pictures as I used to (at least with the big girl camera) I am glad that when I actually do,  I often times get gems (NOT because of me, but because of the girls- they are just too cute). Have I mentioned that I love LOVE having daughters? Because I do. They make me so immensely happy.

Monday, July 13, 2015

Arizona Part 3 - St. George

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 I love this picture the girls with their Daddy just one day after Father's Day. And Ellie's little wave?!

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My how I adore those three happy faces.

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So our halfway driving point was St. George, Utah. Being that we are chickens and didn't want to risk having a car trip from hades, we decided to stay in a hotel on our way down and then again on the way up. It was actually really nice to do that. The girls were awesome in the car, but driving 7 hours straight is rough, so the pool really helped them stretch their legs and get them excited about the trip instead of just dreading being in the car.

 While we were in St. George we decided to adventure a bit and I am glad we did because we found the cutest little carousel and man made creeks and splash areas for Maisie to play in. It was a fun little spot and would make a good weekend getaway and maybe eventually we will get around to exploring Zion National Park. But until then St. George is hot and beautiful and that's just what I need for a vacation. Oh and there's an In-N-Out so even better! :)

Arizona Part 2 - Fires & Fireworks

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Every night we were in Arizona we sat around the fire pit and told funny/spooky stories. Maisie requested a fire every night and of course Papa was happy to oblige her (I have never seen my dad turn down an opportunity for anything fire related... He may or might be a pyromaniac.. ok he totally is and he has the scar on his face to prove it). On of our last night and on Father's Day, Katie upped the ante and bought fireworks. I was excited because previously it was illegal to even light a sparkler let alone buy one in AZ so it was quite the treat. Travis, Katie's boyfriend, put on the show while we all enjoyed toasted marshmellows and/or a slice of pie to the glow of the firework display. We finished the night with Maisie making everyone tell a scary story each (of course) and she still talks about some of the stories- especially a skunk one that Katie and Travis told and then an alien one that Nana told.