Elliott, party of five

Summer updates

2011-09-30T00:02:00.009-05:00

I can't believe that summer is over. Here in Utah, we'll probably have snow by the end of October. BLECH!!! So, to keep me happy, here are some pictures and fun captions about more of our summer. :)

At the end of August, my parents came out to visit. Dad stayed for a long weekend so he could see Abby's first soccer game of the season. He's not the type to just sit around and visit and so, of course, lots of projects were finished. :) He helped Zac remove the nasty water feature from our front yard, fixed lots of bike/stroller tires, painted our garage and lots of other random to-do list things. The coolest one, though....he taught Abby to ride her bike with no training wheels!!! YEA!!

As I mentioned, Abby started fall soccer. This is her third season and we decided to keep her in the Draper league for now so she could play with her bff, Jordan. Three of the other kids on our team this year have played with Abby & Gus in the past, so that's been fun, too. Here's a little video; not much Abby action, but she's there!

Sadly, Grampa went home. I love my dad and it was so nice to have him out here to visit and help out around our house. Come back soon, Grampa!!

Good news = we got to keep Grams for a few more weeks! Mom just flew home Wednesday and, I must say, I've broken down a few times since. While it is nice to have just us in our house, I really miss having another grown up to talk to. Mom always helps me with sewing and crafty projects and I love getting to spend time with her. I do pretty well being out here until we have visitors or a holiday comes around; then I usually have multiple melt downs. :( Mom got to be here for some pretty cool stuff, including:

Abby's first day of kindergarten!! Here's the annual pose in front of the school sign:

Lining up along the wall when the bell rang, waiting for Mrs. Johnson

Blowing kisses to parents before going inside

Heading inside - she didn't even look back! She was so excited to go to kindergarten (it helped that her friend, Sabrina, is in her class). Abby loves school and learning new things. Definitely an amazing little girl! :)

Last, but certainly not least, the twins got their first haircuts! My friend Jessica cuts hair out of her house and she gave the babies their first trims. We probably took about two inches off each, just to shape it all up. They needed it pretty badly and look so cute and grown up with their shorter locks! :) They didn't let me get too many good pictures but here are a few:

Cami went first and Emma piddled around, getting in to Jessica's stuff. These two don't know how to leave stuff alone, they want to check out everything!

My sweet Camers was so good for her haircut. She's the only one of my girls that is semi-cooperative when it comes to hair.

Pretty girl!!

Miss Emma is not a fan of having her hair combed, styled or even touched. I'm amazed that she did as well as she did with Jessica cutting it.

She was seriously in need of a cut, too. Emma has always had this little section of hair that was longer than the rest. It hasn't shown as much since her hair has gotten longer but she needed a trim.

Blurry shot of the finished product:

So there's a few highlights of our last few weeks. More to come!! :)

HELP!

2011-08-08T16:51:00.002-05:00

Does anybody know how to change the main gmail address on your Blogger account? It's linked to one that we don't really use anymore and I'd like to link it to my gmail so that I can possibly blog from my phone.....help!

I'm still alive!!

2011-08-08T15:41:00.003-05:00

I am so ashamed. I seriously do want to blog. Our internet situation has been crazy since we've moved - my desktop is set up downstairs and our current router isn't strong enough to reach down there (or I need a special cord...or something like that. haha). That makes Zac's laptop our only internet option. I can Facebook and check email from my phone during the day but rarely actually have time to get on the real computer until the kids are in bed. By that time, Zac needs the laptop to do his homework. So....no computer time for me. :(

Things are still crazy around here - I am starting to think that will never change. haha We took the twins to the GI and they haven't had any problems with their tummies since. I guess it scared them straight! :) Soooo grateful that's over...we washed enough sheets, blankets, towels, clothes and carseat covers for a lifetime!!

Zac, as I mentioned is still working on his MBA. I thought that finishing school was hard when we were newlyweds but doing it with three small kids, a wife and a full time job is really a lot! He's doing well so far - but we appreciate any positive thoughts you might have! :)

So far, we've had two sets of guests in our new house! Meemaw and Pa (Zac's grandma and her hubby) came to visit earlier this summer for a couple of days on their way back home to AR from CA. We loved having them - I always tell Zac that, besides him, Meemaw is one of the greatest things I got from our marriage. :) The girls loved having the company and so did we. It was right in the middle of the babies tummy issues and it was so nice for Zac and me to have someone else to talk to and something to focus on besides our own problems! :)

Then during the last two weeks in July Zac's parents and sisters came to visit. They took a couple day detour to Denver (Abby went, too!) and then we did some fun things around Utah. Pawpaw and Zac built a swingset for the girls' birthdays, we shopped, took a day trip to Capitol Reef/Goblin State Park, fixed up my front flower bed and just hung out. Definitely a fun visit! During all of this, we asked my MIL to take some family pics of us. Unfortunately, we decided to take them in the afternoon, which isn't my girls' best time of day. But we did manage to get some fun shots, hope you enjoy them!!

That should do for now. I PROMISE to update again by the end of the week! :) I'm also hoping to get some new recipes up on my food blog, I've tried some yummy stuff lately. Leave me some comment love and let me know how y'all are doing!

We started off on the couch, in all our Razorback gear. GO HOGS!!!!
(We have to represent the Hogs in Utah!)

WOOOO, PIG SOOIE!!!!

After the couch idea went downhill (I'll post those pics later!) we decided to try the stairs. It's the girls' favorite place to hangout and we thought it might add a fun element. Crazy might be a better word. :)

Abby insisted that we have a picture of us together. I love this girl!

And pretty much head over heels for this guy. :)

We never get just normal pics...always have to add something goofy!

Always showing off his big mouth....
....and Kirsten was not impressed. :)

Silly siblings!!

Holy cow....

2011-05-28T23:45:00.002-05:00

That's the nicest way to say how we've been doing lately. :) Here's a look at our last few months...

We looked and looked and looked at houses. After finally giving up on what we thought was our dream house in Pleasant Grove, we found an awesome deal in Riverton. We offered on it the same day we saw it. Someone else offered the same day but we got it! A couple of days after we got it under contract, we were at the house with Mark, our realtor, taking measurements. In the middle of our time there, in walked another realtor to show the house. She was very confused about why we were there and Mark quickly informed her that the house was under contract! :)

We closed on May 3 and moved in that weekend. We had originally planned to take our time moving. But Zac decided to start classes for his MBA and we needed to get moved before that started. We were so sad to leave our friends in Draper but we've been so fortunate here in Riverton. We have amazing people in our neighborhood and at church. Our cul-de-sac has several little girls, which thrills Abby!!

Two weeks ago I was driving to work and was side swiped by some idiot that wasn't looking before he switched lanes. End results = wretched headache from knocking the window frame, messed up neck and back, and a totaled van. I'm so very grateful that the kids weren't with me and that things weren't worse....but it sure has made a mess of the last couple of weeks for us! We just got another van today (same exact model, just a different color - dark blue) and are working on getting all the medical stuff lined up.

Another bit of craziness....some sort of stomach issue has been bothering us, especially the babies. Cami and Emma (more Emma) have been vomiting and had diarrhea off and on for over a month. After a few trips to the pediatrician and one visit to the ER, we're still not 100% sure what's going on. Things got better for a few days, then it all started over. We have another appt next week and are going to get in with a pediatric GI dr as soon as we can.

As crazy as things have been, we are trying hard to see the Lord's hand in our life. We have been so blessed that the car accident wasn't more serious, that we were able to find a van for just the right price and we have fabulous friends and family who are so loving and supportive. Although Zac and I have both had a few meltdowns, we are trying to stay positive and trust that things will work out for the best.

Well, that's a brief update. i'm hoping to get some pictures and some more fun information up soon. So stay tuned! :)

Updates

2011-03-31T23:00:00.004-05:00

Another random-ish post, mostly for updates.

When Abby said her prayers tonight, my heart melted! "Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this day. Please help us love Jesus. Please help us all know in our hearts that everybody is special, that Jesus made us all special." LOVE this girl and this age. She's so innocent and unassuming. She loves everyone and loves to make others happy. Sure, she has her moments like any kid but she really is so tender hearted.

We have put offers on two houses this week (that brings the total to three). One is in Draper and would keep us in the same school for Abby (I really want that one!). It is close enough that I could keep my crossing guard job, which would be nice. The other one is in Riverton, just a few miles from here. It's a nice house with more space than the one in Draper....not far from either of our jobs. We are also thinking about putting offers on at least on more. Hopefully we'll hear something this weekend and be able to start making a decision. :)

Things have been going pretty well at 1800contacts. I've been so nervous since we started actually taking phone calls yesterday and it's bugged me. I finally figured it out today when I was coaching with Emma, our trainer. It's been so long since I've felt new and 'uneducated.' I was in banking for six years - even though I switched banks, they're all pretty similar. By the time I left US Bank, I rarely had to ask questions about things, I just knew my stuff. And I've been a sahm for a few years now - I'm pretty comfortable with my abilities there. :) So this humbling experience of being new and not knowing my stuff is not my favorite thing!! But our trainer has been super supportive and has made me feel really good. She told me that I've got the friendliness and the personality - I just need to learn the products and get comfortable. "That's a much better thing than somebody that knows the products but is mean to customers!" is what she added. hahaha Not trying to brag on myself - I guess I just feel the need to boost my self esteem a bit since this whole experience has been so rough on me. I'm probably making it harder on myself but I think that's just what we women do. :)

Zac is doing well at work, too. He should be starting his MBA program in the next few weeks. Combine that with my new job and the house situation and we are accepting any and all prayers we can get!!

The twins are growing quickly and developing their own little personalities. They are happy girls, just like their big sister. Emma is a little parrot and tries to say most everything we do. She says all kinds of things: thank you, hello, backpack (Dora), map (Dora), shoe, socks, bye bye, two, up, down, touchdown...all kinds of fun stuff. She loves to hug, cuddle and be right in the middle of things! (She and Abby have a lot in common with their Aunt Kirsten.) :)

Cami doesn't talk quite as much (doesn't really need to with two big mouth sisters!) but she says plenty: touchdown, thank you, all done, bye bye, eye (she can point to her eyes, ears, nose and mouth). She is a great little helper and is so good at understanding and following simple directions, such as 'bring me your shoes.' She's a little clumsy, though. :) She has a tendency to not pay attention and walk into things or trip over the carpet. She loves to give kisses and is a super sweet girl.

As hectic as life is, I feel so very blessed to have the wonderful family that the Lord has given me. I love my amazing husband and I am so blessed to have such wonderful baby girls. Life is good!!

Update

2011-03-24T01:19:00.003-05:00

Yes, I stink at blogging. I also stink at journaling. So, my children will probably grow up and realize that nothing is recorded and they'll think their mother was asleep the entire time they were growing up.

Well, I hope they remember that their mother was just busy trying to raise them to be capable, amazing adults. That she was trying to enjoy the moments she has with them and help them become all they are capable of being. Cliche, I know. But starting my new part time job has left me dwelling on some things.

Yup, new job. I started training to be a Customer Service Rep at 1800Contacts. From what I've seen, this is going to be a fabulous company to work for. Onsite gym, onsite (heavily subsidized) restaurant, tons of perks, etc. The training schedule is kinda crappy, so my mom is out here for a few weeks to help with babysitting. Once I start my regular schedule, though (after four weeks of training!), it'll be better. Kinda crazy (super early on Sat, Mon, Tues and super late Thurs and Fri) so that I can work around Zac's schedule and we can avoid as much outside babysitting as possible. Although I am taking names for people that want to help with kids when needed, hahaha.

The plan is to use my paycheck to pay off some bills. And, hopefully, I can start to work from home sometime and keep the job part time till the girls go to school. Then, maybe add a few more hours and stash money away in a savings account, once things are paid off. That's the long term plan.

We are still looking for houses. We are so madly in love with one that we found in Pleasant Grove, about 18 miles south of Draper. It's a foreclosure and all that stuff is done - we're just waiting on the stinking bank to list a price. It's so aggravating and we would normally just move on - but something about this house has gotten us. When our realtor, Mark, showed us the house we just felt something....it felt like home. Maybe it's not and maybe we're crazy. Guess we'll see. :) But for right now, we're looking around at other houses and waiting/hoping that this one will hurry up and list.

So, it's been a little stressful around here. Things are changing a lot at Zac's job right now and that's stressful for him. So if you have any room in your prayers/good thoughts, we'd really appreciate them. :)

To leave on a cheerful note, here's some random pictures of our cuties....since I know that's the only reason y'all really read this. hehehe

Enjoying a (rare) nice day outside. The babies got these 'bikes' from Mamaw and love them. Cami's a pro - Emma likes to go backwards. :)

Abby got some press-on nails for Christmas and finally decided to try them. Within five minutes, she wanted them off! They're reusable and are now tucked away in a drawer.

For Christmas, the girls got crocheted baby dolls from "Grandma 'Nita" aka Juanita, one of my mom's bffs. She's like a second mom to me and is always amazing to our kids. They love their dolls and blankets (they all got blankets when they were born). We love our Grandma 'Nita!

Valentines

2011-02-15T23:54:00.003-06:00

We're not huge Valentine people around here. We're cheap, usually attempting to avoid candy, and celebrate our anniversary two weeks later on February 28. (If anything, we buy cards and candy on the 15th when it's on sale!)

This year, though, we surprised Zac with dinner from Chipotle grill. He wasn't at his desk, so we left a note and headed home. About an hour later, I got a phone call: "You little punk! Now I have to step it up!" hehehe

So I got flowers when he got home and Abby got a single (silk) rose. You would have thought Zac brought her buckets of gold, she was so excited. "Mommy, I'm so happy that Daddy brought me a rose!" Sooooo stinkin' cute!!

So, in honor of Valentine's Day, what are your traditions? Are you a flower person or not? I, personally, love to get cut flowers. They look pretty for a few weeks, then they die. I don't have any green in my thumb - so at least with cut flowers I don't feel bad about them dying. :) And my favorites (and the ones that have lasted longest) are usually the Wal-Mart flowers. Who needs a $60+ flower arrangement? I just want some color in my kitchen. :)

So, come on.....exit your Google reader, come to the actual blog, and share your thoughts. :)

Chatter Bird

2011-02-08T15:41:00.003-06:00

Hey, friends! I recently discovered Latter-day Chatter and I love this site! As the name implies, a lot of Jessica's stuff is geared toward the LDS church. BUT she also has lots of cute things in her store for holidays and other fun stuff. Downloads for super cute printables, Valentine cards, file folder games, visiting teaching handouts - fun stuff that you need to go check out! (Tell her I sent you!)

Scripture reading

2011-01-15T09:56:00.002-06:00

Last night we read Matthew 2 for our scripture. (It's actually a hybrid storytelling/scripture reading for Abby...but it works!) This is the chapter that talks about the wise men coming to see Jesus and the angels giving warnings to protect the baby Jesus from King Herod. Abby wanted to say our family prayer after that and in her prayer she said,

"Thank you for keeping baby Jesus safe so that we could love Him."

I nearly cried. I love this girl! She's been asking so many questions about Jesus, Heaven, etc. and it's been so interesting to see how her mind works. Love her!

Sorry....

2011-01-13T12:33:00.002-06:00

I know I've been gone for awhile! I was in Arkansas visiting family for about six weeks and never managed to find time to update. It's funny how I was there, with help for the kids, and stayed busier than I am when I'm here by myself. Go figure. :)

I've also been so upset that I screwed up my blog template that I haven't wanted to post. Working on fixing that. Grrr. (Thanks, Jess!)

If nothing else, I wanted to get up a post about Emma's upcoming surgery. Our baby girl needs tubes in her ears and the big day is next Friday, January 21. We took her to the ENT yesterday and made the final decision.

Dr. Kelley looked in her ears and told us she had fluid in there - even though she just finished up a back-to-back dose of antibiotics. The fluid could have been in there for two weeks or several months. He went ahead and had her hearing checked, too. I went in a sound booth with her on my lap. The audiologist lit up a box right in front of us and then would play sounds, at varying volumes, in side speakers. Emma didn't react at all to the lower volume sounds. At this point, I'm trying not to cry!! I know there are worse things but having a child with hearing problems is a huge fear of mine. After the sound booth, she did another test that measures the ear drum's reaction to sound from an earpiece. Normally, the reading should print out in waves....Emma's was nearly flat in both ears.

So, this fluid needs to GO! Next Friday was the first available appointment and I jumped on it. We'll have to be at the Primary Children's clinic in Riverton around 6:30am. (ick) She'll go under a general anesthesia and the procedure takes about 15 minutes. I know that tubes are common and they do them all the time but it's still a bit nerve-wracking to know that your baby is going under anesthesia! So if you have room for an extra little prayer for our family, we'd appreciate it!

Trunk or Treat!!

2010-10-30T01:52:00.007-05:00

I've been planning the girls' Halloween costumes for awhile now. The twins were Thing 1 & Thing 2 last year. I wanted Abby to go as Cat in the Hat last year but I found a cute, NEW ladybug costume for $1 at a garage sale. Hmmm...new babies, awful c-section recovery, busybody 3 yr old...yup, purchased ladybug costume it was!!!

So this year, I was really hoping I could pull off all three characters. Thanks to the new PBS show, The Cat in the Hat Knows About That, Abby was a willing participant!! (Although, as Halloween drew closer, she frequently changed her costume requests. The most common requests were Ariel or Iron Man. Go figure.)

Last Friday, Zac and I went on a double date with our good buddies, the Bruces. After dinner, we hit Toys R Us and Target to do some no-kids-around Christmas shopping. At Toys R Us, they had Shrek ears on clearance. And our creative wheels started spinning. :)

Ha!! I made the babies' outfits from adult size thrift store t-shirts that I cut down, turned inside out and stitched up. Then I added white felt tummies. I followed the same method for Abby's t-shirt and then added black pants that she already had. I was SO PROUD of the twins' hats - I made yarn tassels and sewed them to Dollar Store knit hats. Too bad the babies weren't quite so proud of my work. :( It took four adult wranglers just to get the decent family picture!

Zac assisted the modeling/fitting of the Things hats.

I made a hat for Abby but it didn't fit right. So Zac tried a few ideas to fix it. The night before our church Trunk-or-Treat, I was about to have a melt down because "the stupid hat looks like crap!" So my amazing hubby called around and found one at Amelia's, a costume shop in Draper. Best $14 we ever spent!!!

We were quite the spectacle when we entered the church carnival with several requests for pictures!!! Aren't we so cute?!?

One of my BFFs (see aforementioned double date) turned her boys into Lego Blocks! They looked too cute!

I think this year Abby finally got the hang of trick-or-treat. She had fun going around to the cars, although she was a little shy and quiet. She's so funny because she is so outgoing around people she knows but has a tendency to clam up around not-so-familiar folks.

Our friend Jason has an old firetruck that is working on restoring. He dressed up as a scary firefighter and decorated his truck. It was definitely the hit of the night!!

Braces!!!

2010-09-21T22:28:00.003-05:00

Oh, happy daaaaay!!!!! I got my braces off!!!! No more train tracks on my teeth!!

This morning.....

This afternoon!! (Evening actually - didn't get around to taking a picture earlier...)

In other news, the M&Ms won their soccer game tonight!! (That's Abby's team, just in case you were wondering - the Might Maroons = M&Ms) I had one of my little guys score for the other team but he made it up with a couple of goals in the right direction! Now if I can convince them not to tackle other kids and do somersaults on the field, we'll be making progress....

Sleeping girls

2010-09-12T01:51:00.003-05:00

Isn't this the sweetest picture?!? Zac did the Daddy-Daycare thing both nights this weekend so that I could have a couple of crafty nights (thanks, Honey!). He loves his girls and I'm so glad that he also loves taking pictures of them! Emma and Abby were all knocked out, so he took their pictures and then played around with Cami for awhile. Such cute girls we have!!

Double the toddling...

2010-09-07T15:41:00.002-05:00

Emma is now officially a toddler! On Sunday she took several steps at church (while I was out of the room, of course!) and has been taking longer strolls each day. Today she walked down the hall to her room. So we now have two walking baby girls. And a preschooler. Holy cow. ;)

Birthday pictures

2010-09-01T00:00:00.008-05:00

Watch out, I did three posts at a time!!! Look at me catching up!

My fabulous friend Shauna took the girls' birthday pictures a few weeks ago and I LOVE the results! Now we just have to decide which ones to blow up and use to cover our walls. :)

Abby started off our photo session...

"A" for Attitude....

Cami was not entirely thrilled with the headband/clip in her hair.

By the end, Cami was D-O-N-E!!! We'll have to try for a group shot later. :)

Birthday bike!

2010-08-31T23:33:00.003-05:00

I haven't gotten all the pictures from Abby's birthday party uploaded to the computer yet (they're on Zac's big camera) but I wanted to post some of her bike. It was funny when we gave her the bike - she didn't get too excited because I think she knew it was coming. She was excited to have it - but not surprised, I guess. She loooooves having it!! Our new apartment faces the courtyard and has a sidewalk going all the way around the grass. So Abby can ride the big circle as much as she wants and I can see her from inside the house. (Although she prefers for somebody to be out there watching her.) Here are some pictures of her riding...and some of Daddy riding with her.

Here she is, riding as soon as we got home from her party. She's wearing her swimsuit and coverup; she wouldn't even take the time to change clothes! :)

Zac doesn't usually ride bikes in his dress clothes (going for the missionary look, I guess. haha) but Abby didn't want to wait long after getting home from church to get back on her bike! She did change clothes this time - guess she's just faster than her Daddy. ;)

Here's what Abby wore to church on her birthday. She got the tutu from a friend for her birthday and we happened to have a cute, matching flower clip. New church shoes courtesy of Grams & Grampa. (NONE of her shoes that I bought at the beginning of the summer fit anymore, so these were very timely birthday gifts!)

Preschool!!

2010-08-31T22:58:00.003-05:00

Today was Abby's first day of preschool! She was super excited to go - I had mixed emotions. :) Ever since she found out where she was going, she's brought up the subject of preschool everyday (it's been at least three months!). She goes Tues/Thurs afternoons for about 2.5 hours a day.

We had soccer practice this morning, then we got some lunch and changed Abby's clothes. I stopped at the far end of the school yard to get her picture with the sign. I told her to get back in the van so we could drive around to the drop off line (her teachers come to pick up the kids) and she wasn't happy about it. "Mom, I just want to walk over there and go to school!"

As we were driving, I had to make a left turn. In the middle of the turn, Abby grabbed my sleeve (I let her sit up front for the 200 yard drive) and wouldn't let go! And I kind of needed my arm right then! I asked her to let go and she said, "But Mommy, I need a kiss now!!" I love that girl!

So, we get to the drop off line and sit in the car to wait for the teachers. We ended up getting out a few minutes before they got there because a friend from church was there dropping off her little boy. The teacher saw and recognized Abby and told her to come join them. I talked for a few minutes, gave Abby a kiss and told her to be good and have fun. I got in the car and drove off....

....and cried a little. Not too much, I was proud of myself. But when my friend Leslie called, I told her not to talk about it or I would quickly turn into a basket case!!

I'm so excited for Abby to have this experience. She's a fabulous big sister but I know she gets tired of just me and the babies all the time. And, I admit, I am excited to only have two kids for a few hours a week. It's amazing how easy two seems (even if they are twins) when you're used to chasing three.

But it's sad for me to realize that my oldest child is really growing up. It's the most amazing thing to watch a (not-so) little person grow up.

In front of the school sign.

A close up of the cute pre-k girl. She picked out the shirt herself and bought with her very own birthday money from her great-grandparents. (Thanks, Meemaw & Pa!!) She picked it out because it has "an iPod like Daddy's!"

Sparkly, new kicks courtesy of Grams & Grampa for her birthday!

Baby update

2010-08-30T20:05:00.002-05:00

The twins are growing! Cami, I think, officially qualifies as a toddler now. She doesn't always make it the whole way but she is all over the place with her walking. She regularly gets all the way across the living room! It's funny to watch her because her walk is very 'waddly' and she starts going really fast right before she falls...so cute!

Emma is getting into walking but still taking her time. She seems to have no use for walking, as crawling gets her where she needs to go. :) Checked her gums today and she is getting her two top teeth in; that explains the last few whiney, grumpy days that she has had.

Abby starts preschool and soccer tomorrow - two firsts in one day!! Keep an eye out for more pictures and info!

Walking....

2010-08-22T00:37:00.003-05:00

Cami walked across the living room today (barely but she did make it) and Emma took 3-4 steps several times today. They're almost there.....

Teeth & Measurements

2010-08-10T00:19:00.003-05:00

Did a tooth check today: Emma is still going strong with her two bottom teeth - and it's impressive how much and how quickly the girl can eat with just two teeth. Cami's fifth tooth just popped in and number six isn't going to be far behind. That will give her four on top and two on bottom. We've been calling her Billy Goat Cami because she is chewing on EVERYTHING these days!!

My growing girls! At checkups last week, Emma was 24 lbs, 13 oz and 32 1/4 inches tall!! She is so big and such a smiley girl. You can see that she is a little more reserved than Cami but she definitely likes people. She has her favorites and loves to laugh and smile for them!!

Cami, on the other hand, will smile at just about anybody! At the checkup, she came in at 22lbs, 15 oz and 31 inches tall. We call her our scrawny baby, though she's hardly small. She is always cracking us up with her funny faces and silly antics.

I promise to put up pictures soon. The last few days have been ridiculous around here and I haven't felt like myself. I'm getting to the pictures, I promise!! :)

GO, CAMI!!!

2010-08-02T20:04:00.000-05:00

Cami took her first step!! Wooo hooo!!!!!

Happy birthday, Cami & Emma!!

2010-08-02T13:10:00.013-05:00

I can't believe our babies are a year old!! Their birthday was Saturday, July 31. (It's also their great-grandma's birthday - she turned 75. Happy birthday, Meemaw!)

We had a fun little party with a few friends. Zac grilled hot dogs and we had chips, nachos, watermelon and homemade cupcakes to go along. Our friend, Celeste, was sweet enough to let us borrow her backyard, since we don't have one. :)

PS - My original goal was to post different pics on here than I did on Facebook. Not sure how well that worked, so if you are on both you may see repeat pictures. Good thing my kids are cute enough to look at twice. hahaha

The two 'smash' cakes for two babies....

Cute Zoe held Emma for about an hour while she slept. We found out Sunday that Emma has a really bad ear infection. She was not a happy camper on her birthday. So sad....

Cami, however, was all over the place during the party. She loved having so many little girls that were madly in love with her!!

Proud parents - aren't we cute wearing the party colors? :)

This girl cracks me up!! She makes the funniest little faces! And I love that she has the Houldridge/Hansen ears that so many of my siblings' kids have. Abby has them, too. Love it!

First potato chip....a day to remember. :)

Miss Emma - my poor baby didn't feel good at all. :(

"It's my party and I'll cry if I want to...."

Those eyes can just pierce through your heart! So glad that one of my kids has big eyes - they sure didn't get them from me.

Stripped down for cake but had to open presents first. :) Most of their presents were in joint packaging (not complaining at ALL - just making note). These super cute tutus from the Chandlers were their individual gifts.

Cami loves to empty boxes and baskets, so she thought presents were totally awesome!

"Let them eat cake!"

The cake proved to be too much for Cami...

The dangers of being a baby with long hair...or long side burns, in Emma's case. ;)

Celeste was kind enough to let us borrow her laundry room sink for clean up!

Happy birthday to my sweet twins!! We were shocked to find out you were coming but I honestly cannot imagine our lives without you. Love all of my girls!!

Application to date my daughter

2010-08-02T01:19:00.002-05:00

I have a friend from church, Ann, whose daughter blogs. I can't remember how exactly I came across her blog but it's been fun to read. She's a cute, college-age girl and I love to read her fun stories. She posted this and I LOVED it, so I had to share!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Application to Date My Daughter

Name:______________________________ Date of Birth: __/____/____

Height:_______ Weight:_______ IQ:______ GPA:_______ Top Running Speed:____

Social Security #:__________________ Temple Recommend Expires: ____/_____/_____

Do you have one Male and one Female parent? ________ if "no" please explain:

Number of years parents married: _______ Do you have any brothers or sisters? ______ Are they normal? ______________

Do you own or have access to any of the following?

Van________ Water bed _________ Truck with over sized wheels _______

Do you have any earring, nose ring, belly ring or any other type of ring, stud, or bar anywhere on your body? ___________ Do you have a tattoo? _______

In 50 words or less, what does "Don't touch my daughter" mean to you?

In 50 words or less, give me your definition of real pain:

In your opinion, what time does the Holy Ghost go to bed? ________________

Ward you attend: ______________ How often? S M T W Th F S

When would be a good time to interview your father, mother, and bishop?

Please fill in the blanks:

If I were shot, the last place on my body I would want wounded would be _____________

If I were beaten, the last bone I would want broken would be _______________

A woman's place is _________________

The one thing I hope this application doesn't ask is ________________

When I meet a girl, the first thing I look at is _________________

(If the answer to the above question is somewhere below her neck, leave the premises now, keeping your head low and running in a serpentine fashion)

What I want to do if I grow up is ______________

I swear that all the above information is correct to the best of my knowledge under penalty of death, bodily harm, dismemberment, torture, or mental abuse.

Signature of Applicant:___________________________________

Signature of Father:_____________________________________

Signature of Mother:_____________________________________

Signature of Bishop:_____________________________________

Signature of the Prophet:__________________________________

Thank you for your interest in my daughter. Please allow 4-6 weeks for processing. You will be contacted in writing to set up a lie detector test if approved. If denied, please never apply again.

What we've been up to...

2010-07-22T13:30:00.005-05:00

I promise, I really do love to blog. Since I've been getting a lot of complaints lately about the lack of blogs/pictures, here we go! A little recap of what we've been up to...the pictures are a little out of chronological order but I've dated them.

(07/02/2010) My bff, Christine, and her hubby, Mitch, came to visit. Mitch surprised her with the trip for her birthday - YEA!!!! Christine played with the babies while lucky Mitch got to entertain Abby. :)

Hi, Emma!

For Christine's birthday, we grilled steaks and got cupcakes at The Sweet Tooth Fairy. YUMMY!

(07/16/2010) Abby attended a three-day Princess Camp that a couple of teens at church hosted. She had a blast! On the last day, they had a Princess Parade for all the moms to watch. They learned "helpful princess manners" as part of the camp. Here's Abby, showing off her curtsy.

Getting her certificate and her pink tote bag.

(07/07/2010) Came around the corner and discovered the "paper trash" (recycling) had been knocked over.

BUSTED, BABIES! :)

(07/12/2010) And the climbing has started. I don't have a picture of Emma climbing but, trust me, she's done her fair share! We have since eliminated the shelf with the black diaper basket and moved all of the boxes and the safe out of the living room.

(07/14/2010) Abby got some Play Doh from the librarian and insisted that we HAD to play with all of it. Once the babies were napping, the creativity began to flow. She wanted all the colors mixed (I didn't complain - it was almost too dry to use and free, imitation Doh anyway). We made snakes, balls, sticks, AND....

...a snowman. Snowlady, actually, since Abby insisted it was a girl. Don't you love her multi-colored hair? :)

(07/01/2010) We made spaghetti for dinner and decided the babies would like it. And boy, did they! Both girls are huge fans of 'real' food. (Except that Emma HATES scrambled eggs!) That night we had spaghetti and green beans.

(07/01/2010) We've been working on kisses a lot lately! They're both pretty good at giving slobbery, open-mouth kisses! :)

Emma wasn't in the mood to give kisses. But she always loves to get kisses on her cheek chub.

(07/14/2010) I've titled this picture, "Crazy Camers."

Where to start??

2010-06-19T00:36:00.005-05:00

Holy cow, where to start this update....I'm sure I will ramble, so please excuse me. :)

We are moving NEXT WEEKEND. Not far - just to the next apartment building. It's a three bedroom and we're getting for the same amount we're paying now. WOOOO!!! I really hate moving but I'm so excited to have some more room.

Babies are on the move. They're both crawling and pulling up all over the place. They're thinking about letting go and 'walking' along furniture but they're not in too big of a hurry. I need to start working with them. As much as it will stink to have them even more into stuff, I'll be glad when I don't have to carry them all the time. As of this past week, Emma weighs 23.4 pounds and Cami is still our lightweight at 21.4. For a combined total of almost 45 pounds. (Yes, I DO have amazing biceps. hahaha)

They are into everything! We try to corral them in the living room but they usually manage to escape. (Big sister usually assists in this department) Cami loves to put everything in her mouth, especially paper. I swear, she's part goat! It's crazy for me - not only because there are two of them doing it but because Abby wasn't like that. She didn't really put stuff in her mouth and stayed out of things once she was told no. But not these two little darlings!!

We've been working on our tricks. Emma started clapping while we were in Arkansas but then quit for awhile. She's now back into it and loves to clap when we do or even if she sees someone on TV clapping. Cami is starting to wave and Zac swears she can say, "Hey." But I think he's just nuts. ;)

Our Abby girl is so funny. She constantly cracks me up with the funny things she says. She is starting to develop more feelings and emotions - feeling empathy for others. Always asking, "Why?" and "Can I help? Can I do that?" Along with the empathy has come a bit of stubbornness. This week, I got my first dose of, "I don't like you! You're not my friend!" Ouch. Thought I had a few more years till that one came....

Well, there's a nutshell of what we've been up to. At least it's a post so now I won't feel so ashamed when I think about my blog. Here's hoping to get back on track! Enjoy some pictures of my cuties, on the house. ;)

Abby asked for a strawberry and, upon seeing only three left, decided there were just enough for sharing. Cami did pretty well with hers - Emma always manages to make a disaster of herself when she eats.

Up close and person with Miss Emma. Daddy fixed her hair!

Had to get up close with the Camster, too! I have a feeling this one is going to be our little funny girl. She laughs all the time!

Abby needed to get outside, Daddy needed to do homework and Mommy needed to fix dinner. So here's what we came up with. :)

Abby was totally peeved that Emma was in the bathroom with her. I figured this might help her understand how much I long to go to the bathroom in private. It didn't.

And in the other bathroom, we find Cami....eating paper, of course!

Have I mentioned how much I love this man? :)

Abby says...

2010-06-09T10:40:00.003-05:00

I promise, I'm working on a good update with pictures and such. It's coming, I promise....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last night, Zac and I were talking with Abby about Jesus and similar topics. She is giving a talk in Primary this Sunday and her topic is "The Holy Ghost testifies of the truth of all things." Here are a few highlights:

Us: "When we're nice and make good choices, the Holy Ghost and Jesus can be with us. They help us choose the right."
Abby: "But Jesus can't come into our house because he's too big."

A: "Does Jesus have a dog?"

A: "Does Jesus live with His mom and dad? He lives at the temple."

Love Languages of Blogging

2010-06-08T13:31:00.004-05:00

Found this today on Mormon Mommy Blogs and thought it was really cute:

Which one are you? :)

We're baaaaaack!

2010-05-25T10:40:00.001-05:00

We got back to Utah yesterday! Which meant I was in an airplane on my birthday...blech. But we are here and getting things put away. In the next couple of days, I'll be blogging about the trip, so stay tuned!!

My crazy kid...

2010-04-24T16:40:00.002-05:00

My dad made pancakes for breakfast this morning. While Abby was waiting for breakfast to be ready, she started telling stories. You never know what's going to come out....

Today she was telling us about the 'owie' on her knee. (Until this point, I was unaware that she had one. But I digress...) She informed me that she got the owie, "While I was playing on the roof and I fell off."

WHAT???

"But I was ok because Daddy catched me."

Obviously not, if she got an owie. But, anyway. The story went on but these were definitely the highlights. Stay tuned for the next installment of My Crazy Kid. LOL

Emma

2010-04-18T22:27:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, Emma started being waaaaay more fussy than she normally is. I felt around and discovered a bottom tooth is breaking through! Thankfully, Emma is only getting one instead of Cami's two at a time. Not sure we could handle four teeth coming in at once!!!

But really, they are handling it very well. No fevers and no fits that we can't handle. As crazy as it gets, I am grateful every day that Heavenly Father sent me good babies. And that I have a good big girl and hubby to help me. Love them all!!

If you've wondered why I'm crazy...

2010-04-14T00:32:00.006-05:00

....I thought I'd let you know. :)

Brain cells are leaving me at an alarmingly fast rate. But it sure is fun. :)

Giveaway

2010-04-08T10:06:00.002-05:00

Check out this awesome giveaway over at Natalie's Sentiments! Some great ideas for Mother's Day....

Update

2010-04-08T00:48:00.002-05:00

Had to jot down a few things before I forget the date...

Emma
Emma is crawling!! She crawled about two 'steps' this evening while I was playing on the floor with her. YEA!!! Now both babies are on the move; I've got to get after my baby-proofing with a vengeance!

Cami
Cami is getting her bottom two teeth. I pried her mouth open today and could see that her gums are broken. That explains why she's been a little grouchy lately and pulling at her ears. Fun times to come! :)

Both
Both babies are able to sit up on their own. From their tummies, they get on hands and knees, then fall back onto their booties. Then back to crawling...and into stuff. :)

Fun times at the Elliott house...

Emma on the move!

2010-04-01T10:15:00.002-05:00

Emma has abandoned her trusty rolling technique and is officially doing the army crawl. She gets up on her hands and knees, rocks back and forth, the falls to her tummy and pulls herself around. So I have a feeling she'll be doing the 'real' crawling pretty soon. Go, Emma!

Twins

2010-04-01T10:00:00.002-05:00

TWINS

There's two to wash,
There's two to dry,
There's two who argue,
There's two who cry.

One's in the mud
having a ball,
The other holds a crayon
marking the wall.

Some days seem endless,
My patience grows thin,
Why was I chosen
To be a mother of twins?

The answer comes clear
at the end of each day,
As I tuck them in bed
and to myself say:

There's two to kiss,
There's two to hug,
And best of all,
There's two to love.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Someone read this last night at the SLMOT meeting I went to. I thought it was extremely appropriate. :)

Giveaway

2010-03-30T19:28:00.001-05:00

Here's a pretty awesome giveaway from the website Epiphanie. If you win, you get a choice of either a $2500 gift card to Southwest Airlines or a new Cannon 5D Mark II! Check it out - goes through tomorrow!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

2010-03-28T00:54:00.008-05:00

Zac had to work this morning and I was playing photographer for a birthday party. We all got home around 1:30 and decided that we HAD to head outside. It was a gorgeous day - a little breezy but absolutely wonderful! So we headed to Draper Park with the girls and had a fun afternoon enjoying the sunshine!!

Playing in the grass with Abby's soccer ball. The babies are getting so big! They've really been enjoying time outside in the sunshine and grass. (Can I just say that I think I have the cutest kids ever??)

Last fall, Abby would NOT climb up this rock wall. My big girl is getting brave!

Nor would she go down "the big slide." It is pretty steep but she mastered it today!

What do you do when you have two babies and a pre-schooler that all want to swing? You get creative....

Mmmmm...grass!!

Cami likes to chew on my aglets. (LOL, thanks Phineas and Ferb!)

CHEESE!!!

Emma looooooves to swing!!!

Downtown Salt Lake City

2010-03-27T01:21:00.005-05:00

This week we had some friends from Arkansas visit us. Well, that wasn't the main reason they were in Utah - just an added bonus. hahaha Zac was Young Men's president in Arkansas for a couple of years and Joey Brown was one of his (two) boys. We LOVE Joey and are soooo very proud that he will be leaving in May to serve in the London, England mission!! Since he will report to the MTC in England, his family came out for spring break to get all of his stuff and also for a fun vacation.

When friends from AR are in town, I always do my best to get them over to our house....we love company. :) The Browns came over for dinner on Tuesday and we had so much fun catching up. We spent all of Friday hanging out with them, doing the tourist stuff in/around Temple Square. We saw a lot of stuff that we hadn't gotten to yet, which was fun. And I think Abby may be in love...with a much older man. :)

My pretty girl checking out the pretty flowers. "Mommy these flowers are so pretty!!"

Updated family pic in front of the Salt Lake temple. Can't really see the babies...but they were asleep and I wanted them to stay that way! :)

Some things you only see in Utah...and that's probably a good thing...

The Conference Center...this was a really cool tour. Pretty awesome building!

A good shot of the temple.

Joey didn't get all the attention. Abby was pretty fond of Jennifer, too. She pretty much eats up attention from new people...

The real size of the Moroni statues atop LDS temples. He's a pretty big guy...

Growing babies and a bad day

2010-03-25T23:20:00.004-05:00

I usually try to save my blog posts for when I have pictures. I'll try to get some up soon but I wanted to update while I have a minute. These babies are GROWING. I know I say that in almost every post; but it just blows my mind how fast it happens!

Cami is pretty much a professional crawler. She's also started trying to pull up on stuff. She can get up on her knees and has tried to move around while kneeling. And she is into absolutely everything! I can leave her on one side of the living room while I go into the kitchen - and when I turn around, there she is crawling into the kitchen!

Both of them can manage to get from a sitting position onto their tummies. Then Cami takes off crawling and Emma starts rolling and scooting along.

Emma cracks me up with her jumping - she's nuts! She not only jumps in her Saucer, she jumps anywhere. If you're holding her, she bounces in your arms. If she's sitting on the floor, she bounces. I'm seeing a future as a trampoline artist or something. :) She's been a little fussy the last few days. I'm not sure if it's just the rest of the yuckiness going away or if she's starting to get teeth. Oh well - I'm not planning on our lives slowing down anytime soon. As long as I keep telling myself that, I think I can handle it. :)

This week has been so crazy busy. It seems like every day has had something going and yesterday it reached a boiling point. It seemed like if something could go wrong, it did. During my crossing, I almost got run over (twice), Abby got out of the car and started coming at me while I was in the road, Emma cried for half of my crossing, the cake I was making for church fell completely apart....ugh. I could go on...

Yeah, I know, pity party, right? My poor, sweet hubby called me on his way home and was totally caught off guard by the bawling, crazy lady that answered my phone. When he got home, he told me to leave and not come back until 10:00pm. Easier said than done since Draper pretty much shuts down at 9. But I walked around JoAnn, got some dinner, sat in the car and read a magazine in an empty parking lot...basically just got out of the house and away from the craziness. And it helped! Today was pretty crazy but I felt better able to handle it. Sometimes we just need a break...and I am so very grateful for an amazing husband that does his best to take care of my mental health. :)

Babies on the move!

2010-03-17T00:20:00.005-05:00

My punkins are starting to figure out how to get around in their little world! I wish I'd had a camera with me yesterday; Abby had a playdate and when I picked her up, we ended up sitting on the lawn and chatting with several neighbors from our ward. Moms, kids and dogs all over the place - it was awesome! The babies had their first real experience with grass and loved the great weather! They weren't too sure about the dogs that kept licking their faces but they seemed ok with it. :)

The first video is of Emma doing her favorite thing - bouncing! This girl is crazy about bouncing in her Saucer! (This video really doesn't do it justice; she usually goes non-stop for 2-3 minutes at a time!)

I just took this video of Cami crawling. She's been doing the 'army crawl' for awhile now but in the last few days has really gotten the hang of 'real' crawling. She's not a pro by any means but she can definitely scoot around a LOT faster than I want her to! :) Note: The loud talking in the background is Emma; she was busy rolling around on the floor talking to her toys.

For my crafty friends..

2010-03-14T21:50:00.002-05:00

Check out this giveaway for a Cricut!!! Just become a follower of the blog and she will draw later this week. If you don't want it, I'm sure someone would appreciate such an awesome gift! :)

Abby says...

2010-03-13T17:11:00.003-06:00

Thursday morning, I was in the kitchen with Abby trying to figure out what she wanted for breakfast. (This can be a long process-she'll eat just about anything but can be indecisive.) Zac came in and told her she didn't get breakfast - she had to get a job. He kept teasing her, telling her she was going to be the fry cook at McDonalds; just picking at her. She was laughing at him and saying, "Noooo, Daddy. I don't have to get a job." When he walked away to finish getting ready for work, she looked at me, rolled her eyes and said, "Uggghh. Daddy makes me crazy!!"

I laughed my butt off, let me tell you....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This morning, Zac was teasing her (can you see a recurring theme here?) about something. She looked at him and said, "Buzz off, Daddy!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She looks like me and acts like me - it's a scary thing, really....

Dance class!!!

2010-03-12T00:52:00.007-06:00

Tuesday was Abby's final dance class. She's had SO MUCH fun in her class. The school district is starting another session at the end of the month but since we'll be gone for a good chunk of April/May, it wouldn't make much sense to start. She has told me that she wants to play soccer, too - so, we'll see what happens this fall.

Here are a few pictures and videos from dance class. I, personally, am going to miss the weekly dose of humor that came with it. :)

Sitting on the stage before class with Miss Erin and Ava.

Daddy wasn't able to come to class every week because of work. He made sure to come for her last class and brought her roses. I'm not sure she totally understood why - but she definitely understood that they are HER flowers. She talks about them every morning when she sees them in the vase. :)

Me and my big girl!

The whole class - a cute group of girls. (See the one in the bright pink tutu? She was a stinker, let me tell you...)

Abby and Miss Erin.

"Ballerina Octopus"
This was actually the last dance they did - they were supposed to curtsy at the end but Abby apparently prefers to just bow. :)

"Under the Sea"
Since we are starting to get very into princess stuff, this was one of her favorites.

"Visit the Moon"
This is a cute song from Sesame Street sung by Ernie.

Update...

2010-03-10T01:28:00.002-06:00

An update on my little sickos....both of the babies are (slowly) getting better. Emma, of course, caught Cami's RSV. We've been to the Dr for 'professional grade' suctioning but, at that price, we've made due with 'Mommy grade.' Emma also has an ear infection - Cami avoided that one because she was already on antibiotics for her UTI. Emma also has eczema - not sure why, going to keep an eye on that. And I'll be calling Primary Children's tomorrow to set up Cami's kidney ultrasound and VCUG.

Did you get all of that? ;)

Going private...

2010-03-07T00:25:00.002-06:00

Ok, here's one of those posts that will (hopefully) get comments.

I'm thinking about making this blog private. I'd leave my recipe blog open to public reading but close this one only to 'invited' readers. The more I think about all the weirdos out there, I tend to think it's a good idea. So (be honest) would those of you who read my blog still read if it were private? What is your opinion about public vs private family blogs?

Cami update...

2010-03-06T14:20:00.002-06:00

We ended up in the ER last night with Cami. Thankfully, it was a short, productive visit. They tested her for RSV and it came back positive. I'm sure Emma will probably get it, too. Thankfully they are doing pretty well - we had to hospitalize Abby with RSV twice when she was a baby. So we'll just keep sucking snot and hopefully things won't get too bad. :)

We also heard back about her urine culture; she tested positive for the UTI. So I'll be talking with her pediatrician next week about whether he wants to run the kidney ultrasound and other tests. :/ We'll keep you updated!

Poor Cami...

2010-03-04T16:32:00.002-06:00

My little Camers is sick. :( Tuesday she slept a lot - which I kind of noticed but didn't think anything of because she wasn't grumpy or anything. That night, we went out with some friends to a new Mexican restaurant in Draper. (Side note: Definitely the best Mexican food we 've found in Utah. Soooo yummy!) When we got home with the kiddos, we noticed that Cami was running a little bit of a fever. Gave her some Tylenol, off to bed and all seemed well.

Wednesday was not well. If she wasn't sleeping or I wasn't holding her, Cami was crying. She was running a fever (102.7° was the highest reading I got - mostly around 101°, though) and obviously felt miserable. So sad. I talked to the nurse at our pediatric clinic and she gave me a few things to keep an eye on; "Bring her in if she gets worse."

When Zac got home, we ate dinner and then I went to Wal-Mart for formula, diapers, etc. (Had to get out of the house after that day.) Zac had two kids asleep and thought he was home free - until Cami threw up all over him. When I came home, he had bathed her and was cleaning up. I snuggled with Cami and tried to make her feel better but she was pretty inconsolable. She threw up again before we all went to bed - her in the bed with me and Zac on the couch. We managed to get a little sleep but she was up for a large portion of the night.

So, this morning we called the office as soon as they opened and got an appointment. Dr. Clayton checked her ears and throat - everything looked fine. He said it could be a urinary tract infection and, if it was, that could signal other problems. We could either wait to see if she got better or go ahead and test a urine sample, which would mean the nurse using a catheter to get the sample. :( We decided to get that option ruled out, so they got the sample. Poor Cami was not happy about it but, thankfully, the nurses are fast! And we're glad we did it - she ended up having a pretty high level of whatever-it-is. They'll run a 48-hr culture and if that comes back as UTI positive, which we're assuming it will, then we'll have to take her to Primary Children's Hospital to have some tests run to be sure she doesn't have urinary reflux. Hopefully we'll know on Saturday if the tests are necessary but that depends on the timing of the lab...it might be Tuesday before we know.

So, if you have a little room in your prayers, please send one up for Cami. We are treating her with antibiotics, so hopefully she'll feel better this evening or tomorrow.

SIZE UPDATE: Cami, of course, was weighed today and we went ahead and weighed Emma, too. Left their clothes on, so it's not 100% accurate but close enough. Cami weighs 18 lbs, 14 oz and Emma is now a rotund 20 lbs, 4 oz. Fatty biscuits. :)

Moving forward...

2010-02-22T00:58:00.002-06:00

The Cams has started crawling. It was, of course, while I wasn't there...go figure! When Abby was a baby, I worked. So I expected to miss things - not that that made it easier. But now I stay at home; so I'm more than a little bummed that I missed the first crawl. Oh well...plenty more firsts to come.

Friday night, our girls stayed with the Bruces. They generously offered to babysit so that we could have a night alone for our anniversary. (Our anniversary isn't actually till the 28th, but we'll take a night alone anytime!) I told Leslie that I had a feeling Cami would crawl while we were away - she was just soooo close, I knew it was coming. When we picked them up on Saturday, Leslie suddenly said, "Look!" and Cami was hitching herself across the carpet. I asked if that was the first time and Leslie admitted that she had done it earlier that morning - "but only once!" We now have a mobile baby and I don't think Emma is too far from the same thing. Fun times to come at the Elliott house!

Six month checkup

2010-02-12T01:11:00.004-06:00

The babies had their six month checkups last week, on Feb 4. Here are the stats:

Cami
Height: 28 inches (off the charts)
Weight: 17 lbs, 4 oz (upper 80th %)

Emma
Height: 28.5 inches (off the charts)
Weight: 18 lbs (upper 80th %)

In case you've forgotten....Emma started off as the lightweight. She has outweighed Cami for a couple of months now; pretty funny. :) I can't find the paper that had all the measurements written down - but their heads were somewhere in the upper 60th %. So they're super tall, fat and have little heads. hehehehe The dr said that the head measurement doesn't really have to align with the others, as long as everything is growing at the same pace. I just think it's funny. :)

That same day, I realized that Emma is now capable of sitting up. She can't get to the position by herself, but can stay sitting for a minute or two if you put her that way. I can't believe how big these girls are getting!

Both babies are madly in love with their big sister. They think Abby is the funniest thing in the world - which, of course, only feeds Abby's crazy ways of making them laugh. :D

And, in case you didn't know, Cami is part monkey....

No way in heck she's letting go of that bottle. :)

Abby's drawings

2010-02-07T22:16:00.008-06:00

Today at church, we sat with the Johnsons, a young couple in our ward. It was only Abby, Emma and me - Zac stayed home to finish recovering from his bout with the flu and Cami stayed with him. Erica played with Abby and was drawing lots of pictures with her. I started watching and was pretty impressed with some of Abby's drawings. She did these all by herself:

She changed her story a few times, but said that these are drawings of her, Zac and me. Now, I'm no child development expert - but I thought these were pretty good. And so, of course, I had to share them. :)

My little smarty-pants....

2010-02-06T23:12:00.004-06:00

Zac's dad, Rick, was in SLC last week for a business conference. Of course, he spent a good chunk of his free time out here to see the grandbabies. Our kids tend to make things interesting, as all of my blog readers should know. :)

Last night, Rick and Zac were going to pick up some take out for dinner, since none of us were feeling up to par. Abby, of course, wanted to tag along. As they were driving, they passed a 7 Eleven; Abby calls 7 Eleven "The Slurpee store." Abby said she wanted a Slurpee, as she usually does. Rick reminded her that she didn't want to spoil her dinner. Without batting an eye, Abby replied,

"But, Pawpaw, a Slurpee is just a drink."

We're in big trouble when this girl hits her teenage years. :/

Abby's prayers

2010-01-26T23:00:00.004-06:00

I LOVE to hear Abby say prayers - it's the cutest thing! She takes us from thinking, "Awwwww..." and then the next second we're trying not to laugh in the middle. :) Tonight she wanted me to say our bedtime prayer - which usually means that she intends to interrupt in the middle with things she thinks I should add. :) Here's a pretty close idea of how it went:

Me: "Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this day....basic thanks......thank you that Daddy could travel safely..."

Abby: "And thank you that we could drop Daddy off at the airport and he could fly on the airplane. And thank you I go to Ella's house. And thank you for my dance class. Thank you Jesus go to church with us...."

Me: "Please keep Aunt Hope and Garrett safe as they travel tomorrow..."

Abby: "Please help Hopey and Garrett come on the plane so we can go pick them up tomorrow and I play with Garrett. Thank you help us choose the right..."

Me: "Please keep us safe..."

Abby: "Jesus Christ. Amen."

This girl CRACKS ME UP!!! I love my kids!!

All by myyyseeeelf....

2010-01-25T23:47:00.002-06:00

Zac's leaving tomorrow to go Phoenix (actually Glendale) for the week. Which means that I'll spend tomorrow night staying up till all hours with all the lights on. haha - yes, I'm a wuss...I know. But my sister and Garrett get here on Wednesday evening - woooo!!! Looking forward to a fun last half of the week!

Dance class!!!

2010-01-22T01:02:00.007-06:00

This past Tuesday, Jan 19, was Abby's first dance class. She is taking a Pre-ballet/Creative Dance combo class that is being offered for 8 weeks through the Canyons School District. It's a much cheaper option than a dance studio and gives us a chance to see if she'll be interested in continuing to do this. Grams & Grampa sponsored the class and my friend Jennifer offered us some dance clothes that her girls have outgrown - wooo hoo!! Grams has been on me about pictures, so here we go! (Crazy scrapbooking mom note - in a 50 minute class, I took 47 pictures. hehehe But don't worry, I won't post all of them!)

Sitting in a circle while Ms. Erin told them a little bit about dance and what they would be learning...

Trying to touch their toes without bending their knees - Abby didn't quite get this.

Cami and Emma's opinion of dance. :) Cami woke up about halfway through and thought it was fun to sit with me and watch.

Trying to walk like a crab - Ms. Erin did a lot of sea creature stuff using the music from The Little Mermaid.

Skipping across the stage...

Learning a few basic moves...

Dancing!!

Dancing under the sea.... ;)

Ballerina moves...

Circle time...

The cutest little dancer there ever was...at least in my very humble opinion. :)

The skirt that Jennifer gave us was a tad too big, so I took it up....then couldn't find it when it was dance time. :/ I've since found it - but don't you love her little panties sticking out of her leotard? hahaha

They all got little stamps on their hands after class.

Showing off stamps with a new friend...

A veeeerrrry tired Abby showing Mommy her stamp.

There will be more from other classes, I'm quite sure! She had so much fun and I love that she is getting to be around more kids. This is definitely going to be good for her!!

GIVEAWAY

2010-01-14T11:34:00.003-06:00

Two awesome giveaways for you to check out:

The first giveaway is from one of my favorite bloggers, Pioneer Woman. It's a very different kind of giveaway - if you win, she will donate $500 to "the Haitian-related charity of the winners choice." And, for every comment/entry, she will donate $0.10 to charity. Since her giveaways usually yield 5,000+ entries, this is pretty awesome!

To balance out the serious, I also found a fun giveaway, via my friend Bobbi's blog. Someday Crafts (I love this blog!) is giving away a cute watch set and $10 credit from Oh So Girly! Oh So Girly! is great! It's one of the first blogs I've found that actually has cute, crafty stuff at reasonable prices!! Check out all of the blogs in here - good stuff to be found!!

Christmas

2010-01-06T12:10:00.010-06:00

I have so many things to blog about - but I feel like I can't do any of that until I blog about Christmas! So here we go....prepare for picture overload!! :)

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We started our Christmas season the week after Thanksgiving at Draper City's Christmas celebration. It was sponsored by the Youth Council and they had lots of fun, free stuff for kids. Here's Abby getting her balloon flower tied (after waiting very patiently, I should add).

Cami waiting patiently for Abby's balloon flower. :)

Emma waited patiently, too.

The finished product! A super cute balloon flower with a bumblee on top!

They also had a face painting room. Abby decided that she wanted a snowman on her face.

In true bald guy fashion, Zac couldn't pass up a chance to get his face...I mean, head...painted. I wish the hat had been bigger - but it's still pretty funny!

There were several performances through the evening. I believe this choir is from Alta High. They were sooo good! Of course, I'm probably a little biased from all my high school and college choir years. But Zac also said they were great. They did some cute dancing with their songs - Abby was enthralled!

My main reason for going was to get a good (free) picture with Santa Claus. We'd been talking to Abby about it for a couple of weeks. We told her she didn't have to sit on his lap, just stand beside him. All was well until it was our turn - then the shrieking started. It sounded like I was trying to pull her arms off!! So we told her to forget it and just got a picture of the babies with Santa. Maybe next year.....

Skipping some things...trying not to make this too ridiculously long....

After our Christmas program at church, we set up the camera to take a couple of family pictures. Had to show off the cute bows I made for the girls! :) Abby's Christmas dress was $4 at a Little Rock consignment sale. I found the babies' dresses at Target and ordered them with the remainder of a baby shower gift card (thanks, Grams, for paying the shipping!).

My friend Leslie gave us the makings for decorated sugar cookies - leftovers from her son's school party. Abby had tons of fun doing this, especially since Leslie packaged everything in Dora baggies. :)

My cookie. Boring, I know. But I was also in charge of photography...and not a huge fan of crunchy candies on my cookies. (Or cupcakes or anything else)

Zac's cookie. Notice the goatee?

Abby's cookie. Can you tell that she's a huge fan of M&Ms?

On to Christmas Eve. My family always does our big 'thing' on Christmas Eve. Since we're far away, we now use the wonders of technology and Skype with everybody. My family exchanges names for that gift exchange - saves us all a bit of money and still allows everybody to get a 'good' gift. Mom had my name and I got......a vacuum cleaner! :) I'd been asking for a hand vac and Mom got me a good one. Thanks, Mom!!

Mamaw had Zac's name. He got new PJ pants (his old ones were worn to rags!) and an armband for his iPod. So now we can hit the gym with our music. :)

Aunt Sherry and Uncle Jeff had Abby's name. They got her a Little Mermaid bath set and she LOVES it!! By far her most popular bath toy!

Santa drank the chocolate milk (his favorite, from what I hear) and ate most of the Oreos. And, of course, he left a note telling the girls thank you! Rudolph and the reindeer thoroughly enjoyed the carrots that Abby left on the porch for them.

The stocking loot! Since we don't have a fireplace, Santa lined up the filled stockings on the couch. Abby has become quite the little artist, so Santa encouraged her newly discovered talent.

I got some cake decorating stuff in my stocking. I've been wanting to learn how to decorate cakes, so I'm excited about this!

Zac always gets soft peppermint sticks in his stocking - he loves them! He also got the Transformers movie and several other goodies. (I loooooove buying stocking stuffers - it's more fun to me than buying regular gifts!)

The big gift that Santa left? Abby's pink scooter - she LOVES it! She's had a few chances to ride it outside and she loves riding up and down the hallway.

Abby's Legos. She had so much fun with Garrett's while we were in Arkansas that we knew she 'had' to have some. Thankfully, Santa (aka Leslie) knows how to find things on KSL.

Some of my baking goods. Lots of cooking to be done at the Elliott house. Abby picked out the rolling pin all by herself.

Nana and Pawpaw sent an ExerSaucer for Christmas and the babies are loving it! Since we needed two, of course, we borrowed one from Leslie. The babies love their new ability to 'stand' and play!

GIVEAWAY

2010-01-04T01:37:00.002-06:00

I found a fun, new blog! It's called Divine Diva Media and it's a brainchild of a few different blogs - all of which are cute! They are having some cool giveaways building up to their launch party later this week. Check it out and try to win some stuff!!

These are a few of my faaaaavorite things....

2010-01-03T23:39:00.002-06:00

Every week at church, our Relief Society bulletin has a "My Favorites" that spotlights a different lady from our ward. I think it's an awesome way to get to know everyone and thought I'd share it on my blog:
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My favorite...

Movie: Don't really have an all-time favorite; most recent fave is The Proposal
TV Show: This is a toughie, too; we like to watch Chopped and Iron Chef America
Eat Out Spot: Haven't found one in Utah, really. Been craving some Mt. Fuji in Little Rock
Dessert: Warm, chewy, fudgy brownie sundae
Vacation: The beach!
Time of Day: Evenings when my hubby gets home and our family is together
Season: Late summer/fall in Utah is nice
Dream vacation: I'd like to try a cruise with the hubby
Sport: Love to play volleyball and watch football
Hobby: Crafty stuff - scrapbooks, cards and learning to sew
Calling: My fave calling at church has been working with the young women
Pleasure: Reading...don't have much time for that now :)
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
What makes you laugh: My husband and kids...constantly! ;)
Least favorite chore: Dusting
What do you never leave the house without: Cell phone and extra diapers :)

Cookies!

2009-12-28T01:15:00.002-06:00

Many of you have probably read (here or on Facebook) about my cookie quest. Zac and I have been looking for a good, chewy cookie recipe. And I think I've found it! I made some last Sunday and took them to a friend's house. They were, I thought, pretty good. I tweaked a few little things and came up with this recipe. And I think they're pretty flippin' awesome. :D Check it out!

Teething

2009-12-24T02:11:00.002-06:00

I'm pretty sure that the babies are starting to think about getting teeth. ACK! These girls are doing stuff waaaaay sooner than Abby did. I'm not ready for all this....

Freaking out aside, I saw some jewelry in a store the other day and I think it's awesome. It's called Teething Bling. It's cute jewelry for Mom that's safe for Baby(ies) to chew on. Pretty cool, huh??

Rudolph

2009-12-23T18:02:00.004-06:00

The video's a little dark - but it's still pretty cute! :)

True love

2009-12-23T17:20:00.001-06:00

Got this in an e-mail forward and wanted to share:
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It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80s arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00am.

I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health.

He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's Disease. As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now. I was surprised and asked him, “And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?”

He smiled as he patted my hand and said, “She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is.”

I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, “That is the kind of love I want in my life.”

True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be. The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything;
they just make the best of everything they have.

More updating...

2009-12-17T23:29:00.007-06:00

I recently took a job as a substitute crossing guard for Draper City. It's not anything regular but every little bit will help our budget. And it gets my foot in the door in case any regular, 'full time' crossings do come open. When I was considering working full time again and started pricing daycare I realized it would be stupid for me to work. This is something I can do without having to worry about daycare (the girls come with me and stay in the van).

Last Friday was my first on-my-own crossing. I'd observed twice and Friday I filled in for a lady in the morning and afternoon. Zac only worked a half day Friday, so he came with me and the girls; he wanted to watch me in action (LOL) and take some pictures.

Had to bundle up - it was COLD here last week!! Don't you love my cute new scarf and gloves? Now I just need an earcover or hat to go with them....

My super-awesome, official Draper City employee jacket. LOL I'm technically a Draper PD employee. Oooohhhh.....

Waiting on kiddos....

Getting the kids across safely!! I had one lady that tried to inch her way through before all the kids were across. She got a very dirty look and then stayed still until I was done. :)

When I got done, it was still Happy Hour at Sonic, so we went to get drinks. In the span of 90 seconds (no joke), Abby told us what she wanted (Sprite), Zac ordered it and I turned around while saying, "Abby did you have fun being a crossing gua...."

Wow. Guess so. :)

In other news, Cami has decided to firm up her abs with some crunches. hahaha

LOVE baby smiles!!! Cami has the little asian-like eyes that disappear when she smiles, just like her Momma.

Emma decided to give Daddy's head a little spit-shine. Sweet Emma has the cutest lopsided grin! I think it looks like her Aunt Kendyl's smile.

Cami got bored watching me make cookies.

Abby is getting much better at holding the babies. Although earlier today, she did try to pull Cami off the couch by her neck. We're working on it....

I just realized there are waaaaay more pics of Cami than Emma in this post. I'll post more Emma next time, promise!!

Update...

2009-12-16T20:09:00.004-06:00

Big kid in the bath, babies asleep, hubby still at work. Perfect time to update the blog!

Last Thursday, the babies had their 4 month checkups. Both had to get shots...always sad! (And especially hard now that I have to calm TWO babies!!) Emma has now moved up in the world and is the reigning chubster in our house. She is 26 3/4" long and a whopping 16.5 lbs!! (About 95th percentile)

LOVE the thigh rolls!!!

Cami has given up her heavyweight title but not by too much. She is 26 1/2" long and weighs 15.5 lbs. Dr. Clayton kept saying, "They're just big babies!" This is true.

Not as rolly polly as Sister Emma, but still plenty of chub!

I found them sleeping like this a few mornings ago. Too cute!

We have a friend at church that gives us hand-me-downs from her girls (YES!!!) and this kiddie mirror was in the last batch. The babies have enjoyed it!

Through much coercion, including snacks and movies, Abby actually sat still to let me play with a hairdo. I think Santa might be bringing us some better hair accessories. Hopefully the bribery will still work after Christmas. :)

Nana, this picture is for you.
Zac's mom ordered a box of diapers for the babies (WOO!!!) and when Abby and I opened it, she was sooooo excited to see that there was a book included. She yelled, "Mickey Mouse Cubhouse, Momma!!!" She's been carrying it around and 'reading' it ever since.

Not too much going on around here. I got our Christmas cards addressed and in the van...now I just have to remember to go by the post office. LOL I still have thank you cards to write for baby gifts - I'm such a loser. Zac and I have been searching for the perfect, chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe. We'll let you know if/when we find it.

Before I forget...

2009-12-09T00:28:00.000-06:00

Emma rolled over on Sunday! So now I have two babies that can roll from their backs to tummies - and then both get mad when they're stuck on their tummies!! They crack me up!

We have 4 mo checkups on Thursday; be on the lookout for weight updates and such.

First food

2009-12-07T13:02:00.003-06:00

Saturday night, Abby & I decided to make pumpkin bread. The recipe only calls for 1 cup of pumpkin and a can has about 1 1/2 cups. I checked the label and pumpkin was the only ingredient - so I decided to give the babies some!! The first couple of bites didn't get rave reviews - Emma made a yucky face! So I added a little pumpkin pie spice to flavor it up a bit. They seemed to enjoy it! They probably only got a total of 2 tsp each...but we still had fun with it. :) We'll probably wait a few more weeks before we try food again, though....no need to rush things!!

Cami isn't sure what to think....

Neither is Emma! (Not sure why my camera is being so dumb and fuzzy...probably need a new one. Oh well.)

Getting a little more...

Abby, of course, had to help too...

...but we need to work on not sticking the spoon in too far! Oops!!

Picture post

2009-12-06T22:17:00.003-06:00

I know I haven't been posting enough pictures lately - gotta keep the Arkansas family happy! :)
So here are a few catch up pictures!

Cute sisters!! I bought Abby's shirt the night I got the positive pregnancy test; I also bought one pair of ducky pajamas...who knew I'd need another pair?!? :) Nana & Pawpaw bought the babies' shirts when they came to visit in March.

This is how I usually find the babies during/after their naps. :) One of them is generally kicking the other one, which is why the 'abused' baby wakes up.

When I'm sorting laundry or something similar, I bring the babies with me. The plan is to protect them from Abby - can't quite leave her alone with them yet. But, she usually ends up wherever we are. Fun times all day long at the Elliott house! :)

This is, according to Abby, her "Doctor Abby outfit." She cracks me up!

Doctoring one of her babies....this poor guy had a lot of things wrong with him! :)

College admission essay

2009-12-03T20:23:00.003-06:00

Most of you know that Zac has two teenage sisters, Kirsten (17) and Kendyl (14). When we got married, the girls were 8 and 11; truly ''little sisters," which was something new and cool for me. My "little" sister and I are only 15 months apart in age; so getting to be more of a big sister was pretty fun.

It's been interesting to watch the girls grow up. We can't do as much with the girls now that we live so far away but we both love taking them to do stuff and watching them turn into young ladies. We've both felt sort of parental at times, worrying about them and praying they would make good decisions as they got older (they have!).

Kirsten is now in her senior year of high school and applying to nearly every college in the contiguous United States. :) We were pleasantly shocked when she e-mailed us the following application essay for us to read. After spending a good ten minutes crying, we decided to ask if we could post it on our blog. She said yes. So....please enjoy reading! (Note: Zac changed the spelling of his name in college - that's why Kirsten spells it Zach in her essay)

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Being fourteen years apart, one would guess that my brother Zach and I would have little in common or know little about each other, but just the opposite is true; he has always been my best friend. Even after he moved out for the final time when he married Sarah, not much changed…for a while.

When my dad opened his present from Zach and Sarah on Christmas day in 2006—a t-shirt that said “World’s Greatest PawPaw”, I was completely shocked; up until that point, my sister and I had been the only “girls” in Zach’s life. Because of the age difference, sometimes we were kind of his “kids”, and I was not thrilled about losing the closeness my brother and I had. When August came I got over it though, and I fell in love with Abby and being an aunt. It is pretty hard to not love a big—twelve pound, thirteen ounce—bundle of joy. Even as a baby she caused me to learn more than I would have ever thought. I learned how to make bottles and then I learned how to feed those bottles to a baby. I learned how to change a dirty diaper and how to give a baby a bath. I learned that I had a lot of growing up to do. But beyond those practical life lessons, I learned to have patience, to be more responsible, and to persevere.

Rather than attending Arkansas Governor’s School this summer and pursuing my own academic enrichment, I moved in with my brother’s family who had relocated to Draper, Utah—a suburb just outside of Salt Lake City. While I wanted to spend some much missed time with Abby, I also wanted to go to help with some daily tasks that were becoming impossible for Sarah to perform. Bending over to pick something up off the floor or even just walking through the grocery store becomes a little difficult when you’re carrying twins that ended up weighing almost nine pounds each at birth. Knowing that Abby was about to face a lack of attention from her mom and dad, I wanted to make sure we spent lots of time together doing things she wanted to do. Because her cousins have played soccer for years and also the fact that I started playing this past year, Abby has been captivated by soccer basically since birth. All she could talk about when I got off the plane was “Kirsten, we go play soccer now?”, so we started on fulfilling this dream right away and headed to the park to learn how to kick the ball. This lasted all of about twenty minutes at which point she decided she wanted to go color with mommy, which was okay with me. Forcing a three-year-old to learn does nothing but make them hate to “learn”. Instead, we tried other things like scrapbooking, cooking—also known as eating the food before it can be cooked, and swimming, all of which she really loved. As a self-proclaimed nerd though, I just couldn’t resist trying to teach her things I wished I could have learned at her age. Sarah had taught her the alphabet and her numbers one through twenty, and Abby always jumped at the chance to recite, or sing them to others. One day when Abby was counting out her numbers to me I said, “Would you like to learn a new way to count”? She curiously looked at me, so I started counting. At first it was just recitation, “uno, dos, tres…”. I taught her some colors in Spanish, too, though those never seemed to stick as well as the numbers. After my month in Utah she still retained her Spanish numbers uno through diez, but I assumed it was because of repetition. In September my nieces came home, and to my surprise when I asked Abby what color her Nana’s red shirt was she replied “rojo… red”. She then counted with me in Spanish, holding up the corresponding numbers on her fingers. I could have cried. I really, actually taught her something. She wasn’t just copying me. She was learning.

While this accomplishment may not seem like a lot, and certainly isn’t anything that would fit on an academic resume, it is one of the proudest moments of my life. My hard work didn’t benefit me. It benefited her. If people keep working on it with her, she could be bilingual by the time she’s my age, and to me that’s success. I wouldn’t trade the world’s biggest trophies or awards for that moment. It was pure bliss.

At only three years old, my niece has had more of an impact on me than almost any other person in my life. Because of her, the world has taken on a new, clearer image, and I’ve changed how I live my life. Winning feels amazing, and accomplishing a major personal goal can be extremely gratifying; however, I learned that for myself, neither of those things were what fulfilled me. What is fulfilling to me is seeing my hard work translate into amazing things for others and seeing them grow and prosper from it. Somehow in that summer, she taught me that the smile of a child was worth missing a paycheck from a summer job. It was worth missing out on an enlightening summer with my peers. Those things can be replicated, time after time if I seek them out, but there will never be another time that I can shape her life. After a few turbulent years of living for others, living for the future, and living without a purpose, I found myself and began to really live.

HELP!

2009-11-24T18:01:00.001-06:00

Ok, Moms...or anyone else who might have a good idea...

I need help! I swear, Abby is trying to kill these babies!! How do I get her to chill out and back off?? I mean, really - how many times should I have to tell a 3 yr old that LAYING ON TOP of the babies is not a good idea?!? Ugh....

We love Sundays!

2009-11-22T23:12:00.000-06:00

Now that Zac isn't working on Sundays (WOO HOO!!) we can get back to our preferred Sunday routine, which is family-centered and kind of lazy. For Sunday meals, I usually either Crock-Pot (tradition from my dad) or do something fun. Today, Abby announced that she wanted pancakes for dinner. So she helped me make pancakes while Zac cleaned up the house a little and entertained the babies.

When we sat down for dinner, he put the babies on their play mat (on their backs). When we were almost done with dinner, I looked up and saw Cami up on her side. I yelped and all three of us ran to watch her roll over!!!! She's been trying for awhile now and finally did it!

Trying to get that stinkin' arm out of the way!!

Still trying....

Success!!!

And this is what Emma thought of the whole thing - LOL!

One of my goals with all of my kids has always been to not compare them. Even more so now that we have twins. Emma is a more relaxed baby than Cami - if she needs to be moved, I guess she figures someone will move her. :) Cami is ready to take on the world and go, go, go!! They're both healthy, happy and on par....perfect little additions to our crazy family!

GIVEAWAY

2009-11-19T11:28:00.002-06:00

I love free stuff! Marcy over at Stretching a Buck is giving away Huggies diapers!! I know a lot of my readers could definitely use free diapers, so head over there and enter. If you don't have babies, you can still enter....I'm sure you could find someone to give them to. (Me, Me!) LOL

Chicken Fried

2009-11-11T23:30:00.003-06:00

If you aren't familiar with country music, then you may not have heard the Zac Brown Band's song Chicken Fried. It's a great song - especially for we Southerners that are living in Utah. :) Well, we now have a new Elliott version.

Zac likes to re-work songs to make them more appropriate for our lifestyle (e.g. replacing "beer" with "root beer"). Monday night was grocery shopping night and, this week, included stops at 3 stores. At our last stop, I just ran in (great chicken sale!) and came back out to Zac & Abby announcing that they'd made up a new song. Check out my family's creativity! :)

Update...

2009-11-07T21:40:00.001-06:00

We're baaaaaaaaaack!!! Back in Utah - more updates and pictures coming soon!!

WHOA!!!

2009-11-03T10:08:00.002-06:00

So, this morning I put the babies on their play mat kinda like this:

Then I went downstairs to check e-mail, blogs, etc while Zac was eating breakfast and such. When I came back up about 30-45 min later, I found them like this:

Oh my goodness!! Emma scooted over and Cami was starting to rotate!! They grow up too fast!!

Blogging...

2009-11-01T23:10:00.001-06:00

Since I'm not always good at blogging (between three kids and the wonders of Facebook, I just don't manage much these days...) I'm thinking I'm going to find motivation in NaBloPoMo. We'll see if I can make it for the whole month! :)

Book giveaway!

2009-10-22T10:12:00.002-05:00

My friend Mandi just started selling Usborne books and is hosting a giveaway on her blog through tomorrow. If you can't use it, it'd be a great start on some Christmas gifts! Head on over and enter to win!!

Before I forget...

2009-10-18T22:27:00.001-05:00

We un-scientifically weighed the babies today (Dad gets on the digital scale with each one) and here's what we came up with:

Cami weighs 13 lbs!
Emma weighs 11.5 lbs!

Growing baby girls!

We miss you, Daddy!!!

2009-10-02T08:48:00.005-05:00

As most of you know, the girls and I are staying in AR for a few weeks. Since we are missing Daddy A LOT, I wanted to post some pictures/video on the blog. Love you, honey!!

Cousin Garrett holding Emma.

Abby giving Cami some big sister kisses.

Hungry "little sister" Emma.

City girl

2009-09-28T17:29:00.002-05:00

My dad made breakfast on Saturday morning before we went to watch my little nephew, Garrett, play football. Here's the conversation:

Grampa: "Abby, where do eggs come from?"

Abby: "Wal-Mart."

Oh, gracious. What a little city girl! :)

Doctor Abby and chubby babies

2009-09-02T00:46:00.002-05:00

This morning when Mom was helping me clean my incision (no more packing - yea!!) Abby said, "Wait, I go get my doctor stuff..." and ran to get her doctor kit that she got for her birthday. While Mom cleaned my incision, Abby proceeded to listen to my heart, check my ears and check my eyes. Everything looked good except for one small "owie" on my eye. LOL She was cracking me up!!

This afternoon we took the babies in for another weight check. I was pretty sure that they were doing fine but just wanted to be sure. They came in at a whopping 9 lbs, 13 oz (Cami) and 9 lbs, 6 oz (Emma). My growing baby girls!!

Oh and just for the record - we weighed Abby a couple of weeks ago at the babies' appointment and she weighs 35 lbs....another growing girl!

Abby says...

2009-08-26T20:48:00.001-05:00

After a rough day at the Elliott house....

Abby: "Mommy, what's wrong?"

Me: "I just need you to follow directions, Abby."

Abby: "It's ok, Mommy. I don't like to follow directions."

Ugh. And that would be the problem. :)

GOOD NEWS!!!!

2009-08-18T18:14:00.002-05:00

We had Cami's big test today - the auditory brainstem response test. We, of course, were very nervous and I was soooo hoping and praying for some good results. And we got them!!! Both ears showed perfect transmission of sound waves from the ears to the brain - no hearing loss for our sweet Camille Marie!! Susie, the audiologist, said that the other tests are more sensitive to environmental noise factors, which can send false results. But there's no way for this test to do that, so we now know for sure that our baby girl has perfect hearing. YEA!!!!!

I also had an appointment today so that the dr could check my wound. It's still open and we'll be packing it for another week. Hopefully next Tuesday they can close it up and we can start getting back to normal! We've been holding my mom hostage and she might want to go home someday! LOL

My dad is coming in to visit this weekend and Abby is super excited to have Grampa here for her birthday. I can't believe my big girl is going to be three - yikes!

Abby says....

2009-08-17T01:41:00.002-05:00

We've been doing a combo nursing/pumping/bottles to feed the babies. A few formula bottles, but mostly breast milk in one way or another. Seeing me nurse has been interesting for Abby and has brought up some fun conversations. :)

This afternoon, I was getting everything set up on the kitchen table so I could pump and Abby came to sit in the chair next to me. I was just getting started when she pulled up her shirt, looked at her chest and said, "Mommy, I need to pump my boobs and get milk for my babies." Mom and I just about fell over trying not to laugh....

Update

2009-08-14T16:59:00.002-05:00

Sorry about the lack of pictures!! Before my in-laws left to go home, we had them download all of their pics onto our computer. And now...I don't have any hard drive space left. I haven't felt like moving stuff to our external hard drive and Zac hasn't had time - thus the lack of pictures. But we're working on it. :)

Just an update for those of you who are wondering....

I woke up last Friday (8/7) and my incision was leaking really badly. I called and got the nurse midwife to squeeze me in at Dr. Silver's office. When she saw my incision, she told me what I didn't want to hear: the fluid pockets behind my incision weren't going away. They were going to have to re-open the incision and we (Zac & Mom) would have to pack the wound twice a day. ICK ICK ICK!!! So we did that. I went back for a checkup last Tuesday (8/11), hoping that things were healed up enough that they could go ahead and use steri-strips to close the incision. No such luck. :/ And so, we are still packing away until my appointment this coming Tuesday afternoon. Mom and Zac both can tell that the incision has healed a lot, so we're all hoping that they can close it up on Tuesday!!!

We also had another re-screening with Susie (the audiologist) for Cami. Susie re-screened her left ear and it passed again. Her right ear still isn't passing. Susie did another small test to check Cami's eardrum, but with no reactions. Susie wanted to have the pediatrician check Cami's ears for fluid, infection, etc., so we did that at the girls' Wednesday appointment. Dr. Clayton said her ears looked perfect - good news and bad news. :/ So, we have another appointment with Susie on Tuesday morning. It's a two hour test, called an Audiotory Brainstem Response test. Depending on how that goes, we will probably end up seeing an ENT to figure out what's going on. Please keep praying for my baby's ear to heal quickly so that she can more clearly hear all of us who love her so much! We are trying to make a conscious effort to talk to her on her left side so that she doesn't miss anything.

That about sums it up. My mom is here until Aug 25 and my dad is coming out on the 22nd (Abby's birthday!) to stay for a few days. I'm soooo grateful that my mom has been able to stay so long - with my incision still acting up, I'm still so very limited as to what I can do. I'm only allowed to pick up 10 lbs at a time - barely one of my babies!! And Abby is doing such a good job of handling the changes; but it's hard for her to understand why I can't pick her up. She says, "It's ok, Mommy, your big owie is ok. You can pick me up!" So sad for a Mom to hear!! But she absolutely adores her little sisters and is so loving and sweet with them!! Seeing the faces of our three sweet girls is what makes all of this craziness worth it!

2009-08-06T15:30:00.020-05:00

Announcing the Birth of:
Camille Marie Elliott, 8lbs. 13oz.
&
Emma Kate Elliott, 8lbs.

My sweetie getting ready for the big day!!! What grace!

Abby showing her...... well you know where this is going!!

The presentation of hand-made stocking hats from the labor & delivery department!!

I believe this is Cami. She came out feet first. Going to have to work on the diving skills!

Cutting the cord. (Sorry it wasn't me. They had two, remember!)

Cleanup for Emma.

Cami keeping warm!

'Bout time!! Momma needs to see them two!

Cami?

Definitely Cami!!

And in the other corner Emma, the lightweight!

What a big sister!

Time to get that baby cleaned up! (Emma)

"Can't they just leave me alone!"

A daddy trying his best to pay attention to everything!

Daddy and daddy.

Emma.

Cami.

Aunt Kendyl and Emma!

Emma's first bath!

All CLEAN!!

Time for some bottle!

A picture of the whole scene.

Cami's first bath.

All CLEAN!!

What a pair!!

The Daddy.

The Grams.

The Paw-Paw.

The Nana.

The Aunt Turn-Turn.

The Aunt Kennell.

The MOMMY!!!!!

Kisses from the BIG SISTER!!!!!

Elliott, Party of Five!

Wonderful Mommy!!!!

The hats.

Just Chillin'!

What a hoot this picture is!! That's funny right there, I don't care who you are!

The BIG Sister!!!

Just a bunch of Daddy's girls!!!

Funny tidbit...

2009-08-05T23:37:00.001-05:00

I PROMISE I am going to put pictures up!! We have waaaaay too much downloaded and Zac needs to get them arranged and such....but I AM working on it! :)

Had to share a funny tidbit...the babies had just been fed and Mom and I were changing their diapers. Abby was standing beside us (we were sitting on the couch) talking to us and the babies when, all of a sudden, Cami started peeing. It sprayed EVERYWHERE, including the couch, Abby and on Emma's head!!! A good laugh for all of us; except Abby, who was a little grossed out! :)

Packed and ready....

2009-07-30T23:31:00.004-05:00

All our stuff, neatly packed and ready to go!!! The little suitcase full of stuff, Abby's super cute duffel bag from Aunt Hope, my awesome tote from Christine full of snacks and other necessities and, of course, the wonderful crocheted blankets from our friend Juanita. I think we're ready to go!!!

Abby's birthday....

2009-07-30T09:54:00.003-05:00

This post is more for me. Once I'm home from the hospital, I need to remember what we are wanting to get Abby for her birthday....and I know I'll lose a piece of paper. So, you can all feel free to skip reading this one. LOL

The LAST thing my child needs is toys. I do want to get her a couple of little-kid board games, like Candyland and Chutes & Ladders. I reeeaaalllly want to get her a bedding set to dress up her room; I like this bed-in-a-bag from Wal-Mart. But I need to order it soon if she's going to get it. We need new/more luggage before our October trip home to AR, so I thought it would be fun to get Abby some cute stuff. Wal-Mart has a cute apple set and Target has a super cute pink polka dot set that I found in the store. We also want to put her in a gym or dance class - I'd LOVE to put her in preschool, but I'm afraid it's a bit out of our budget. But those classes all start at the end of August or first of September, so we need to get on that, too. AAACCKKK!!! Too much to do! :)

Dr appointment and an invite...

2009-07-28T19:38:00.001-05:00

Well, I had my final appointment today - woo hoo!! The NST went great, amniotic fluid levels look good and we are all set for Friday at 9:30am!! BTW, for those interested, I had my fundus measured again and I'm at 59cm. Holy cow!!

And now, a side note for my Draper friends - a few of us are wanting to go see "The Proposal" tomorrow night...if you're interested, talk to me or Teresa Ellis. We are thinking a 7pm show or possibly one a little later, closer to 9. Let us know!!

Ragamuffin....

2009-07-23T21:42:00.000-05:00

Tonight we were getting ready to take Zac some dinner and I was trying to tell Abby to wipe her face and let me fix her hair. Here's the conversation:

Me: "Abby, you look like a ragamuffin."

Abby: "No, Mommy. I'm not a muffin, I'm just a doughnut."

Oooooh my goodness.....this child keeps me laughing......

Holy crap, cont....

2009-07-22T00:34:00.000-05:00

Check out this article - we're only one pound away from breaking Utah's record. Not my goal AT ALL, but interesting nonetheless.....

Holy crap....

2009-07-21T17:28:00.005-05:00

That's really the nicest phrase I can come up with after today's dr visit! :)

NOTE: When you have twins, the babies usually run small. When you have twins AND blood sugar problems, you generally run an even higher risk of low birth weight babies. So, apparently my blood sugars are great. :/

We started off with an ultrasound to get measurements and all that good stuff. Everything looks great and babies are doing well. Then she told me their (approximate) measurements: 8lbs, 3 oz and 7 lbs, 15 oz!!!! AAACCCKKKK!!!!

Aside from that small heart attack, everything else is pretty good. When Dr. Silver came into the exam room, he was looking at the ultrasound report. He looked at me and said, "Damn, those are some big kids in there! You're not supposed to have 90% twins!" Really?!? No dilating (of course!), blood pressure and sugars are still great. So, just TEN MORE DAYS and we'll have TWO babies. Eik!!!

Oh, and just FYI for those interested, my c-section is scheduled for 9:30am on Friday, July 31. WOOO HOOO!!!!

Babies moving

2009-07-17T00:28:00.002-05:00

Kirsten has been visiting and finds it amusing/freaky when the babies move. They were VERY active tonight and so we used the remote to show their movement. May be a pitiful excuse for fun, but amusing at 11:00pm! :)

Delivery date!!!

2009-07-15T21:42:00.001-05:00

YEA!!!! I talked to the doctor earlier today and we have a delivery date...

JULY 31st!!!!!!

Waaaaaaahoooooooo!!!!!!!

Pregnant for eternity....

2009-07-07T21:19:00.002-05:00

Yup, that's me....pregnant till the end of time. :( NOTE: This is a little bit of a pity post -- just a heads up...

Went to the doctor today. My NST yielded good results, after some effort. The girls were not cooperating and I started feeling sick again like I had at last Thursday's NST. And now my doctor has changed the order so that they also do a sonogram to check my amniotic fluid levels after each NST. I have to lie flat on my back for that....not fun.

Sooooo, then we saw the doctor. Actually, we saw Rita, the nurse-midwife. I guess Dr. Silver was delivering a baby again. After asking if I was having any contractions/pain (no), she said, "I think you're gonna go all the way with these babies, Sarah." I wanted to verify that she meant 37 weeks and she said (with a grimace on her face), "He'll probably let you go longer..." At that point, I said a bad word. :/ oops

For kicks and giggles, I asked her to measure my fundus height. She did; then she laughed and said, "Oh honey." She checked my record and said I was 10 cm bigger than the last time she measured (4 weeks ago). That puts me at a lovely 53 cm!!!! With 3-4 weeks left. AAAAAACCCKKKK!!!!

And so she encouraged me to start begging. :) I'll be e-mailing him again at the end of the week with my blood sugar numbers and I intend to start planting the seeds.

Sorry if this blog post sounds a bit random - Kirsten is sitting next to me and just informed me that most of my recent blog posts haven't made much sense. Hopefully most of you can still follow along. :)

Swimming

2009-07-05T16:32:00.005-05:00

Ok, these are a bit overdue...but here they are. :) We've been swimming several times but these pics are from Abby's first experience in the complex pool. She'd done some water playing at a friend's house before this (I still need to get the pics from that...) but this was her first pool experience of the summer! (Note the adorable swimsuit from Nana!) I'd picked up her arm and ring floaties at Wal-Mart a few days before and she was so excited to use them!

Here she is, considering getting into the water....

"Ring around Daddy's head..."

Swimming!! Once she gets going, she can kick all over the place with that ring on! She is definitely a little water baby! :)

Countdown...

2009-07-01T16:19:00.002-05:00

I'm at 33 weeks today - four weeks until my goal due date. Right now, my only goal is to not go into labor until Zac gets back from Denver (he'll be gone all next week). After that - I'm game for anything! :)

Sorry I'm a bit behind; sitting at the computer isn't really comfortable for me, so I have to do this stuff in spurts. I've had two more NSTs and another scheduled for tomorrow. So far, everything is great. The babies are moving and their heartbeats are on target. My blood pressure is great. No contractions showing up on the monitor. I have another actual appointment on Tuesday, so I'll get measured and all that good stuff.

Our van croaked yesterday after driving to SLC. Zac tried to fix it, but had to go to work, so we ended up taking it to someone. Fingers crossed that it won't cost too much and will be done by this weekend before Zac leaves.

The ladies at church threw me a wonderful shower last night! Next week (with Kirsten's help!), I'll be trying to get some baby stuff in order, clothes washed, etc. Abby is excited to have Kirsten come - I know she's tired of having to put up with slow, enormous Mommy. :/

Pictures to come, I promise....just wanted to update for everybody! :)

Today's doctor visit

2009-06-23T22:39:00.002-05:00

So today we spent awhile at the hospital. We started off with an ultrasound, which went very well; no almost-passing-out episodes like last time! The babies are running a little ahead of schedule, size-wise, but nothing major. I'm at 31 wks, 6 days and they were measuring exactly one week ahead at 32 wks, 6 days. Baby A weighs around 4lbs, 13 oz and Baby B weighs around 5lbs, 5 oz. About a half pound apart, so both pretty much right on target. Heartbeats are good and strong, each around 140bpm.

Next, we moved on to the non-stress test, my first of SEVERAL to come! It took the tech quite awhile to get Baby B's heartbeat steady on the monitor. Once the monitors are on, they have to monitor for at least twenty minutes and get two readings that show the babies' heartbeat going at least 15% above the 'resting rate.' Since we'd just eaten lunch, the babies were moving all over the place, so we got good readings - all is well!

Last, on to the doctor appointment. My blood pressure is great, so they aren't too worried about the swelling that has started in my feet/ankles. No contractions (that I can tell, anyway) and everything "looks great." We talked to the Nurse Midwife and she said Dr. Silver would be about 10 minutes. She came in about 3 minutes later and told us to go ahead and go home because he was "running to deliver a baby."

A sad thing that happened, though: When I went out to tell Zac I was moving from the NST room to the regular exam room, there were a couple of teenage girls out in the hall, crying. On our way out, we saw the same girls with (it appeared to be) the rest of their family in the Sanctuary Room, all in tears. I don't know what was wrong, but when you see people crying in the Maternal/Labor/Delivery area, it just can't be good. So when you say your prayers tonight, remember to pray for all those who might be in need of comfort...and be thankful for all the things you have!

Abby says...

2009-06-21T23:08:00.006-05:00

During our scripture study/prayer time tonight, we talked about how Heavenly Father gave us our bodies, including our brains. We talked about how we should go to school and study to use our brains and get smart. Abby's thoughts on the whole thing?

"Yeah, we get smart and ask for canney (candy) from the Easser Bunny."

Huh? Not quite the spiritual discussion we'd hoped for, but Abby always manages to amuse us....

Your input...

2009-06-17T01:23:00.002-05:00

One way to get comments on your blog is to ask for opinions....so here I go. :)

Today puts me at 31 weeks....only 6 weeks (maybe 7, but we'll hope not) left until the babies come!! So I should probably start thinking about getting my bag packed, in case we actually have a ''go into labor and head to the hospital'' type of situation instead of a planned c-section. So, here are my questions...feel free to respond to any/all! :)

**What did you take to the hospital that was a waste of packing space?

**What do you wish you'd brought?

**What did you take that you were glad you had?