February Phone Favorites

While February was a fun month, it also felt like an extension of January, cold, dark and we didn't do much but whole up! Even with all that we had a lot of fun. Here is a round up of this months phone favs.

We had FHE with the Atkinsons. I love this family!! They have 5 kids and they are all AMAZING! There wasn't much for the older kids to do but raid my shoe closet and Tate even got in on the action. He is such a great sport.

Home Depot day! Probably my ids favorite day of the month!

Look at that form!

We moved the kitchen to Sprouts closet and this kid is on cloud nine!! We spend many hours in here cooking together!

Sometimes in the nude. 

A small ice storm came through so we went sleedding in trash bags down the neighbors driveway.

Temple date night.... but the session was full. And I almost yelled at an ordinance worker and then I was sassy during sealings and Jakob discreetly kicked my foot. It wasn't the best temple trip but it was a nice date night.

A solo lunch date with my love! I think we'll have to make this a monthly/bi-monthly thing. So fun!

One of my favorite pictures ever.

Chocolate fingers anyone?

These little hand prints were so cute!!

Helping to mop....

... and to cook.

 I'm not really sure what is happening here :)

 Love notes from Grammy and E in the snow.

 Sprout loves his "Shu-bul!"

 After E's party Duke wanted to sew a dinosaur pillows so that's what we did. He had a lot of fun sewing with Mama and stuffing his pillow!!

 Hockey date!

 Birthday Shakes!

 E's Birthday Eve!

Some little boy came down with a fever and was puking last night.... hope we can contain the germs. And that's a wrap for February.

7 Years Old

Height: 3 ft 8 in (21th percentile)

Weight: 46 lbs (26th percentile)

Nicknames: E, Peanut, Pa calls her Muffincita

• E is one of the most creative people I know. She loves making crafts. We are currently working on building out a little craft corner for her to have in the office. She loves to color, paint and build things. She loves to sew and is wanting to sew her own stuffed owl. She is into all things creative and it makes my heart so gosh darn happy!
• E is thriving in school. Her teacher says she's a t a third grade reading level and she loves to race through simple chapter books. Together we have started reading Harry Potter and she is LOVING it! this girl has a thirst for knowledge! She is excelling in math this year as well which was a bit of a struggle for her last year. I am so plum proud of her. Her teacher tell me often how happy she is to have her as a good example in class. Thanks for  being amazing sweet girl!

• E is turning into a Mama Bear. She is the BEST big sister! Having a girl first was such a blessing. She will often take care of Sprout without me even asking. She will get him snacks, do tub time with him, get him dressed and she loves to play with him. those two are really close. E & Duke are also inseparable. They are always together and granted they do argue, it is rather rare. they want to be right by each others sides. they act more like twins then siblings. E loves her brothers dearly and I am so grateful that they are all so close!
• E is full of charisma! This girl has a soul that shines. She is maturing before my very eyes. sometimes I catch myself in our conversations and realize that I am talking to a friend and not just a child. We are in a fun kind of limbo where she is fighting for freedom in a calm way, but she still needs a great deal of direction. It's an interesting part of maturing and I'm not sure I like her getting older. I love this stage so much I'd rather just stay here forever!
 

• E has made the swtitch from dresses to a t-shirt and tights. She still enjoys a good dress now and then but she is all about comfort. She's very particular about what she wears, but if it has a owl on it I'm usually safe! We chopped her hair last summer and it was so tricky transitioning from long and luscious to short and spunky. We usually do her hair every day but her favorite is still rocking a pony tail (which she no longer calls daddy tails... so sad.)
• E wants to be your best friend. She just thrives on positive reinforcement and her soul breaks if she disappoints you. She just wants to make everyone proud. We are working on letting her know that mistakes happen and it's okay, we just say sorry and move on. She dwells, but she is getting better at moving on quickly.
• E loves friends. She has several good friends that live close and she wants to include EVERYONE and make sure no one has hurt feelings. I love that she is so considerate. She really focuses on people emotions and I love that quality about her!

• E still loves to play games. She's a big fan of UNO! and she is competitive! I love having family game nights or game days when it's raining. We play a lot of games! She also like to play Yahtzee with Oma over Skype. I love that we have technology that makes family feel not so far away!
• Girl can bust a move! She really like Taylor Swift and Pain by Imagine Dragons. Dance parties are super fun and E's got the moves!
• E is OBSESSED with owls! All things Owl! Her birthday party this year was owl themed and I felt like (aside from Elmo) it was her first party where she actually LOVED her theme! She was so excited as we started decorating and planning things out. This year for her party we made owl pillows. The sewing was a bit crazy, but she liked the craft and she LOVED  the owl theme.

• The princess stage is officially over. She will still play with her princess Barbies, but I feel like that stage is slipping away too.
• This girl says she's always hot. I'm not entirely sure I believe her when it's -9F outside and she says she's warm, but she LOVES the cold. this winter was a big one and we had a great time out in the snow!
• E will still take a nap on the occasional Saturday. I mean when you're tired you're tired but for the most part she's on the go. She does enjoy quiet time while Sprout is sleeping to read or watch a show and be by herself for awhile. We still do bed time at 7:15/7:30. and then they are up for school at 7:00 a.m. we have no troubles with bed time. E is a big fan of routines and expectations. She thrives knowing what is going on and when.

•  E has many a friend I would say her best friend would be Naomi and Piper. Those are the people she asks for the most.She loves to have play dates and frequently asks for her friend Emery who moved away. Now that winter is over it's time to have alllll the play dates!!!
•  E burst out crying every time Daddy has to leave for a work trip. Full on broken hearted sadness. this girl loves her Daddy and does not like to have him be away from us, even if it's only for a night or two.
• E is hilarious. She has such a sense of humor and is slowly starting to understand sarcasm, which is fun! she likes to make jokes and pretend that she's big so the "little kids" won't understand them. It is such a fun stage!
• E is slowly becoming a cuddler. Mostly out of jealously. She will sneak up to give you hugs but as far as touching goes she's still most comfortable not being held or loved on.some days she will ask to sit with me while I watch a show and it makes my heart so happy just to have her close. Other days she happist laying on the floor. When she's sad she does like to be hugged.

• Favorite foods: Bagel with Cream Cheese, Mac n Cheese, Pizza. We have started a routine where it's kids choice one night and Parents choice another night. E has started eating a variety of foods such as pot pie soup and teriyaki chicken bowl. She doesn't love them, but she eats pretty well on the nights that aren't her favorites.
• Favorite Toys: Hatchimals, owls stuffies, callico critters, and playing with Duke. those two play all sorts of imaginary games with all sorts of toys together. Last one I saw they were playing house with Duke's diecast cars.

This girl challenges me in the best way! She makes me think about what kind of mother I want to be and how I can be better for her. She asks me thought provoking questions and she doesn't allow me to toss out double standards. She is fierce and strong and knows her own mind. She's my go to, my best helper and my best friend. I am so darn grateful to have such a wonderful girl in my life who helps lift me up. She is my happy place and I am so grateful I get to be her Mama! Happy Birthday E! You are so loved!

Grammy and Pa come to Visit

 It has been a long time since Grammy and Pa have come to KC. Grammy was her in July but Pa hasn't been to the heartland in over a year!! We were so excited to have them visit!! Sprout was thrilled that he could help Grammy cook!

 I think food was the name of the game! We had lots of yummy food!!!

 We invited our neighbor Sharron over for Sunday dinner. She is always fun to visit with.

 There wasn't much left over after that particular meal! 

 One of Jakob's favorites! Homemade Ramen!

The kids were really excited about a donut run with Pa! 

The men started to demo and insulate the basement! I can not wait for this project to be done! SO excited!!!! 

 We got a lot of snow while Mom and Dad were here!! Pa was very sweet and went to shovel the drive at 9:00. the next day there was more snow, and all the neighbors were out helping each other. It was really cute!

 There were countless games of UNO! played! The kids love that game!

 And there were a few snowmen!

 Mom and Dad made up a snowman thinking that they wouldn't see this much snow for quite some time. Turns out they came home to Vegas to quite the storm and got to make a snowman in their front yard!!!

 Nicely done guys!!

And just like that, our week is over. It went by WAY too fast. The kids cried for two days after they left. E cried herself to sleep, it was just the saddest!! thank you so much for all your hard work and slave labor on the house and with E's party!! We can't wait to see you in May! It will be here before we know it!

Owl Birthday Party

 For E's Owl Birthday we decided to do a sewing project which meant that we didn't do our usual food, dance, magic, craft, routine. I knew we would need the whole downstairs area and so we opted not to feed people and it was sucha great decision. We also decided not to go crazy decorating which was SO hard for me. There were so many cute ideas on the internet but I really like that we kept it simple. First thing we did was switch out all of the family pictures with pictures of owls. that really set the mood.

 Then I grabbed some stuffies and other random owl decore we had and used that to fill in our shelves. 

 I saw an owl picture I really liked on Pinterest but it was $45. So I decided to paint one. I am no artist, my preferred canvas is a child face for face painting, so this was fun to do and while it looks nothing like the original, E really liked that Mama painted it.

 The pinata and the other shelve. 

 E with her cake and one of her favorite owls before the party.

 

 Let the party begin! Step one was ironing on all of the parts and pieces!

 We decided to make owl pillows. They were pretty straight forward and in my opinion super cute! E picked out all of the colors and fabrics. We spent 2 hours at Jo-Ann, going up and down every isle on the hunt for owls. I love that she picked it all out. 

 

I really wanted to do something where the Mama's could help empower their little ones. Work on a project together and bond. some Mama's had no idea how to sew sew and didn't even own a sewing machine, I quickly realized that my expectations were pretty high but they rose to the challenge.

 at firts it was a lot of Mama and Mini's sewing and my heart was so full!! Ian in the corner there gets Dad of the year. Poor guy had NO idea what he was doing, and I was so proud of him for trying!

 Sage's parents were out of twon but her Gramma came to help and I so LOVED that!

 Eventually this is how things shook out, the kids went and started coloring sculptures....

 While the Mama's were in the kitchen finishing up. :)

 London even tried haha. I think Jakob hit the nail on the head, this was more a Mama party. Kids still had fun, but I think they are a touch too little and our crowd was a bit too big!

 Pinata time!

 TEN completed pillows and sculptures!

 Happy Birthday Sweet E!

We had a great time and I am SO thankful that Mom was here to help! She was constantly giving instruction or threading machines or sewing for someone, she was always on the go and I would have been so lost without her! Maybe next year we'll go simple and make aprons... it was a great party celebrating this little girl who is growing up much to fast for my liking! Happy Birthday E! You are so loved!