Haircut

When Kate did this. . .
We decided the clippers needed to have a meeting with Elijah.

Much better.

Totally Two

One day around Eli's second birthday while I was feeding Henry, Elijah was doing his usual. . . Find some way to get attention from mom routine. He picked up something off the ground and said, "Eeewwwww gross!" Then laughed hysterically as soon as I looked over at him.

Then he found the stool (his new favorite way of getting anything and everything) and carried it over to the sink and started grabbing everything he could and throwing it on the floor before I could stop him. Then he laughed some more. At that moment I wondered to myself, "Where did my baby go? How did he grow up so fast?" Shortly after that I thought, "I really need to hide this stool or get rid of it." I'm sure removing the stool will somehow thwart his development. But it's become his #1 tool for satisfying his curiosity sans parental supervision.

Elijah turned two on December 9th. He is so very entertaining. He's saying (or trying to say) so many things. He's recently added, "Barf" to his vocabulary. I have no doubt one of the big kids taught him that but no one is telling who it was. Although he's super cute, he's also quite a handful and if you turn your back, watch out. In just a few moments he has likely colored on himself or something else (thank you to the inventor of washable markers!),

snagged one of the older kids' toys or gotten a hold of a treat and he's quietly trying to confiscate the evidence, like he did with this banana bread.

It was whole and sealed in the bag at the back of the counter before he snagged the aforementioned stool and went to town.

Each time my kids have reached this age and their curiosity levels rise to the height of teenage hormones I am amazed at the things they do and the things they understand and the ways they try to get what they want. I struggle with thoughts that I am obliterating any creativity he might have but, we have to have some semblance of order don't we?

Happy Birthday Elijah!

The Past Few Months

So I had a baby and stopped doing everything that wasn't absolutely necessary. Truth be told I even stopped doing some of the necessary stuff. I have heard this a lot during the past few months, "Mom I don't have any clean (insert any article of clothing you like here)!" I'll never be able to use the excuse, "I just had a baby" ever again so I figured I had better make the best of it.

But I am determined to climb back on the wagon that is my life so now we'll have regular meals, clean laundry more often and a whole bunch of posts in a row. :)

This fall our family watched or played a lot of soccer. During that time I mostly stayed home and lactated or slept with Henry. But I did make it to a few games late in the season.

We went to Disney on Ice for Free! I love free! The first half was fabulous, the second half, not so much.

We celebrated Halloween with cousins. Oh how we love the cousins!!

Henry was blessed on a gorgeous November day. Thanks to all the family who joined us!

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving in Boise, ID with my family. Here's my Mom and Dad enjoying the meal. Does my Dad look like he might not be happy that the next day he turned 59 (again)? Happy Birthday Dad!

Kate and Ethan played in their winter piano recital. Here they are with their teacher, Shirley Ransom.

Jason turned 38! Wowza. You go babe! This picture tells me two things. #1. You are one awesome Dad and husband since you held our sweet little bundle for many nights in the wee hours so I could sleep just a little longer. Thank you so much! #2. Staying up half the night with a newborn in our late 30's is WAY harder than it was in our 20's! I do believe this picture was actually taken just after 8 pm. :)

I have struggled like crazy to keep up with life and at the same time slow down and enjoy every single second of my time with little Henry. Knowing he is our last has made me want to stop the clock. Seeing how Ethan has grown up so fast reminds me that I won't be holding Henry in my arms for long and I want to savor it. I have done as little as possible around here and Jason has been extra nice about it. Besides feeding kids and changing babies and sort of keeping up on the house I managed to get out of the house for a super fun Christmas party dressed as an elf named Beaker Sparkly Toes.

Ethan had his first ever orchestra concert and he had a short violin solo. He was very, very nervous but did wonderfully. He's loving music right now. He also made a very cool hatchet for a school project.

Kate turned nine! She had a cupcake party with her friends at a little bakery downtown and then we made this cake at home for her. She loved putting on and eating the terrible sugar cube candies that spelled out her name. This girl has a terrible sweet tooth. My mother would say she inherited that from me.

Nathanael turned 7 and had a crazy boy birthday party and lost his two front teeth. Sadly his permanent teeth were already coming in pretty well before the primary ones fell out so he never had a toothless grin.

Elijah has become uber naughty and extra cute. Bad combo for me, good for him.

And finally our wonderful bundle of joy has gone from this. . .

to this. . .

to this. . .

to this. . .

Kate

On October 21st Kate turned Nine! The older my kids get, the faster the time goes.

Kate has changed a lot from the darling little blondie who had me sing, "You Are My Sunshine" to her every night for a good two years straight. Of course she's still darling, but in a more grown up sort of way.

She used to love having her fingernails and toenails painted. Now, don't even think about it. She's not interested. She used to have a fit if I wanted to put her hair in a pony tail. Now, she asks for one every day. She used to love to dress up. Now, she's not really interested. In case you think she's lost some girly tendencies, never fear. She's very melodramatic, she cries and giggles several times a day (love that emotional roller coaster!) and she is loving the color pink (which she never used to).

Kate loves the babies and helps a ton with them, especially Elijah. She takes great pride in telling us that Eli likes her best of all. She loves making people happy and is very compassionate. She's enjoying reading more and more every day and hasn't complained about math for a month. Yay! She's working hard at piano and just started basketball.

She's the perfect compliment to the boys. We love you Kate!

Henry Peterson Ellsworth

Henry Peterson Ellsworth was born on September 14th at 7:27 pm weighing 7 lbs 0.4 oz. He was 19 inches long. He came home from the hospital with a different name, but he was only here a few hours before I knew we had to change it. The kicker was when the kids got home from school and Nathanael walked right into my room where I was feeding him and said, "Hi Henry!" So I called Jason and told him we gave the baby the wrong name. Big sigh on the other end of the line. . . then, "Well, call the hospital then." So I did and we had to go back the next day to fix the paperwork. Jason agrees on the name, but I think he wasn't interested in having to go through the hoopla of a name change. It ended up being really easy. Henry has been the very hardest to name, but we're all good now. He is named after his great great grandfather, Henry Moroni Zollinger who was in an accident and essentially died but then came back and recorded his extraordinary experience on the other side. His middle name is for Laurel Peterson Ellsworth, his great grandmother who died just a few weeks before his birth. She was a shining example of endurance and faith. She was pregnant with her last child (10th, I believe) when her husband was killed in a small plane crash. She endured 50 years without him raising a righteous family, refusing to become bitter or lazy and serving until her death. She was 90 when she died and she was serving in her ward as one of the activity day leaders for girls (ages 8-11).

At the hospital while I looked like this. . .

I had a weird reaction to the epidural medicine that made my left eye droopy (among other things). It was pretty wild.

Jason looked like this. . .

Ok, so that's a bit of an exaggeration. I actually really loved having that lap top around!

Henry is a really good baby. But really, if he weren't I don't know how keen I would be on saying he wasn't. I mean, it doesn't feel nice to say, "Yea my baby is terrible, he screams constantly." But we happily don't have that problem. He's adorable and sweet and darling, even if he is small. That makes him all the more endearing. Speaking of being small, Jason has commented to many people that he is the 'runt'. I find this funny seeing as his siblings are all fully grown and as far as the men are concerned, he's clearly the runt.

Our snap shots are nice and all, but I had the marvelous opportunity to get some pictures taken by a friend of a friend (well now I would consider her my friend too- she was great, so nice, SO good with Henry) who is starting (restarting actually) her photography business. She has posted a sneak peak of our little runt here: http://chardyphotography.squarespace.com/ if you want to see a really cute picture of him.

We are trying to keep up with our hectic life and it's quite comical at times (See Eli in this picture?? He's not yet two but he's certainly adept at throwing tantrums. He's keeping life interesting!), but we are doing our best. We enjoyed my mom's help for two weeks. During that time I nursed and slept and changed a lot of diapers. My mom took care of everything and everyone. Now she is gone and I am drowning in laundry and dirty dishes and bills and poop and errands and kids' activities and 5 more buckets of apples (that are rotting as I type this). So instead of doing any of those other things I am going to finally get around to publishing this post about Henry.

If you care to know how the blessed event went down, read on. Otherwise, have a lovely day.

Just a few minutes after his birth

I worried a lot about his size in the months leading up to my due date. Kate was my biggest baby at 8 lbs 13 oz, right on time. Let's just say my pelvis wasn't exactly built for a baby that size and I had a long recovery (over a year). The next two boys were each 8 lbs and they were early. I measured small near the end of this pregnancy, but since I have a long torso and a big back yard the doctor said I could still easily have a good sized baby. So I hoped for an early induction. But of course that's a bad option if my body isn't doing its part to be ready. A week before my due date I had made enough progress that induction was put back on the table. I was lucky to get in on my scheduled induction date (first thing that morning, they didn't have enough nurses to bring me in but called later in the morning and said they were ready for me. YAY!). I got to the hospital around 11 am and they got things moving right away with an IV, pitocin and breaking my water. For several hours we hung out. I read and Jason sort of worked. When the contractions really picked up I had an epidural (love those). We waited some more. By 6 pm I had not progressed at all (dilated to a four for over five hours). That was a downer! A new nurse came on at 6 pm. Between 6:45 and 7:00 I had three contractions, each longer and stronger than the last. The last really hurt and I was pushing my epidural happy button. The nurse checked me at 7 pm and I was complete, ready to push. That was shocking news. Nothing was ready, no baby nurses around, doctor was busy and couldn't come right then. This is when that epidural came in really handy. The anesthesiologist came in and gave me a bolus of fast acting medicine. That made it possible to wait (somewhat comfortably) for the doctor, the baby nurses, etc. One contraction with three pushes and he was out. The cord was wrapped around his neck twice but as soon as his head was out the doctor got the cord unwound and as soon as Jason's shaky hands cut the cord he was put on my chest. Seeing our babies for the first time is always such an amazing, powerful experience. I'm almost sad we won't have that experience again. . . almost.

First Day of School

Fall is rapidly approaching, but my flowers are still blooming and the weather is still pleasant. I guess that means it's time for school to start!

Nathanael- First Grade

Kate- Third Grade

Ethan- Fifth Grade

Elijah thought the pictures were all good and fun, especially when he got to be in them. But when the kids went to school and he had to come home with me. . . not so fun.

Don't they look thrilled? They all have great teachers (that hasn't always been true). We're looking forward to a great year!

Aspen Grove

Oldroyd Family Reunion
Aspen Grove, August 2009

The Whole Fam

The Original Six

The Ellsworth 6 and 8/9ths

In August we went to Aspen Grove for my family's reunion. It was in the planning stages long before I knew I would be nearly 9 months pregnant at the time of the trip! There was a bit of hoopla right up until the day I left as to the wisdom in going, so close to my due date, but I did my homework and was prepared for anything. Had our baby been born during that week it would have made quite a story! And yet, he baked for another month! More on that later. . . I had the luxury of flying to Utah while Jason drove 11 hours with the kids. They spent the night in Burley with Bonnie Z and Co. while I had a little reunion with some long-time, fabulous friends at the Cheesecake Factory and later spent the night in Park City with my parents. I felt pretty spoiled.

Aspen Grove was a ton of fun. Everyone got a vacation--everyone. We ate in the cafeteria so all meals were prepared and cleaned up by the staff. That was seriously one of my favorite parts of the trip- no food prep or clean up for a week! There were activities available for all kids (ages 0 to 18, set up in age groups) for six hours or more each day. They went swimming, hiking, made stuff, climbed on the rock wall, sang songs had just had a ton of fun. It was awesome for the cousins to have so much time together doing so many fun things. For adults they had lectures, crafts, pottery, paintball, high ropes course, geocaching and sports tournaments to name a few. There are trails everywhere if you wanted to hike. In the evenings there were more activities. There was never a dearth of entertainment.

We lodged in the rustic cabins, bathrooms and shower up the trail just a short walk. Jason and I thought it was great. Other members of our family thought the cabin/bathroom down the road thing was like real camping. In the end we all had a really great time. On the way home our kids were begging to go again next year.

Our Rustic Cabin, 12A, came complete with carpet, a heater, two bedrooms (ok , so saying two bedrooms is being a bit generous. . .) and a loft, sheets and blankets for the beds, a dresser, a desk and a rod for hanging clothes. Rustic? I think not. Well, maybe rustic in comparison to the Marriott.

Birthdays

While there we celebrated Elyse's 18th birthday (she's the oldest grandchild) and Mom's 70th birthday with a few gifts, good company and a Costco cake. . . Yum.

Aspen Follies

The Aspen Follies were pretty darn fun. Lots of games for the family to do together. I mostly waddled around, watching the fun. But even that was fun.

High Ropes

The high ropes course was not as easy as it looked, unless you were under 18. The kids who were old enough to go made it look like a piece of cake.

Other Good Stuff

Next to the high ropes course they have a rock wall for younger campers. All of our kids are scared of heights (I believe they inherited this from their Dad) so about half way up the wall they would look down and decide that was plenty. I'm not sure that Kate got three feet off the ground.

The pottery area is set up over the river that runs near the camp. Just sitting in the room is relaxing! I made a little salsa bowl that is now waiting patiently to be fired in a kiln. It's on my list of things to do. That very, very long list. . .

Frontier Night

Frontier night was super fun. They had all-you-can-eat snow cones which put huge purple, blue, and/or red smiles on all the kids faces. They also handed out some old time candy, had face painting in the village, stories in the teepee and archery in the woods. Jason caught a candid photo of our own semi naked archer. Pretty sure his attire isn't up to BYU dress standards. . .

Hiking

Some members of my family thought it sounded like good clean fun to hike Timp while we were there. On Wednesday those brave souls headed up the mountain, Jason and Ethan among them. Ethan was wearing his last years school shoes that are so well loved that they have about as much traction as a banana peel. And lets not mention Jason's non love for heights. All day I was fighting the little devil on my shoulder telling me to worry, worry, worry. Jason and Ethan took their time, whether that was due to their fitness level or their desire to smell the flowers and watch the mountain goats I don't know. Jason decided they would stop just below the summit (less than a mile from the top) because of the steepness of the trail and Ethan's lack of decent shoes. Ethan wasn't very happy but he got over it and they had a good time. I was glad Jason kept his promise of bringing Ethan back alive and well. ;)

The pool was a nice attraction when we had warm afternoon weather. But it wasn't quite as warm as we had anticipated since Utah had a cold front come through during the beginning of our week there. They had lap swim in the mornings that I really wanted to do but each morning I chickened out because I didn't want to walk over in the cold to swim and then be really, really cold walking back to 12A. So I was totally lame and didn't lap swim once. But we had some good clean fun in the water while the sun was shining. The kids' activities involved swimming almost every day so our kids got their fill of the pool.

Family Dance

On our last night there was a family dance (which at 9 pm turns into a teen/young adult only activity). I wasn't sure if we even wanted to go. I knew Kate would have a good time and probably Nathanael. Ethan was Mr. Cool- I don't want to dance! It didn't help that Jason told him that if a girl asked him to dance he had to say yes and go dance. The thought of dancing with a girl was a little too much for him to manage. Elijah was exhausted and was losing what little self control he possessed. We went in thinking we would stay for a few minutes and leave. The dance turned out to be one of the funnest activities. It seemed like every other dance was a line dance. The BYU student staff were really great dancers and entertainers and we had a great time watching them. It has been years since I've heard Macarena and it was so fabulous to watch all the kids do their best to learn the dance and jump right in with everyone. Of course no dance is complete without the old standby, YMCA. Even my mom got into that one. There were lots of songs that I have never heard, proving I am old and out of touch. Oh reality bites! It was a great end to a fabulous week.