Ella has been such a big help to me this summer. She has helped with the housework by vacuuming, mopping, picking up, putting silverware away, folding towels, etc. Today as I was watching her I teared up a little. She asked me why I was crying and I told her I was sad she was growing up but very happy to have her help me so much. I told her that being a mom is hard work and it is wonderful to have her help me around the house. She said, “Mom, no more tears okay.”
Last night at 3:00 in the morning, Preston came into our bedroom. Phil took him back up to bed and tucked him in again. Then, a few minutes later, Ella was in our room. I told her to get back in bed. Then, a little later, I hear a terrible clashing noise that kept going and going. I finally got out of bed to see what the noise was and Preston and Ella were sitting in the family room playing with the blocks together. Remember, it’s 3:00AM!!! I told them to get in bed and back to bed I went. Why on earth they both woke up at three in the morning and why they decided to play nicely together (normally they would be fighting over the blocks), I have no idea! In the morning I asked Preston if they went back to bed and he said, “Yes, but first we played with Ella’s angels in her room, and then she read me stories, and then we slept in Ella’s bed.” Then he showed me the block castle they made. We were all tired the next day but I thought it was cute how well they played together. If only they could do that during daylight hours!
Ella was snuggling up to me the other day. She rarely does this anymore and I enjoyed holding her in my arms. I told Ella that the very best place in the whole world to be is in your mommy’s arms. She said she knew of an even better place.
Then she said, “Mom, when are we going to Disneyland?”
Ella told me this morning that her tooth was loose. She was so excited! She would not leave it alone all day. Every five minutes she showed it to me. The looser it got and the more it bled, the more disgusted I got! I realized that Phil is going to have to be the one who deals with loose teeth. I just can not handle it. She caught on to my disgust and started showing it to me even more! Finally, she pulled her own tooth. She called everyone she knew to tell them about it. She also informed me that the tooth fairy brings $5 for each lost tooth. I told her that was a lot of money and maybe the tooth fairy would bring $5 for her first lost tooth because it is such a special milestone for a kid, but she probably only brings $1 for each additional tooth. She thought that sounded fine.
Ella: Dad you better not go play basketball at the church tonight!
Phil: Okay Ella I won’t (wink, wink). Go to bed!
{Ella is tucked in bed and lights are turned out}
{Phil leaves to go play basketball}
Ella: DAAAAAD! (screaming from her room)
{Mindy stomping up the stairs to yell at Ella}
Mindy: What do you want Ella!
{Ella is hiding under her covers}
Ella: I want dad.
Mindy: He’s in the bathroom (hoping Ella doesn’t realize he’s left to go play basketball).
{Ella pops out from under her covers with marker all over her face}
Ella: But I wanted to scare daddy.
Mindy: What have you done? You just had a bath! What is all over your face?
Ella: It’s marker and I wanted to scare daddy with it.
Mindy: That is not funny!
Ella: Then why are you laughing?
Ella is quickly learning to read in Kindergarten. She has always loved books. Right now she enjoys reading chapter books. We’ll read a couple chapters each night before bed. She likes the Junie B. Jones series of books. They are about a sassy little girl who has lots to say about everything. Some of the things she does and says in the books are pretty funny. Ella and I laugh together as we read. I really enjoy that she understands humor now. We have a good time laughing together because she understands that it is funny. We are all the time laughing at Preston too because he will say or do something off the wall and she understands that it is funny. I used to laugh at her and all the funny things she did. I enjoyed that, but now I enjoy laughing with her.
Dinner time is always very hectic in our household. Starting around 4:00 things go crazy! Preston is ready for Phil and Ella to come home, Brennen is STARVING, Ella is coming home from school, I’m trying to get dinner started etc. You get the idea. I find myself telling Preston to be quiet while pulling Brennen off my pant leg as I’m trying to walk around the kitchen making dinner and watching for Ella to get off the bus. Ella has helped me out a few times by feeding Brennen his dinner while I fix everyone else’s. It keeps Brennen quiet and off my pant leg and gives Ella something to do when she comes in from school. I think she gets more food on his face and in his lap than she does in his mouth; but, two of the three kids are quiet for a short amount of time while I cook. You can’t beat that!
Ella’s first day of kindergarten.
I can’t believe she’s old enough for school! It’s exciting to see her grow and start new things but it’s also a little sad because it’s going by so fast. When Ella got on the school bus this morning Preston started crying because he didn’t want her to go. It was very cute. She had a great day. Some of her highlights of the day included: sitting by our neighbor on the school bus and playing with her at recess, eating mini corndogs for lunch, going to different stations in her classroom and completing activities, and slipping and sliding in gym class.
Preston’s first black eye.
I can’t believe this is Preston’s first real injury with as rough and clumsy as he is. If there’s a wall nearby-he walks into it. If there’s a counter ledge that sticks out-he bumps his head on it. If he runs-he falls. You get the picture. Today he fell at grandma’s house and got his first black eye. I saw him a few hours after he fell and he acted like it was no big deal.
Over The Fourth of July weekend my brother and his family came to visit. We always have a great time seeing him, his wife Bekah, and two adorable sons Nick and Chase. Sunday evening when they were here, my whole family came over to our house. My parents and two sisters were also there. Phil’s Dad Craig showed up as well. We built a fire and had our own “fireside.” We sang a hymn and then all drew questions from our family journal jar. Last year I created a family journal jar with tons of questions inside. The questions cover a wide array of topics such as childhood memories, goals, and favorite things.
Whenever we get together as a family, we answer questions from the journal jar. It has been a lot of fun learning about each other and sharing so much. We have enjoyed learning about my dad’s favorite childhood toy, my mom’s biggest bargain, Phil’s most frustrating experience with his car (which happened to be when he purposely got his car stuck in my parents driveway during a snow storm when we were dating and he had to spend the night—he totally embellished the story!), my thoughts on what I believe the key to a successful marriage is, my Brother Brad’s future goals, my sister in law Bekah’s most important friends, My sister Mallory’s views on each family member, and my sister Miranda’s weirdest dream.
After our “fireside” we roasted hot dogs, marshmallows, and made s’mores. We had a great time and I am so thankful for my wonderful family.
I let Ella and Preston have the wishbone from the chicken I cooked. We had fun as they each made a wish and pulled for dear life. Preston won and Ella threw a fit because, “Preston always gets what he wants!” Ahhhh the fun only lasted a moment but I’ll take what I can get.
I wish for some peace and quiet.
I wish for an uninterrupted nights sleep.
I wish for a ten pound weight loss without dieting.
I wish for all my laundry to be washed, folded, and put away.
