I Have to Get Back on Track!

Man, I'm not doing so well at keeping up to date on this blog! A lot has been going on, so I'll do my best to do the updates without rambling too much.

In Elijah's world, his main concerns are watching each and every episode of the original Speed Racer cartoons which Gavin has been renting from Netflix, planning his 4th birthday party which he really wants to have at the skating rink, having sword fights with anyone and everyone, being the best super-hero he can be, going commando under his shorts, peeing outside (the other night at some friends' house, I looked out the back window to see Elijah standing in the middle of their yard completely naked while explaining his actions to the other boys), and becoming very open and honest in his curiosity and discussions of the human body.
This last interest has given me a lot of good laughs and some more serious discussions with him. An example of a good laugh: Elijah was shooting a foam dart gun, and ended up shooting Ella right in the front part of her diaper. He laughed and exclaimed, "I shot Ella in her penis!" After telling him that Ella actually didn't have a penis because she's a girl, he laughed again and said, "oh yeah, I forgot. I meant to say that I shot her in her anus!" Nice. I just don't like that word, not that it's a bad word, it just always sounds weird. I guess that's still my 7th grade immaturity in me! But it sounds extra weird coming from my 3 year old! Still funny, though.
We've also had some more serious discussions about pointing out obvious differences in other people. He seems to have an obsession with noticing peoples belly's and using the word fat. He doesn't even mean it in a cruel way, he just uses it in a very matter-of-fact way, just like pointing out someone who's really tall. But, the word fat isn't very well accepted by anyone, so we've had many talks about the right and wrong way to use that word - which is really confusing to him.

On to the world of Ella. She will be 16 months on Aug. 5, and she's getting ever closer to finally walking someday, I think! At least I hope so. Elijah didn't walk until he was 16 months old, so I'm not really concerned. She does signs with us really well, and she's very verbal, but she doesn't have too many discernible words yet. Her doctor said to give her until 18 months to see some improvement, so I'm hoping that will happen as well. But again, Elijah didn't really say much until around 18 months, so it doesn't worry me at this point.
Although she's not actually walking, Ella does have an awesome little knee-walk that she does most of the time now. Just like it sounds - she sits upright and walks on her knees. It's pretty cute, but she also kind of looks disabled, like she's an amputee or the bottom half of her legs just don't work.

And in new baby news, I'll be 21 weeks this week and we just found out on Monday that we are having another girl! Her name is Emerson Rae. The first name is obviously an "E" name that we just thought was unique and pretty, and the middle name is my grandmother's middle name. So, we are mostly excited about this! I only say mostly because Elijah is dealing with a little bit of disappointment about the baby being a girl! When I told him we weren't having a boy, he put his head down and started crying. Poor guy! I really felt bad for him! But I think he's getting over it by now. Another story will be Miss Ella and her reaction to Emerson when she gets here. I think we will have issues in our home!

Some Recent and Not-So-Recent Photos

Brain Freeze

In case you're wondering, I'm still a blogger, but recently I've only been reading blogs instead of writing. The last time I had a writing drought like this it was because I was processing so much with losing Eveyn and the whole grief process (which I've found really never ends, it just changes). However, this drought is going to be blamed on pregnancy. My brain just isn't functioning these days. Gavin calls it pregnancy brain, my dentist (whose wife is also pregnant) calls it Pregnesia. While in his office last week, filling out an updated medical form, I couldn't remember if it was 2007 or 2008. I sat there just blank for a couple of minutes and then just decided to write 2007 because somehow in my messed up head I thought it might be less embarrassing to write down a year we've already been through rather than a year that hasn't even happened yet. Good logic.
So you can understand that when I sit down to type a new entry, my mind is either blank or filled with a storm of crazy thoughts. Also, once again, I don't have a camera!!! Elijah didn't break it this time, it broke by itself and was returned to Costco. I know I've said this before, but I really have a hard time posting anything without pictures, but hopefully I'll have some soon. I really just want an awesome digital SLR that I know is good quality. But that takes money, so if anyone is throwing out a good SLR, throw it my way, please!
My brain and my body are shutting down for the day, so it's time to go to bed!

What Am I Going To Do???

So, with the new baby on the way I will have three kids that will be in carseats, and people have been approaching me with the inevitable question, "so, are you guys going to get a minivan?" Aaaaggggghhhhh!! (Did I spell that outburst correctly?) Anyway, I'm not sure what my deal is, but I have always, always sworn that I would not be a mom with a minivan. So, you say, "Just get a big SUV." I would personally much prefer this idea, but the cost difference between a big gas-guzzling SUV and a more efficient minivan is pretty significant on our very modest budget, not to mention the actual cost of the car itself.

So, something is going to have to give. Unfortunately, I think the thing that will have to change is my pride. Pride in what? I don't really even know. There is just something about a minivan that says, "Blah. I'm a stay at home mom. Blah, Blah. I'm just like the rest of the pack of moms that drive around town with our kids running errands in our minivans. Blah Blah Blah." But this is not at all how I feel about my life. I love my life with my kids and my husband. But for some reason, a minivan says the opposite in my mind.

I know I sound totally crazy, so forgive me. Isn't it true that our cars say something about us? We may not like it, but it's true. We buy cars for certain reasons, one of which is that we like the way they look and what that says about us, whether we realize it or not. I'm starting to get too analytical for this blog, but I do believe this psychology is true most of the time, and I don't like what minivans say to me!

Please forgive me if you own a minivan and you like it. Go for it! I just don't want to. And I'm really not a car snob. Drive your van with pride! Just don't slide open that double-sided door and make me go with you!

I guess I've got a few months to figure something out - maybe through therapy.

In honor of this post, here is a picture of the van I grew up riding in. I realize minivans have come a long way since the 80's, so don't try to convince me that they are cool now. Gavin and my mom are already covering this area just fine.

Happy Driving!

Elijah's Thoughts On the Election

"I want Barack Obama to win, because you know what he says? His job is to fix Washington. And I just like him. He's a nice guy. He does a lot of stuff, but I don't really know what it all is.
I don't really like Hillary. She lost before, and then she cried. Kind of like Ella, like a baby."

How about that synopsis! I'd say he's a pretty smart kid! I'm not sure where he learned all of his information. I'm guessing a mix of hearing commercials, the news and over-hearing some of mine and Gavin's conversations. But seriously, we don't really talk about it very much at all, so I guess he's been researching it online! Like I said, he's a smart kid!

(FYI, I do not claim to agree or disagree with Elijah's political views. I just report the information I'm given)

Here Comes E4!

This is what I've nicknamed the latest addition to our family that is due November 30th. In case some of you haven't caught on, all of our kids have "E" names. Still not sure how this is going to work out with the prospect of future adoptions, but I guess we'll worry about that when the time comes!

Anyway, for those of you who don't know, we found out a couple of weeks ago that I'm pregnant with the fourth. We are very excited, and once again, very surprised. We knew we wanted more kids, but we didn't really have such a short time-frame in mind - but this sort of thing has never happened on our timing, so I'm not so sure why we are very surprised.

And, since this is the fourth, we already have a couple of names picked out since there are very few decent E names to begin with. Unless you consider Ebenezer and Eloise decent names. And I refuse to have another "El" name right now either, so that narrows my choices even more (fyi, we now have Elizabeth, Elijah and Ella being called out on an hourly basis, which causes me to constantly get tongue-tied). So although we already have a couple of good ideas, feel free to put your two cents in!

My only regret with this pregnancy is that I wasted the past year and didn't get the weight off that I had gained with Eveyn and Ella. I had just started a new workout regimen and was set to get busy losing this weight, and then I woke up a few days later and knew I was pregnant. Three home tests and one doctor test later, and it was official. But I am hopeful as far as not putting on any new unnecessary pounds and being very dedicated to working out throughout this pregnancy. I even had my first appointment with a personal trainer today at the gym and he totally kicked my butt. I hurt! But in a good way, and I feel completely confident in his knowledge and ability to keep me and the baby safe. So I'm excited about that. He even said that he's trained several pregnant women, and one woman worked out with him on a Tuesday and that Thursday gave birth!

Anyway, that's the latest. We are very excited and thankful that God has blessed us so greatly in the baby department!

Happy Birthday, Ella Grace!!

It's hard to believe, but Ella turned a year old on Saturday! It's so cliche, but so true, that the past year went by so quickly. It surprises me sometimes how much she seems like a little person, with such a distinct personality, and not just a baby. Every day her individuality comes out more and more - sometimes good and sometimes not so good! But I love how different she is from Elijah and how she has changed the dynamics of our family and home.

One of my favorite things to watch is how she can now play much more how Elijah likes to play - rough. Ella has gotten pretty tough over the last year of living with Elijah, and now they are able to "wrestle" with minimal screams or rescue intervention from me. And when they're not wrestling, they like to kiss and hug and just look at each other and laugh. It's great!

Speaking of screams, that is something that Ella has absolutely perfected. She usually does this while sitting at the table waiting to eat, but she also has been known to scream just for a reaction, or to show off for company. She knows how to do sign language to get what she wants, but she is so stubborn and impatient that she really prefers to let out a horror movie-worthy, ear-piercing scream. So, we are in the process of breaking that habit!

The most exciting thing in Ella's big-girl life (at least in my opinion) is that I've gotten her totally off of baby food! She has finally gotten over any gagging issues with texture, and is eating real food at every meal!! Yesterday after church we went to Macaroni Grill and she had bread, spaghetti and even some meatballs! She takes two hours to finish a meal, but she's doing it!

Her birthday was on Saturday, but Gavin and I were in a bit of a predicament. Most of Ella's grandparents were out of town (my dad and both of Gavin's parents)! We wanted to celebrate her birthday, obviously, but we knew that her other grandparents were disappointed to miss any party that we had. So, we decided not to have an actual party with cake and presents (yet) but instead we took the kids to the Dallas World Aquarium and then out to eat Mexican food. So for her birthday, Ella got to eat guacamole for the first time, rice and beans for the first time and then top it all off with some fried ice cream! She really enjoyed it a lot! And the aquarium was great! Both of the kids really loved it. Ella went through for the full two hours completely captivated by everything, showing her amazement by constant pointing and, "ooooo"'s. We also invited the family members that were in town to join us (my mom, brother, and Gavin's sister) so that added to the fun.



Here are a bunch of pictures from Ella's birthday, but they are all out of order. I wasn't interested in taking the extra time to change them around, and Elijah wasn't interested in waiting for me to take any more time working on this! The first two are a couple of my favorites of Elijah and Ella when she was a couple of months old. He had made a habit of climbing into the bassinet with her to talk and show her different toys. He has been such a great brother to little Ella!


Having one of their first little chats


Sweet kiss



One year later!


Eating guacamole with Aunt Vanessa


Having some fried ice cream!




Crazy Elijah after a long day


With Nana and Uncle Steven at the aquarium


Checking out the baby stingrays


Giving a good "oooo" at some birds


Sitting pretty with the flamingos!



Getting some coloring instruction from Elijah

I Need One of Those!!

Last week, the kids and I were hanging out at the mall to window shop and play on the playground. We parked outside of JCPenny's where the hair salon is just because I was bored with my normal parking area which is closer to the playground. We needed some new scenery!

By the time we were ready to go, I got to the glass doors and saw that it was pouring rain! At about the same time, Gavin called to tell me that there was a tornado warning and not to leave the mall until the storm had passed over a little more. So, there we were just hanging out in the entryway, watching the storm in front of the JCPenny salon.
We had only been there a couple of minutes when an elderly couple came out of the salon and expressed their surprise and disappointment at the rain in a way that only a cute elderly Texas couple could do. Once they figured out what to do, the husband was sent to go get the car while the wife sat down close by us and preceded to put on her plastic rain bonnet and wait for her car to arrive.

While we waited for the storm to die down, and she waited for her husband, the woman struck up a conversation with Ella. Elijah very surprisingly didn't say much and didn't really try to join in on the conversation, or introduce his little sister like he normally does. But I noticed that he was studying the woman and her rain bonnet. After a couple of minutes, he asked me what she was wearing and why she was wearing it. I told him it was a rain bonnet and it was for protecting her hair from the rain so that it wouldn't get messed up. He became curiously quiet again, while continuing to study the woman and her bonnet. Finally he got a look of, "By george, I've got it!" I smiled at him and asked him what he was thinking about and very determined and excited, he stated, "Mommy, I think I need one of those for my hair!"

The woman laughed at him and thought he was pretty cute, but I was thinking, "oh man, I hope he forgets about this encounter!" Elijah is very good at pretending like he has forgotten about these strange little interests, but really he stores them in the back of his mind and comes up with a plan as to how he can obtain whatever it is that he wants. And then one day three months down the road, we'll be walking through the hair product aisle in Target and he'll spot it. It will be on the very top shelf, in a little taped up box, with tiny lettering that says, "rain bonnet" and he'll see it. He has special sensors for these things (not sensors for rain bonnets, but for strange items that he thinks he needs). So, in a few months if you see a picture of Elijah in an old woman's plastic rain bonnet, you'll know why.

Can It Really Be True??!!

This has nothing to do with my adorable kids or my wonderful husband, but my brain has morphed back into a screaming 12 year old since I have heard the news! NKOTB are back! I know, I know, I'm such a dork, but I think this is an exciting and fun thing! I saw them on the Today Show this morning, and it was just like I was back in sixth grade again. It was so much fun to see them all together again and I am marking my calendar for May 16 - when they will be performing live on Today. And yes, I will also be purchasing their new album to jam to in the car with my kids! Fun times!

Recent Happenings

I'm so ticked that I can't post any pictures, but I let our little photographer Eli use our new camera, and he broke it! I always let him take pictures, in fact, he has taken some really cute ones of Ella because of his lower vantage point that he has while he follows her around the house. But apparently, the battery was running low so the lens kept moving in and out and then the camera would just shut off. He became frustrated with it and decided to manually shove the lens back in to close the camera and then, POP! "Mommy, I think something is wrong with your camera." Great. So, anyway, I am without a camera until I can return it to Costco and buy a new one, which I'm hoping to get done today.

In the world of Ella, we have made huge strides with this little girl who very dramatically gags on anything more than stage two pureed baby foods. For the past couple of days, she has had some fun sucking and nibbling on little pieces of bread, and last night I got her to eat some brown rice! When I presented her with a tiny bite, she looked back and forth between me and the strange substance on her spoon, then willingly took a bite! I was so proud of her! She moved it around in her mouth and sucked on it for quite a while, and made several "mmmm" comments. She only gagged a few times, one of which I thought was going to cause her to throw it all back up, and then took a few bites of her brothers cheese toast! I was so excited at her decision to try something new without totally rejecting it. We are way overdue for moving past all of this pureed stuff. Once she gets the hang of this, it will be time to get rid of the bottle that she loves so much!

Colorado

I'm trying to improve on my blogging, so I wanted to make sure and get at least one other post in before the end of the month! I actually now have a entire 4 days left of March, so maybe I'll even get two written up!
We just got back this past Saturday from a week-long trip with my parents to Colorado. It was really great to be able to enjoy the beauty and share in that with the family. Elijah and Ella both got to play in some real snow for the first time (by "real" I mean not DFW snow, and more than one or two inches) and Elijah got to ski for the first time. I was also pleasantly surprised at how quickly skiing came back to me after about four years of being away from it. I really did enjoy it and wish that I had gotten to ski more than I did. I probably could have gone up a few more times, but it was more important to me to be able to hang out with Elijah and help him do all the skiing and playing that he wanted to do. After a full day of ski school, I'm not real sure that Elijah thought it was worth all of the work to spend 15 seconds going down a little hill, but I think he enjoyed it enough to try it again next year. And maybe Gavin will finally try out some snowboarding!
Here are some pictures of the trip.

M.I.A

I have been in a real blog slump the past few months, but I'm really going to try to get back into it! I'm starting back slowly and just posting a few cute pictures so that I don't feel like I have to maintain some high level of blogging. Good grief, who would have thought a silly blog that probably 10 people in the world actually reads could cause a case of performance anxiety. Pretty ridiculous, I know.
I've also decided that I'm going to start writing about more than just what the kids are doing. Of course, they are plenty entertaining enough to fill up my time and space here on the computer, but I've discovered there are many other things in my days and life that might be entertaining to bring up as well. At least, I think they are entertaining.
So, without any further ado....

I took these pictures of Ella actually a long time ago. I went in to tuck in the kids and give one last kiss goodnight before heading to bed, and she was cuddled up with her bunny friend. The bunny is a gift that Elijah made for Ella at the Build a Bear Workshop to welcome her into the world. He brought it with him up to the hospital and gave it to her the day she was born, and it has a little recording in it with Elijah's little voice saying, "Happy Birthday, Ella." She has loved that thing from the very beginning because it has Elijah's voice with it. Elijah can do no wrong in his little sister's eyes - I think it was love at first sight.

The picture of Elijah was also taken a while ago. It is from his final class and performance in the gym class that he is in. All the kids got to stand at the top of the podium, like at the Olympics, receive their medal and give a big, "ta-da!" So this is Elijah's "ta-da." And of course, during the kids' individual performances of what they have learned in the class, Elijah also chose to show off his break-dancing skills that have been self-taught in his living room. I was impressed and proud, however I'm pretty sure the other parents didn't appreciate it as much as I did. They were probably just trying to figure out why this weird kid decided to all of a sudden start flailing his body around. For any of you mid-90's SNL fans and Seinfeld fans, his movements are really a nice combination of Ed Grimley and Sprockets and then a little bit of Elaine mixed in. It really is pretty classic.


I will have a new post in the next couple of days - we all had a big day today that I will share. But I'm having issues with picture uploads, and I'm kind of OCD about posting without pictures - I don't like to do it! So when I get the picture thing figured out, I'll put up a new post!

"I'm freakin' out, dude!" -said by mr. elijah winston pate this week.

Christmas Miracle

Our household has been blessed this year with our own Christmas Miracle - and no, I'm not pregnant again! Elijah has decided to join the world of diaper-free living! Truly amazing. And it has been so much fun to be with him everyday to share in his successes! It's so delightful to see your child expressing such pride of accomplishment for something in his life. I just never knew that pee and poop could be so much fun, but it really is! And to top it off, he told me yesterday that he thinks he's ready for boxers. How cute would he be in boxers?! Very cute! That on top of his comment to Gavin a couple of days ago that he wanted to wear jeans so that he "could be a real man like you, daddy." He's growing up so much these days and it's a blessing to see him want to be like his dad. However, it also touches a very soft part of my heart to hear him on the phone today tell me, "mommy, I just need you." It's an honor and an amazing thing to watch Elijah call on both Gavin and me in such different and unique ways, and I am so thankful that we are available to provide those needs to him. God is good to bless us with these things - wonderful children, dedicated spouses, cherished families, pee and poop!

Forget College, Start Saving for Orthodontics!

Elijah went to the dentist yesterday for the second time in his life. Our dentist office calls it a "Happy Visit." He really does a great job and actually enjoys going. He even thought the few little x-rays that he got were fun - mostly because he got to wear Spider Man sunglasses during them. They let him hold a mirror the whole time so he can see what they're doing, as well as hold the water sprayer and the suction straw. It's a real discovery and learning opportunity for him, so he becomes pretty fascinated and will comply with just about anything. So, needless to say, it was a very successful trip. However, we were also told that he is a prime candidate for orthodontics, and that it could start as early as 5 or 6 years old! What? I know, he won't even have lost his baby teeth yet! But, based on his x-rays they found two pretty obvious characteristics of future orthodontics patients - a very narrow palate (meaning he may not have enough room for all of his adult teeth) and the pronounced effects of sucking his finger 24-hours a day.
So, all of this information sent Gavin to the internet to look up average costs of all of these things, and it's not cheap! So this lead us into the discussion that plenty of people never get braces and make it through life just fine. I mean, it's not life and death, it's just teeth. And then I started to think of different people you come across in life that you look at and think, "I wonder why they don't just get their teeth fixed - it's so easy now."
It seems like we always figure out a way to pay for those necessary things, no matter how difficult it may seem to come up with the money. So, when the time comes, we'll make it work and take care of his beautiful toothy smile! And then hope that Ella's teeth are perfect!

Early Santa Visit

Apparently, we got very bored today sitting around the house with the cold rain, so we ventured out to the MALL! I know, the last place we should go on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, but I felt like the two little kids in The Cat in the Hat - "we sat there we two on that cold, cold, wet day." We had to get out! So, we decided it would be a good time to get the Santa visit out of the way.
It's always an interesting experience with Elijah because he's never quite sure if he likes Santa or not. As I was getting him dressed, he reminded me of how much he was scared and cried during last year's visit. But I told him that was so long ago and that he wasn't that little anymore. He agreed, and became pretty enthusiastic about telling Santa that he wanted a skateboard and a dog. However, once we actually came up to Santa's Workshop, the mood changed. But between Gavin bribing him with ice cream and me telling him that I was taking Ella whether he came or not, he gave in. His only requirement would be that he would not sit on Santa's lap - he would only stand next to him. As you can see from the pictures, Santa did convince Elijah to sit on his lap after a short conversation, but it wasn't a real exciting or joyous occasion for either kid. Also, as seen in the pictures, this Santa was not too joyous himself. A little rough around the edges. And for anyone who has seen A Christmas Story enough times to remember the Santa scene, Elijah reminded me of Ralph's little brother who just weirdly sits on Santa's lap and doesn't say a word and Santa becomes annoyed and bored with the whole thing. It had me laughing pretty hard on the inside, but also very annoyed with this Santa guy!
(Make note of the picture where Elijah and Ella are looking at each other for a little reassurance. Classic picture!)