View from my window...

Icicles everywhere
This was before the last big snow

Beautiful...

but cold.

Today is Ella's birthday. She is 3. Every year, on their birthdays, I wake my kids up with a cake, lit candles, and a happy birthday song. Then they are allowed to eat the cake for breakfast.Needless to say, they love it.

Especially this girl.

I am having a hard time believing that my baby is already 3. Ella is a wonder. She has grown up so much in this last year. She talks a mile a minute and I often say that your ears can bleed just from being around her for too long. She is extremely opinionated about everything. My boys never cared what they wore (still don't), what they ate, what their room looked like, etc... My daughter, on the other hand, has very specific ideas about herself and her personal space. She has recently decided that she only likes to wear dresses and she changes clothes about 20 times a day. She can deconstruct a room in seconds if left to her own devices. This year she decided that she no longer wanted to be called "lala" (as she did all of last year) but would like to be called "Ella Bella". In fact, she would not answer you if you didn't call her "Ella Bella" for the longest time. I am so glad that is over now. She has also recently decided that she no longer likes the murals in her room and would like it to be PINK. Lord help me. She asks me every day when we will be painting her room pink and installing the "princess bed" that she would like. I have no idea what that is supposed to be but only that she is sure she will love it. She is her own person in every respect. Totally different from my sons, totally different from me. I love that about her but it is also the source of much frustration sometimes.

So on her actual birthday, we had our morning cake and we took her out to a dinner of her choice (and, let me tell you, she had opinions about this as well) and I forgot the camera. Her actual party won't be until February as we like to separate it from Christmas a little bit. My big girl...

It's a few weeks after Christmas and I am seriously craving a candy cane. I mean...you spend 3 weeks eating candy canes and then, all of a sudden, you are just supposed to quit...cold turkey. So I send my husband to the store for A BOX of candy canes. This is what he returned with. (they were on sale he says) I mean seriously people. I need to send him down to have a talk with my Mii.

Why is it that you cannot send your husband to the store for one thing...EVER.

So, the other day, Ella played "dress up" with Shawn and dressed him in her coat.
I swear this kid has a future in acting. He is so funny.

Then again...she is pretty funny too.

But not as funny as this guy!

Wii Fit

So...this is what I got for Christmas. Oh, I wanted it. At least I thought I did.

Everyone kept telling me how much FUN it was and how you didn't even realize you were working out. That sounded perfect for me since I never wanted to realize I was working out EVER.

Back when we first got the Wii for the boys, they created little Mii's for everyone including me. Of course, they made my Mii a nice petitie Mii (those boys know who holds the purse strings around here). So I sign on and the Wii finds my Mii and I run through the sign in parts up to the weigh in. I get on that blasted board and all of a sudden, my Mii gets a whole lot chunkier...(OK, I know it is more realistic but I like living in denial OK!) Then, as if that weren't bad enough, the Mii makes this sad sound like...WAAA, WAAA, WAAA and shakes it's head. Alrighty then.

Now, every time I get on the thing, which of course is not as often as IT thinks I should, I get to hear that blasted sound and the head shaking thing. Who knew you could get so much guilt from your electronics. Boy am I glad I asked for the Wii!

One warm day...

in December...the snow melted and for a day or two it was so nice out.
My children stripped off their shoes and ran out to the trampoline.They miss it so much in the winter. It is such a great way to work off all of that energy.

Austin and I played catch for a while.

What a great little break from the winter to come.

I realized, during that one little warm spurt we had, that I had never photographed the new ramp. When the guys finished it, last year, it was raining and icky out and it never really got better. So...here it is...Austin's new ramp. Of course we still need to stain it this summer and then put up the decorative parts to close it off.
In the meantime...Austin loved using it the one day he was able to before we got all the snow.

Merry Christmas!

Ho Ho Ho from our house. The view from the living room after Santa made his delivery.The boys just waking up and getting ready to attack presents.Shawn got a nerf gun...oh the joy.

Austin got D-Rex...the top thing on his list. Thought I would hate it but when it wrinkles up it's little nose...well...

Miss E got the Princess bike that she has been coveting for months now. Of course she also loved the D-rex quite a bit.All this unwrapping did her in so she cuddled up to her presents for a break.

Later I came in and found her resting on the wrapping paper. Funny.

Then she went and dressed up to play with her dress up dolls.

We had a great Christmas here at H house and hope that you did too!!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is always spent at my brother in law John's house. It is fun to see the family and Santa (who always find his way there to see the kids). Ella spent some time hanging out with Dad.

I love this one of her. She actually kept those things in her hair for once.

Shawn loved seeing his cousin Amy. (no family resemblence there huh?)

Shawn also loves seeing Emily. They were born 1 day apart and are so similar that people always think they are siblings but they are not even related really.Then Santa showed up to hand out presents. Shawn and Austin thought it was great but...

Ella did her best to stay away from him while retrieving her gift.

Then we tried for a group picture with Santa. If I thought getting 3 kids to pose was bad...haha...try getting all of them.

Shawn got a new video game which he shared with Emily. I love this picture.

And I finally got to give John my present which was a pet portrait of his dog Payton.

It turned out really cute!And then there was the post holiday crash...

Christmas Card Photo

As most of you know...this was our Christmas card photo this year. Of course, it looks so easy right? Ha! What you don't see is the process behind this blissful looking photo. You see, I took about 75 photos that day. Here is a small sampling of the Christmas Card Photo Process...First there are the just plain bad ones. We had lots of those. Try asking 3 small children to smile, pose and look at you all at the same time. See what I mean...CrazyThis was by far my favorite of the boys but then my daughter had to go and stick a thumb in it. Blech!C-mon Shawn...get down there and quit looking half asleep...Ok, 42 photos later I realize that the tree is not working so well. Let's move to the couch. Hmmm...cute but not exactly what I am going for...Then, just as I am getting everyone happy and settled, the phone rings...no, I am not stopping to get the phone...come on smile everyone...then my cell phone rings..."Mom, aren't you going to get that?"...no, just smile...now the house phone is ringing again...of course by the time I get back, someone has pinched someone else and no one is happy. (Nice talking to you Aunt Brenda BTW)

So we move on to plan #2...take a picture of just the boys and then one of Ella. Sound familiar...yeah...that was last year's Christmas card. But of course the boys were now geared up for a show.The new favorite...rabbit ears...Come on guys...just look normal would ya...

See...look at your sister...how nice she is smiling...OK...that is it...we will just take 3 separate pictures. They make those kinds of cards now right...ones for people with rotten children...
There we go...nice...So cute...

A beautiful princess...

And then I asked my husband for his opinion...and for those of you who received a Christmas card this year...never ask your husband...(see top picture).