Some Afters

So, again, I've left this for so long that it is completely overwhelming to even think of all the pictures I took with the intent of posting. But, I've decided I need to start somewhere. And since my whiny sister keeps whining to see the after pictures, I decided to start there. That, at least, is doable. Now, these are not yet completely finished, but they're good enough for now.

So, here is the exterior of the house.

A little sad looking. I don't know if you can see the top stair where Kaylee is sitting but it is crumbling really bad.

And here are the afters...

I guess I haven't taken one straight on yet. Sorry. But still, huge difference! And we love it. Like I said, it's not finished yet, I need to do another coat of paint on the front door and then some black shutters. And maybe someday paint the foundation. When we get bored.

Now, here are the befores of our floor. This vinyl was so nasty. The stuff in this first picture is vinyl tiles. I don't know about any of you, but I cannot stand them. We had tiles in our last house and our last apartment in Rexburg. They get to where they start to move and then dirt gets in the cracks and they peel up when you mop. It's disgusting. If you have them, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be rude.

Here you can see we had three different types of flooring in one space. It was lovely. And the carpet was really dirty.

And the afters...

I realize that in the lighting here you can't tell what color this is. If you look under the table in the first picture, that looks right on my screen. It's a cherry. Anyway, I absolutely love it. It is so pretty and nice to walk on and I can clean it.

So that's that for now.

Gettin' a good start in May!

We've had a busy May so far. Which is sad. It's only the 5th. Consequently, happy Cinco de Mayo! (I've been thinking about using the word 'consequently' in everyday conversation. But now that I read it, it doesn't sound right. Oh well. Hope I used it in proper context.) So, here's what's going on. I got out the high chair for Eli to sit in while I make dinner and stuff. I'm not sure he really likes it yet, but I loved this picture because he looks like Dr. Evil.

My mother-in-law came up last weekend and sent Timothy and I out Friday and Saturday night. It was AWESOME! We haven't had a real date in a long time. Anyway, we went to dinner Friday night and I took some pictures because Melissa always takes pictures when she and Brad go out and it always looks like fun. Have to tell you, I was actually embarrassed to be taking pictures in a restaurant. And, I looked fat in the pictures. So, I'm not posting them. But here's Timothy, enjoying his chips. (Thanks Jen and Isaac for dinner!)

So, we attended a wedding last night and it's kinda a long story as to how that came about. But, the bride asked me yesterday morning if Emma and Kaylee would be her flower girls. (yah, you read that right, 9 hour notice. Perfect.) Fortunately, Abbey's flower girl dress from my wedding fit (kinda) Kaylee and Emma had a pretty dress that worked. They were super excited about the whole thing and even sat while I did their hair. (I had to duct tape the hem of Kaylee's dress because it had come undone. I'm a real good seamstress... and the ribbon got ripped off the bottom of the tulle, but it was still cute.)

Here they are, waiting for the wedding to start.

So, she wanted to have the girls carry her train down the aisle. So, they did.

So, this is what Kaylee wanted to wear this morning. Just this. I said no. So, she put it on herself. I just laughed and got the camera. I made her change before we left the house.

Because this is what it looked like outside. I finally convinced her she wouldn't be warm enough.

And my handsome man. We went to the doctor today for his four month check. He weighs 17lbs 10oz. Two months ago, he was in the 10th percentile for his age. Today, he was in the 90th. When the doctor walked in she said, "Well, isn't he... thriving!" I love his rolls and smiles and sweet little laugh. I am glad he is healthy and loves his food. He is such a good baby.

P.S. Please note that I did two posts tonight. Sorry for the length of the next one.

Baby Blessing, Easter and General Cuteness

I guess if I posted more than I do, this would be easier and quicker. But, I don't, so, it's not. So, again, this will be long. Bear with me. Or don't, who will know if you just move on? Anyway, here are some pictures of Eli's blessing weekend. Well, I was really busy so, there's not alot.

Saturday, Timothy's Aunt and Uncle arrived with his Grandma and Grandpa and we were able to spend some time with them. Just as we were starting dinner, my parents and sister and her family arrived. (that sounds like they were being rude... they weren't, that was planned.) After dinner, we had a little fire and roasted marshmallows. It was fun but cold.

Had to get this face. Kaylee really likes marshmallows.

And then the babe Sunday morning. I almost forgot to take pictures but Jen reminded me and we snapped a few right before we left. This is the best one. It really shows his personality. Fat and happy.

So, on to Easter. We headed to Grandma Allred's for the weekend. Saturday night we set up some eggs in the basement for a little hunt. Sunday morning, the girls had a blast finding them.

A four generation.

The girls got to dye some eggs with Grandma, Emma thought it was so neat. Kaylee wasn't too much for the mixing of colors but enjoyed herself.

The hunt.

I had to put this picture in. One of the treasures was a Dora Memory game. Kaylee loves Dora and her face in the picture says it all.

The loot.

In other news... had to put this pic in because we have a very stubborn two-almost-three-year-old. She is super cute alot of the time, a headache some of the time and always a sweetheart. She has entered the 'scared of the dark' phase. One night, I heard her at the top of the stairs, but she didn't come down, so I just waited. When we went up to bed, this is what we found.

So, some of you may remember that we live in a fixer-upper. Well, we are doing some fixing currently. Among the projects, our floor. It is really unlevel. So, we're having it levelled. Well, we thought it was going to get done (thought, long story) and so the kids and I moved out for the week and went, first to Mom and Dad's, then on to Jen's. We have a great week hanging out and just becoming part of the Whitehead family. Which means, a lot of taxi driving. I even got to watch all six kids at bedtime while Jen went to a presidency meeting. Anyway, when I got to Mom and Dad's I was saying how Eli doesn't hold his head up while on his tummy yet. So, to demonstrate, I put him on the floor. And this is what he did for like, 5 minutes. I promise, he just wanted me to look like a liar. (p.s. Don't you love the fat? I do.)

While in Calgary, we went shopping. Jen had mentioned that she might like to get her ears pierced. (Yes, you heard that right. She's... I'm not sure right now, older than me, and has never had her ears pierced. She comes from a long line of chickens. She was present when Mom had her's done. Timothy was with me when I had mine done. Anyway,) I knew that she would never do it on her own. So, while at the mall, we stopped in at Clair's. Please enjoy.

Here she is deciding which studs to get (I believe we settled on 3mm stainless steel.)

The gun. I really should've filmed this instead of taking pictures. She whimpered the whole time. I wish I would've thought of that before now.

Emma holding Auntie Jennie's hand. She didn't want her to be scared.

Done!

As we were walking out of the mall, Jen said she felt like everyone was staring at her ears. It probably didn't help that she was carrying a bag that said, "I just got my ears pierced!"

This was our last night together and we were a little tired. I had found out that our project was not going as planned and I do not handle unexpected change well. So, after everyone made fun of me for an hour or so (and I was able to let out some frustration...aka. crying) I received some counsel from my brother-in-law (who is actually a counsellor). He pretty much told me to suck it up. Mind you, I didn't pay for my session, so I don't think that was real 'counsel'. Anyway, here's how we cheered me up. I think I make this face way better than either of them. And I'm not really sure if that's something to be proud of or not.

On our way home, the girls got to take a tractor ride with Papa. Emma was super excited but it took Kaylee a while to warm up to the idea of the big scary machine.

You see the sandwich in her hand? She was so scared that by the time they got off, she had squished it into two pieces.

All right, so, that's April. Sorry about that. I'll leave you with just this...

Wayyyy Overdue

Well, as usual, I have waited too long to post anything and have too much of everything to post. So, I'm just going to make this post really, really long and be done with it. I was going to try really hard to update often because I know everyone wants to see pictures of the baby. (family does at least, sorry for those of you who wish I'd stop talking about the kids. that's all I've got.) Anyway, let me briefly fill you in on the last two months of my life. From Feb. 7 to Mar. 5, Timothy was gone. Well, he got to come home on the weekends (Friday night to Sunday afternoon). He had to go to the Law Enforcement Academy. "Is he a police officer?" you ask... no. He's a Probation and Parole officer. But he still had to go for a month to learn lots of stuff. The first week he was gone, my mother-in-law came to help out. The second week, my sister and her kids came. Unfortunately, she had to cut her visit short because we all got sick. So, that was about the 17th of February. Just so you know, I'm still sick. Almost better, but not quite. So, I've got a brand new (well, not so much anymore) baby, I was a single mother, and I was sicker than I can ever remember being. Please forgive me for not having the energy to blog. I'm shocked I kept the children alive. I blog now. Again, forgive me. Here we go. (this is in no particular order...)

Here is Timothy at his graduation from the Academy. My picture is really bad because he was moving really fast and I couldn't get through the crowd. Please note the little blue and white sock. Yes, he was holding Eli. He refused to release him. He missed us while he was gone.

Just a couple of pictures of a walk down by the river. We love the river here. It is beautiful.

Wish I had the talent to take pretty pictures. This was a really cool view.

As soon as any bit of spring set in, the girls had a picnic. They're so sweet.

Just another reason I love living in Montana. The obsession with all things hunting. Seriously, who would wear this and why? Next time I'm at that store, I'll take a picture of the camo pacifier and onesies. Lovely.

While Jen and fam were here, we (of course) had to do a McDonald's trip. Here's Jen. Just being Jen. Even though it was chaos and we were so tired, we had a great time. I love laughing till you almost pee.

This was the best picture I could get of the kids eating. They were so busy.

And Griff holding his little baby cuz. It didn't last long before he got bored. They don't do much, you know.

Some pics of Eli. Here he is in his cutest ever little church outfit. He's already starting to not fit 0-3 month stuff. He's a little chunk. Unfortunately, I don't have any really recent pics. I've got to start taking more. Sorry.

The girls both love their brother so much and really are good with him.

All right. I think that I'm starting to recover from the last month and a half and am hoping to be more consistant. For anyone interested, my parents got home from their mission on Mar. 4. For pictures of that, see Jen and Jeff's blog. I didn't take any pictures when they came to see us. I will this weekend for sure, we're having a gathering for Eli's blessing. Anyway, it's really nice to have them home. Sorry I'm so random all the time. Thanks to those who still have faith in me and check back every so often!

Nothin' Much

Here are some pictures of Eli and a little video, so that my sister will start to feel like she knows what he looks like. Seriously Jen, I took the video just so you could see more of his face. Hope you enjoy him, we do!



p.s. Monday night, we had some friends over for FHE. Kaylee and their daughter were playing upstairs and Emma came down telling us that Kaylee was drinking out of the toilet. Love it. She had a cup and was scooping water up and literally drinking it. Awesome.

The "Just Because" Party

Emma has been asking for months to have a party. Finally, Timothy caved and yesterday, she had her party. She wanted to invite everyone she knew, and also one person she didn't know (seriously, she said she wanted to go to someone's house that we don't know and invite their kids. I was like, which house? She didn't know. But she was die hard. How do you explain how weird that would be to a four year old?). Anyway, we let her have four friends, at least one for Kaylee. It turned out pretty good. Everyone had fun and our house wasn't too badly trashed after.
Here we are playing musical chairs. The two year old's didn't quite get it. Kaylee would not leave her seat. But the big kids had fun dancing around them.

Eating cake. What's a party without cake?

Coloring in dress-ups. Always have to be in dress-ups.

Emma saw a commercial on one of the cartoon channels that said to make a video of you singing a song and send it in and it could be on tv. So, of course, everyone had to sing a song. They loved picking their outfits and making a movie though. It was cute. However, I didn't press the button hard enough at the end so you see our floor and my hand for a second. Sorry. Please forgive the technologically impaired mother. (I promise it felt like those awkward times when the parents bring in the huge old camcorder and film like, the kid's breakup or something, and they forget to turn it off so there's this totally awkward footage... do you know what I'm talking about? Anyway...)