~Elyssa Turns 5!~

Someone turned five.  FIVE!!!!

This little girl has been waiting all year long to turn five.  She was pumped and she was ready because in her mind five means that you are big.  Five means you get to go to school.  Five means you get to hold up a whole hand when people ask how old you are.  Five is NOT little.  

Trying to get Elyssa to give me a real smile can be a challenge sometimes.  She would prefer to make a silly or awkward face.  I think most kids go through this phase at some point and Elyssa was no exception.  She likes thinks the way she likes them, wants her hair the way SHE wants it, and wears what she wants to wear most of the time.  She

Showing off her beautiful genetic warfare green/brown eyes with the best little goof grouchy face she could come up with on the fly.  This little girl is bursting with personality and spunk.

She loves to have fun and really can be SO MUCH FUN to play and spend time around. A warning to the wise: Just steer clear of her "fire breathing dragon" act.  It's a doozy.  

Even at 5 this little girl still loves to cuddle up with her Mama any chance she gets.  She'll spend hours doing artwork, making books, and trying to figure out how to write words.  She loves to read and is often found with a pile of good books, and entertains herself so well during Cordy/Mommy afternoon nap time.  She can be the ultimate sweetheart when she wants to be and we can't imagine life without her.

Height: 41 3/4 inches (32%), Weight: 39 lbs (43%)

Dearest Elyssa,

Happy Birthday, beautiful girl!  It is so fun watching you grow and being your mother!  I get to see all the wonderful sparkling things about your life and see how you change and grow in a very intimate way.  You are a spark of energy in a room, with so much excitement and desire to learn and try new things.  I love seeing your mind at work and finding your many artistic creations around the house.  You bring home such fantastic artwork from school and then spend two hours almost every afternoon creating more.  I love it!  I also love watching your love for books grow.  Seeing you sit alone with a stack of books and immerse yourself in the pictures is such a treat.

You are a great help to me with your little sister and big brother.  Though you may not always get along, you can also play together so well and entertain each other and love each other for hours on end.  I love that you love having sleepovers with Alec and playing babies and princesses with Cordy.  You can be such a wonderful friend to others when you want to be.  I think it's really cool that you have the ability to jump into any game, and make friends anywhere you go. 

It is especially wonderful for me to see you learn and grow in your faith of Jesus Christ, Heavenly Father, and the gospel.  Listening to your heartfelt prayers and sincere desire to have more faith touches my soul.  I so very much want you to grow up to be a woman of faith, a woman who knows her worth and value and the worth and value of others.  Almost every night I remind you that you are a child of God, Heavenly Father loves you, Jesus loves you, and Daddy and I love you very much and we all want you to choose the right so you can be happy.  I hope that is internalizing somewhere in your mind and in your heart.  

Thank you for being brave and passionate, for being a good friend to others, and for reminding me to always pray for more faith.  I love you so very much, my darling, and am so excited to continue to watch you learn and grow in the coming years.  

With all my love,

Your Mama

~Preschool Winter Sing~

You know the holiday season is kicking into full gear when you have ward Christmas parties, Relief Society Christmas parties and school programs happening.  This particular Friday evening was a hoot watching Elyssa get up and sing with her preschool class.   

The crowd was large and the lighting was less than ideal so we didn't get any the really fabulous pictures or videos but there is one that I have to share with you that shows off Elyssa's gusto and enthusiasm for performing.  Cracks me up every time I see it!

Grey Squirrel, Grey Squirrel!  Shake that bushy tail!

~Chopped again~

Most mornings are a struggle when it comes to Elyssa's hair.  She cried and screamed every morning about having her hair brushed.  That is actually why we started experimenting with braids.  When you braid your hair right out of the shower you can usually keep them in for a couple days and don't have to have your hair brushed out as much.  Still braids can be time consuming and just aren't always an option.  

Elyssa started brushing her own hair, taking her time not to pull, but finally one morning even that was too much for her and she ended up in tears.  That evening she finally decided that the daily tears and tangles just weren't worth keeping her hair long.  My dear friend, Miss Katie, came to the rescue the next day with a super cute haircut.

Mornings are much easier now, with a quick comb through and a clip before heading out the door.  

"It doesn't hurt to brush it, Mom!"  

Music to my ears.  :-)

~Elyssa's Creations~

The magna-tiles my kids received for Christmas and Cordy's birthday this last year have been the gift that keeps on giving.  This is easily the most played with toy in our house.  On this particular day I was brought into the living room to discover the completed Empire State Building.  "Look Mom!  It's even taller than me!"  Elyssa was so very proud.

It must be noted that Cordy did not help build, but she did restrain herself from knocking the tower down Godzilla style.  Elyssa was kind enough to let her be in the picture even though it wasn't HER creation.  :-)

~Lyssa Lou's Latest Antics~

I've decided that it must be a rite of passage for all little girls to give themselves a haircut before they turn four.  For a while I was under the ridiculous impression that my kids would be different and since I'm so vigilant with scissors it would never happen to us.  Oh how wrong I was.  

It was a Saturday morning in mid December.  Nick was out running errands with Alec.  Cordy was taking a nap and I was baking up a storm in the kitchen.  Elyssa begged and pleaded for some paper and scissors to cut out Christmas trees.  After a lot of hesitation I relented and gave her the supplies.  She was having a jolly old time cutting at the table, only feet away from me.  I turned and noticed that she had moved under the table with her scissors and paper, but didn't think much of it.  

She came in the kitchen was trying to climb on a bucket to get a Christmas card down when the bucket tipped over and she fell to the ground.  I whirled around and asked her if she was okay.  She looked up at me with terrified eyes.  Not hurt eyes, but scared eyes like she was about to get in trouble.  That was when I noticed her hair for the first time.  I gasped as my hands covered my mouth.  I ran over to the table and found a giant pile of hair on the floor.  I looked back at her and gasped again and then burst into laughter.  She then burst into tears.  I ran around the corner to the stairs, not wanting to upset her, and she ran and hid under the table.  Minutes later Nick came home to find us both hiding, me gasping and laughing and her in tears.  

Want to see her handy work?  Picture the cutest little aline haircut (that had been cut by a professional only 3 days prior) with it longer in the front and shorter and layered in the back.  Now check out those side swipe/scull length bangs she gave herself. 

 Notice the soft layering/feathering on the side. I had two giant handfuls of hair to clean off my floor.

Really it isn't so bad, but it will take some time to grow out.  In the mean time we use mousse on a daily basis and if I take the time to curl it all up you can barely even tell she cut it.  

She swears she will never cut it by herself ever again.  

Here's to hoping she can forever resist the temptation and leave it to the professionals.

~Summertime Naps~

After a long battle last school year I conceded and let Alec give up naps about part way through the year.  Then at the beginning of the summer when Elyssa started protesting naps I didn't fight it.  I just figured we were moving into the no nap stage of childhood.  As the summer went on I could tell they were still pretty tired most days though.  Tired enough to fall asleep like this on a daily basis for weeks on end....

I think most of the month of August Elyssa took a nap on the couch, cuddled with a stack of books.

One afternoon I went looking for Alec (as he was being very quiet) and found him naked but covered in a blanket, fast asleep on the hardwood floor right next to his bed.  Sometimes I just don't understand that silly little boy. 

Maybe we haven't completely moved out of the nap stage... at least in the active summer time anyway.    

~Elyssa's 3rd Birthday!~

On January 18th my little princess woke up to find a room full of pink balloons.  Her excitement was contagious!  It was awesome.  She knew it was her special day for us all to celebrate her wonderful three year old life.

After a morning of playing with a couple girl friends, we did our annual Birthday photo shoot.  Lyssa was such a ham the entire time, and loved all the attention.  Then it was time for lunch with friends, naps, and off to the movie theatre to see "Tangled" in her Rapunzel dress, per her request.  I think she may have even brought her Rapunzel doll with her.  We were the only people in the theatre, and I'm pretty sure Lyssa had a fabulous time.
 
As we pulled into the driveway her best girl, "Miss Riah", pulled in right behind with birthday surprises.  What a lucky girl!  Then it was time for dinner, cheesy tomato pasta, blueberries, strawberries, and a pink Rapunzel cake!

Time for candles and wishes...

Then presents all around.  Alec was soooo excited about the new Transformer Lyssa gave him, and I could tell she was excited to give it to him.  It was perfect.  

Then Lyssa hit the jackpot with presents from the grandparents and aunties.  

She was sooo excited opening every single one. 

Then it was time for stories and bed.  As I tucked my little lady in I told her the story of her birth, pictures and all.  A flood of memories from that day came back to me.  I remember the crazy ride in the car, the fast delivery of a breech baby, the sudden move to the NICU, the night I laid in bed, wondering about my little girl upstairs while trying to come up with a name for my early arrival.  Once the nurses gave me the go ahead to move around it took all my self control to wait for the elevator instead of running up the two flights of stairs to hold my sweet little one for the first time.  It was love at first sight.  I was in complete awe of my tiny little NICU baby.  And I still am.  

Happy Birthday, Little Lyssa.  

I love you.

~Potty Training Elyssa~

One evening a few months ago Nick and Elyssa conspired against me and decided it was time for me to start potty training our little princess.  I was not prepared, but Nick put her in underwear and got the ball rolling and I couldn't go back.  I'm sure she was ready... in fact I'm pretty sure she's been ready for months.  I just wasn't ready.  But ready or not it was time.  The little lady did really well for a few weeks.  Then she had some struggles that left me literally cleaning crap off her floor more than once.  It was nothing short of disgusting.  It seemed like the little lady's motivation ran out of steam and praise for her accomplishments just wasn't cutting it anymore.  That's where Alice came into play.   

 

I've actually had Alice up in the closet since we moved here.  My parents gave her to me for Christmas my Junior year of high school.  I've been saving her ever since for when I had my own little girl.  Not long ago Elyssa came to me one day asking about the doll in the box up on the highest shelf in the closet.   I told her it was her ultimate potty training reward, and boy was it a motivation for her!  We made a sticker chart for the fridge and every time Lyssa went to the bathroom without an accident she got a sticker. We put Alice up on the top of the fridge so Lyssa could keep her eye on the prize.  She had to get 50 stickers, which is A LOT of stickers for one little girl, but she was up for the challenge.  It took her a few weeks but on the evening of December 18th Elyssa's beautiful Alice doll ceremoniously was removed from the fridge top. (And in all honesty I'm sure there was a good 10 stickers that were missed. She did a really good job and got into a potty going groove!)

 Oh the joy and laughter and glee!  It was one of those awesome moments where it's so much fun to be a parent and make your kids day.  We are so proud of Elyssa for achieving her goal and so glad that we aren't cleaning up nasty accidents all the time anymore, much less changing her diapers.  

Way to go, Elyssa Lael!  

~A Toddler Fashion Trend: Take 2~

Meet Puss in Boots and Princess Fiona.  A few weeks ago we watched Shrek the 3rd with the kids for our Friday night pizza and a movie night.  At a certain point Alec came downstairs with his snow boots, church belt and a random bucket hat declaring himself Puss in Boots.  Ever since that fateful evening we have found him dressed (or rather not dressed) like this at least once a day.  After a few days Elyssa decided to join in on the fun in her own way and has declared herself Princess Fiona.  Apparently the princess does not wear pants either. 

Alec frequently corrects people when we call him by his name.  

"I'm not Alec.  I'm Puss in Boots!"  

I love their developing imaginations and can't help but laugh every time I see this latest get-up.  

What silly kiddos.

~A Toddler Fashion Trend~

This is a regular "look" my kids wear around the house... even when it's cold outside.  Yes, they prefer a bag over their arm, no clothing but underwear, and a pair of tights on their heads.

Yesterday I took this picture and asked Lyssa what she was doing dressed like this way.  She replied 

"I'm being Santa Claus, Mom! This is my hat!"  

Wow.  

Only one day after Halloween and my little girl has already skipped over Thanksgiving and moved on to Christmas... just like the retail industry!

Funny girl.

~My Crazy Lady~

I frequently ask Lyssa "Are you a crazy lady?"  

To which she almost always replies "Yeeeaaah!!!"

I can't tell you what is so appealing about smothering bum cream (more specifically Desetin) all over your face...

but this is not the first time that I could have taken these pictures.  In fact, I'm pretty sure this was the third time. 
Cute girl.
NASTY HABIT!

~Little Rooms for Little Ones~

Lyssa mastered the art of climbing out of the pack n play and her crib in February.  

With a deep sigh we converted her crib to a toddler bed.  I wanted her to be excited, making it a right of passage of sorts, with her room becoming her very own special big girl place.  I looked online at bedding and kept coming up short.  Nothing was quite Lyssa.  Then I found a super cute monkey quilt at The Company Store  and instantly fell in love, but the price tag was much too high. (click on over and you'll see what I mean.  Perfect for Lyssa, but pricey!)  I would love to say "and then I found it for half off" but that would be dreaming.  We made our way over to the Bulls-eye Boutique (Target) to see what Circo had to offer.  Lyssa and I quickly found something else that definitely won second place.

With owls, squirls, mushrooms and chickadee birds that already matched the green paint in her room Lyssa and I were convinced it was a winner.  She LOVES her new lamp and big girl bed (even if they aren't covered in Mortimer the Monkey).  It all ties in nicely with the few things I already have up in her room.  I love the magnetic board to display her art projects, but will have to find a new place when baby #3 comes along next Fall.  Now I just want to get a few vinyl trees or branches with cute matching owls and chickadees and the room will be complete!

When Alec saw that I was taking pictures of Lyssa's room he insisted that I come take a few of his big boy room as well.  He loves his vehicle bedding and lamp (also courtesy of Circo).  It goes perfectly with the Cars rugs, vinyl vehicles, tractor pictures, bright red curtains and crazy green chair in his room.  

He also has magnetic strips up for his many craft projects.  Between Brighter Beginnings, preschool, Sunbeams, and making pictures at home we never seem to have a shortage of artwork to display.

Now I just want to find a low price/high quality train table for his bedroom so we can set up his train in there where he can play without "Lyssazilla" coming through kicking and destroying his masterpiece.  :-)  

P.S. Lyssa has been a great sleeper in her big girl bed from day ONE!  She goes straight to sleep and never gets out of her bed or comes out wandering around the house during the night (like Alec did and still does on occasion).  Lyssa has been an amazing sleeper ever since we sleep trained her at 4 months, but I won't take all the credit. She just really likes sleep. For this reason she will be sharing her room with baby #3 this Fall even if we have a boy.  Maybe she can be the cool big sister and teach our next baby how to appreciate the good things in life and like sleeping soundly through the night.  :-)

~Lyssa on MAC...~

or rather MAC on Lyssa.
She wants to be a mini-me.  She tells everyone she is a girl and Mommy is a girl.  She follows me around, asks to help cook, clean, sweep.  She watches me in awe as I put on makeup.  She wants to pick out my clothes and is bugged when I once again refuse to wear my cotton pink polka-dot summer dress in 30 degree temperatures.  She's a charmer, with big beautiful sparkling eyes, long dark eye lashes, kissable rosey cheeks and hair that shines and lightly curls (when there is enough humidity to allow such a thing).  She's an absolute doll and I LOVE being her mother.

All that being said, I did not love waking up from a nap with Alec in my parents room (I had to nap with him because my kids nap like crap on vacation and he would only sleep if I slept too) to find that Lyssa had oh so quietly climbed out of her pack n play in the guest room and snuck her way to the bathroom and into my makeup bag.  There she was, in the dark, dumping pigments, playing with brushes, and putting on mascara.  I gasped and not knowing where to begin cried out "Mooooom!!!"  In swooped Grandma to help clean up the mess.  I was stunned at first.  I let out a tiny giggle.  Then I couldn't help but snap a few pictures of the oh so innocent little lady.  She had tried so hard, and managed to even get mascara on her eyelashes!

That's what I get for splurging on MAC makeup.... a bag that will make everything it comes in contact with sparkle in a variety of shiny pigments, an expensive ruined brush, and two tubes of mascara gone.  

Can you believe it took two face washings and a bath to get all her makeup off?  Incredible! 

It's a good thing she's so cute.  How could you stay mad for very long at those big innocent eyes???

It didn't hurt either that my dad took me out to replace it all that very night.  

Thanks Mom and Dad. 

 I hope your bathroom rug washes clean and sparkle-free someday.

~An Elyssa Moment~

I haven't posted much the last two weeks because we've been busy! I started working at the Gap part time (evenings and Saturdays) and I've been working hard to complete our blog books by tomorrow night (gotta love those holiday deals!). We've had plenty of other extra fun stuff going on too. I have much to catch up on, but for now I share an Elyssa Moment.

For the first time in three years we are not the first people in our neighborhood to put up Christmas lights. In fact, we still don't have them up. Maybe this weekend? Our across the street neighbors put up their lights on Sunday and turned them on that evening. Alec and Elyssa were squealing with excitement, jumping up and down on the toy chest in front of our window screaming "Christmas, Mommy! Christmas! Mommy Look! Christmas!" The chorus went on and on until Elyssa started singing

"Happy Birthday to Christmas! Happy Birthday to Christmas!

Happy Birthday dear Christmas! Happy Birthday to Christmas!!!!"

Yes, she sings Happy Birthday to just about everything these days. In fact, the other day I found her singing Happy Birthday to the Laminites for 20 minutes! So maybe this was just a fluke, but I would like to think that in singing Happy Birthday to Christmas Lyssa just understands the true meaning of Christmas and this wonderful Holiday season... and if not, well she sure did a good job reminding me.