Are These Wings, or Ears?

As many of you know, my Mama loves to sew, and I love when she lets me use her sewing machine!!  Most of the time when I get to play with it I just get scrap fabric and play with the different stitches, but Mama decided that it was time for me to make a real project.

On the back of a bag of batting that she bought was a pattern for a elephant that I REALLY wanted to try.  Mama surprised me with some fun sparkly and galaxy fabric (my favorite) and I knew that was going to be perfect for this project.  Mama told me that I was going to do the entire project on my own unless I asked for her help.  She showed me how to pin the pattern onto the fabric and then I started cutting it out.  I really wanted to use her fabric scissors but she wouldn't let me because I am not left handed.

Once I got the fabric cut out Mama surprised me again and told me that she was going to show me how to  use the foot pedal on her machine.  Her machine is pretty fancy and has a start/stop button so you can sew without having to reach the pedal, but she thought I was finally big enough to give it a try.  It certainly is a little trickier, but it is SO much more fun! 

Once I got the ears put together I had to sew buttons on for the eyes.  That was pretty tricky so Mama had to help me out a little bit.

Once the two pieces of the elephant were together it was time to turn it right-side out and start stuffing.  I learned all sorts of tricks like how to clip the seams so my rounded parts would look nice, and how to get pretty corners when sewing.

Once I had the tail made I asked Mama to help me finish sewing my elephant because the last part has to be done by hand which was a little tricky, but overall I was VERY proud and couldn't wait to bring it to school to show my friends.

It was a very fun project, and I love the finished result, however, that night as I was snuggling my new stuffed animal an important question came up...Aren't these supposed to be ears?  because they kinda look like wings?  Mama agreed, the pattern had us put the ears on at a very strange spot.  Mama offered to help me fix it, but I decided that my elephant is unique and I love him just the way he is.

Have a great night!
Linden

There was an Acci-didnt Lasternight...

The blog has had a lot of focus on Maren for the past month, but tonight it is all about Ellen!  (Don't let the title worry you, there wasn't an accident, everybody is okay).  Note - Pictures were added to this blog because they are cute, not because they really have anything to do with the post.

Ellen is 3 and a half, and let me tell you, she is one crazy lady!!  One of my favorite things about her right now is that she is certain that she needs to do everything exactly like me...except when I want to be like her and then she wants the exact opposite.  How annoying!  

Right now her big thing is wanting to know how old I am, and then she declares that today is her birthday and she is now 7 too!  (She has had a lot of birthdays this month!!)  Another example, at school I have to record my reading minutes so each day I ask Mama to keep track of my minutes...of course, Ellen has started to ask Mama to keep track of her reading minutes too.

Another funny Ellen thing right now is that she wants to know what time it is and what letter things start with...but she gets letters and numbers mixed up.  She will frequently ask, "Daddy, what number are you?" and he used to tell her how old he was and then she would get mad and ask again.  It didn't take long for everybody to realize that she really meant, how do you spell your name.

Being three means that sometimes when she says things they don't quite come out right.  "Lasternight" is one she uses a lot.  It could mean yesterday, last week, a month ago, tomorrow, or this morning.  And "Acci-didnt" is the same thing as an accident, which is funny because she usually did it on purpose, but she doesn't want to admit it.

Ellen is a project Queen!!!  That girl could sit at the table and cut, and tape, and cut, and tape, all Day LONG!  Any she doesn't just tape the paper, no, she tapes the table, and the chairs, and herself, and everything else.  And don't even get me started on her decorating our dinner chairs by taping her projects (that she cut and taped) onto all of the chairs.  She even taped a GIANT "E" onto the kitchen floor.

Ellen is also a MAJOR sleep evader.  She HATES to sleep, that girl could stay awake all night if Mama let her.  She can be a pain in the butt some nights, we share a room and she thinks it is really fun to tap on the wall just to irritate me.  Mama keeps telling me that I need to ignore her, but it is so hard!  The other night Ellen decided that she was going to sit in her bed so she wouldn't fall asleep, but that didn't work very well  :-)

Not only does she procrastinate going to sleep, but she procrastinates EVERYTHING!  Mama has started asking her to get her shoes on 5 minutes early because it will take at least that long for her to get to the entry way and even start thinking about getting them on.  And before that, to get dressed, it could take ages if Mama didn't make her sit in timeout every morning until she is fully dressed.  Daddy has started telling her how many minutes she has to eat her dinner each night, and once her minutes are up there is no more dinner. 

Ellen is a crazy lady, and that is why we love her!
Linden

2018 Daycare Winter Olympics

Hey Everybody!  Ellen Here!

I know the Winter Olympic are almost over, but I have to show you all some of the Olympic fun we have been having at daycare!

On Friday we all got to make and decorate skis!!!!

We had a ton of fun getting to color them, and race around, even the babies got to take part, though Gretchen did the decorating, and they don't know how to walk so they couldn't really participate in the racing.

When I got home Linden was so excited about my skis that she wanted to make a pair of her own so she could join in the fun too.  Mama got a little concerned when we decided to take our skis down the stairs so we could practice our downhill.  Lucky for us there were no crashes, just Gold Medals for everyone!

I bet you wish your daycare was as fun as mine!
Ellen

Move over Lindsey Vonn!

Hey Everybody!!  Ellen Here!

Being 3 and a half has been pretty great, Mama and Daddy have been letting me try all sorts of new things and I am loving it!!  A few weeks ago we were at Grandma Carolyn and Papa Tim's and we decided to go to Andes Tower Hill.  At first the plan was for us to go tubing, but at the last minute we decided that we should give skiing a try.  

Mama used to teach skiing so she knew that learning at 3.5 is a little young, but I am pretty brave so she decided to give it a try.  At first I was a little grumpy, those boots feel pretty weird, and I just don't really warm to new things very fast, but once I saw what I was going to get to do I was VERY excited.

Linden learned to ski a few years ago so she was ready to hit the big hill right away, but Mama and Daddy made her practice a few times on the little hill anyways.

I was NOT very impressed with the little hill either, the only good thing about it was the fun magic carpet, but I wanted to get to the big hill as fast as possible.  

Of course, no adventure is complete without a selfie with Mama...After that and I few runs down the learning hill, I was a pro!

Papa Tim went with Linden on the chairlift...

and Daddy went with me!  I was pretty excited, the chairlift was SO high, and it was taking me to the top of the big hill!!

Too bad the big hills were REALLY icy and not very good conditions for little kids.  We gave it a couple tries but it wasn't very fun so we decided to head in.

The really fun part about Andes Tower Hill is that you can go skiing and snow tubing.  Mama couldn't go skiing because she just had baby Maren, but she thought tubing would be okay.

Tubing was a ton of fun, the hills can't be too icy for tubing.  Linden and Daddy were really brave and had the boy spin them as fast as he could, Mama and I just wanted to go down the hill nicely.  Sissy went so fast on one run that she lost her hat!!

The other fun thing is that we could link our tubes together and all go down as a family!  

Now, I am not a very big fan of taking naps, and I am REALLY skilled at evading them, however, all that fresh air made it impossible to resist. 

I guess I am going to need to get a little sleep so I can be rested and ready for the 2030 Winter Olympics!

Have a great day,
Ellen

Birthday Bowling

It has been almost a month now since I turned 7, however, I had my party a bit late this year because Mama didn't know when Maren was going to be born.  I really wanted a sledding party, but we don't have a hill in our backyard so Mama said that would be a bit difficult to make happen, so instead I had a bowling party!

It was awesome having so many friends at the bowling alley to celebrate!!

We all had a great time hanging out, some of my friends are REALLY good bowlers, but we all made sure to cheer everyone on no matter what.

I think I have the nicest friends ever.  Ellen had all sorts of kids helping her and she LOVED all of the attention.

Normally Mama makes my cake, but this year she decided to order the cake and then just add some bowling decorations that she made.  I LOVED the galaxy theme, it matches my new mermaid tail!!

I always feel so special opening the presents from my friends, they sure know me well and picked out the perfect things for me.

Maren enjoyed the party too, though she mostly just slept.  All of my friends loved looking at her and everybody wanted to hold her (Mama said no because it was too many people!)  Even the boys kept peeking at her, though they ran away if anybody saw them.

It was a fantastic day and we all had a great time! 

Happy Friday!
Linden

Be Mine, Valentine!

Happy Valentines Day...a few days late...It is Maren's first Valentines day so of course it had to make the blog!

The day started out with a fun valentine surprise from Mama and Daddy!  Both Ellen and I had parties at school and daycare, which meant a day FULL of candy, sweets, and sugar.

While we were off partying, Mama and Maren were enjoying the beautiful sunshine. 

We have been having an unseasonably cold winter, but Valentines day was 40 degrees and sunny so Mama and Maren took advantage and went for a walk outside.

Mama didn't want to miss out on the sweets, and she REALLY loves cupcakes, so she surprised us with delicious valentine cupcakes too!

In addition to a fun holiday, there is also the Olympics going on!!  We spent the night having a picnic on the living room floor for dinner so  we could watch skating, skiing, and snowboarding!!

It was a great day full of candy, hearts, and lots of love.
Linden

Gotta Love Those Cheeks!

Exciting news around here, Maren is one month old!!  She has been growing like a crazy girl.

When she was born she weighed 7 pounds 14 ounces, and since then she hasn't stopped.  Each week Mama takes Maren to the Amazing Newborn Clinic to get weighed and each week she hasn't disappointed.

Last week Maren turned 1 month old and she weighed in at 11 pounds 7 ounces!  That is almost 4 pounds in just a few weeks.  

Mama is sad that her baby is getting big so fast, but at the same time she is happy to know that Maren is healthy and eating well.

Have a great day!
Linden

Happy Birthday Linden!

Hey Everybody!  Ellen Here!

We have been pretty busy the last few weeks snuggling our new baby, but she isn't the only big news at our house, Linden turned 7!!  

It was a pretty busy weekend that started out with Basketball Practice for Linden.  This is her first time doing basketball and even though they don't have any games she is having a great time.

After basketball we came home and Linden had her friend come over so we could eat cake and celebrate her birthday!  Mama played a trick on her and got candles that won't blow out, Linden thought it was pretty funny.

After lunch we went to Linden's friend's party.  Kaiya also turned 7, they have been friends their entire lives.  Kaiya's party was at the new bounce house place in Medford and we all had such a great time.  After that we headed to Mizuki so Linden could have her favorite dinner (and a little bit of dessert too!)

The fun didn't end on Saturday, on Sunday we headed to the cities and went to the zoo.  It was baby Maren's first time at the zoo and she had a great time.  We spent the entire afternoon there.

Sunday night we were told it was going to start snowing, but nothing happened so when I went to bed I was pretty disappointed, though when I woke up in the morning I was in for a BIG surprise!!  We ended up with nearly 20 inches of snow by the time the storm passed through and Linden got TWO snow days!!  She and Mama took advantage of Maren's nap and they headed outside to play for a while.

The snow was coming down so hard that Linden almost looked like a snowman!

Off to bed, another fun day with Gretchen is planned for tomorrow,
Ellen