Eight Months

Alice actually turned eight months two days ago, but our internet has been slow and it took a while for everything to reset and upload. We did take these pictures on her eight month day, though. Alice had her first ear infection this month, and she was lucky enough to get one in both ears. She took it like a champ and seems to be feeling better after a round of antibiotics. She has barely starting inching forward and is starting to get into trouble. Alice loves to talk and is getting to be rather loud. I swear she has called me Mama several times, but Alan isn't so convinced. He's just jealous that she said Mama first. Alice still loves to eat everything. The first bite of something new always brings the "What is that?! Why are you trying to kill me with whatever you just stuck in my mouth?!" face, but by the second bite she likes just about everything.

Best. Muffins. Ever.

Stumbled upon this recipe about a week ago. If you can even call it a recipe; it only has three ingredients.

 One box of cake mix (yellow, spice, I've even seen it with chocolate. I used yellow for the one pictured), one 15oz can of pumpkin, and half a bag of chocolate chips. I used mini chocolate chips so they would distribute more evenly. Mix up and spoon into a muffin tin. 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

 Delicious. They stay moist and soft for days if covered. That is, if you can make them last that long...

Night time wanderings

The past few nights I have been woken up at around 2:30 in the morning to the sound of the TV. Elsie has been getting up, getting her milk from the fridge, then sitting on the couch watching whatever is on PBS in the middle of the night. I'm not even sure if she is fully awake when she does it. We tell her it is still bedtime and lead her back to her bed, and all she says is "ok" and climbs back in bed. One time she came in to my room half dazed and handed me a bag of Alice's yogurt bites at 3am. I guess she thought Alice was hungry...? Not really sure what is going on with her nocturnal activities...

Kid History

Have you heard of these videos? They are probably some of the funniest little movies I've seen. Here is Episode 4, it is one of my favorites.

Genius. If you have the time, watch all six episodes. I laughed so hard I started crying.

Just for good measure, here is Episode 6. It is my other favorite.

Love them so much.

Not really sure where I am going with this post...

Football season is here. Every Saturday we will be decked out in our new Cougar Blue shirts (and white and pink for the girls (thanks again Jeanine!)). We walked around the zoo this last weekend and we certainly stood out from the sea of red Wisconsin shirts milling around. Every time Elsie sees a football game (or picture or commercial) she says "Hey! It's Go Cougars again!".

By the way, those sugar cookies I made in the picture are the first batch of sugar cookies that I have ever made from scratch. I used this recipe, and they came out pretty amazing. Be impressed.

The weather is cooling down. It was in the mid 50's all last week. We took several walks around the neighborhood and enjoyed the cool weather.

Elsie has decided that she wants to be a dinosaur for Halloween. Not just any dinosaur, but a Pteranodon. She walks around saying "Braaack! The Pteranodon says Braaaack!" My kid is pretty cool. She will probably end up looking like this dinosaur. That is Tiny Pteranodon, one of her favorite characters on the PBS show "Dinosaur Train".

There is nothing quite like...

...pouring a bowl of frosted mini wheats only to discover that someone has been biting off the frosting and then putting them back in the bag.

Humility

Elsie: (Running her hand along my hip after I stepped out of the shower) "Look Mommy, you have fire on you."

Me: "That's not fire, sweetie. Those are called stretch marks."

Temple Day

Like I said before, we went to the temple on Saturday. We met up with another family to make a kid hand off. I snapped a few pictures on my camera of the five of us walking around the temple grounds while the other parents took their turn in the temple.

This picture of Alice makes me laugh every time I see it.

I love this one of Alan walking with the girls. It reminds me that it won't be long until Alice is tagging along with them.

Go Cougars

The BYU Cougars play their first football game of the season today. We will be attending our Stake Temple Day and I'm not sure if we will be able to find a way to watch the game. It is the first time I have ever had to travel out of state to attend the temple... But when in Wisconsin, do as the Wisconsinites do. We will be cheering for the cougars in our hearts, and Elsie even added a line to her bedtime prayer last night:

"Please help the cougars to win"

Simple Pleasures

 Alice is stable enough now to be able to sit and play with Elsie. Elsie loves to play with Alice and always brings her toys and shows her how to play with them. Alice loves that she is finally able to play with Elsie instead of just watching. I love that they can occupy each other and give me a little more time for myself. Books are getting read, scrapbook is being updated, ideas are being planned out, and the girls are entertained. Win-win-win.