{a last look...}

Here is a last look at my baby girl's room.

This room has been very busy the last couple of years.

This room has seen diaper changes...lots of diaper changes.

Nursing.

Rocking.

Nursing.

Crying.

Laughing.

Nursing.

A first smile.

Cooing.

A first laugh.

A first word.

A first step.

Sleeping...lots of sleeping.

Singing lullabies and whispers of I love you.

  Eliza is growing so fast and seeming like such a big girl lately.  She is getting ready to transition from a crib to a big girl's bed.  We have started to plan out her big girl room and are ready to start painting furniture and decorating soon.  I had to take one last picture of this sweet room that held a sweet baby and lots of memories.  I am excited for the new room and new adventures this little girl with a big spirit will have here.  I hope we are able to create lots more memories in this room that she will remember forever.

{sunday dress}

I love to see the kids all dressed up to go to church on the Sabbath Day!

Henry looks so handsome and Eliza looks like a little girl growing up...

I love you guys:)

{i love you}

Today Henry and Eliza really surprised me. 

 I had to record it now before I forgot.

It really is a milestone for both of them...

They told each other "I love you"

...spontaneously

 ...and with no prompts from me or Chris.

They were sitting and eating fresh strawberries at the table.  Henry was in an especially good mood because he had prepared them all by himself...which he loves!  He got them out of the fridge and got out a bowl and a butter knife and the strainer and a cutting board.  He washed the strawberries, cut off the stems and put the strawberries in a bowl.  I told him he had to share them with Eliza.  They were sharing really well and then they got down to the last strawberry...part of it already in his mouth.  Then Eliza asked very sweetly if she could have it.  Henry looked at me and I asked what he thought Jesus would do if he had one strawberry left, maybe he would bite it in half.  Henry bit part of it off and put it in Eliza's mouth.

  Their faces were really close to each other and Henry said..."I love you Eliza".

Eliza said "I love you"!

Then they hugged each other.

Um....that seriously melted my heart for so many reasons.

  I explained to Henry that he was so happy and felt so much love for her right then because he had served her and helped her and we love people we serve.  This truly was a beautiful moment for them to experience and for a mom to witness.  Parenting can be very difficult...sibling fighting can be soooo frustrating, BUT then you have moments like this and I think you get a glimpse of the plan of salvation and why Heavenly Father chose to put us in families... and what we can learn and feel as a family that will bring us all home together.

{a bomber plane, a volcano, and cooking lessons}

January is cold and frosty and seems to drag after Christmas.

We have been trying to keep busy and happy.

Here are a few pictures. 

The first is of Henry and his bomber plane. 

He loves building things and doing projects with his giant waffle blocks. 

 He even made missiles out of wheels.

The next pictures were taken when we made a volcano together.

  The kids were involved in every step of the process.  Once the paint dried they were so excited to try it out.  We ended up having quite the group gather from the neighborhood.

Last of all, making dinner together...the kids actually put their arms around each other on their own.  I told them not to move a muscle so I could run and get my camera. 

 I have PROOF that they love each other!...in case they might forget:)

{new years eve}

Chris and I actually went out on New Years Eve!

First time ever!

We got together with some couples from our neighborhood and went to dinner and then to someone's house for "drinks and dessert".  Our neighbor was nice enough to provide some sparling cider:).  We stayed until midnight and then skedaddled home.  It was fun to get to know our neighbors a little bit better. 

Someone took a picture of us girls at the restaurant.