Playtime!

LOL.

For all those out there with boys before girls.
(Be Grateful!)

Our Huge Snow Storm

Just before Christmas we had a huge snow storm in Tooele. It was the first time this year that there was enough snow for the kids to play in. Aaron was home, so I bundled the kids in their winter clothes and sent them outside. Here are a few pics from the storm.

Dayton hiding from the snowfall.

Ellie and Dayton singing in the snow.

Savannah is not brave enough to go out in the

storm but decides to enjoy her hot chocolate on

the porch.

Abbie can barely move all bundled up in her snow

gear.

Dayton helping his dad clear the driveway.

Enjoy the Snow.

Becky

Dayton Turns 2

Happy Birthday to You!

I was sitting here thinking that December is more than half way through and I still have not posted Dayton's Birthday blog. Dayton turned two on November 28. He passed his well baby check with flying colors, although, still not on the charts. He weight 21 pounds and 8 ounces. Abagail and Dayton are two of my children that I actually remember what their weight was past a year old. I remember that I was worried about Abagail when I heard that she was only 18 pounds at 18 months. Those of you who have seen her lately would know that her weight is no longer a concern...I'm hoping that this is the same outcome for Dayton.

Having a boy has been very rewarding and much different than having girls. Dayton is so loveable and likes to be around Mom. His favorite thing to do with Mom is empty the dishwasher and help put away the dishes. He also likes to join in when I'm mixing cooking items at the counter.

I notice the terrible two's creeping in more and more as he wines, says, "NO!" asks, "Why?" or responds with "...cause." He loves stories and listens during Daycare learning time. I'm not sure if it's a coincidence or if Dayton is actually learning, but when I ask the kids the letter sounds, sometimes Dayton shouts the sound before the other kids do. Dayton loves to participate in Daycare crafts and worksheets.

Dayton wants to rough house with Daddy more and more and likes to be around Dad when he's using power tools. The part that amazes me the most is how different boys are from girls. Dayton makes sounds with his food while eating, his toys are often growling or fighting, and he loves to build. These are not things I have seen my girls do.

Being a boy with three sisters may have some disadvantages. Dayton has learned that it's o.k. for a boy to carry around a purse, lipstick is o.k. to wear, and a doll or barbie is a must have item. It cracks me up to watch him play with these things. We went to the store to look for Christmas ideas and Dayton was more inclined to point out the Littlest Pet Shops and the My Little Ponies then he was to point out the "Boys toys." (Hopefully his brother will be able to teach him the ropes when he comes along.)

It was really cute. The other night we were eating frosted cookies and after finishing we asked Dayton to wipe his mouth. He stuck the paper towel in his mouth and was trying to clean out the inside instead of wiping off the outside were the real problem was. Lately if Dayton has nothing to say or the house is quiet he will sing, "We will, we will, rock you!" I'm sure you have all seen the clip! Dayton is a tease. I f you ask him to come up the stairs, he does so, one stair at a time, taking as long as he can to get to the top. (A Bradbury trait, I think!)

We hope Dayton had a very Happy 2nd Birthday! We love him very much.

Thank you to all the family who came to celebrate.

P.s. Dayton (as well as the rest of the Elwood's) would like to wish cousin Brigham a very Happy 2nd Birthday!

Christmas Angel or Angels

 
 
 
 

Usually we let our littlest Angel, (not always Abbie, those of you who knew that this was Grandma B's nickname for Abbie) but the littlest child put the Angel on the tree. However, this year there was quite a bit of fighting over putting the Angel on the tree...Aaron and I's solution, each child had a turn. All the kids loved decorating the tree, although, I would say Dayton likes the tree the most. Each morning he runs to the tree and the first thing he does is plug in the Christmas lights. I usually would not let Dayton plug things in but I love how excited he gets when he has the opportunity.

We hope all are enjoying this Christmas Season. We think about all of you and miss those who are away. Please give all of your little Angels a hug from the Elwood Family.

Love,
Becky

Playing In the Tub

I couldn't find Abbie and Dayton anywhere until I heard some little voices coming from the kid's bathroom. I peeked in on them and couldn't resist grabbing the camera. They had a whole dialogue going on together until they say a camera peeking from the top of the shower. It's pretty cute what these two get caught doing together!!!

Rock You!

I'm not sure where Dayton learned it, but he goes around the house singing, "We will, We will, Rock you!" He claps when he sings...it's the cutest thing ever. With a little encouragement we were able to get him to sing on video. (Sorry my house is such a mess!)

This clip also shows a little bit of Dayton signing.

Hope you enjoy our little boy!

Sumo Baby

Sumo Baby
Uploaded by beckeck

Aaron wrapped Dayton up in his two favorite blankets to look like a Sumo Wrestler, turns out Dayton played the part well!

Happy Thanksgiving

This is how Savannah was dressed when she came home from
Kindergarten today...doesn't she make a cute Indian?



Today I was feeling good and feeling creative. So we made these
little Turkey hats...




Little Turkey...That fits my kids just right!!!



We know we will not see a lot of you on Thanksgiving. So, from our
family to yours...Happy Thanksgiving. We are very thankful for all
our family and friends and love you very much!
The Elwood's

The Toddler Bed and Other Short Stories

Due to another camera biting the dust, (the second one this year) we have no new pictures to put up...just a few new stories.

I've had many sleepless nights due to the non stop expanding belly. Aaron and I believe that I am as big now as I was at the end of all four of my other pregnancies. I've also had more health problems telling me that this baby boy is our last little miracle. I'm afraid that this baby won't be another six pounder and I will have to work much harder for baby number five...five...can you believe it. Sometimes it's hard for me to imagine another child in Aaron and I's life. The other day I went to the spa and the girl who was doing my facial asked if this was my first pregnancy? I replied, "No, it's my fifth." "Fifth," she said, "Wow"...a quiet, but clearly unsure "Congratulations," followed. I heard this same question and reply several times that day. Most think I'm to young to have five kids (which I know they are right about) and the others just think I'm crazy for having five kids. Is this really crazy, we live in Utah for heck sake. Anyway, during the night I come up with the greatest, most descriptive blogs. I tell myself to get up and write them down, however, it never happens because I avoid getting up in the night if I don't have to pee. (I'm sure you all wanted to know that.)

The other reason for my sleepless nights is my little prince, Dayton. After our trip to the Heber Valley, (which I'll blog about later,) Dayton has decided he is a BIG boy now. The other night, Aaron put Dayton to bed in his crib and about two minutes later he came trotting down the hall. I was sitting on the couch, and here came Dayton. I asked Aaron, "Didn't you put him to bed," and he replied, "Yes!" Aaron went through the same routine, and again, Dayton returned two minutes later. I asked Dayton, " Where is my Baby?" His response was, "Big Boy!" I didn't even know Dayton could say that phrase. The toddler bed has been a disaster. Several nights we put him in his big bed and he screamed the loudest, longest, and saddest cries I have ever heard from him. Many of you might know Dayton as a quiet crier, this was not quiet. Aaron and I would eventually give in, go to his room, and go rub his back, but this would only work while we were in the room. As soon as we left the heartbreaking cries would start again. Aaron and I are usually against the night light idea, we have hated instilling this habit in our other children. We've broken this habit as soon as we have seen an opportunity with the other three children. However, we realized that Dayton will eventually sleep if he has his lamp on. He'll play for awhile, but then eventually fall asleep somewhere in his room. I'm not sure if I like either idea: the lamp, or him falling asleep on the floor, but for now it's worth the sleep that I can get and not having to deal with his cry that makes me want to cry.

This happened just today. I was making pancakes for my kids and for my little daycare girl when my kids insisted that I make Mickey Mouse pancakes. I thought to myself what are they thinking? Usually my mornings are pretty stressfull trying to get four kids dressed, two of the kids ready for school, my house picked up, and breakfast ready. But they begged and they pleaded. I said, "You can't make Mickey Mouse pancakes, that's too hard!" They replied, "Grandma Bradbury made them when we slept over." So, I just wanted to thank Grandma Bradbury... Really!!! It was fun once I got started. After realizing how much it meant to the kids and how special they thought the pancakes were, I'm glad I stopped my daily routine to make the Mickey Mouse pancakes.

Holy Cow!

Guess how much I paid for gas yesturday...$1.90 a gallon. It cost $45.00 to fill the van instead of $98.00.

Halloween Slide Show

I'm home on door duty and Aaron is the lucky one with the kids. Sorry the pictures are blurry they were taken with my iphone. Our 2nd camera this year crashed so what you see is what you get.

Halloween Night

Halloween Family Picture

A picture of Abbie I found from Boo at the Zoo.

Happy Halloween

This year Halloween snuck up on Aaron and I. Somehow we missed the whole buying pumpkins and carving them. We are kind of sad that we forgot this because this is one of the funnest Halloween traditions. We love watching the kids stick their hands in the ooey gooey mess and freaking out. and don't forget...Every parent loves being left with cleaning the kids pumpkins, right?

We tried to get all the kids together for a picture but failed to do so. None of them really wanted their pictures taken. So, three of the four kids isn't bad, right? I don't have a picture of Abbie right now, we'll see if I have one by the end of the night.

My little Mickey Mouse was dodging the camera. Dayton was laughing while I tried to get him to look at the camera, time after time he turned away. He's turned into a little tease.

Jo Jo the clown. Let me ask, does Jo Jo on Jo Jo's circus throw up silly signs during pictures? I don't think so. I think Savannah's telling me that even though I picked out a cute, little clown costume...she is still tough!!!

Ellie is a good sport. She's not to sure she wanted to be a witch this year. I bought the costume last year hoping she would like it. Now that Ellie's into High School Musical, I think she would have rather been Gabriella like the other 100 girls in the neighborhood.

Anyway...

We hope everyone has a safe and Happy Halloween.

From our little ghouls to yours.

Halloween...The Nightmare Before Christmas

Halloween reminds me that there is only....

27 Days until Black Friday... and

Only 55 Days left until Santa Claus comes.....

Wow.

So much has happened since the end of August. I started working...at home even...and still feel like I have no time to myself. I have two kids in my home daycare which apparently is too much since I've had one hospital scare and several close calls. From what I hear, my baby boy is taking up to much of my water supply and leaving me very dehydrated. Anyway, I have a quick second to fill everyone in on some of the events of the last month.

Late September we started finding these huge spiders in our yard. Our next door neighbor says that he has never seen one in the ten years he has lived in his house. Which leaves me asking myself why we are so lucky. I told Aaron I want to put the house up for sale, but he won't budge. Aaron has everyone in the world trying to convince me that spiders are normal. They may be, but not this large in my backyard.


We found out that we are expecting baby boy two. Aaron and I knew what we were naming most of our children before we even knew they were coming. This is not the case this time. Keep us in mind if you hear any unusal names. We are open to any suggestions.



We went to the state fair. For us this is a challenge. We have to walk past all the games and rides, listening to all the begging and moaning, and get through the obstacle without giving in to the children. As they get older they think that just seeing the animals is not enough.



Ellie was baptized. This was a very exciting event for our family and especialy for Ellie. Ellie was thrilled that her dad baptized her and that she was able to be baptized with her Aunt Kimberly. We had a wonderful day.



Savannah started Kindergarten September 26. Her teacher is Mrs. Betsy. We've made it through Savannah's first Parent teacher Conference with no complaints. We thought Savannah would be a wild child but she is actually very shy at school. At the end of October Savannah has to pass off her letters and sounds. I'm sure she'll pass with flying colors.

Well, that's about all I have time for. I have to get back to my kids and the daycare kids. We love you all!
Becky

Ellie's Blog

I am going to have a now baby brother.It is so cool.It is going to be born in February.And it is cool.

Can you quess what we are having?

Baby is just relaxing!

One of my favorite pictures, the baby had it's arms up the whole time.
2-D profile.....
It's a Boy!

Elizabeth's First day of School

Ellie's First Day of School-August 21st


Ellie is very excited for school this year. She is in the third grade and
her teacher is Mrs. Bellingston.



The first day of school they jumped right in learning
cursive letters (t,u, and i.)




Ellie is not so excited that Mrs. Bellingston said there would be
homework every single night!

The first day of school was a little bit hard for Ellie because this was her first
time at Copper Canyon (her school now) since we let her finish the last school year
out at her school in our old neighborhood, Overlake.

I was so proud of Ellie when she came home from school and said that one of her
new friends is someone who has to use a walker during school. I was amazed that
she took the time to befriend someone who is a little different then she is.

Savannah starts school next week in a.m. kindergarten.

Dare Devil seeks Adventure

This Saturday we: Aaron's Family, Our Family, and Jonathan and Kimberly spent the afternoon at Raging Waters. After spending sometime in the children's area, we decided we would go explore the park. We walked to the other side of the park in search of the Lazy River. As we walked, we passed this slide, (seen on the right hand side of the picture) called the Waimea Wave.

The Waimea Wave is a "H2O Rollercoaster RAGE-thrill." boasts Raging Waters. Raging Waters continues to say, "What goes down, now goes up! Experience the outRAGEous thrill of a Rollercoaster with the exhilerations of a waterslide. "

Those of you who have been to Raging Waters have seen this slide. It's a slide that most adults walk by and don't have the guts to try. However, this Saturday we walked past it and the first thing out of Savannah's mouth was, " I want to try that slide!" The adults who were there wondered if this would be a good idea for such a little girl but decided we would find out for her. Jonathan took Savannah to the life guard and questioned the safety of this slide. After several minutes, we concluded that it would be o.k.

We rallied the adults who were brave enough to go (Aaron and Jonathan) and sent them on there climb to the top of the slide. I stood there, very nervous, wondering if I should run after them and tell them that I had changed my mind, Savannah is just to young to go on that slide. I decided that I would stay and give her Dare Devil self a chance to try the slide.

The rest of us watched from the side lines as we waited for them to reach the top of the slide.

Jonathan came down first, he was going to go to the side in case Savannah needed help when she reached the bottom. Aaron stayed at the top to make sure Savannah got on the slide. Jonathan came down saying what fun the slide was but rushed to the side. Now it was time to be nervous!!! I thought to myself. Savannah came down the slide to everyone cheering, claping, and yelling how proud we were of her. She had a huge smile on her face. (After she went river rafting last week she told everyone what a wicked ride the river was) so Grandpa Elwood asked her if the slide was "Wicked" and she proudly said, "yes." She also said that she would like to go again. So we let her go a second time. Unfourtuntly. that wasn't quite the same reaction becuase she tiped over at the bottom.

I wish I had my camera with me so that I could have taken a picture of the excitement on her face. Hopefully, the next time my dare devil seeks adventure I will be able to capture the joy in her eyes...

Pictures From Seattle

Trip to Seattle

The day after we came home from St. George, Ellie, Dayton, and I, were off to the airport at 4:30 in the morning to go to Seattle for a few days. Aaron stayed home with Savannah and Abagail. After one day of being home with the girls, Aaron let me know that he had the hardest of the four. I think it was Monday when I called to talk to the girls. Aaron said, "Hold on. They are in the backyard." A minute later he returned to the phone and said, "They were in the backyard. I can't keep track of those two girls." "Great," I thought. "I'm in Seattle and my girls are MIA." (Uncle Adam and Aaron, my husband, you need to swap parenting tips. Aaron... no feeding blueberries to the babies while you wife is out of town. Adam...don't let your wife know that you lost your children while she was out of town.)



Dayton cried the whole way on the plane until the very last 10 minutes. He finally fell asleep on Ellie's lap. What is it with my kids wanting to fall asleep on Ellie? If I had known he would have done that, I would have had Ellie hold him long before.

* * * * * * * * * *


On Sunday we went to Sacrament and then went to see the Blue Angels, a flight show, over the
lake. From afar, we were also able to get a glimpse of the speed boat races. The show was awesome but you would not believe the parking nightmare we faced to get there. Cars were parked front to rear, over dozens of blocks, on both sides of the streets. It was so bad that only one direction of cars could go down several of the streets. If we saw someone was already
coming down the street, we had to back out, and wait for that car to exit so that we could enter.

Not only that but I quickly learned that if I was going to come back to Seattle, I need to be in better shape. You are either walking up a hill or down a hill to get anywhere. Walking down to the air show was not that bad. The walk was a little long and we walked down dozens of stairs but that didn't seem to bother me. The only person this was hard for was Ellie who volunteered to carry the stroller down the stairs.

The way up was horrible. I was trying to hide how out of breath I was. Here I am with my eight year old daughter who once again is carrying up the stroller with the greatest of ease, my sister who just delivered a baby three weeks before, my brother in law who has his son on his shoulders, all making it look easy. Here I was struggling to get up the stairs with Dayton. The most embarrassing part was Jen noticing that half way up the stairs I stopped to glance at how much further we had to go. She said out loud, what I was thinking in my head, "Nope. We are not at the top yet."


Here are the boys at the Air show. We were sitting on a hill. It was so cute to watch them try and walk of this hill. You could tell they hadn't had much experience walking on unstable ground. For every step they took upward, I think they took three steps backward.


Dayton trying to escape my reach to go explore.



Jen, Ellie, and little Hazen at the air show.



Here is picture of Ellie, Dayton, and Asher back at Jen and Rob's house. This may have been Asher's first time playing ring around the rosy??? He caught on very quickly. Dayton, he won't participate in ring around the rosy during nursery, but loved playing with Asher and Ellie. Asher sure loved having his older cousins to play with. He got a kick out of Ellie. Ellie could make Asher laugh for minutes just by acting goofy.

We were also able to go to the Seattle Aquarium while we were there. The kids thought this was a lot of fun. We learned that Dayton's little face he makes looks a lot like a fish. Jen nicknamed Dayton's face "the fishy face." Ellie liked to touch the star fish and also liked being able to watch the Octopus be feed. She practically memorized the facts the person was giving about Octopuses. Dayton loved the seals. He stood and watched them for awhile not wanting to leave.

I wish I could post more pictures but I can only post five. I'll post a slide show above.

We had a great time in Seattle and are thankful to Jen and Rob who let us stay with them for a few days. We are also glad that we were able to share a few days with the boys, Asher and Hazen. I'm sure Ellie will remember this trip for years to come.

St.George with the Elwood's

For as long as I can remember, Aaron's family has been making a yearly trip to St. George. The first year Aaron and I were dating and the first years of marriage, Aaron I would go along. But after Savannah was born, it was hard for us to pick up and go and even harder to sit through the plays at Tuacahn which is one of the main reasons we would go. Now that Aaron and I are getting better at keeping track of multiple children, we decided to resume our yealy trips to St. George.

We left for St. George on the 29Th of July and returned to SLC on the 2ND of August. Surprisingly, the drive was not that bad with the kids, and only took us 4.5 hours to get there and 4 hours back. The kids were excited to know that they could swim for as long as they wanted each day. They love to being in the pool and since we chose the hottest days of the month to be in St. George (105-107 degrees) it was nice to be able to go swimming whenever we wanted.


Here is a picture of the girls and their cousin Skyler
at Tuacahn. I took the girls to see Sound of Music
and Aaron took the girls to see High School Musical.



This is the sweetest picture. After several hours
in the pool, the kids were very tired. I asked Ellie
to hold Dayton while I started cooking dinner. He
passed out on her. Not long after, Abbie followed.
They were so tired.



While we were in St. George, we took a tour of
Brigham Young's Winter House.


We were also able to visit St. George Dinosaur
Discovery. This is the site were Dinosaur prints
were found on a farm in St. George. When they
discovered what these prints were, the built the
museum so that people could view the prints.


One of the Dinosaur prints at the museum.