Busy week....fun day

Well it's been a pretty busy week here at the Ellis house. Nothing terribly exciting going on, just lots of running around, being busy with life. But it's been a good busy, and I can look back on the last several days and feel like I've accomplished somethings. Feels good.

But today Gabe and I kind of took the day off. We jumped in the car and headed to St. George for some shopping. We hit our usual St. George stops (Pebbles in my Pocket, Old Navy and Target) and threw in a picnic at the park for fun. We had a really great time. We picked up Gabe's Halloween costume, got some Christmas shopping done (YAY!), bought some fun scrapping stuff, and had fun.

One of the cute things Gabe did was that we went into a department store (Christensens) and he started saying a new word over and over again. I couldn't figure out what the deal was - or what he was getting so excited about. But then I looked down at him in the stroller and he was pulling at his shoes and I got it. He was saying SHOES! I've been on a bit of a shoe kick lately (last week we bought him the cutest Sketchers tennis shoes that light up!) and he's caught on! He tries to put his own socks on now, and it looks like he might be yelling at me to put on his shoes now too. It was fun to see him pointing to all of the shoes (they have a huge shoe department) and telling me his new word. I'm such a proud mommy!

Some other things he's been doing are:

• Some of the words he's been saying are juice, please (eese), done (when he's finished eating - and he starts pulling his big off) and mmmmm (when something tastes good).
• He makes a rumbling sound for any trucks/cars/tractors/atv's he sees (real, or toys), growls for bears, tigers, or other big animals, and he's figured out that a monkey says "whoo, whoo". Oh - he also knows what a duck says, but it comes out "ack". (Q's are tough for a little guy!)
• Tonight he saw a picture of Winnie the Pooh and I could have sworn he said "pooh" - but he wouldn't repeat it a third time so I couldn't be sure if that's what he said.
• He sings lately like crazy - he'll sing along to anything at all - or nothing at all. He loves listening to the radio, or any music in the car.
• He likes to dance, and if you say "dance" he'll start bobbing his head and swaying back and forth. He's also pretty awesome at doing the "Hokey Pokey". He does the actions for "When you're happy and you know it" and "Twinkle Twinkle" too. Earlier in the week I had music on in the kitchen and he could hear "Twinkle Twinkle" and he was so great at making the stars twinkle in the sky.
• He shakes people's hands. He will stick his hand out to shake other's hands and it is so funny! We went to a wedding reception tonight and he shook people's hands in the line.
• Gabe is SO social! He talks to everyone, and if someone passes in the store without saying hi to him he totally acts upset. It's funny! He also loves to give kisses. And if he wants to give you a kiss it must be on the lips, and most of the time he doesn't give just one - it's like 10 in a row. Definetly my favorite parts of the day!
• Gabe knows where his nose is, and he's starting to get where his toes and eyes are. He loves to 'honk' noses - and once he starts, he doesn't stop.
• Yesterday he was doing this funny thing with his fingers by his eyes. But I finally figured out that he was doing the actions to "Popcorn popping" - the part when it says, "I looked out the window" - he was trying to look out the window with his fingers (but coudln't figure it out). Then he'd start to 'pop' the popcorn.
• Gabe has gotten great at putting his hands up for us to pick him up. It's pretty hard to resist when he is reaching up to you with a big smile on his face. He also likes to trade back and forth between Cory and I when we're holding him - reaching back and forth.
• He loves to climb up onto his little John Deere tractor. He pushes it around really well, but now he'll climb up on it and sit on top. He looks so proud of himself when he does it.
• Gabe's not walking yet....at least not on his own. He does a great job climbing around with the help of the walls, tables, chairs, stools, anything that he can push around. But he just doesn't quite have the confidence to do it himself. I keep thinking that it will happen any day now....but we'll see.

Ok - that was a LONG list. But I use this blog as my journal in a lot of ways, so at least I'll have a record of what all he's doing. Thanks for bearing with me.

Well since we've been busy I haven't been too great at taking pictures, but I'll work on it. Hopefully tomorrow in between conference sessions I can get some pictures of the fall leaves and I'll snap a few of Gabe. We've gone up to see the leaves the last 2 weekends and they've been gorgeous, but it looks like they're even prettier now. Can't wait to enjoy nature with my 2 favorite guys!

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Quite possibly the end of the world

You would think by this picture that it was the end of the world. And in fact, if you were to drive by our house today between 2:30-3:30, and heard the howls that came from inside - you would have been sure that I was either torturing Gabe, or once again - the world was ending. I really have no idea what the problem was. His nap was a little delayed becuase I had a YW presidency meeting, and for some reason delaying it made him decide that it needed to be shorter (a trend that seems to be more common than not lately....) But he woke up VERY upset, and for over an hour he screamed and screamed. I tried everything - swinging outside (that was embarrassing though, his screaming had to have been raising suspicions from the neighbors), having a snack, drinking juice, reading a story, watching tv, singing songs, rocking in his big chair, calling Cory to talk to him on the phone, playing trucks - you name it, I tried it. Finally I was getting so frustrated (and so was he). I took him downstairs and I sat him down and let him cry for a few minutes. Always the scrapbooker I went and grabbed my camera and snapped a couple of pictures of him throwing his fit. I figured someday I could show his kids that their dad wasn't always pleasant. Within a couple minutes of me snapping photos this is what I got:

I said to him, "Say cheese". He said, "EEZ" and gave me a grin. What a goof-ball. So apparently he was feeling like mommy had neglected taking pictures of him, and all he wanted was a phot-shoot. He was fine the rest of the day. Funny kid.

On another note - I had a babysitter come and watch him this morning while I went to a meeting. Before I left he reached out to her and started pushing me away. He wanted me to go - and it was more than obvious. It made me sad because I know those moments will come more and more often. But it also made me grateful that I have a well adjusted little boy, and I don't have to worry about him when I leave him. I'm pretty lucky in that area!

In case you thought Oreos for a bedtime snack were a good idea.....

...they're not! Tonight Gabe and I ran into the grocery store before dinner. He passed some cookies and was throwing a fit becuase he wanted one. I told him, "You have to eat dinner first. But before you have your bath tonight Daddy can give you an Oreo". So I go to my Young Women's activity and come home to Gabe eating an Oreo in his high chair. He gets his bath, and you'd think it was time for bed....that's where you're WRONG! That little Oreo apparently had enough sugar in it to keep Gabe hopping for hours. He did NOT want to go to bed! I tried rocking, singing, I even tried watching tv in his room while I rocked him in his big chair (which always works!) NOTHING worked! He kept laughing, playing, having a great time. Finally after over an hour I gave up and just put him in his crib. Now he's talking in his room, but not asleep.

So next time I decided to feed my child something as loaded with sugar as an Oreo, I'll think twice!

My (not so secret) crush

Ok - I have to admit it, I have a crush.....I have had a crush on Peter Brienholt ever since I first heard his music. Don't know what it is....it might be the bald head....it might be how he dances around on stage with his guitar....and it might be his amazing voice. I don't know what for sure - but I do know I have a crush. :) Don't worry - I told Cory all about it and he's fine with it.

We went to listen to Peter Brienholt perform at Cedar City's Fall Festival tonight. It was even worth standing out in the FREEZING weather to hear him. I wanted to go up and dance up by the stage with the SUU students, but Cory wouldn't come up with me. I told him it would help keep him warm - but that didn't even persuade him.

Anyway - if you haven't ever heard Peter Breinholt - you should go check out his website and listen to his tunes - worth every penny! Especially check out the song "You Wear Flowers" - a great tune to dance around to!


(pictures from the website)

Saturday outing

Yesterday we took an official family outing - with the dogs and everything. We loaded up the ranger and drove up by Navajo Lake (about 40 minutes from our house). The leaves have started changing and are breathtaking in some areas! We went on a ranger drive through some beautiful scenery, and ended up at a trailhead for Cascade Falls. I think it said it was .7 miles to the falls. So we hiked to the falls and it was beautiful! The weather has cooled off quite a bit, so as we drove we were pretty chilly, but after hiking we warmed up. After our hike we had a picnic lunch and drove back to where we'd parked the car. It was so much fun to be together, enjoying nature, and creating memories. I can't wait for more Saturday outings like this as Gabe gets older!

Grand-parents

Just a 2-page layout I did today of pictures that family took while I was gone. I wanted to be sure to document the special time that Gabe got to spend with special family. I was so blessed to be able to trust these family members so much. I didn't worry about Gabe even for a minute!

Back from Africa

Well I'm trying to sort through the piles of stuff I neglected by being in Africa, but I thought I'd drop a note to tell you all I'm here, and that I had the most amazing experience of my life! Not only did I learn a lot about myself, but I also gained some new friends (hopefully lifetime friends - they were amazing!), experienced new foods, totally bonded with my close friend Jessica, grew to appreciate my family, culture, and amazing blessings - as well as saw some of the most beautiful animals and scenery on this earth. Truly - a trip of a lifetime!

I promise that I'm going to write up more about the trip - but for now check out a couple of my travel buddies blogs:
http://reneepearson.typepad.com/fertilepress/
http://www.kentpearson.typepad.com/
http://melodyross.typepad.com/my_weblog/

We are sharing our photos from the trip, so I will post more when I sort through them and I find my favorites - this will be sure to be a journey back through the vacation, and I can't wait to relive the memories.

Gabe did really well with his grandmas too. My mom said that he was extremely well adjusted, and that he was happy, energetic, and gave everyone kiesses like crazy. I am glad that he did well. I think I did pretty well for our first time apart too. Check out my mom's blog - she posted some pictures of him: http://therhienfamily.blogspot.com/

Well, like I said - I'm swamped trying to get back into the swing of things, so I should take advantage of Gabe's nap-time and get some done. I'll post more later.

One before I go

Ok, the last place I should be is on the computer typing on my blog.....

I'm taking off this morning for my big trip. Cory and Gabe will be here with Cory's mom and grandma this weekend, and then Gabe's taking off to Gramma Rhien's house for a week! I'm dying about leaving him for this long....but I'm sure we'll both be fine. (In fact I'm not even worried about him - he's in good hands. I worry that I'll be a wreck without him!)

Anyway, I knew I'd have people bummed if I didn't get pictures updated - so here you go. Here's a few. This first one is of me (sorry - I know you're here to see Gabe). I got my hair permed this week to hopefully make my trip easier....it's curlier than I had planned, but it will be nice for the trip.

Here's Gabe playing with his tractor he got for his birthday. He loves pushing it around and making the noises of a tractor. He also rides it - but his legs are too short, so he hangs off to one side to push with one leg - it's super cute!

And these pictures make me laugh. Gabe was super tired, and it wasn't his normal nap time. But he was just exhausted for some reason and ended up falling alseep mid-bite. I'd go to get him out of his seat and he'd wake up for a second, start eating again, and doze off immediately. It was so adoreable.

Well, that's it for now, I'll be back in a week and 1/2 and hopefully get some pictures posted. Love you all!