National Pancake Day

Earlier this week it was National Pancake Day (on Tuesday). Pancakes (or "cakes") are Gabe's favorite foods right now, so we thought it would be fun to take IHOP up on their FREE pancakes. It was fun to celebrate a silly holiday like that. Gabe loved that they had balloons around the restaurant, and was a little in awe of the BIG pancakes (he eats the mini frozen ones at home).

Gangsta

The other night while we were getting dinner read we had our ipod on with a great "I love the 90's" mix of music. A rap/gangster song came on and Cory, Gabe and I started dancing around the kitchen. Gabe did a scary impression of a "Gangsta" with his tipped hat, snazzy glasses, and slouchy pants. Hopefully this is just a stage :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

So here's our little Valentine. Isn't he a cutie?!?! I had actually tried to take some pictures of him this morning - so they'd be authentic Valentine's Day photos, but he wouldn't cooperate. But these pictures are from Sunday, his first official day at nursery at church. (he just turned 18 months old!)

He really had a good time with the other kids. I stayed in for a while, but mostly because after he got comfortable there was another little girl who clung to me and wanted me to stay. I really didn't mind - it was fun to have a change of pace. But I had many comments after the fact of people saying that not only was he super good in nursery, but he was SOOOO cute! Of course, I agreed whole heartedly.

It didn't hurt things that they had goldfish, gummi bears, gummi worms and valentine sugar cookies for a snack, or that they made valentine pictures with heart stickers (and he loves stickers!) So we're looking forward to this new chapter in our lives. It should be lots of fun for everyone!

Gabe's new toy

We have a really fun next door neighbor - Jerry. Jerry had told us all about these awesome rocking "horses" that he made, and got us excited for then when I was expecting Gabe. Well this morning we got a rocking "dog" of our very own! Jerry has been working on this for months and months and we were so excited to go over to pick it up from him! He put so much attention to detail into this creation, and it literally looks exactly like our dog Sadie - down to her colors and markings - which are EXACT replicas.

Gabe was a little wary at first, but he's in love with it now. He has a hard time staying on the dog by himself (working on balance), but loves to rock on it with mommy and daddy. In fact, we even read our afternoon stories on it this afternoon before Gabe's nap.

Thanks Jerry for sharing your talent with us, and for giving us this beautiful addition to our family!

Life is too short

Over 8 years ago, when I made the decision to marry Cory there were several factors that affected my decision. One was that he was pretty awesome and treated me so good. But another factor - probably an even more influential factor - was his family; and most specifically his extended family on the Ellis side. They were one of the most amazing families I had ever met, and as soon as I was introduced to them I wanted to be a part of that awesome family!

Cory and I hadn't been dating very long when I met his family. It was their yearly Ellis Family Reunion, and it was being held in Heber City - about an hour from my family's home in Orem. So Cory came to spend the 4th of July weekend with me and my family, and we headed up to the reunion with his family for part of that weekend. Now Cory and I had only known each other for a little over a month, and most of that time had been spent with him in Idaho, and me in Orem. So the idea of a huge extended family totally intimidated me. To add to my nervousness, Cory had only been home from his mission for a little over a month and this would be the first time he'd see his extended family in over 2 years! So I remember literally shaking with fear when we walked into Aunt Lynette's back yard to meet everyone.

We walked into the backyard that afternoon and Cory introduced me to a couple of people and walked away. He left me! Fear came rushing to me and I thought I might actually die right there with all of his family watching me! But know what? Within moments I was a part of the family. I wasn't just the girl Cory brought, but I was welcomed with loving hearts and welcome hearts. I knew by the end of that afternoon that if I didn't marry Cory, I would have to marry a brother or cousin because I had to be a part of the Ellis family! Every aunt, uncle, his grandparents - everyone hugged me, asked me all about myself, were genuine and interested in me. And they made me feel a part of the family, something I'd never felt outside of my own family.

The reason I bring this all up is that yesterday morning we received a call from Cory's mom to tell us that his Aunt Margo had passed away in the night. This was totally unexpected and devestating. When Cory told me what his mom has reported to him I kept saying, "Margo, as in Aunt Margo? Aunt Margo Sears?" It just didn't seem possible that someone so young could be taken from us with literally no warning. Thinking of her family, children, husband - everyone whose life she touched, and all that we would miss out by not having her in our lives broke my heart.

But then I was reminded of something. The reason that I was drawn to Cory's family in the first place - the plan of salvation, the gospel, and the idea of families being sealed together forever in the temple. The Ellis family lives these principles, and through his Grandparent's example they really are creating families that will be together even after this life. Grandma and Grandpa's example of temple service and devotion to the gospel has created an extended family whose love will last even beyond life on this earth.

So while this time is sad for those who love Aunt Margo, it is reassuring that we have our beliefs and can be assured that we will see her again, and that really we never have to say goodbye to our loved ones forever. This is something I am so grateful for! So thank you Ellis family for welcoming me with loving arms, and thank you for sharing Aunt Margo with me for the short time we had. Her vibrance and excitement for life will always be with me!

(The Merthen and Vonnie Ellis Family - 7 children and their spouses. Photo taken July 2006)

(Aunt Margo with her typical smile - she really has always had a fabulous smile on her face, and really a wonderful attitude in her heart!)

a few thoughts

I had some time to myself this weekend as we were in Bozeman for Blind Guy meetings. Something that is rare – time all by myself. The idea itself sounded fabulous at first. Nothing I had to do, no one that needed me, and time to recoup on sleep and wasting time without feeling guilty.

But as I was trying to do that, and trying to relax I got to thinking about Gabe, and about being a mom, and how different my life has become in the last 2 years, and about how very different it will be when I’m not only a mom – but a mom to 2….Lots of thinking and reflecting going on. It was good – really, really good.

So what I’ve uncovered is that I am a mom. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking – you already knew that, and I should have caught on about 18 months ago when Gabe was born. But no really, deep down I am a mom. Although I’m a few other things (woman, sister, daughter, wife, scrapbooker, YW 2nd counselor) this mom gig is what I want to be, it’s what I long for when I’m by myself, and what I miss when it’s not around.

I was sitting on a bench in the mall in Bozeman after going to a movie by myself, wandering around Barnes and Nobel for about an hour, and treating myself to a bowl of cotton candy ice cream when I realized that more than anything I wished Gabe was there to share the ice cream with me and enjoy the new books I had just picked out for him at Barnes and Nobel. I missed him fiercely. In fact, I had to leave Barnes and Noble earlier because I had been looking at all of these sweet stories about love and Valentine’s, and loving your kids and found myself crying….totally embarrassing (but it worked – it made me buy the darn children’s book that started the tears flowing!)

I know that I need time to myself at times, but since I’ve been pregnant this go-around my time to relax and unwind has been spent being sick, and when I have had a chance to myself I almost felt guilty because I’ve already spent that time away from my mom/wife duties while I’ve been sick.

So I might complain about coming up with ideas for dinner, or feeling worn out from Gabe’s demands – but when it comes right down to it, there isn’t anywhere in the world that I’d rather be than spending time with Gabe and Cory. I know that when this new little baby arrives I’ll be equally as smitten and in love with them. I can’t wait to get to know their spirit, their excitement and their personality.

I know that not all mothers feel this way – and you know what, that’s their choice. I do know however that no rewards or accolades that the “world” can throw at me can be as rewarding as the look in my child’s eyes when he gets something I’ve taught him, or when he just wants to snuggle with me. I am so grateful that I feel fulfilled being a mom and that for me I’m not torn between other good things in life. I think there are a lot of good things that can take us away from home and can even make us very happy. But for me I couldn’t split myself between my family and other things that the world might throw my way, and it was a great realization for me that I didn’t even want to be split between different things – I am happy where I am! I hope I can keep that focus, because I know for me this is where true joy has come from.

Most beautiful baby?

So I'm entering Gabe in Regis and Kelly's Beautiful Baby contest....since I DO have the worlds most beautiful baby! What do you think? Does he have your vote?

Another layout

Yup - I did another one. While I was getting ready to go upstairs after working on the last one I thought - ok - I'll try just one more. And it came together pretty quickly. The journaling on this one reads:

This afternoon you had so much fun running around outside on the grass, playing with rocks on the ground and just being a big boy. I was sad that the weather is getting colder because I know you love being outside. Hopefully this Spring you’ll get to play outside a lot!

2006 Year in Review - layout

YIKES! I don't know how long it's been since I've put together a digital (or paper) scrapbook layout....way too long! So I put together a quick layout of pictures of Gabe. They are mostly pictures from the 7th of each month - so it chronicles the changes each month. And though he's grown up a lot in the last year, he's still a pretty darn cute little kid, and I can't believe it's been a year! The journaling reads:

What a year 2006 was for you! You learned how to sit up, roll over, eat solid foods, scoot, crawl, pull yourself up on things, climb the stairs, walk, play with toys, laugh, give wonderful kisses, take good naps - but most of all, you’ve mastered the art of melting my heart!

Cravings (aka - things that don't make me sick)

So I was thinking about it the other day, and it's funny - I go through these phases where certain foods are the ONLY thing that appeal to me. Anything else turns my stomach, and ends in nasty results. And I'll find one thing and go with it - until it makes me sick, and then it gets bumped to the yucky list. There have been 2 things that I have LOVED through this pregnancy so far (and it doesn't seem to be changing any time soon) - popscicles (particularly banana), and Icee drinks (preferably Coke flavor). These 2 have been tried and true.

Another one that has been recent is (now brace yourself - the thought of it might make you squeamish) - Kraft Easy Mac and Cheese. For some reason I have wanted it for the last 3 days straight. SO tasty! Now before being pregnant I would cringe at the very thought of Mac and Cheese out of a box - much less the "Easy Mac" variety - but it really fits the bill right now.

Something I found yesterday that really calmed my stomach was Dry Roasted Peanuts. Pretty tasty with something to drink. I think it might be the salt.

Now one thing I can't even THINK about since I found out I was expecting is Dr. Pepper. I can't drink the Diet variety, any of the "Berrys and Cream", or even the plain old original Dr. Pepper. This is pretty rare for me because I think that previously my blood was actually 50% Diet Dr. Pepper (and in less healthy times - the full of sugar variety). I haven't wanted to sip it, haven't wanted to guzzle it, and can't even think about it most of the time. I'm wondering if my "need" for the stuff will ever return....I guess it would be pretty healthy if I kicked the stuff all together huh?

Oh - and another previous favorite I can't seem to even think about - Pork Salads from Costa Vida. In the past I've been known by many friends for my comment, "We could pick something up from Costa Vida for dinner" - but now it's on the "no-no" list. I'm really hoping this one comes back - those salads are tasty!

Anyway - I know that you all don't necessarily care what the craving of the day is for me, but since this is a form of a journal...I guess it's a good thing to document.

Gabe's BIG News

Well Gabe has a big announcement to make - he's going to be a BIG brother!


I actually took this picture about a week after we had found out. I was snapping some pictures of Gabe and not getting any response from him. Then I shouted, "Gabe - you're going to be a big brother!!!" and this was the face he made. Kind of looks excited doesn't he?




So, we are expecting baby #2 this summer (possibly another August baby!). I'm 12 weeks and actually feeling better than I did at this point with Gabe. (But I've also had days I've felt much worse than with Gabe...so it's been interesting!) We heard the baby's heart beat at our dr visit yesterday, and are really excited about this new adventure we're embarking on. I'm excited that this baby will be close enough in age (exactly 2 years) that it will be able to hopefully be close to Gabe, and I'm also excited that my sister-in-law is due a few weeks before me, and the cousins will be close in age!


So if I'm not around on the blog as much as in the past - this is why. Just trying to keep up with Gabe, and being worn out by "baby #2".

Our Family

We had a family portrait taken for the Rhien family when we were in Farmington. The photographer also took pictures of the individual families. I'm planning on getting this one blown up to hang on our wall. I love the smile on Gabe's face - so sweet! That is kind of funny because he was a total stinker when we were taking the big family pictures - didn't smile in any of them. But at least we have this to prove that he is our smiley guy!

Christmas morning

We hardly took any pictures on Christmas morning...oops...

Gabe loved opening presents. But he was SO spoiled that after a while he just wanted to sit down and play with his new toys! We took a break and opened some presents later that night - which was also fun to spread it out for a while.

Thank you to everyone who sent the sweetest gifts! We were spoiled this year (all of us - not just Gabe!) Thank you for your thoughtfulness!


The day after Christmas we packed up to head to Farmington to see my family. I'll work on getting some of those pictures posted later on. Loved getting to see both families (everyone in both families too!) during this holiday season. It might have been short visits - but we love all of you, and enjoyed getting to spend time with you!

Christmas Eve

We were spending actual Christmas in Cedar City with just our little family, so we got together Christmas Eve with our good friends the Springer family. We had Mexican food (a Rhien family tradition) and even decided to take over a pinata to round out the celebrations. (which Cory STUFFED with tasty candy! He went completly overboard...) Our friends have a 5 year old and a 3 year old and we all had fun with the pinata - with all the boys getting a turn. It was fun to still spend the night in our own beds, but get to spend time with other special people Christmas Eve.

We came home and opened our traditional PJs. Gabe's were my favorite we've ever bought - he looked SO cute in them! Then we read our Christmas stories, tucked Gabe in bed and set out our Christmas goodies for the morning. One of my favorite parts of Christmas this year was that we got up late! I think it was after 8:00 when we got up and it was marvelous!

Our Christmas Decor

This year our Christmas decor was pretty low-key. In fact, when we got all the decorations out we realized that a bunch of the bigger decorations that had been stored in the basement was so dusty and needed a good cleaning. Cory said he was going to take care of it, but by the time we realized that it hadn't been done it was so close to Christmas that we decided not to worry about it. One less thing to worry about Gabe messing with.


But I did add to our Christmas decor this year with new gorgeous stockings and a matching tree skirt. (I even bought a few extra for future kids). We've never had an official tree skirt, so I splurged and got these from Pottery Barn and I LOVE it! We also got a new Christmas tree this year - pre-light! I LOVE it! The lights are all perfect and in place, and there are so many of them - it was gorgeous. Since we had a bigger tree we added some bigger decorations too. We got some big bells and wicker balls to stick in the tree. And I got a punched rusty tin lit star for the top of the tree. We didn't end up putting all of the decorations up on the tree either (the fabric ribbons I tie-on, or the wooden beaded garland)...but I was really happy with how it looked, so it was ok. Next year we might be a bit more into the decorating. This was just a tough year to get excited about extra work when I was feeling crummy...



Gabe did pretty good with the decorations - for the most part. We did have one break.....but that isn't bad for a 16 month old! By far my favorite addition to our Christmas decor was Gabe's smile when he put on his (way too big) Santa hat. He loved saying hat and wearing it around the house. He also loved spotting Santa Claus in other decorations (around the stores, in the newspaper, driving down the street in people's yards) - and always shouted out a hearty, "Ho-Ho-Ho". He did however think that Snowmen are the same as Santa - and also said "Ho-Ho-Ho" for them. I figure we can correct that next year :)

Visiting Santa

YAY! We finally got a picture with Santa (although, not the best pictures....) When we went to dinner in Salt Lake at Trolley Square we got to stop and visit Santa on the way out. Here Gabe is with his cousins: Linzy (back), Logan, Lexie and Lincoln.

At first Gabe wasn't too thrilled with sitting on Santa's lap by himself, but he warmed up to the idea.

"So big guy - I was thinking you could bring me....."

Ellis Family Christmas Celebrations

As a lot of you know Cory's family celebrates Christmas by all going to Salt Lake and going skiing. We went a couple of weeks before Christmas, and it was a great way to celebrate the season! This was the first time we've been in several years, and it was lots of fun. Gabe LOVED going skiing and spending time with his Mullen cousins. He even got to go skiing with Grandpa Kim! He loved it and can't wait to hopefully go skiing with them again at the end of the month. He even says ski - it's cute! We enjoyed spending time at the hotel, listening to the Tabernacle Choir perform (BEAUTIFUL MUSIC!), eating tasty food - but most of all, being together and making memories!

Gabe and Grandpa Ellis. He rode on Grandpa's back to ski. Even though it was pretty chilly he loved every minute of it. When Ashley and I took the little kids (Gabe and his cousin Linzy who's a year younger than him) back to the hotel Gabe jabbered to Linzy for a bit in his car seat. I could almost picture him saying, "And they took me up on the mountain on this ski lift, and then I got to fly down the mountain with Grandpa - it was so much fun! Just wait until next year when you get to go!" It was adoreable!

Ok - this picture was one that I had to take....and Gabe will hate me for it someday. We didn't have a swimming suit, and since it wasn't exactly swimming season - we didn't bother looking for one at the store. But we did have some "Little Swimmer" diapers, and I figured it was better than nothing. When we put it on Gabe he started strutting around - it was so funny. It reminded Cory's family of when my family came up to Island Park one summer and my dad had his Speedo swimming suit on. So they wanted me to take this picture to show Grandpa Rhien that Gabe's following in his footsteps.

Splashing up a storm with Daddy in the pool.

And this is what our little guy's toes looked like after spending a long time in the pool. I love the look of wrinkly little toes!

We celebrated Christmas early and Gabe LOVED the sweet gifts everyone showered him with. His favorite is the tractor from Uncle Coby. THANKS Coby! (and everyone else too!) My favorite gift was the amazing Family History Book that Tammy (Cory's mom) put together for all of us! What a keepsake and special gift - we truly treasure it.

The whole gang. We were even lucky enough to have Grandma and Grandpa Ellis come to visit!

We really have to cherish the times we get to spend together like this! Family is so important, and we're grateful that we got to spend some of the holiday season with this part of our family! We love you all so much!

Catching Up!

YAY! I'm finally catching up on some pictures from Christmas time. I'm sorry that I haven't been too great at keeping the blog updated. Been kind of busy, and just not really had time (energy) to sit at the computer for a long time to upload and go through pictures. But here we are!

just to tide you over....

Just a simple picture to tide you over until I can get enough time together to sit down and post a bunch. Here's a picture of Gabe enjoying his Christmas chair that Santa brought. He's wearing his Christmas PJ's, slippers from his stocking, and one of the MANY books he got.

We had a WONDERFUL Christmas day! Gabe was totally overwhelmed by all the gifts he had to open, but loves everything he was given. He loves climbing up in his chair with a sippy cup, a book and a smile.

Hope everyone's day was wonderful, and I promise, at some later date I WILL post more pictures from this month.

weekend in review

We all had a great time up North this weekend. Gabe LOVED skiing! He took 3 runs up on Grandpa Ellis's backpack and was so sad when we brought him in. When we drove back down the canyon we had his cousin Linsey's carseat next to his and he just jabbered to her forever - and kept pointing to the mountain with excitement. It was almost as if he was saying, "And look up there! I went up there with Grandpa - and next year you can too!" I was glad he enjoyed it.

Then on Saturday Cory and I drove up with Kim, Tammy, and Coby to Logan for my sister-in-law Kori's graduation from USU. Long drive for a long ceremony, but we were glad to support her. Then we turned around and came back to Salt Lake. My other sister-in-law Ashley and Spencer watched all the kids and had a great time with Gabe - those twins sure smother poor Gabe with attention.

Then Saturday night we went to Rodizio Grill (HARDLY WW friendly!) A buffet and all you can eat meat brought around to your table by the minute. It was amazing and hard not to eat yourself into a coma. But I was really careful.

Unfortunately part-way through the meal we realized that Gabe had SOAKED his diaper clear through, and his clothes were drenched. We didn't have a change of clothes so we had to run and get him some new clothes at Trolley Square (where we were eating). The sales lady was trying to show us cute different tops and finally I just said, "Actually we just need something quick and not too expensive - we're recovering from an accident - I don't care what it looks like". Kind of funny.

Then the kids all got their pictures taken with Santa - EVEN Gabe! That was exciting for me! (And of course we also got the picture of Gabe screaming on Santa's lap for posterity).

Sunday morning we got up and went over to the Conference Center for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir broadcast. Unlike all the other Sunday broadcasts this one required tickets - which we didn't have. But while I settled down the kids in the children's theater Tammy and Ashley secured us all some tickets. Tammy and Kim stayed in the children's area with the kids and the rest of us were spread out through the conference center. WOW! It was the most amazing performance of the choir I have ever seen and heard. There were dancers in the aisles, bells, the orchestra, the choir - and my favorite part - Sissel (a Norwegian singer my brother Paul introduced us to after his mission to Norway). I am so blown away by her music - it is truly heavenly. Through the concert I would close my eyes and literally feel like I was in heaven and was being serenaded by angels. Since this was a culmination of the concerts they'd been performing through the week they not only performed the 1/2 hour choir broadcast, but then continued afterwards with 1/2 hour of additional music (from the concerts). At the end President Hinckely came out to greet Sissel and it was very sweet. She says she's already been invited back and will be coming again. I only hope I can attend that concert too!

Then we drove to see Grandparents. I wished we had more time! I always wish we had more time. We went to see Grandma Marilyn first, and our visit was so short. I felt bad. But she took Gabe on a wheel-chair ride and he enjoyed that. Then we buzzed over to see Grandma and Grandpa Whisler for a few minutes. Gabe was taken by the chocolate that Grandma put in his pockets, and he was really disappointed that Yogi didn't want to play with him. But he did have fun seeing both sets of his great grandparents. (and actually he saw his Great Grandma and Grandpa Ellis this weekend too!) I hope all of the grandparents understand that we needed to get on the road because of the weather (snow the whole way home). We sure do love them and wish that time wasn't as it is, and that we'd get to spend more time with them. So much to do, so little time.

Well it's getting late for this old lady - but I'll try to post pictures in the next few days. I didn't take tonz, but enough cute ones that you'll want to see.

Have a great week - and good luck with all of your holiday plans and preparations!