Growing up too fast

Eli's first kiss.  November 2014

Eli and his best girlfrenemy had their first sleep-over this weekend.  In separate cribs of course- we do try to keep up appearances.  Miss Gwendolyn's parents went for a weekend of fun that did not include their toddler so they asked if we could watch her.  We were honored they would trust us so much, even if it meant putting Eli on a stricter curfew than usual.

Eli and Gwen have a very intense relationship.  They either love each other or, in Eli's case, are trying to pull out each others eyeballs with their bare fingernails.  The picture below captures a rare moment where they are both engaged in the same activity and not fighting over a particular item or trying to stop the other from doing something.

 We did not try to keep up appearances during bath time.  While they both agreed that the bath itself was the best thing ever, getting one's hair wet is the worst mortal experience you can be put through.

I love having Gwen around because she is much, much tougher than Eli.  She cries about a twelfth as much as he does and is always "otay" after any fall, bump or bruise (emotional or physical).  She brings out the man in Eli, who has lately been scared of the medium and large slides at the playground after loving them only last summer.  But, after watching Gwen go down (face-first I might add) he decided he had to prove himself.  It was a proud moment for all of us.

I feel like having a kid divided my brain in half.  One half for what I used to use a full brain for, and half for Eli.  Having Gwen turned everything into thirds, and I shudder to think what my processing power will look like after a few more kids.  Still, it was fun to have people at the grocery store tell us how adorable our twins were.  Worth it.

You'll always be chasing her, kid.

Eli Speaks

Eli: "Pink.  Monkey.  Dance.  Funny!"

Now repeat.  And repeat.  This phrase is like supercalifragilisticexpealidocious.  It fits every circumstance, makes every occasion better, and is always HI-LARIOUS.

We met this seemingly harmless little guy in the Valentines Day aisle at Kmart while we were visiting Zach a few weeks ago.  Now he is a mandatory stop, often before seeing Daddy, and we must listen to the song and dance the dance a minimum of four times.

Not since he saw Santa sitting on top of a fire truck steering reindeer at the Elko Christmas Parade has something made this big of an impact on the kid.

Only 25 days until Valentines Day is over.

They Get it DONE

Every few months or so, we get a visit from the much beloved grandparents.  They spread their love in numerous ways- watching Eli, taking us to dinner, playing with Eli, touring our town with us, and hanging out with Eli are just a few.

I look forward to every trip for another special reason: when Mom and Dad come to visit, things get DONE.  So not only are we left with happier souls and a more spoiled Eli at the end of a visit, but also a physical improvement to our never-ending project, the house.

First and foremost was to get a new kitchen faucet (Dad the plumber, above) that actually gave us hot water.  A serious improvement in any culinary or cleaning enterprise.

Next was to update the major lighting fixtures.  These are all the small, relatively inexpensive but labor intensive procedures that make a big difference in the way I feel about my house.

Before and after.  From ugly old ceiling fan to LIGHT in the living room.  What a concept.

I loved getting rid of the globe lights in the living room and halls.  I honestly believe it makes the ceiling look taller.

This most recent trip was all about light switches and outlets.  Old, painted over beige plates don't look good with gray walls and white trim.  While changing them out we discovered some rather impressive wiring tricks that weren't exactly to code, but were effective.  The things you learn when you own your own house.  Also, 12 gauge wire is a beast.

So much cleaner looking.  5 down, 42 to go.

Thanks for a great and satisfying weekend Mom and Dad!  Next up: the garage.

One Crazy Christmas

We started off this Christmas season in the proper manner: with a tree.  And a dance party, although that came after.  Zach promised me our first real tree in our first home and it did not disappoint.

Eli was very intrigued with the strange contraption that held up the tree and insisted on "hopping" (helping).  We've been learning to deal with a lot of "hopping" around here lately.

In keeping with Magleby tradition we got ornaments that represented something we did or somewhere we went that year.  Eli got a shoe for learning to walk twice and Zach and I got a mortar and pestle for surviving Pharmacy school, licensing, and job hunting.

All these crazy different ornaments make for a rather eclectic tree.  But all in all, when it was done it looked a treat.

There are, however, down sides to having a real tree brought in from the lot.  Our house spider population tripled overnight.

We had a few weeks of quiet holiday enjoyment at home before we headed to Utah for, as they say in Elko, one cray-cray busy trip.  To kick it off, of course, the annual Lights on Temple Square/Little America/Hale Center Theater party.

If Eli looks dazed in these pictures its only because its impossible to get him to nap while on vacation.  I think he enjoyed it all.

From the theater it was straight to Provo to hang it with the Judkins, then the Maglebys, then the Haights, and so on back and forth.  In that time we managed some family pictures, a few nativities, a couple of Christmas Eve and Christmas celebrations, and a lot of food and fun.

 The three cousins, always in motion, and thus hard to capture.  

We sure loved having James around to complete the trio!

 Haight Family Christmas Party

 All the little girls wanted to be Mary, so rather than make enemies of some 3-4 year-olds, the powers that be wisely let them ALL be "the mommy".  And then there was Eli, the lone Joseph with his harem of wives.

 The pinata was a huge hit.  Never have I seen such anxious children.  They were ready to pounce (and did, many times) at the slightest hint of wrapper.  Eli had a hard time relinquishing his stick.

 Eli still doesn't "get" Christmas, but he still had a grand time with his gifts.

 The Judkins Christmas was especially fun.  It was decreed that all gifts must have a home made element to them, and it was so cool to see what everyone came up with.  Talent abounded.

 Tawny went all out and made me a scarf, painted vases, and a secret safe book.  Score!  And Isaac made Zach an impressive t-shirt, as shown above.

 I learned a new skill that I will probably never employ again to knit Tawny boot cuffs, and Zach employed an unnamed seamstress to make Steve a magnetic nail holder bracelet.  Cooler than it sounds.

We packed in the joy and celebration in until the very last second and then braved the snow and ice to drive back home Christmas Day so that Zach could work the 26th.  The picture below pretty much sums up how we all felt by then end.  Happy, full of celebrating, and very, very tired.

Hope you and yours all had a lovely holiday!