"Happy Birthday to Me!!!"

That's what she said all day yesterday when she realized what November 8th meant!

Ellie girl, Mini me, Ellzabell, and Baby are just some of the names regularly used in reference to our blossoming 2 year old. Yesterday we celebrated her birthday and took her to Monkey Joe's, which is one of those really fun (germ infested) indoor inflatable-everything playgrounds. And she LOVED it! She is a climber, of playgrounds, couches, dining room tables, car seats, kitchen counters, book shelves, and her favorite, inside the refridgerator. At her age she is talking a lot, but emphasizes what she wants to eat, which is usually something she has grabbed out of the fridge. Most of the day it is something like this:

"Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom...etc"

and then..

"I want some cheese, duice, stawbees, cukees, meat, bread, wadduh, hot gog, moatmeal, apple, pear, owenge, wakkle, lollipop (this one is automatic when we even drive by the bank!), molk, nuggets, brawkee, beans, wice..." and pretty much anything else. She loves to eat/snack.

She is always saying things that catch us off guard like: "Hey Mom, I shaken my booty." Or, "I poop Mom, Mom, I poop." She loves to say that one during the administration of the sacrament in church when it's really quiet. She always asks for her simmin suit when we drive by the YMCA or take Gracee to her lessons.

And Ellie loves baby dolls! Anything baby dolls! She also has a huge fettish with the Backyardigans, she watches at least one show every single day! When we are in Target, we will go over to the card aisle and she will immediately find a Backyardigan card and carry it around the whole store! She also loves playing whatever Gracee is playing. Ellie also loves to read stories, play with puzzles, play with her kitchen, drive toy cars around, and push around her stroller. She can usually be found with a baby doll wrapped in one of her own diapers. Ellie also loves to brush her teeth and wash her hands. I think mostly she just loves playing in the sink and turning it off and on.

I can't believe how fast our baby is growing up. She is learning the art of coloring, just not quite grasping the concept of "ONLY ON PAPER!" I have cleaned a few murals off of my walls so far.

She is such a little fireball with an attitude and agenda all her own. Still, with all her energy, there is not a day that goes by without her making us laugh! She is such a funny girl, and even can be super sweet at times. Ellie keeps us on our feet all the time, she is super busy and always into things. Child proof medicine caps mean nothing to her, and she is already asking things like "what does that say mom?"

2 years ago I would have never imagined I would have two of the most beautiful girls who are the best sisters, yet so different. Ellie is constantly looking up to Gracee and Gracee couldn't be a better big sister. Even though these past two years have flown by, I am so glad they can play together now. I love watching them interact with each other. Ellie calls Gracee "sissy" and I love it!

She is transitioning from a baby to a "big girl" so fast! She loves to tell me she is a "big girl!" She is constantly trying to put on Gracee's panties, and has told me she wants to wear panties, especially when she and Gracee and getting dressed at the same time. But unfortunately she has no desire whatsoever to sit on the potty! But hey, she is only 2 right! Maybe we should work on her "beebee" (binky) first!:) I'm sure the potty training will be a post in and of itself, but in due time.

What a blessing this little girl has been in our lives thus far.

Happy 2nd Birthday Ellie Girl, we love you sooooo much!

Lions and Tigers and Sheep, Oh My!

This year Halloween took on a whole new meaning for Ellie girl! She discovered the new found fun of trick or treating! Let's just say Ellie would full on run from door to door and keep knocking until someone came with the candy! Gracee on the other hand, was a bit shy and bashful and would politely go up, get her candy, practically whisper "thanks" and run back to me. Ellie loved yelling "trick or treat!" I had a blast this year going door to door with the girls. We went all around Orchard court (our development) which is not all that big, but boy did the girls end up with a haul! I recall many people commenting on how cute they looked and would then say something like "here you need a few more!" That is why we ended up with WAY more candy than will ever be consumed by these two. But... more for me!:) Well, here a few pics of the night, Gracee was none other than Dorothy, and Ellie was Little Bo Peep!

29 and younger than ever!

Just 29 short years ago, the world became a better place!...
I can't very well post two large blogs on my little Gracee Sue for her birthday and leave her awesome Daddy in the dust. So even though the day is almost over, I have to give a little shout out to my incredible, sweet, funny, handsome, grill master, manly, smart, hard-working husband on his 29th Birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUST! I know its kinda cheesy to talk to your spouse or others through the blog world, but I did want to recognize him on his last year of being a "young adult!" A couple of years ago, Austen told me one of his main goals was to be graduated from all of school, including Dental school and be working before he turned thirty! He graduates in May! So, congrats Aust, you just made it! We couldn't be prouder of our daddy in our home. Unfortunately we have a sick kid in the home, and Austen had mid-terms today so we didn't have much of a celebration, just a little Boston Market for dinner and a trip to Target! Exciting I know! But hopefully if Ellie is feeling better, we have the opportunity to chaperone a few of our awesome ward youth to Dorney Park tomorrow night, and then have a date night planned for Saturday, so the celebrating will continue throughout the weekend! If you can't tell, we long to drag out birthday celebrations for at least a few days out here. Hopefully this weekend will be so fun it will have to go up on another post! And we still have haircuts and Ricketts Glen to blog about! Whew, I better get workin' on that... tomorrow!
Happy Birthday Austen, your an incredible husband and the best daddy ever! I know this post is not a big tribute and there is not some lengthy slideshow to music, but we love you all the same!

A Few more...

Normally, I would just do a slide show, but I'm too lazy tonight. So instead, you get three posts! Now how long has it been since I've done three posts in one month!:)

Create Your Own Barbie Fashion Show at FAO Schwartz!
Austen snuck this pic of the stage before the play starts.
After the show, just outside.
Austen's car he picked out for his Sweet 16!?

More Pics of NYC!!

Gracee and Austen in front of this Star Wars character made entirely out of Legos!

More fun on the Big Piano!

Austen took this pic because as we were walking you could see the Empire State building in the skyline!
We walked by this Ferrari dealership and Gracee picked out this little red number for her Sweet 16!
After the show!

NYC or Bust!

Ok, so I know its been over two weeks now since Gracee's Birthday trip to NYC. But even being a little late in the blogging world, I still wanted to post about it.

To begin, I will begin in the beginning!?:) It all started last October when my mom and dad, sisters, aunt and cousin were out visiting and participating in the Breast Cancer 3 day walk. While they were out here we decided to take a girls trip up to NYC for a day or two. We ended up seeing Wicked while we were there, and I totally loved it!! I bought the soundtrack before we left and we listen to it still quite often. To make a long story short, Gracee absolutely loves the music as well! We sing to it in the car frequently. During Easter break this year, Austen's family came out for a visit and again we went to NYC to see Wicked! It's just as good the second time you see it!... and the third... Anyways, to make a long story short, after Gracee missing out twice on trips to NYC to see the play she decided to take it up with me... "Mom, when do I get to go see Wicked?"
Well, being the kind, great listener of a mother that I am, I replied quickly, when you're five. Ok, let me clarify quickly that I actually did notice a sign or something somewhere in the theater the first time I saw it that "children under the age of 5 were not permitted." So, no, I was not just making that up. But I did think it would be enough for her to forget about it and move on. Well one day about a week or so later, while driving in the car and listening to our tunes, Gracee stopped singing and became kinda quiet for a minute. This is how it went down...
Picture Gracee with her big blue eyes and a look on her face like she just got it!
Gracee: "Mom, in September I'm going to be five!:)"
Me: blink, blink, hmmm. "yep that's right"
Gracee: "That means I get to go to New York to see Wicked!"
Me: blink, blink, hmmm.
Gracee: "Remember mom, you said when I was five I could go see Wicked!"
Me: "umm yeah honey, that's right, that's what mommy said." All the while me thinking how in the world does she remember this stuff, and trying to figure out what to do next or what I can say to change her mind and do something for a five year olds birthday, maybe lets say a little "more in my price range!"
Me: "Well Gracee, if you go to see Wicked for your birthday, than you cannot have a birthday party too. You would have to choose one or the other, because we would not be able to do both." I figured by saying this I had had her and she would definitely not want to give up a birthday party for NYC. But, alas, I was wrong...
Gracee: "That's okay mom, I don't need a birthday party, I really want to go see Wicked!"
So, that's how it came to be... I would think a trip to NYC to see Wicked would be a birthday gift for say a 14 year old, not a 5 year old! All I can say is that I'm in trouble if this is going to start a pattern for birthday ideas from Gracee!
At any rate, we did end up getting a killer deal on 3 tix to see Wicked in NYC, not exactly on her birthday, but just a few days later. Sometimes it pays to be the high bidder on ebay! We had a great day in NYC with Gracee, and I think she loved every minute of it. I would say her only complaint would be that the time to go to the theater couldn't come fast enough, and she had to walk a lot! But I have to say, to watch her face during the play made it all worth it!

We started off playing around a little in Central park at a playground.

Then we walked over to FAO Schwartz so Gracee could try out the giant piano!
They actually sale them there for a mere $25,000! Gracee was pretty good at it though, so we though maybe in a few years!


Next we walked down to Dylan's candy bar! What a wonderland of candy! Gracee was in awe, I think her dad was as well! We picked out some treats for the show.


And finally we made it back to the Gershwin theater! Gracee could hardly wait, we tried to get her to eat some dinner before going in, but between the candy she had just picked out that was in my bag, and her excitement I think she had all of two bites!
In all I must say it was a pretty successful trip. Gracee loved the show, and asked to go back when she is 6! That might be a little harder to do, especially considering we won't be living so close to NYC! Maybe she'll settle for Build-A-Bear or somewhere like that next year!

5 Years Ago Today...

I cannot believe that its been five whole years since the time I gave birth to my little Gracee. As she told me today, she is not so little anymore!:( My how time flies so fast! Words cannot express the feelings I have for this special little girl and all the joy she has brought to my life. Gracee may be five years old in age, but most of the time she acts like a teenager. But one who still kinda likes her mom! Hopefully she will forever. For her birthday this year she decided to give up a birthday party and instead go to NYC and see WICKED! What five year old besides her would do that?! She loves the music, I'm pretty sure she knows the whole musical by heart. We are going on Wednesday night, so I'm sure I'll update about that.
We did however go bowling today and then out to dinner for steak and shrimp, her two most favorite foods, besides ice cream! Yes, That is a birthday Scone!




Gracee loves Barbies, Hannah Montana, Jonas Brothers (she knows the words to most of their songs!), dancing, gymnastics, swimming, & playing dress up with her friends or sister. She is a great big sister and my big helper, most of the time, though occasionally she'll roll her eyes at me as she is doing it! :) She loves to play with her daddy and her dog, and she is totally boy crazy already!! I'm in for it I tell ya! Gracee also loves Primary, singing songs, and anything pink or green. She is my little peacemaker, which is nice considering her little sister is lucky she "looks" angelic! She loves spending time with her grandparents, cousins, aunties, uncles, etc.
Gracee also loves anything that has to do with animals, if she could she just might live in a zoo or an aquarium!
I am so excited to see what Gracee becomes and am so proud to be her mom. I love you Gracee Sue, Happy 5th Birthday!
P.S. This slide show is a modge podge, so as you can see the pics are not in chronological order!...

Back To School!

So, I know it seems like forever since I myself have posted. But I must give credit to my husband, he is a great writer, really good at keeping up the blog, and we all know he is way more interesting than I am. Especially when it comes to blogging. But I know there are a few (very few) of you out there that occasionally want to hear whats going on from my point of view! So I will not start out with any excuses about why I am not one of those post every day or every week, or every month for that matter, bloggers. It is what it is! I wish I could say I was super busy all the time with really important stuff and being super mom at the same time, but alas again, no excuses. We spent much of the last month in Utah, or as some call it Zion! I have really mixed feelings right now about it, I love it, I am proud to be from there. But when I go back, I'm not going to lie to you, my anxiety level goes through the roof! I'm not sure if its trying to juggle between two families with lots of drama, (at least my side has lots of drama!) or the feeling that there are a whole lot of people in Utah doing the same thing and they all look scaringly similar. My sister keeps telling me that I love it and I can't wait to get back! True, but I still can't put my finger on the nagging feeling of why I get anxious. Maybe its just because I truly love the east coast and could stay here forever, that is if I could have a mom fix every month or so! But its true that I can't wait to get back there and dive into the life of friends and family...

Well, there is one more reason why I'm not the best blogger, I rant and rave about nothing! So, moving on.

The day after we returned to "the real world" Gracee and Austen both started school. I can't believe its the first real day for Gracee, with many many more first days to come, and the first day for Austen and the last one forever!!! Bitter/sweet I tell ya! I forgot to snap a pic of Austen in his hot school attire, scrubs! Disappointing, I know! I will admit at first I thought they were a little sexy!:) But I did take a few of my sweet little Gracee before we headed off to her school which happens to be on the corner and I can see it from my home! I actually like being that close to her. She goes five whole days a week for almost three hours! Now, if only I could find that kind of set up for Ellie right now!

If you can't tell, she likes to pose. I had a close up of her, but of course she blinked! Austen informed me that he feels old now that he has a child in school. She actually isn't even in a public Kindergarten! She will start Kindergarten next year, she misses the cutoff by two weeks. She is however, in what is called a Pre-K+ class which is pretty much like kindergarten and just as long. I feel it is to her advantage, it will be like she is taking Kindergarten twice, once private, once public! I have to admit though, I did get a little teary sending her off, though I am also so excited for her. She was getting kinda bored and lonely towards the end of this summer until we went to Utah. We sure miss all our friends from out here in good ole' Royersford!

Well, I know I have much more to catch up on... I know you are all dying to hear about my summer vacation. And with my little girl turning "5" next week I better get on the ball! I'm sure I should at least post about that event! After all, you are only 5 year old once. And I must admit, I think five is one of the best ages ever, still innocent and sweet, very helpful, independent and full of life! I guess I will be posting more than usual in the next little while! :)

Is it Halloween yet?!?!

To all my fans out there (silence followed by chirping crickets...), I have finally received more inspiration for my next blog entry. No, I don't do a whole lot of the what we've been up to material, just stuff that I find noteworthy of my analysis. Not that my analysis is at all noteworthy. I just like to draw attention to things that would at most other times be swept under the rug that sits on the floor in the back of my brain.

So, with that said, it was a warm summer night. Being an avid tennis fan, I had just watched the end of the Venus/Serena Williams match on tv, so I was already a little weirded out. Ended kinda late, 10:45ish. I got up to put the dog in her kennel for the night. As I put her in, I realized she hadn't been out for awhile. So I let her back out and headed for the back sliding door. She walked out and I flipped on the motion detector light, which has about a 2 second delay. A split second before I walked through the doorway, the light kicked on, and pictured below is what was staring me in the face...eye level, and oh so nasty, just waiting to wrap me up Frodo style.







If you can't tell, it as an arachnid, and a very large web. Now, to make the story National Geographic material, me and the girls and Val had been in and out of that doorway at about 7 pm. Mr. Arachnid did his work in about 3.5 hours or less. Something about big spiders makes me freeze up. With broom in hand, I carefully ducked under the world wide web, doubled back carefully to slide the door closed, and basically froze as I stared at this thing in the blinding light of the motion detector. Got way creeped out when this thing got all excited and started running around the web as a moth got close. I probably would have stared at it for half the night if I hadn't started feeling that heebee geebee sensation like things were crawling all over me. So, I carefully assassinated the demon, swept it between the deck planks, and now I can't stop thinking about it



Oh, and this is a picture of me waterskiing, just to help take your mind off of the bug.



Nope, it's not working for me either.

BHS 10 Yr. Reunion

This is a quick post for anyone following the link posted on the 10 year Brighton High School reunion website. If anyone is wondering where I am, and you don't know, I am in Philly at Temple U. in my senior year of dental school. Got two kids, an awesome wife, and a mountain of student loans, oh, and a dog. Wish I could attend the festivities but I'll be doing tooth stuff. -Austen

"She Who Dies With The Most Shoes, Wins!"

So Ellie has this new tradition, or maybe she's going through a phase. But whatever it is, it is quite halarious. Every morning after she wakes up and I change her diaper, she then goes to her shoe basket and puts on a pair of shoes! She is obviously up and ready to go. This morning she opted for a pair of church shoes, I guess she was feeling particularly pretty today! Usually is is a pair of squeaky shoes, which I might say are a lot easier to get on, but I guess it was worth the work for her this morning. Don't mind that she is still in her pj's, hair everywhere, and she is ravishly starving! What is it with kids who wake up and immediately NEED breakfast? Our morning routine usually consists of after a diaper change and shoes, we go downstairs and I try to lay on the couch for a few more minutes while Ellie watches a show or plays with her toys or reads some books, usually she does all at once. But give her a few seconds and she's pounding on me insisting she needs to "EAT." Well, at least she is ready to run outside in case I set the kitchen on fire or something!...

If anyone knows me well, they know I have a thing for shoes. I guess Ellie is a girl after my own heart!
Oh and by the way, the purple socks on her were only because she had cold feet in the middle of the night so I just grabbed a pair and put them on her. She doesn't like to sleep with blankets on her.

Sunday's Haul

We'd taken naps, eaten dinner, cleaned up, and had dessert twice. What else to do but harvest carrots! Ellie loved yelling out "kehwwatts!!!" everytime I yanked one out. She does the same thing when I get a "Keenie!!!" out (Zucchini). Her daily meal routine consists of a breakfast Eggo "wakkle", for lunch a "sannich", and dinner usually "keenie" because she loves it and we are quite overrun with the green wonder. I swear you can harvest "keenie" 3 times a day. Gracee on the other hand speaks perfectly, but always enlightens us with her logic. After dinner we were talking about how good it was that Gracee had eaten all of her food, which is a rare occurrance for our little Somalian. She asked us if it made Heavenly Father happy when she ate all of her food. We told her yes. To which she added, "and when you're good Heavenly Father makes the rides at the park (amusment park) go faster right?!" To which Val and I could not help but replay "Yes, Gracee." What do ya say?!?!?!?!? So flippin cute and innocent. Another bit of logic that she brought out yesterday goes as follows. And honestly, we don't know how she came up with this, or where. We were walking out to our car after leaving the YMCA pool. As we passed through the parking lot Gracee says, "Mom, we don't park in the handicapped spots because we're Mormon, right?!" Val and I both began to giggle, as you can imagine. Then, before we can correct her, she repeats the statement even louder just as we stroll by another family entering the pool. I would love to be there when the Elders knock on their door one day.

Oh, Gracee. The brain juice is flowing...

6th Year Anniversary

6 years ago today, I got up, put on a suit and tie, loaded up the suburban, and drove to the Salt Lake City Temple where I married Val and became the luckiest guy on the planet. I wanted to do something different to express how eternally fortunate I am to have found her and to have spent the last six years with her. So, I decided to blog. Why am I doing this instead of an extra cheesy premeditated card from Hallmark? A. I wanted to share how awesome Val is as my wife and mom to my girls. B. It’s better than doing it in fast and testimony meeting (in my opinion!) and C. Fast and testimony meeting isn’t for a couple of weeks.

Val married me knowing only that we would end up just about anywhere but Utah going to school for 4 years (hmmm, Mark Hackingish. Scary!). I can’t thank her enough for the faith she had in me to board that train and, still be riding it. Val has been there to experience the bliss of 17 final’s weeks, 2 rounds of the Dental Aptitude Test, National Boards Part I, and will experience the wonders of National Boards II and the Western Regional Board exam in the coming months. The type of bliss mentioned is the kind where I get home from school with a panicked/glazed look on my face, offer little conversation, study into the late hours, get up early, leave again, and return home with the same look. She loves it! Val was there to experience the stiff suspension of a Penske Truck for over 2000 miles from SLC to Philly, only to move into an apartment she saw for the first time as she brought the first box in from the truck. Val has to let me spend my days in the most dangerous part of Philadelphia, working on some of the dirtiest mouths there as well. She has been an awesome mom, dealing with our two little pecking ducks like a champ. She works a little at the local ice cream shop to help pay for gas. She does it all.

And, the whole the reason I can write this without her knowing: Val, at this very moment, is sitting as a juror down at the county courthouse. The only reason for this is because we moved into a house 2 years ago in an attempt to establish residency and gain in-state tuition (would’ve saved us $12K a year). Instead, we were denied in-state tuition, and Val got jury duty because we were now registered voters. All so I could go to school. Which, I can’t do at the moment, because I am at home with the kids.

So, on our anniversary, as I sit here as Mr. Mom and you sit there as Mrs. Juror, I just want to say thanks Val, for all you’ve done and do. I promise that the school train is on the last leg of the journey. I am so very lucky to have you, and I love you more than a juror loves a verdict.

Austen's Debut Blog Post

Well, my first blog post. I've been waiting for the right inspiration to start my blogging career and tonight I received it. Let me begin by asking the question, and by doing so do not wish to offend, belittle, or criticize any other faiths different from my own, but nonetheless ask: What is the difference between a LDS ward or stake activity and a Sacred Heart Catholic Parish Summer Carnival?

Val and I and the girls live approximately 1/2 mile from the local Catholic church (Sacred Heart Parish). Once a year at this time the Parish throws a carnival complete with rides, food, cotton candy and funnel cake (the two main reasons for Val's intense desire to attend this year), a band, and many other "subtlties" that for me were very helpful in answering the above question. Again, I emphasize that I am not interested in poking fun at the Catholic religion, I am only pointing out differences.

First, I noticed the Coor's Light Beer Garden. Very large sign, very large sponsor (that's right, the sign said sponsor!). A comparable sign next to that said "18 yrs. and Up Only." At this point, I double checked our location. Yep, we are on church grounds. Okay, moving on. Next, I noticed that there was a dress code for all young women between the years of 9-17: tube top or halter (believe it or not mostly tubes), miniskirt or short short (short) shorts, and sandals (not important). Pressing on I noticed an interesting way to show ones spiritual devotion: 12 inch angel wings tatooed to the shoulder blades of a young women easily visualized with the dawning of the tube top. Do I classify this as A. Ironic B. Devoted C. Hot D. Just Plain Bad A**? That question remains unanswered. Now it was game time. Football toss, ring toss, and the ever popular Wine and Spirits Wheel! Pay a little cash, put your chip on a number, spin the wheel, and with a little luck you get a sip of your choice of a fine display of "Wine and Spirits!" Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this what a bar is? Now, let me enhance the situation. As we strolled on by, we were blown away at how many parents were telling their kids which number to put the chip on! And even better was the guy standing inside the Beer Garden (it was fenced off ya know) yelling across the way to his son to "put the chip on the 10!" I can only assume that in the event of a win the gentleman would have exited the Garden, to claim his prize. Rounding the corner we almost walked right into the "18 and Over Only Casino". Back towards the rides we noticed a ride operator throwing buckets of water on a spaghetti dinner that was successfully rinsed off the ride, onto the ground for everyone to look at. No, spaghetti was not being served. Last, we heard the band playing the chicken song, and singing the lyrics. Neither Val or I were aware of lyrics but they go "and a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, cluck cluck cluck cluck."

If I ever get called to the ward activities committee I am going to have a lot of good ideas.

In the end Val got her funnel cake and cotton candy, and I am cool with that.

Memory Tag

Thanks to the best high school friends ever, I decided to do this myself. Mostly because it's been way too funny reading all of theirs! This blog has been the best thing for keeping in touch with them! Good times, Good times!... Sigh. Well, I hope you have as much fun as I do!...

But first, some flashbacks for ya'all! Oh, and Lindsie, that last one of me and you is because you for some odd reason are not in the "Brady Bunch" T-shirt pics, and I wanted to dig to find a nice one of you and I!:) Girls camp summer after 7th grade! We are hot! Ha ha! I look a little bit happier to be friends than you do! Oh, Ashlee is not in it either, I will have to dig up a good pic of us!





Memory Tag

Here's the fun tag everyone is doing. Don't leave me hangin'!
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.