Home, Sweet Home

As many of you know, we've been looking for a house closer to Jared's workplace for awhile now.

As some of you know, about 2 months ago we FOUND a house closer to Jared's workplace. . .went through the whole shebang and became the proud new owners of this charming brick rambler at the beginning of February.

And as you all will now know, we're officially moved in! We've spent this week hanging blinds, unpacking, and getting to know our new hometown. Oh, and doing home repairs, of course--as charming as our home is, like any older house it has its fair share of "quirks". . .plenty to keep Jared busy for awhile, that's for sure!

That'll have to be all for now--Jared just informed me he's got to turn off the electricity on this circuit for a few minutes. ;) Stay tuned in the next few days to see some pics, though!

Overheard

--Daddy is hard at work in the basement, with Elizabeth sitting at his side. She looks up at him and sweetly says, "Thank you for working, Daddy." (As it turns out she was just buttering him up in the hopes he'd give her the hammer he was using. . .)

--After church one Sunday Elizabeth runs down the hall shouting, "I FASTING, Mama!" (Actually, it was Fast Sunday, appropriately enough.)

--We're snacking on sliced apples one afternoon. Elizabeth wiggles her last apple slice around the plate and announces, "It bein' a snake. . .a very CAREFUL snake."

--Mom gives Elizabeth a ball of yarn to play with while she crochets. Elizabeth carts it off saying, "Come on, yarn, don't be sad. . .Let's go!"

Other Elizabethisms:

you = me (yes, it does get confusing!)

YER do it! = I wanna do it!
louding = yelling

moneys = coins

wiper towel = something to clean up spills

VERY kinda yummy = delicious!

hon = all-purpose word with which to end a sentence, e.g. "Help you, hon."

What's In A Name?

More than you might think. Here are just a few anagrams of Elizabeth's name:

three million ameobas

a real zombies hotline

sizeable manhole riot

bohemian zealots rile

liberals haze emotion

Lowell or Lola?

Option 1: Click on the picture above for a bigger view. Solve the cryptogram to find out whether we're having a boy or girl!

Option 2: Forget the puzzle and just call Holly's mom. (Okay, fine, so Jared and Holly might tell you themselves if you called them too. . .)

System Update

Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!

That's right, our little bug is TWO YEARS OLD. We celebrated her birthday by taking her to Temple Square to see the "oh, so beau'ful!" Christmas lights. It was a bit chilly, but Elizabeth had a grand time--she especially liked all the nativity scenes displayed around the plaza.

It's hard to believe that two years ago at this time Elizabeth was just a teeny bundle who did little more than sleep, eat, and poop (though she did PLENTY of those three things, for sure!) Now it seems every day we say goodbye to another part of that baby-ness as she barrels full steam ahead into kidhood. It's bittersweet, really. . .It's so fun to eavesdrop on the conversations she has with herself while she's playing, watch her determinedly try to get dressed "all by'self", and see her zeal for life grow with each passing day. But I find myself eager to rock her to sleep so I can look at that sweet face and think back to those early days we spent in the rocking chair together when she was just that sweet little armful of baby.

Most of the time, life with a toddler is equal parts hilarious and exasperating. Phew. . .I could write a few more volumes on the subject of parenting a toddler, but this'll get you started:

Let It Snow!

We got our first real snowstorm overnight! Elizabeth was so excited to see the snow that as soon as I mentioned going outside, she ran to get her hat and gloves from the closet and immediately put them on. . .but that was it. Once she realized Mom wasn't letting her go anywhere clad only in a diaper, she relented and let Mom (over)dress her a bit more appropriately:


Elizabeth had a blast stomping around the yard, carefully dusting snow off the bushes, and even trying her hand at throwing a few snowballs. Mom made a feeble attempt at a snowman but eventually gave up, claiming the powdery snow just wasn't the right kind for proper snowman-building. . .

By the time the obligatory video and photos were taken Elizabeth was starting to get cold and wet--not that it bothered *her* any, but mean old Mom insisted that she come inside to dry off and warm up for awhile. (Now it sounds like she's up from her nap, so we might just head outside once more!)