Dare I Share?

The other day I made a trip to one of my favorite places to go(alone lol) 

 BUT on this day I had Eliza with me who I call my pirate because she loves anything and everything that shines, sparkles and glitters. My mission was to find Coral colored ribbon in a spool to match a dress for an order. I was to get in and get out with no stops along the route to the back of the store and all hands were to be kept close to your body. We rushed in the door went the long way around the check out counters in hopes to avoid the knick knack section and glass cases which led me onto the fruitful path... I passed the floral counter and something caught my eye. There were bags.. ziploc bags filled with stuff and I thought that was strange so I stopped and looked(I know I know I failed my mission) and to my surprise Hobby Lobby had gathered all of the flower tops which I assume were pulled off or knocked off by fellow pirates and bagged them to sell. This is GENIUS! The bags were stuffed so you weren't able to see all the contents and stapled shut but I thought oh I am sure I can make some hair accessories with these and even one flower would have paid for the whole thing. These are all the flowers I got in the bag:

I was stoked theses colors are definitely going to be great for fall there was one other not shown that wasn't useable. The best part is it was only $1.99 for the entire bag! I should have grabbed the other one too!

Elaine Turned Six Months

Elaine turned 6 months today.. adjusted age is 4 months 2 weeks.

She has better hand control she can reach and grab objects including her feet(and bring them to her mouth)
She can roll from back to tummy easily and she can roll tummy to back if she is extremely mad.
She can "blow" kisses. She smacks her tongue on her top lip in response to you blowing a kiss.
She tries to push herself up on her knees.
She has GREAT head control.
She can sit up if supported or in a high chair.
She can spin herself in a circle when she is on her tummy.

All About Eliza

Eliza got her first homework assignment. She was was given a piece of card stock with an outline of a paper doll on it. We were told to have her find pictures of things she likes to do, play, see, family, pets, etc. and make a collage. She LOVES to color so I thought we should make a dress that would be the collage and she could color the doll underneath.She ended up coloring and painting. Well the first thing she said when we got started was I want a picture of the temple and make the dress have sleeves(we made cap sleeves)!! I love it she already is learning the right principles. She cut and glued all the pictures herself and I just trimmed the edges of it into the shape of the dress. She did the rest herself.

Here is what her collage consisted of:

   Strawberries, Cherries, Orange  Juice, Cookies, Nail Polish & Make Up, Bracelets, Mesa Temple, Crayons, A Butterfly she drew herself, Stickers of Ariel and Rapunzel her favorite Princesses, some Flowers and Jewels, and last but not least some random pictures of kids making funny faces in a photo booth. 

I asked her why she wanted to put the pictures of the kids on there and she told me "I like people.. I like talking to people... I like meeting people.. I like playing with people and they make me laugh"

 She was so proud of it when we were done she said she loved it because it was beautiful. I love Eliza she has the sweetest little spirit and makes me smile with all her little quirky comments everyday!

What's all Hidden in Hidden Valley Ranch?

When Eliza was a toddler she use to break out with rashes anytime we fed her condiments so we got her tested for allergies and it came back nothing... she wasn't allergic to anything at all! So what was it? The doctors said it was sensitive skin... Looks like it runs in the family. I completely forgot that hidden valley ranch use to make Eliza break out until tonight. Poor Little Leah looked like this after eating carrot sticks and Hidden Valley Ranch. She never had this reaction to store brand. After doing some Google searches I found a lot of toddlers get the same thing if they have sensitive skin :( something about how much acid is in the Hidden Valley Ranch brand is what does it. You have to click on the pics and make them large to see how bad it is :( the rash turned to welts!

Baby Bling

Usually we get the girls ears pierced around three months but due to lack of funds and mommy's paranoia with her being a preemie we held off. We FINALLY got Elaine's Ears pierced. She did good she cried but stopped within three minutes after both ears were cleaned off. She did quiver her little lip though for about two hours every time Matt looked at her (he was holding her when they got pierced) and then she gave him a look like how could you? We normally get the birthstones but this time we decided to go with the white gold 3mm ball stud. I LoVe them!

Before Side Shot

Cooing at the Camera she was SO excited before she knew what was in store for her!

Her ears were so little we had to mark it twice

Round One

Round Two

After Shot

New Beginnings

Last year Mesa school district decided to do a trial year of Mini MELP for three year olds which was to help the kids get prepared for MELP(Mesa Early Learning Program). Eliza went once a week for the whole year and actually learned so much so when I found out that the four year olds get to go four days a week I was excited for Eliza she LoVeS school! Plus we automatically got enrolled because she attended last year. On Tuesday we had meet the teacher for Eliza and she was super excited that she got the same teachers as last year. Mrs. Helton and Ms. Marrujo

Meet the Teacher

First Day

Today was her actual first day. She woke up well before the alarm. This year I hope she grows and learns who she is. I let her pick out everything she wears and she tells me how to do her hair. When we are done she is so proud of herself. She does a pretty good job too! My little Girl is growing up so fast and beautifully!!

Catching Up

Well it has been a while... a LONG while... Over this last year life has been like a bounce house.. crazy and disoriented but there was always something soft to catch our fall. We added another precious baby girl named Elaine to our family who is now almost 6months old. Eliza is FoUr and Leah is TwO now. Matt no longer works for Gila River... actually he doesn't work at all right now and has been actively seeking employment for a while. BUT life isn't just good.. it great! I am so grateful for all of the many blessings we have gotten over the last year and I am even grateful for the trials we had to overcome because they taught us valuable lessons. My testimony about so many aspects of the gospel has grown so much and I am thankful for having the opportunity in life to receive this knowledge. My hopes are to keep the blog regularly updated from now on so we shall see...