Utah

We were able to spend almost three weeks in Utah with our families. The kids and I flew into Utah December 14 and spent a week with family while Ben had finals. Ellie and I did a lot of shopping and Cole did a lot of playing.

Maryn and her girls took Cole sledding for the very first time! (We didn't bring his snow clothes so he had to borrow them from his girl cousins, hence the pink and purple attire):

Ben finally joined us on December 19. We had a party with the entire green family that night...all 34 of us! It was a full house and a lot of fun. Since this was the only time we would all be together for Christmas, the kids got to open their cousin gifts. Cole was excited to get a garbage truck from Tessa! And Ellie got adorable huggalugs and a bow from Emersyn.

The next day, December 20, both of our families got together for Ellie's blessing and a dinner:

The next day, December 21, was the Santa Lucia party with the Coombs fam:

We had "Christmas Eve" with the Coombs fam on December 23. We ate prime rib, acted out the nativity (Cole was a shephard and wouldn't take his costume off the whole night), opened a present from the Swedish Santa, and sang songs:

Christmas Eve with the Green fam was the usual: dinner and chocolate fountain, Grandpa told a story, acted out nativity (Cole was a wiseman this time and wore his costume the rest of the night again, and Ellie was baby Jesus), "The game" otherwise known as "Rip, stick and roll", and new jammies for the kiddos. And as usual, Cole was sporting a few bandaids. This time he had one big owie on each cheek so he looked like a football player:

The new additions to the Green Christmas Eve was Dan the Man returned for some singing, we saw Santa's sleigh in the sky, and we had drunk carolers at 11 pm. It was an eventful night!

Christmas morning we opened presents at GG and Grandpa Greens. Cole and Ellie both got quite the stash:

After breakfast we packed up all of our loot and headed to Grandma and Grandpa Coombs house, where we got spoiled with a ton more presents. Cole was worn out from Christmas Eve and took a LONG nap through opening presents, so he got to open his later all at once:

Once all the celebrations were over we did a lot of sleeping and hanging out with family and friends:

Cole snuck in at least one bubble bath a day in Grandmas fun jet tub:

We couldn't miss the carousel at the mall:

Maryn did a photoshoot for us. It started out as a photoshoot for Ellie in her blessing dress, but ended up being a family one. Thanks Mar!

Our last party was New Years Eve at the Coombs. We had family pictures, ate a ton, and played ping pong and Band Hero. It was a fun way to end our vacation...and somehow the camera disappeared in the diaper bag and was lost for a week so we didn't get any pics. Go figure.

We had to fly home on a busy New Years Day, but we had Ben with us this time so things went smoothly. We had a great time in Utah with our family and friends. We love you all!! But now it's time to unpack and get back to real life in Iowa.

A Merry Christmas To All...

I procrastinated our Christmas card this year and ended up throwing this together last minute. It was too late to mail it in time, so to everyone who reads our blog this one is for you :)

We are so grateful for our Savior and all that he has done for us. We are so blessed to have two beautiful children who bring so much joy into our lives. And we are grateful for our wonderful family and friends. We love you all and hope that you have a wonderful holiday season!

Ellie's Blessing

We were able to bless our beautiful baby girl while in Utah with all of our family. We got together Sunday, December 20 in the evening. Her daddy, both grandpas, and her uncles were able to use their priesthood to give her a beautiful blessing. Afterward we had a dinner, because eating is Ellie's favorite thing to do :) She is so lucky to have so much family who love her to pieces, and we are all blessed to have her in our lives.

Elise is my angel baby and I can't imagine life without her.

You are the princess of our family and we love you Ellie bug!

Snowed-in

What did I sign up for? We got hit by a crazy blizzard last night. It was so bad that all of the schools and a lot of businesses were closed today. We were warned to not leave our houses unless it was an emergency. When we woke up we were literally snowed-in! Our car was buried...there was no way we were going anywhere.

So we decided it was a jammies day :)

By 2 o'clock we had 16 in of fresh snow and a 5 ft wall in front of our door. We were definitely not going anywhere for awhile.

Ben manned up and decide to attack the wall. It took awhile, but he managed to dig us out.

It was too windy to play in the snow, but it was fun to have Ben home all day for our Snow Day!

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

We got our first big snowstorm today. It's been snowing steady all day, and it's supposed to get worse tonight. Of course the snow comes on a day that we had fun plans. We were all ready to go to the mall to ride the train, and then I looked out the window and all I saw was white. Cole was set on leaving the house, so I bundled up the kids and we made the trek two buildings down to play with Mindy, Rykker and Brigham. Cole wanted to walk in the snow, what two year old wouldn't? The sidewalk blended in with the grass and the street so he kept drifting off the sidewalk and getting stuck in knee-deep snow. Next time we'll remember the snow pants! Or just stay home :)



Why is snow so appetizing to kids? Cole ate it off the ground outside, off his coat, off the stroller, and off the floor inside. I know it's gross, but it won't really hurt him. Sometimes you need to let your kids be kids!




I'm not a fan of the snow, but who doesn't love the first big snow of the season? The world blanketed in clean white snow is such a beautiful sight! It really is a winter wonderland.

2 Months

My sweet baby girl is 2 months old! I can't believe how fast she has grown. At her two month checkup she was in the 100th %ile for weight (13lb 12oz) and the 90th %ile for height (24in)! She is way chubbier than the other babies her age here...and we love it! We wouldn't want her any other way.

Even though her cheeks way about 5 lbs each she still smiles all the time! She loves to talk and smile, and sometimes she even laughs. Ben always knows how to get a smile out of her. He says it's because he speaks her language, but I think she is just a daddy's girl.

She loves her mommy too (even if it just for my milk). She starts crying every time I leave the house, even when I leave her full and asleep. Somehow she knows when I leave. It makes it even harder to leave her when I have to.

Cole still loves Ellie and he is an awesome big brother! He loves to talk to her, hold her, and take care of her. He is really good at getting us diapers and wipes, and he even wipes her mouth when she drools. I hope that this isn't just a phase and that he always loves his "baby sister"!

Elise is starting to sleep better at nights. Finally! She is a night owl like Ben and Cole, but when she finally goes to sleep about 11 pm she sleeps until about 4 or 5 am. She hasn't been doing it long, so I hope I didn't just jinx it :)

We all love our sweet baby girl and we are so blessed to have her in our family!

Funny Little Man

Cole is a crack up! He is always saying and doing the funniest things out of the blue that make me laugh. He is such a clown, always trying to make us laugh and laughing at his own jokes :) I was just taking a trip down memory lane of the last few months and thought I would share a few funny moments.

Cole will never look at the camera if he knows I'm trying to take a picture. I could never catch him looking and smiling, which was odd because this kid is constantly smiling and laughing. Something about the camera makes him frown. One day I asked him to give me his biggest smile and this is what I got:

I thought I was on to something...I had finally figured out how to get a look and a smile! So I tried it again, and this is what I got:

So much for that idea. What a goofball! He may not give me the biggest smile anymore, but he does give some pretty hilarious faces :)

He has been fighting me on naps for the past few weeks, but he still needs them so I enforce them. He always plays for awhile before finally giving in. I went in to check on him one day and this is what I found:

Yes, his head is in a box. As long as he's asleep, who really cares? I got some peace and a good laugh!

The other day I was eating something and Cole said "Don't eat dadda's silly momma!"

Cole came up to me one day wearing red oven mitts and said "Look, I'm a lobsta!" I don't know where he comes up with his crazy ideas, but I love them!


He often tells me "I'll be right back mamma, stay right here" when he goes to do something.

The other day I said "Cole should we get you dressed?" and his response was "No thanks, I'm not ready to go bye bye". I learned a valuable lesson: Don't ask a 2 yr old if they want to do something and expect the answer you want.


This morning he asked me where a toy was and I said I thought it was downstairs and he replied "Actually, it's not." This kid hasn't learned yet that moms are always right :)

Just thought I would share a few of his funny moments. I wish that I had them all on video so I can remember them forever. There are so many moments that I thought I could never forget that are already hazy. He is a funny little guy and I love him to bits and pieces!