Busy Day

We are loving the weather we've had the last couple days. We can get the girls out to play at any time of day without absolutely melting. Ellie has had more practice on her 2-wheeler, they climbed the tree out front, played with chalk, Ellie tried throwing a frisbee (watch out!) and just had an overall great time. Sarah really enjoys being out now as well, which is nice. We also went to take a look at Ellie's pumpkin that she planted this spring. I was extremely impressed! We dug potatoes tonight and it was Mom's job to do her best to keep the girls from walking on and killing the plants. We ended up with 2 laundry baskets full of potatoes. Yummm! We got a few fun pictures today, though.

F Week

Ellie is in love with projects this week. I'm having to get creative. We took some pictures this morning of all the picture projects she's done this week. "F" is turning out to be a really hard letter to remember. We'll keep working on it!

Plus, Ellie has gotten really excited about that "daddy chain" we made last week. She woke up this morning and the first thing she said to me was, "We need to take off a chain!". I thought she said train and it wasn't until she told me she wanted to take off that colored thing that I understood. I'm glad she's getting the hang of it. Wasn't sure she completely understood what it meant. Hooray for Steve coming home soon!

Can't resist

Sometimes I get the girls dressed in the morning and I just can't resist taking pictures. We took these yesterday. I had bought these outfits months ago and the girls are just now starting to fit in them. It sure is fun having 3 girls to dress up and take pictures of. Just look at how big Sarah is getting, too! It is hard to believe she's already 4 months old. I'm anxious for Steve to come home and see just how big his three girls have gotten. I can bet ya he feels the same way!

"C" Week

So this was "C" week. I wasn't nearly as creative this week and I'm afraid we didn't do nearly as many activities to celebrate the letter "C". Besides, the girls just didn't get along well this week and I felt like I was just playing referee the whole time. Not a lot of motivation to get creative, honestly. But we still did a few things. We made our cookie-cutter cookies, of course. We had a cat, clown, circle, candle, letter C, and candy cane. She made a picture with "C" stickers and of course her visit from Aunt Carrie (on the right) who arrived on the choo-choo train. Ellie put clips in Carrie's hair and outfit and Carrie (and her friend, Denise) had a birthday cake. Next week we move on to the letter "D". She wants to save "E" for when her dad is home, so we'll put that off for just a couple weeks. Steve leaves in only 3 weeks to come home on his R&R. I am so incredibly excited. Can't wait!

On a side note... you know how there are some days you wonder why you even bother? Well, church today was one of those days. I got to hear about 10 minutes out of the 3 hours of church. The rest of the time was spent chasing Katie and keeping Sarah from crying. So why was I there?

Katie's New Trick

Here's Katie's latest trick. If she finds the dryer door open she'll dump all the clothes and climb in with a big grin on her face. She thinks it's great!

Family Visit

We had such a fun time with family here. Geoff and Emily (brother and sister-in-law) arrived Wednesday night and Duane and Jessica (brother-in-law and his wife) arrived Thursday afternoon. We were able to spend most of the afternoon outside playing on the trampoline and just visiting together. We had a wonderful time. Then after bedtime we played "Ticket To Ride". What a fun game! I loved it. I'm definitely hooked! Duane and Jessica were able to stay through lunch (at Avanti's... yummm) on Friday. The girls loved their attention. It was fun to spend time with them. I'm very happy they were willing to stop in on their way home to Idaho. The rest of our time with Geoff and Emily was a lot of fun. Like I said, the girls just loved having them around. It was sad to see them leave yesterday morning. But, they had two more days of travel plus unpacking once they arrived in New Haven, CT. They hope to get there by dinner time tonight and have the Elder's Quorum help unpack their big Penske truck. On to new adventures at Yale! I put up a few pictures from their visit.

It Was Inevitable

So, my little climber, Katie has finally outdone herself. Not only has she climbed into the clothes dryer and up the doors at church, but tonight she climbed right out of bed and fell head first to the floor. Great... I don't know if it was inspiration or luck, but I had just put down a couple pillows under her crib just in case she decided to try that climb. My mom was in there telling stories when she did it. So I guess the fun begins? Now I need to decide if I should lower the crib rail so she has less distance to fall or just wait and see if she learns her lesson? That's a tough one... certainly don't want a broken neck in the process!

It's been a fun week with family here. I'll be sure to write more about that when I get a minute. The girls have loved having the attention from their aunts and uncles. It's fun to let them get to know them all better. Fun!

Typical Army

So we had it all planned out... Steve would come home the middle of October and be here for his birthday as well as Halloween. We've been talking it up to Ellie basically ever since he left. Plus we were planning on flying out to Utah for my nephew, Jacob's baptism the end of September. Then we find out Sunday that he has been selected to take command of the Signal Company in the Battalion (a great career move for him). He will take over the end of November, which means he starts signing for things the end of October. So that means his leave has been moved up over a month. He is trying to head out as soon as September 8th! Whoa! Definitely wasn't planning on having him come home this soon! It's a good thing we didn't have plane tickets or other reservations already made! Now, I don't want to sound like I don't want Steve home... believe me- that's about as far from the truth as you can get. But- I like some control over my life and the Army gives me NONE! I am extremely anxious to have him come home and can't wait- only about a month away! It's all very crazy. So now I need to start planning some fun activities.

We're excited to have my brother, Geoff, and his wife, Emily come visit. They should arrive tomorrow night sometime. Then Steve's brother, Duane, and his wife, Jessica will get here sometime Thursday. It's hotel Streeter around here! We're very happy to have all them come visit.

This week is "B" week. I'll get some pictures posted soon.

McLean County Fair

The McLean County Fairgrounds are only a couple miles from our house, so it's only right that we would take a trip over to the fair this week. Before we left we talked a little about it and Ellie wanted to be sure she didn't step in cow poop and she really wanted to talk to the farmers. It's a long story as to how she came to those two conclusions about what happens at the fair, but we thought it was hilarious. She was disappointed when she got home and realized she forgot to talk with the farmers.

With the humidity it's near 95 degrees out there right now, so we spent only 2 hours there today. But I think the girls had a really good time. They really enjoyed seeing the animals. Even Katie got into it. She loved the petting farm and Ellie let a pig slobber all over her hand. My dad showed pigs in 4-H growing up, so this is all very comfortable ground for him. We walked through the barns for the horses, cows, sheep and pigs. Ellie took a pony ride then we went into the air conditioning and enjoyed our barbecue pork sandwiches. Even if we don't attend the fair, we always get these sandwiches- they are so, so good! Last of all we took the girls on the merry-go-round. I wasn't sure if they girls were enjoying it- their faces were so serious, but once it stopped I had to practically drag them off the horses. I think they were having fun! Sarah was hot, sweaty and feeling pretty miserable in her stroller so we decided to call it a day. On our way out we bought a bag of cotton candy for them to share on the way home. Ellie still isn't convinced about cotton candy. Katie and I love it! I'm really glad we did that. I've always enjoyed going to see the animals, too.

Learning the Alphabet

Okay, so I've had this idea basically ever since we moved here to Illinois that I wanted to teach Ellie her letters. She knows "E" and that's the only one. So, a couple weeks ago I went shopping for fun things to do with letters and I decided to start this week. So, for the next 26 weeks we will be learning our letters. Of course we started out today with "A". I had good intentions to begin our lessons Monday, so I made up the sugar cookie dough. But without Mom here it's tough to find the time to do these projects with Ellie. But anyway- we started today. And Ellie had a great time making her "A" cookies. We had the letter "A", an angel, apple and arrow. Then I had her find the letter on her alphabet puzzle and her fridge phonics. Then we carved the letter "A" in our pot pie tonight. She's really excited about this. I'll think up another fun project tomorrow. I'll also be posting the pictures of our projects as the week goes on. If anyone has some good ideas- I'd love to hear them!

So Sad

You know how you reach that point after having a baby that your hair falls out? Well, I reached that point about a week ago. And the horrible tragedy that followed was that Sarah started to lose hers the same time. NOOOOOO!!!!! And she had such full, beautiful, dark hair. So, so sad :-(

I can't believe it's already the first of August. Time is just flying by. That's good and bad. The girls are growing too fast- I feel like I can't keep up. But, it's also bringing Steve home that much faster. To celebrate the beginning of the month (okay, not really... I just thought it would be fun to dress the girls up) we took some pictures of the girls in their skirts. They are just too adorable...

Fabulous News

I just found out today that my little sister, Cynthia is pregnant! Hooray! She's due January 31st. I am so incredibly excited! Isn't this announcement creative? I was impressed!

We went to the farm where Grandma Sybil Smith keeps her horse, Doc. The girls had a great time. There are 2 horses, cats, chickens, squirrels, and owl and all sorts of other fun little creatures. Katie loved the little dogs which were about her size. We really had a great time. I'm sure the girls will be begging to go back down again to visit.

Pioneer Day

Happy Pioneer Day from the Elgan girls. We had fun taking these pictures. Well, Mom and I did anyway :) We got these bonnets in Nauvoo and just had to take advantage of the holiday to take the pics.

Okay, so while I loved Harry Potter, I did not love trying to read with 3 girls demanding my attention. I would get about 10-minute intervals of reading time then take a couple hours off. This is why I don't read anymore. I get selfish and want to read and then get frustrated because I can't. So, I got my book fill for awhile and will stick with Reader's Digest again until Sarah starts to sleep more. it's frustrating because I absolutely LOVE to read!

There are a few pictures of the girls riding bikes together and playing in the playhouse out back as well.

Good News

So I guess maybe in a small way the US Army does care about its service members. Steve found out this week that his R&R leave was extended from 14 to 18 days. I know 4 days doesn't sound like a lot, but when you're comparing it to 15 months apart, those extra 4 days are HUGE! So, we were happy to hear about that.

Sarah reached her 3-month-old mark on Tuesday. I can't believe she's already that old. She has changed so much. She's such a happy baby- smiles and coos and calls out all the time. It's so funny to watch her interact with her sisters. She loves to get their attention and have them talk to her. Katie was never really that way, so this is a lot of fun for all of us. And of course the girls love it. They climbed in her bed the other night and watched the mobile with her. Very cute. Sarah's reaching the end of her 0-3 clothes now. I always thought the sizing was way off- Ellie and Katie were out of 0-3 clothes by at least 2 months. But I guess when you have an average size baby- it actually does work! Go figure ;) Another thing about Sarah is that she has become just as antsy as her little sisters were about being in the car seat. If we're traveling in the car, she is happy as a clam. As soon as we stop, she wants out. I see all these babies at church sitting in that car seat for the whole block just smiling and playing with toys. My kids? Ha! Sarah lasted almost 3 months of being willing to sit for a little while. I guess an active child isn't a terrible thing. There are just some days (Sundays) where it would be really convenient to have her sleep while I'm chasing Katie around! [2 more months until nursery... just 2 more months].

Katie is a crazy climber. If there is something to be climbed, she just can't resist. This includes changing tables, cribs, chairs, tables, window sills, people, jungle gyms... anything and everything. It's absolute insanity. And it's getting worse as she gets older. It's all Steve's fault. And he'll admit it, too. He was always climbing on something.

Ellie is a smart little cookie. She has taken entire rights to the word "why" and uses it nonstop. Especially when she's not being invited to the conversation. She doesn't miss a thing. We have to be careful what we say around her because she remembers everything. When she's exhausted all my answers, I default to, "because that's the way Heavenly Father planned it". Can't argue with that one!

I've been having a lot of fun shopping this week (taking advantage of nap times to escape). All the summer clothes are on clearance, so this is the time I get to go out and pick out clothes for Ellie for next year. I love shopping for the girls! And of course I add to my own wardrobe when possible. I had only 1 church skirt that fit me since having the baby, so I stocked up on church apparel, which was exciting. I actually normally do not enjoy shopping for myself; it's too frustrating. But I had some really good success this week and that felt really great.

I was also able to take an afternoon off and go to lunch and see "Harry Potter" with a new girl in the ward. What a nice break! Sometimes it feels really good to just get away. It was very thoughtful of my parents to let me do that.

This weekend was supposed to be my 10-year high school reunion (yikes!). I was looking forward to seeing a few of my good friends, but unfortunately it was canceled. They couldn't find enough people that were interested in order to afford the venue. Bummer, huh? And the few people I wanted to see decided not to come into town after all. Gives you an idea of how close my senior class was...

I've been terrible about taking pictures the last couple weeks. There are only a few new ones.

She's Mine

I was going through baby pictures the other day... I find this very interesting. I think you'll see the family resemblance. Fun, huh?

First we have Steve and Ellie...













Then there's Katie (we still don't know who she looks like!)...
And finally Tiff and Sarah.












I just think it is so amazing to see how our children take on different characteristics of their parents. Obviously Ellie and Steve were practically identical. But now people think she looks more like me. I just think it's because she's picked up on my mannerisms, but there is a little of the physical as well. Katie is looking a tiny bit like Steve. Someday we might figure out who she looks like :) So, it'll be interesting to see how Sarah changes as she gets older. Anyway- this was fun for me to discover.

I also added an old picture folder to our picture website. It has a link to when Ellie was a baby. You can also get to those picture from the link I added on the right... Steve's Original Picture Website. That has his pictures from childhood through West Point, getting married and having Ellie. Fun to look at :)