Funny Tate-isms

- We were driving in the car a couple weeks ago, on our way to Tate's music class. Ellie was a little fussy and had been crying off and on. For the umpteenth time she started crying and Tate said "Oh man, not again!"

- Rob's sister April had given Tate a package of dinosaur figures while we were at a Sunday dinner. The next morning he asked me if the dinosaurs could have a snack. I told him that dinosaurs ate waffles and coincidentally, that was what I was making for breakfast. He quickly informed me that dinosaurs don't eat waffles. When I asked him dinosaurs eat, he looked at me out of the corner of his eye and said "MARSHMALLOWS!"

- Tate is so excited to be a pirate for Halloween. He is borrowing a pirate costume from his friend Wesley, who lives down the street. We bought him a pirate sword to go along with the costume and since then, his favorite thing to do is sword fight with Rob. The other night they were sword fighting and Tate aimed his sword at Rob and said "Eat my steel!" Apparantly, he heard that phrase in the Veggie Tales pirate movie he is so fond of watching!

Ellie - 10 weeks old

I can't believe how big Ellie is getting. Just today, I looked down at her as I was putting her down for a nap and couldn't believe how big she was. She has lost that newborn look and is starting to look like a baby! At her 2 month check-up she weigh 10 lbs and 14 oz (50th%ile) and was 23 inches long (90th%ile). She smiles a lot now. We have tried making her laugh, but haven't been successful yet. She is still eating every 2-2.5 hours during the day and usually every 3 hours at night. It seems like it is so often. Sometimes I can push her to four hours at night if I keep giving her a binky. I tried putting her down in her crib a couple nights ago but decided that it was too ahrd for me to keep getting up to give her a binky. Maybe in another couple weeks she will be sleeping longer at night and I will be ready to put her in her crib. It is just so convenient to have her next to my bed in the pack 'n' play.

The last couple of days she has been a little grouchy at night and it has been hard to calm her down. Last night I tried calming her down for an hour so she could nurse. I finally stripped her down to her diaper and nursed her in her dark room with the door closed. I wonder if sometimes she just gets overwhelmed with all the noise of a busy two-year old and his parents who are trying to keep up with him. Tate is a great older brother and helps us out usually whenever we ask. He still gives her little kisses on her head and has started asking me what is wrong with her when she starts to cry.

She is not the best at taking naps, but today she slept for 2.5 hours in the early afternoon! Usually she cat naps (20-30 minutes) until late afternoon. I have tried putting her to bed early (around 7pm) but that doesn't usually work. She prefers to go to bed around 9:30pm and wakes up around 8 or 8:30 in the morning.

We blessed her last Sunday and it was wonderful. Rob did a great job with the blessing. He blessed her with unique talents and encouraged her to recognize and develop those talents. He also blessed her that she would grow close to her Heavenly Father through a relationship with the Holy Ghost. He blessed her that she would be married in the temple and that she would return to her Father in Heaven. Finally, he blessed her that she would be quick to repent and even quicker to forgive. I am grateful that Rob holds the Priesthood and was able to give her such a dear blessing.