Ok... this is seriously scary!

Take a look at that profile! Whoa.
Hopefully our next post will be about our new baby boy!

Ava-isms

Amy (after hearing Ava cough suddenly): "Wow. Where did you get that cough?"
Ava (without pause): "From the pickle-jar."

Amy: "Sorry, Ava. We aren't going to have any more crackers."
Ava (with drama): "But MOM! Then I'm going to die!"

Ava to Elle: "Hurry! There's a lion coming and he's going to get us in 2 'sekons' flat."

(Playing Jewelry store with playdoh necklaces...)
Ava: "I made this bee-uuuuuU-tiful necklace."
Amy: "How much does it cost?"
Ava: "About 7 weeks."

(Reading Sleeping Beauty before bed:)
Amy: "... and they named her Aurora."
Ava: "hmmm... maybe they should have named her Tina."

The day is full of millions of these little joys. I wish I could bottle up the giggles, luvs, smiles, and funny little thoughts.... They fleetly fly.

Merry Christmas!!

After all of Elle's planning and counting-down to Christmas... she ended up being very very sick on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day. She had a high fever and could barely lift her head off the couch to eat or even read a Christmas story. It about broke my heart! She asked to go to bed early on both nights... but she was ever cheerful and tried to make the best of it. Ava felt fine, but was keeping Elle company on the couch.

Christmas Eve dinner...

Opening stockings...

Modeling a Christmas dress from Grandma...

Giving Dad his present...

Double fisted chocolate consumption...joy!

Enjoying new Christmas treasures... stickers, crayons, paper, flamenco dresses ...
who could ask for anything more?

Do you ever feel like this?

I do!

Joseph's Technicolor Stable

Miss "Deck the Halls" a.k.a. Elle Robinson is in full crafting mode. Every morning I hear her in her bedroom switching on the light and busy before any of the rest of us are up. When I finally come to, she shows me her new creation -- made of collected bits of string and shiny paper, or a feather from an old Indian headband, or a piece of fabric that Ava ripped off of a barbie skirt, along with a saved sticker, etc. Something to hang up for Christmas.

Elle had made the 'stick house' with her dad as a Saturday project she dreamed up a few weeks ago with sticks she carried home from the park. She had painted walls and a roof -- and we decided it would make a great stable. A few days later she was cutting strips of paper... she saved them in a pile I was so tempted to throw away! But when I asked what they were for -- she said "It's hay for the stable!" So we finally made the figures (toilet paper rolls!) (Aside: after we made the Shepard and the angel and Mary and Joseph, the girls rushed them off to play -- and I could hear from the other room Ava's angel asking the Shepard if he would marry her? He said yes.)




And here it is. Isn't it colorful? We found this place for it where the Angel can fly from the lamp and the star can be lit from behind. The girls are thrilled with it. Our tree is up (OK, so it looks like a branch) and the girls are in love with that too! Each night we read our stories and scriptures by it, and it is as cheery as can be. Oh, to be like a child and see the beauty of the shiny paper and bits of string catching the light on a plastic tree -- more beautiful because they helped in the creation. As Elle sat an looked at the tree the night we decorated it, she said with a sigh "Oh Mama, I think this is the most beautiful tree in the whole world. I love Christmas. It just really makes me think of Jesus." With tears in my eyes, I whole-heartedly agreed.

Gracias-giving!

It was a taste of home... we were thankful for the invitation for a Thanksgiving meal at the home of the Wilson's -- a kind family from our ward. They invited the other Americans in the ward (that totaled 14 of us -- including our kids) and put out a beautiful spread. Nathan helped carve one of the turkeys and I just helped lick the plates clean! We are thankful for good friends here in Madrid who have really helped us at every turn. We are thankful for a loving family who sends love by prayer and packages! We are thankful for each other...

and for the little turkey in the oven.

Elle Turns 5!

After weeks of planning and anticipation... We finally celebrated Elle's 5th Birthday!! She has been making all sorts of plans, and I was worried that the day may not live up to her expectations... but she kept saying -- "This is my favorite day!" so, I think it turned out alright.

In the morning she woke up and got dressed in her white button up blouse and wool jumper -- and had asked us all to also come to her birthday in nice clothes ("You can wear one of your black things Mama" -- I don't fit into many clothes these days. ) -- and we were each handed a "ticket" (a small plastic heart) to come to her party.

She saw all the presents I had laid out and the banner I had hung up -- and oohed and aahed.
She had also made a little sign where she printed:
"Happy Birthday turning 5" which she taped to a big stick from a pine tree we found at the park. and set it by the front door "so that people could see there was someone having a birthday in here!" (sad I don't have a picture of this!)

Then we had pancakes and fruit shake for breakfast. Nathan sang all the birthday songs he could think of and told her the story of when she was born.

Opened presents.

Then the girls played with the presents -- Elle got a music box from mom, and a Paris Eiffel tower (which we got in Paris) from dad, a pony from Ava... and some other nice things from grandma and grandpa.

Went to violin class (which took most of the day -- it is a long trek -- and the trains run further apart on Saturday) -- where the group class played Happy Birthday on their violins and cellos -- and sang 'Feliz Cumpleanos' to the birthday girl.



When we got home it was time to make the cake, and then -- THE PINATA! The girls were so excited about this! (I know, don't laugh, Elle and Ava and I made it -- It's a dinosaur egg).












We played some other games to Elle's request: Bowling -- with a plastic bowling set we have, and dance party! But when I started dancing with my big belly swinging around in front of me, she called it off... I'm serious.

Time for Elle's dinner: Asparagus soup, salad and fresh bread from the bakery, with butter.







The girls made necklaces and bracelets with a new bead kit Grandma sent.


Then CAKE. Elle wanted M&M's and whipped cream... and chocolate cake. It was pretty delicious. And a very fun day.

What a girl! We love our Elle -- but she's growing up way way too fast. Here is a little review of her over the years!

Day 1

1 year old

2 years old


3 years old

4 years old

5 years old!!

Pumpkin tree...

Later with just our family we carved a little pumpkin --
with a Christmas tree on it! Bet you've never seen that before!

Our Halloween

We had a little Halloween party of sorts. We invited our friends the Rasmussen's to come have a "Spooky Lunch" with snake sandwiches (long baguette with a snake face), blood soup with beetles (tomato soup with black olives), chips and spiderweb dip (guacamole with a sourcream spiderweb on top), and eyeballs (deviled eggs)!

Then the kids trick or treated down our hallway,

knocking on the doors to the bedrooms and bathrooms, where each of us adults manned the doors and gave out treats.
We decorated cookies, and ate all of them! When our guests left and we closed the door, Elle flopped on the floor and sighed, "Whew. That was FUN!"

When your daughter asks to fly...

It all started as a little conversation over breakfast.
Elle: "Mom, do people ever try to fly?"
Amy: "Sure" -- and then I expound upon the ways that people have made wings for themselves and flying machines, some that work, some that don't. Hang-gliding, parachuting, airplanes, etc.
Elle: "Well, that's what I'm going to do for my birthday" (everyday it is a new idea for her birthday!)
"This is what we need to do. I need some balloons. The kind that have the different kind of stuff in them that you were telling me about, the kind that is lighter than air?"
Amy: "Helium?"
Elle: "right -- helium. Maybe 8 or so."
Amy interupts: "I'm not sure I know where to get those."
Elle: "Oh, mom, we have lots of time. You can just call around and ask and find the word in Spanish and find out... then we need a rope. Do we have lots of yarn?"
Amy: "No, we don't have any."
Elle: " That's ok, we'll get it at the store and we will braid it together so that it is really long, in rainbow colors. Then on my birthday, we will tie it to my waist and put the balloons on my arms and go to the park or somewhere where there aren't too many people or cars."
Amy: "I'm not sure, that we will be able to do that because...well..."
Elle: "Don't worry Mom! It is going to work out, should we go to the store right now to get the yarn?"

I tried to gently squash the hopes of that particular activity on Elle's birthday, but she has it all planned out and will not be deterred! Who am I to tell her she can't fly? I remember when she was a baby -- and we saw the moon in the sky one night and she earnestly reached for it and asked me if we could reach the moon?
What is a mom supposed to say? She has so much belief and hope.
I guess I wouldn't put it past her to fly or reach the moon.

Ava Means Bird

We were walking home from the bus stop, and Ava saw some small brown birds on the sidewalk. She started to worry "oooohhh. Those little birds are looking for their mama! Where is their mama?" And she looked up to the trees and sky, searching for their mom. They were not baby birds... but because they were little -- she assumed that they were in need of a mom. After looking around and deciding there was no mom in sight, she said "I know. I will be their mama. I will take care of them." Another pause. "As soon as I turn into a bird, I will be their mama."

Our Madrid Piso

One side of our living room with a nice view of some city and mountains in the distance. I often find Elle in here watching the sunrise.

The other side of our living room with a dining table on the left side which you can't really see and on the right a library of art history books.

Elle's "Princess room". She loves it in here.

Ava's room. She loves to sit in here and do puzzles and look at books.

European Adventure photos

Here are some slideshows of pictures taken on our 10 day European Adventure. The slideshows here are pretty small -- if you click on them, they will open bigger.

Florence and Barcelona Slideshow

Venice Slideshow

Paris slide show

Elle's E String Concerto

Daddy-Daugther Birthday -- March 9, 2008

Happy Birthday to Nathan and Ava Natalie!

It was a double-fun day!

This year was especially fun as Ava actually looked forward to her birthday. She would request a birthday song "ah-me" (for me) several time daily for a couple of weeks before March 9! She woke up and knew it was her special day... and she beamed all day long -- you can probably see in the pictures. And she had fun knowing that it was Dad's birthday too. She loved the songs, the presents, the candles, the strawberries, the "chocolate cake" (brownies) and ice cream.

What a fun day.

Valentine's Day!

Valentine Morning...Valentine party with our friends the Bates family and the Anderson family...
the chocolate fountain was a hit.

Bathing beauties...

Ava and friend Dallin -- little pals. She calls him "Baby" :)

Elle's Violin!

When asked what her goals were for the year, Elle said " I'm going to learn to play the violin." At which point I promptly looked up Suzuki violin teachers and voila just a few weeks later we areon track for her goal! We had to order a special size -- so we were waiting for it to come in the mail...when she heard a knock on the door on Valentine's day, somehow she knew that her violin had arrived. She threw open the door, and ripped open the package and she hurried and put the bow to the violin... unfortunately, it didn't make any sound (no rosin on the bow!) "Mom! It's broken!" When we got some rosinon the bow finally, she put the bow to the untuned strings and was thrilled by the sound (or NOISE!) it made! She played it again and again and again...
"Oh Mom, isn't it just beautiful!" What fun!