Sleep Over

Melissa moved to Ogden.

It's put such a damper on my social life.

Well, Mark left town so Scott and I decided to leave town too.

I've kinda always viewed Ogden as gross, but with Melissa there I guess I got to get over it.

It felt so nice to just sit around with my bestie. 

We sat around in our lounge clothes on Sunday and the kids had so much fun playing.

That night was the season premier of our favorite tv show, Once Upon a Time and our friend Emily came over to watch with us.

I love late nights with friends and no kids, it felt like the sleep overs I used to have a kid.

The next morning we all went to Ogden's dinosaur park which I heard was so much better then Thanksgiving Point.

I will say it wasn't better, just different, and by different I mean more age appropriate

for Scott.

This place had a whole out door park that featured statues of dinosaurs in close to real size in a nature setting making for a 3D span shot look.

Scott was in Heaven.

We stepped outside to be greeted by a big T Rex eating a Parasaralophus and what does Scott do, jump into character and growl as loud as he can with his claws up high scaring Brayden to instant tears; kinda sad but also pretty funny.

Melissa had fun quizzing Scott and me about the dinos we saw and Scott did a great job remembering most of them.

I love my little paleontologist 

Scott Turns Four!

Scott's official birthday was yesterday.

He has been the size of a four year old for at least six months and his age has finally caught up.

It was a day full of reflection for us since we did the big celebration last week.

Here are some of our thoughts.

I can't remember his day of birth without fighting back tears.

It was a whirl wind of a day that I will never forget.

It was the day that my biggest dream came true.

Do you know that Scott?

I had been praying and dreaming of you for years before I knew I was pregnant with you.

I remember the first time I held you.

It was the closest I've ever felt to Heaven.

You were perfect and remain to be so even to this day.

Your father loved you the moment he saw you.

He had such a hard time handing you to others for the first few days and wouldn't give others much time holding you because he needed to hold you again.

I remember the days blurring together and loosing more and more sleep trying to take care of you and filling that endless pit of a belly.

But your daddy always knew when and how to help.

Friends would tell me to try to sleep while holding you.

I never could, you were just so tiny.

And you couldn't sleep either.

But your daddy could always get you to sleep.

I loved him cuddling you and cradling you so close and you feeling the same safety and comfort that I feel when I'm with him.

Your father has rarely gone to bed at night or left in the morning without checking on you.

through the years you have given me the widest range of emotion I have ever experienced but love, happiness, joy, bliss, pride, and wonder have dominated my life the past four years.

I wish so much out of life for you in the years to come.

But no matter what comes your way I want you to always remember these things.

Remembering these things will get you through any challenge and deepen every joy.

You are SMART!

You are STRONG!

And you are LOVED by Heavenly Father, Jesus, your mom, and your dad.

Don't ever forget.

Thank you so much for coming to this family Sweet Boy.

Happy Birthday!

Dino-Mite Party

For the past four years September has come to mean one thing in this Ellis house:

PARTY TIME!

This year we decided to extend the celebrations to our extended family and close friends.

Scott loved planning a party.

I had planned to make everything a surprise to him but he snuck one glimse at the T-Rex pinata and wouldn't let it go until he could hold it.

I'm so glad he he did see it because as soon as I let him in on the planning the party was all he could talk about.

It wasn't just a lesson in patience but also in anticipation.

With his excitement came a longing in me to give him a great party.

Thanks to Pinterest my hope was able to be realized by pulling together many other party planners great ideas.

At times I wondered if I took too much on but Scott's sweet inquiries and excitement over his party reminded me that it was all for him and he would be happy with little.

When the day of the party came it became a bit stressful to get it all tied together but everyone was patient with my last minute scramble to pull it all together.

Scott asked every day for a week, "Can I go to my Birthday party?"

Everyday we had to say, "Yes you can, but not today."

Saturday came and we finally got to say, "Yes, Scotty, today is your party."

Such a smile, such excitement and such joy crossed his face that I knew all the planning was worth it.

When family and friends started coming Scott was thrilled.

He came alive in a way I have rarely seen.

He greeted everyone as they came in without prompting from us which was so great to see.

He has so much love for his family and friends, he completely feels their love for him which makes me so happy also.

Well to begin the party we had lunched which Scott of course did not eat, not with so much excitement in the air.

Then it was time for the activities.

First off was a Dinosaur hunt.

I got the idea from Pinterest but in the end all my pins gave no help on how to carry them out so I made one up.

I say this with pride because although it was a bit stressful to set up, it turned out wonderfully.

Scott loved going from each dinosaur and I was so proud of him for knowing every name.

At the end of the hunt they found a nest of dinosaur eggs.

I made them days before and I was so nervous that they would either be too hard or too soft for the kids to open with the hammers my sister and I made for them.

But they were just right and the kids had so much fun discovering dinosaurs inside.

Scott was thrilled to find a green T Rex in his which was such a happy chance.

Once done opening their eggs the only thing left to do was hit a pinata.

Scott was so excited for this but I was so proud of him for understanding he needed to take turns.

Even with all the craziness going on I couldn't help but be amazed at Scott's development.

He has come so far.

Before, I was always worried and trying to push him to the next stage.

Now, I just wish he would slow down, he grows so fast.

Well there was one more thing that needed to be done and that involved cake and presents.

Scott loved having everyone sing to him (surprising since he didn't even a week ago) and he even got to blow out his candles even though no one got to see it because we had to block the wind just to light it.

He finally understood the process of opening gifts, tearing open the paper, saying thank you to each person, then setting the toy down and going for the next.

That was the end of the party but luckily people left at a slow enough trickle that Scott didn't freak out over people leaving.

It was just all round a perfect day.

I can hardly believe that it went to well.

Often times I build up this perfect fantasy of how wonderful an event will be and it can seem a complete bust if one thing doesn't go right.

This was not that way.

With all those kids around I did feel a bit of pressure to keep them all involved and happy but not enough pressure to over whelm.

Scott was just wonderful and so happy and well behaved.

Even if everything else was falling apart that is the true sign of success.

Thank you Scott for bringing such joy into our lives.

You are such an incredible child and bring so much happiness to all those around you.

Never forget who you are.

Scotties Best Friend

Scott and Mark are the best of friends.

Scott tells me sometime within the first half hour of being awake that daddy took the train to work.

One of our favorite things to do is walk over to trax and walk with daddy home from work.

Scott also talks about wanting to go to work with daddy.

He just thinks his dad is the best and lets face it, he is.

Well Mark has been taking a few trips this summer and will be going on some business trips coming up along with his first dear hunt which will also call him away.

Scott and I both hate daddy being gone.

I don't know how others deal with having their husbands/ father of their children gone all the time.

I guess they deal because they have to the same way we do but just because we have to doesn't make it easier.

Scott sleeping in Marks spot does help us both though.

Here's Scott so proud of himself for getting to wear daddies shirt to bed.

My siblings and I used to sleep in my dads shirt all the time as kids and I think Scott would love for it to continue in our house.

When Mark comes back it's hard not to indulge Scott at the store when he says, "I want to eat Halloween Oreos with daddy after work."

Seriously, this kid has us wrapped around his finger.

This great shot is a monumental moment.

It's Mark teaching Scott the proper way to eat an oreo.

We've tried to teach him before but that was when Scott didn't dip.

Well he excepted the lesson this time.

I don't know if it'll stick right away but he does love having the milk to drink with his cookies.

Mark we love you and cherish the moments your home with us.

Meal Time

Many of you know from previous posts that Scott has struggled with eating.

For a few years he was eating a variety of 10 different foods everyday.

This has been hard.

Loving this kid as much as I do I just want to do right by him and that includes giving him healthy foods to eat.

Well what you see before you is a boy eating his dinner.

Not just his dinner but the same dinner that Mark and I are eating.

For the first time in a long time Scott ate the same dinner we ate.

I now remove the description of Scott having food issues and promote him to picky eater.

Sure he still prefers the food he has always enjoyed but we can get him to eat other things and even try new things.

One way we have gotten him to do this is teaching him about the dinosaurs and animals he loves and cluing him in to what they eat.

One of the ways we got him to eat the meal placed before him was telling him that aliens eat chicken.

Bet you didn't know that.

Well they do and thanks to their great example Scott eats chicken too.

And beef and green beans and pork and potatoes and so many other foods.

Miracles do happen!

Prayers

Scott got the awesome opportunity to say his first prayer in primary today.

I was worried he might have a freak out with all the attention but, Oh, he didn't!

He didn't even need help.

I went there sure that I would have to at the very least walk him through it.

But I didn't.

When it was time I walked him to the pulpit and he pulled the microphone down to his mouth (I did adjust that a little so it wouldn't kill everyones ears) and just started to pray in a clear voice.

He said he was thankful for his teachers and for primary and for the dinosaurs too.

He asked a blessing on the food and that we would all be safe and have good dreams.

then closed it just right.

Who is this kid?

Oh yeah, he's mine!

I am the proud mother of that cute and awesome kid who says prayers in public places all by himself.

Can't help but give Mark and I a pat on our backs.

I feel like we must be doing something right after that.

Way to go Scotters!

You are such a BIG kid!

Pregnancy Update

Well I'm pregnant and it shows.

I've decided I just get big while pregnant and that's ok.

Sure I'd love to be tiny everywhere but my belly.

I'd love to only look pregnant when seen from the side.

But that's not me.

Oh well.

Something I realize now that I couldn't have known before is this too shall pass.

I mean you know there is a baby inside you but while pregnant with Scott I just felt like it would never happen.

Now I know he'll come out and in some ways it will all happen too fast.

I lost the weight after I had Scott, although it took a lot more work then I expected.

Now I know I can do it.

I can have this baby, I can get through the late night feedings and the long days without sleep.

I can loose the weight and button my pants again someday.

I even get the privileged of knowing that I get to have one on one time with this little guy while Scott's at school.

Experience in pregnancy hasn't made it less exciting or thrilling, it has made it more so.

Sure I still get super uncomfortable and wonder why I asked to go through this again but then I remember how much I love Scott and think, Wow, I get to love another little guy that much.

Exciting!

Let School Begin!

 Scott loves School.

He loves his teachers and the bus and his friends.

He loves the games they play, the songs they sing and the art they create.

I love that he loves it so much.

I love that he gets to do all the things he loves and that he's learning so much, often times he doesn't know he's learning and that is the sign of a great teacher.

Well how lucky is he, he get's two schools to go to this year.

He's going back to the school and teacher he went to last year.

Even though he enjoyed summer school it wasn't the same since Ms. Jan wasn't there.

Scott is so loved at this school, knowing this makes it easier to send my buddy boy off.

Here he is on his first day.

I can't even begin to describe his excitement.

Me on the other hand, missed him and even shed a tear as he drove off.

Why does he need to grow up?

He's Scott a week later on his first day of his other school.

He is taking this with his friend Jade.

I was so nervous about this school because the kids are a year older then him and the kids in his class are considered neuro typical.

I don't know them and I don't know their moms and I get nervous that sometimes Scott needs an explanation.

But then it occurs to me as it has for a while now that Scott is different from other kids because all kids are different.

All kids could use an explanation at times of why they are the way they are.

All parents have the same worries I do.

Will he be OK?

Will he get along well with the other kids?

Will he participate and listen to the teacher?

Will this change be good for him or not?

Well those questions can only be answered one way?

By going forward in faith.

Jade's mom is my visiting teacher and has thus become a close friend.

She told me about Jade's school and her teacher and it sounded like it might be a good fit for Scott.

The teacher has a lot of experience with children with special needs and when I met her I got a good feeling.

She kinda reminded me of my mom when with her daycare kids.

This thought set it in stone because me mom loves her daycare kids and treats them so good with that love.

I went forward trusting in her confidence to teach Scott and I'm so glad I did.

Scott loves it there and seems to get along well with others.

He he doing all the work and making such strides.

Another awesome bonus is having Jade in the class.

Not only because Amber and I carpool but also because Jade is a talker and I can get her to tell me how Scott did.

She tells me who he played with, what he played with, if he did his work and if he threw a fit or yelled at any one.

I have my own little spy.

Scott is thriving in both of his schools, learning different things in each.

He even has homework that he loves doing and I love helping him and getting to see him develop.

It is mainly writing exercises.

I tried working on these things over the summer but he hated it and wouldn't last very long without pulling away and shutting down.

But now he loves it.

Sometimes I get hard on myself and wonder what I'm doing wrong that the teachers are doing right to get him to do things that I can't.

But then I remember, they are professionals, and how blessed am I to get help from the professionals. 

Well here's to another new school year.

Let the good times roll.