My Little Princess in Pink

My Aunties sent my little Ella two beautiful dresses that we love. I told my sister, Liberty, that I would take some pictures of Ella in them. The pink dress fits her now, so she wore it last Sunday. Cooper says he loves this dress because it has a "jewel" on it. I thought that was cute. Ella, I decided, looked like a little princess in pink. It is so fun to dress her up, but I have also come to realize that I still enjoy dressing my little boys. The boys just don't have as many layers. When Ella is dressed up for church she will have a diaper, a onesie, tights, bloomers and then her dress! Whew!! Diaper changing is like an excavation. Well here's my little doll, enjoy!She's smiling!! Yay!
Who doesn't love fur collars and tulle!
The little princess is pouty!

Christmas Questions

Here's the picture of my tree, Lib. :)
Here are the kiddos before church.

Here's Coop and Grey.

Okay, I had high hopes to answer a Christmas question every day...as you can tell I haven't gotten around to it. So, my little brother sent me this and I thought that maybe this will do.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? wrapping paper for Christmas. I love wrapping presents for Christmas. The last few years my mom and my sisters will get together and just wrap, wrap, wrap. It is one of my favorite things at Christmas.
2. Real tree or Artificial? well, I love lots of things about real trees...the smell, going and picking one out, but I have to go artificial for cost and ease...plus who can not go pre-lit!!
3. When do you put up the tree? usually we put it up the first few day of Dec., but this year we put it up the week after Thanksgiving and that was fun, too.
4. When do you take the tree down? growing up the tree was down days after Christmas, but since I've been married I've been leaving up until right after New Year and that seems to work for me. I love to sit in a dark room with just the Christmas lights on, so I suppose I prolong keeping the tree up for that reason.
5. Do you like eggnog? I love eggnog...mmmmm!! In fact, there is an eggnog ice cream here that I love, too and now that I think about it, it is great as an eggnog shake as well. So, I guess I'll take eggnog in a number of forms. :)
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Ohhhh, I have lots. I loved Christmas as a child. My mother loves Christmas and that is reflected in my memories. One of my favorite gifts has to be getting a baby doll that I really wanted. I had to be around 5 or 6 and the presents had been opened and my parents said that there was one more gift in the closet and there sat a baby doll for both my sister and myself. It was great. I also loved a porcelin doll that I recieved.
7. Do you have a nativity scene? Oh, I wish that I had a real, special one. Maybe that will be something I will add soon. My mom and I were talking the other day, and she suggested that I get one so that I could have my family add a piece of straw to baby Jesus' manger for every good deed around the holiday season. Phillip's family did that when he was growing up and I think it's a good idea. We do have a Fisher Price nativity that sits under the tree so my children can play and handle it. I thought it would be nice for my kids to be able to play with it and see it often so that they can be reminded what the true reason for the season is.

8. Hardest person to buy for? Ohhh, I don't know. Maybe my dad, he doesn't give a very long Christmas list.

9. Easiest person to buy for? My mom and my sisters are way fun for me to buy for. I go all year long looking at things I would love to buy for them and and so at Christmas I get the chance.

10. Worst Christmas gift ever received? I can't really think of one.
11. Mail or email Christmas card? Mail all the way. I love HOLDING a card and seeing pictures and putting them on my fridge.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I really love them all. Some of my favorite memories grwoing up are being able to stay up and watch the traditional children's Christmas shows, like Ruploph and The Grintch, etc. I have tried to do that as a mom with my own children.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I try and start in late Oct. or Nov.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not that I can remember
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? I love holiday desserts...mmmm! There is also a particular cheese ball recipe that I happen to love.
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? I love the classiness and crispness of white and that is what I have, but growing up we had colored, so I love those too. How can you really choose?? They are both wonderful.
17. Favorite Christmas song? Hmmm, let's see...I am loving the Josh Groban's new Christmas CD, I guess maybe Oh Holy Night, I don't know, there are just too many.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Phillip and I rotate Christmas and Thanksgiving between his family and mine. His family is in Noble, so it's not much of a travel. :)

19. Can you name Santa's reindeer? Let's see, Donner, Dancer, Comet, Blitzen, Cupid...I'm stumped at the moment. I've gotten Mommy Stupid lately..I was sure I could pull those out.

20. Do you have an Angel on top or a star? Star...in fact I have a star themed tree. I love 'em.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning. Since I was little we have opened one gift on Christmas Eve and that was great. Now that I have kids we have started opening PJ's on Christmas Eve that Santa's Elves leave on the front door step.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? I'll have to steal Mackie's...not having snow on Christmas eve or day.
23. Best thing about Christmas? Everything!! I love the holiday season. I love the family, the giving and sharing, the traditions and memories and the time the world takes to think of Christ a little bit more.

Baby, It's Cold Outside!! Brrr!!!

Tonight we were able to go to the Guthrie, Oklahoma "Victorian Christmas Walk-Around". It was sooo cold. It was like 24 degrees with a wind-chill factor of 15 degrees. It is not normally this cold, so we had to bundle up! My family was able to go with my youngest brother, Mack and my sister, Whitney, and her family. We had a fun time, it was just so cold! I had little Ella in my sling and she was in a jacket, her little knitted cap from the hospital (it's purple with a little pom-pom...so cute), her flannel blanket and her fleece blanket. She was snug as a bug in a rug. In fact, she slept the whole time. I was a little worried she would be cold, but thankfully she wasn't. The boys were bundled in scarfs, hats, and mittens and they seemed to be just fine.

The town of Guthrie has a lot of the same buildings that were originally built with the town. In the display windows they show people or items that would've been at the turn of the century during Christmas. It is quite fun and festive. They even have a convincing Santa! Yay! We took the boys and they were able to meet the "real" Santa and Mrs. Claus. Cooper had to take some coaxing, but he finally took a picture with Santa. Santa picked up on Cooper's name right away and called out to him. It was so cute. While we were leaving Santa let out an authentic ho-ho-ho and Cooper's eyes lit right up and he looked at me and smiled. It was great.

Here are the pictures of my chilly boys and "real" (!) Santa!

By this time Cooper was pretty confident of Santa and was even more comfortable with his brother and Dad around.

Here's Ella all cozy after we were done with the Walk-Around.

Ella getting ready to go home in her carseat.

Here we are at home all warm and cozy in our jammies after our cold Christmas outing!

First Ward Christmas Party

We went to the First Ward Christmas party yesterday with my parents and sister, Whitney's family. Getting there was quite the marathon for me. Phillip was at school finishing up his final and so I was on my own getting everyone out the door and looking presentable. I always think that I can do more in a block of time then I am really capable of. Sure enough, that was the case. I went home to get the kids and myself ready, nurse and conjure up some traditional Christmas dessert. What exactly is a traditional Christmas dessert?? I dunno. Anyway, I got the idea that we could get a cute picture of the kids on Santa's lap in sweaters and Ella could be in her "party clothes". My sweet sister, Liberty picked up some darling black velvet pants with a bow in them and a red shirt with a satin collar. Very cute and festive. So, that is what I decided Ella would wear and the boys could be in sweaters. So, when I got home I started to nurse Ella while the boys chilled out in front of PBS. Then I realized I had under an hour to go and I still needed to go get Phillip. So, I tried to nurse and pick out the boy's sweaters and Ella's outfit at the same time. The boys were pretty good about changing..so, I was thinking I'll be fine. Then I realized that I was looking pretty haggard and I needed to change. I went into my bedroom and tried to rustle up an outfit. Not a pretty sight. I did end up finding that I fit some pre-pregnancy jeans (yay!!) but I have some buldges that I didn't have before in the tummy area, well for that matter buldges all the way around. I needed to hide the buldges, but between the buxom breasts and the tummy buldges I was getting pretty frusterated in the shirt department. You should see my closet floor. It is a disaster. I went through sweaters and jackets...you name it, I went through it. By this time Ella is screaming bloody murder and I still need to touch up my makeup and hair, not to mention dress her up on her party clothes. I finally got myself kinda ready and decided to dress Ella, who by the way is still screaming. I put the clothes on and find out that she needs red socks. I can't find them anywhere. When in doubt check the dirty clothes tower. Okay, I finally find them and put them on Ella. They looked very soggy on her. Plan two, find her white frilly socks. Okay, now I need to change her bow. Now I have one child down and I need to get to the other two. Luckily their sweaters were on, no shoes and now Ella starts spitting-up. Yuck...no good on a satin collar...leaves spots. Okay, now I start loosing it. The boys still need their hair done, shoes on and Ella is all wet and spitty. Remember, I only had an hour...I am way past that and I still need to come up with a dessert and pick up Phillip. I manage to get the boys' shoes on and do their hair. I was breathing fire and even the dog was scared of me. I wrangle them all out to the car with the camera, coats, empty platter that should be filled with some Betty Crocker masterpiece, Ella in her carseat, purse and diaper bag. I finally call Phillip who thinks I must be dead on the side of the road by now because I have missed all of his call and I am 45 mins. late. I finally get to Phillip and I run into a supermarket and pick out some cranberry, walnet bread and arrange it on the platter as we pull up to the party. I am frazzled and we haven't even walked into the church party. When we get there Ella is a bit fussy, so my mom helps out. The boys started out behaved, but as the night wore on they ended up become more and more nuts. All I kept thinking was, the picture with Santa will make it worthwhile. Well, as it turned out the party came to a close and still no Santa. I found out that Santa would be showing up after the party...okay. It will still be okay. As it turns out I managed to forget that Cooper is super anxious about strangers. You think, Santa is no stranger...Cooper is no dummy. That isn't the REAL Santa and he doesn't know that stranger under that cheap, white beard. Well, if Cooper is scared then so is Greyson. Well, Grey finally conjures up enough courage to go meet Santa and so we wait in the line. It wasn't exactly an orderly line and it was taking an awfully long time. Grey realized that Cooper wasn't with him and he bowed out. So, no picture with wilty Santa. By this time Cooper is in some corner in time out, Greyson is now sulking (as is Cooper) because they didn't meet Santa, and Ella is spitty and wet. But, I was still determined to get a picture of my kids. I need to post them on my blog, after all!! So, I gather my kids up and here you go...my *sigh* Christmas party pictures.


At the party we were able to have Bad Brad's BBQ and there were paper on the table that they could write to the missionaries in the ward (yay, for Jesse). The boys enjoyed the coloring. In the last picture Greyson is using the cup as a drum while everyone sings Christmas carols.


Here are the pictures after the non-Santa mishap. I was going to get those pictures, darn-it!! Greyson seems to be really excited to smile...or something and posing a baby is a bit difficult! Oh, well. :)

I've been Tagged!

Okay, Whit. Here you go!!

Five things I was doing ten years ago...
1.)Looking forward to graduating high school.
2.)Listening to my favorite CD by Deana Carter (I still LOVE her CD Did I Shave My Legs For This)
3.)Probably being grounded and doing dishes...it was a sentence that I had like my whole senior year.
4.)Crying my little heart out...my boyfriend Kyle left for his mission on Dec. 10th.
5.)Holing up at Holly's house. We would wish that a snow storm would strand us up there. Her house was so comfy.

Five things on my to-do list today...
1.) Shop for Christmas
2.)Take and pick Cooper up at school
3.)Go to the 1st ward Christmas party, and find a Christmas goodie that looks homemade to take
4.)Straighten my house
5.)Nurse, and nurse some more

Five snacks I enjoy...
1.)Twix, Swedish Fish
2.)Ice Cream
3.)Any kind of berry
4.)Carmel popcorn
5.)Cheese, pickles and crackers

Five things I would do if I were a billionaire...
1.) Pay off student loans.
2.) Buy a beautiful house and decorate it.
3.) Buy a Lincoln Navigator and Phillip his Toyota Tundra
4.) Pay off my family's debts and buy my dad the truck of his dreams.
5.) Go coo coo at Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids and coo coo at Gap and Gap kids and Gymboree

Three of my bad habits...
1.) Leaving my make-up on at night...I know, I know it's bad for your skin...I'm just sooo tired!
2.) Letting my laundry pile up.
3.) Not organizing and having too many"junk drawers"...I need to collaborate forces with Lib!!

Five places I have lived...
1.) Stillwater, OK
2.) Tacoma, WA
3.) Logan, UT
4.) Lexington, KY
5.) Sterling, CO

Five jobs I've had...
1.) Pony Express Pizza
2.) Lee's (supermarket) checker
3.) Receptionist at Wade Cook
4.) Frame Stylist and Frame Technition at Dr. Wolfley's office
5.) Mommy!!

Five things people probably don't know about me...
1.) I have snuck out of the house when I was a teenager
2.) I sometimes sweep the dirt under the fridge/stove with my foot instead of getting the broom and dustpan
3.) I love to put headphones on and turn the music up and get "lost" in the song for a little bit
4.) I love to sleep in later then respectable people should
5.) I have a hard time letting go of clothes and shoes that I don't wear anymore and yet I keep buying more...speaking of which I bought the cutest pair of sling-back, leapord spotted high heels today. So cute and way on sale!!

Okay, I know that Carrie's been tagged. Whit you got to Lib first... Holly have you and Alesa been tagged?? If not, consider yourselves tagged and Meredith, of you want to answer the questions we would love to read 'em!! And Phillip, you've been tagged!

One More Snow Day

We were able to enjoy one more snow day together as a family. Cooper and Greyson were able to go outside and slip and slide on the ice. The trampoline was covered in a sheet of ice and they enjoyed smashing it. Phillip was able to work on his final at home today and answer questions his students had online so, he stayed at home. Ella was being a little fussy so she and I layed down for a (gasp) nap! It was such a nice treat. Phillip found out at Texas Roadhouse they have a special on Mon-Thurs that two can eat for $15.49 and Cooper had been begging to go so we decided to treat him. The roads had cleared quite a bit so we ventured out. We had never been to Texas Roadhouse, but it was so much fun. If you ever have qualms about taking a couple of boys to a resturaunt, you wouldn't there. It was great. You can throw peanut shells on the floor and they have festive, country music playing and plenty of rolls and cinnamon butter to go around. Phillip and I decided that they earned our business. After dinner we had F.H.E. Cooper has been asking to get an angel off of an angel tree from a Salvation Army. So, we decided that was a good idea. The boys decided that they wanted to help a little girl that was Gavin or Ezra's age (my nephews). Believe it or not 2 is a hard age to shop for. I felt that we had to buy age appropriate toys, but most toys are 3+ and up or for little children. We were able to find some things. The boys were easily distracted though and it ended up that I found many of the toys while Greyson and Coop were trying out the latest Diego or Thomas toy. Oh well. We talked about helping those that are less fortunate then we are and hopefully it sunk in. I talked to my sister, Liberty, today and she told me about a Sharing Time she did in Primary yesterday and how she asked questions about Christmas. She let me know some of the questions and so I decided to ask Cooper and Greyson the questions on our way home. Cooper actually knew more than I thought he would. In fact, I asked him where Jesus was born and he said Bethlahem in Judea. I was quite surprised because at the beginning of the season I had asked him what the reason for the season was and he said Santa and getting presents. Yikes!! I couldn't believe that I had a commercialized child. We had a bit of a talk after that comment. I think he gets caught up in commercials. Saturday morning is the worst. He has tried to convince me that we need everything from a "carpet" of flower seeds that you lay out and flowers grow to a little play house that has everything from a washer and dryer to a kitchen sink. What can I say, I have domestic boys. :) They did seem to enjoy F.H.E. overall, though. All in all it was a good snow...ice really, day.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas...(or at least a skating rink)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...or a least a skating rink here in Stillwater. We had our first ice storm of the season. Down here we get winter weather that makes the world glisten with ice. It also makes the roads quite tretcherous. The conditions were such that church was cancelled today. So, we carefully made the trip to my parents home a few minutes away and had Sunday dinner with my family. Cooper and Greyson decided that they were going to go out and play at Mimi's. They remembered last year's ice storm and decided that they were going to take their bike helmets, knee and elbow pads. Phillip and I got a chuckle out of that. While we were at my parent's Cooper decided that he was going to venture outside. In the pictures above, Cooper is showing us a sheet of ice that he picked up off the ground. He also is showing how the grass is frozen. It really is crazy. Everything just freezes as it is. You can take a leaf and snap it right in half. After Cooper tried to make a "ice angel" by laying on the grass (not much luck with the angel part), raked up ice off some landscaping and did some ice exploration on the trampoline we decided that surely he was cold enough. Cooper then came in and I made him one of his favorites, hot chocolate. He loved it. Cooper is now holding his breath that school will be cancelled tomorrow. It just might, too. The weather is supposed to continue through tomorrow, we may just need those helmets and pads yet. :)

Ella's One Month Check-Up and My Kiddos

Greyson being his cute little self.

Ella peacefully sleeping in her cradle.

Ella's first "kitchen sink" bath.

Ella's first Thanksgiving.

Cooper and Ella on Thanksgiving day. Cooper, Greyson and Ella the first week she was born. Cooper in his kindergarten class.

Cooper and Greyson dressed up for Halloween. Cooper is a vet and Grey is Pooh Bear.

Phillip and I took Ella in for her one month check-up today. She is actually going on six weeks, so I was really looking forward to seeing how much she has grown. As a total worry-wort and over-anxious mother I enjoy seeing her grow. That means that I must be doing something right. :) Sure enough, she's growing!! My little heavy-weight came in at a wopping 10.3 pounds and she has grown nearly 2 inches since she was born. Yay!! It has been very fun watching her grow over these last few weeks. I did talk to her doctor about reflux, though. I have suspected that she has had it since birth...and she does. Her spitting has become considerably worse over the last couple of weeks. So, Ella was perscribed a perscription to lessen the spit-up and help the acid burn. Hopefully we will see improvement soon. Poor little Ella seems so uncomfortable when she spits-up. It was pretty cute when I picked Cooper up from school, I told him that I took Ella to the doctor. I let him know that she was growing and he let me know that was what he suspected. He let me know that her fingernails were getting bigger. He said that when she was born her fingernails were little and now they were bigger. I thought it was pretty cute that he was basing her growth on how big her fingernails are.

I showed my mom today some pictures that I have taken recently and let her know what pictures I put on my blog. Mind you, she thinks that my children are beautiful as only a Mimi can, but she thought that I should post some other pictures so that all can see a better represention of how my kids look. So, I am taking my mom's advice, as all good daughters should :) and posting some other pictures. So...enjoy. :)

Ella's Beatiful Smile (Grey has a beautiful smile too)

Ella has just begun to smile the last week or so and we are so proud. She is especially "smiley" in the mornings and Greyson and I were having so much fun with her. Her whole face just seems to light up. Grey is particularly proud of his little sister. Both Cooper and Grey just adore her...which is wonderful. He was so excited to be able to take pictures with her. We can't believe that she is only five weeks old. It seems as though she has been apart of our family forever.

Just Getting Started

Well we did it. Here we are following our friends into the world of blogging. I'm not sure how we will do with this but we are going to give it a shot. Steph has been checking our friends blogs almost daily so I thought hey this may be a great way to keep everyone updated on how we are and what we are doing. I personally am very bad at keeping up with friends that have moved away. This will hopefully help.

For those that have lost touch or haven't heard from us for awhile her is a quick catchup. I am still working on my Ph.D in business finance here at Oklahoma State University. Ya that's right, I am still here. However in jsut another year I can change my profile to read Dr. Phil.

Steph is doing a wonderful job being a stay at home Mom of three. Can you believe it. In fact we just had a little girl on October 29th. We named her Ella Grace Humphrey. She was 20 1/2 inches long, and 7 lbs 12 oz. She is already spoiling us. I thought it would be the other way, but if we (more like Steph) didn't wake her up to feed her she would probably sleep through the night.

Cooper is one month away from being 6. I can't hardly believe that I have a 6 year old son. Time really does go by quickly. Cooper is in Kindergarten and seems to like most things about school, except the nap time. It is just too long he says. He really is doing well in school though. He is looking forward to getting some days off for Christmas.

Greyson is now 3 years old and almost eveyday tells us how much he misses his cousin Josiah. I really wants to go and visit him in Alabama as soon as possible. He is also attending a local preschool two days a week for a couple of hours. This gives him some thing that is just his, and gives Steph a little break. Next year it will be Pre-K, which here in Oklahoma is 1/2 day five days a week. We will have 2 kids in the public schools. Makes me feel old.

This is what makes up the Humphrey 5. I debated about making it the Humphrey 6 because our family also has a dog. Henry is a black and silver miniature schnauzer, just over a year. We got him last year and he has been a very loved member of the family since. The boys absolutely love him. Greyson and Henry are always rolloing on the floor with each other fighting for dominance. I think Henry has finally figured out what this new member of our family is all about. At first when Ella would cry he wouldn't know what was going on. He was very curious, but now seems to have it figured out. He really has done well adjusting to a new baby.

Well I am going to try and get some pictures of everyone posted on here as soon as possible, so you all can see the family. For now it is just after 1:00 in the morning so I need to get Steph up to feed Ella and get some sleep. Before I know it the boys will be up ready to watch T.V. and get ready for school.