Aren't I?

"I'm the lost princess, aren't I, Mother?" Mandy announced loudly at lunch today.
Yes, we watched the ending of Tangled today.

Lucky Sevens!

I'm not usually a fan of odd numbers (I know it's weird) but this time, I'll make an exception. I just celebrated seven years of marriage! Here's my top seven reasons why I love Brett so much! (and it was really hard to keep it to JUST seven!)

7-He's fun to watch get into his skinny jeans!
6-He takes me to the temple every month--even if it's on the last day!
5-He makes a yummy dinner on the grill almost weekly (tonight he grilled Manti turkey and pineapple)
4-Almost every treat he has, he shares half with me.
3-He's not afraid of poopy diapers (or panties), or bathing girls, or sharing a bathroom with four girls. . . .yet!
2-He lets me warm my cold feet up on him.
1-He makes me laugh even when I don't want to.

We had a great anniversary day, and the best of the anniversary date is still to come! Despite his personal preference, he's taking me to see Les Miserables musical later this month. He's so sweet!
On May 6 we went to Trafalga to ride the go carts.
Katie and Mandy stayed with Grandma N while Ellie, Brett and I went to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving point. After having such a cold, rainy spring, it was hot and sunny! But the tulips, gardens, and walk was beautiful. We spent lots of time picking out our favorite tulips that we'll eventually plant at home :)We took Ellie to Emmett and Ethel's for lunch and a mini Sundae. We then headed to BYU for standby tickets to see the Carl Bloch exhibit at the MOA. We were led to believe we may not get in at all, and if so, we'd wait in line forever. Turns out, we waited about five minutes before being admitted! I'll take it.By this point, Ellie had only had cat naps through the day and was at her limit. We got Pier 49 pizza for dinner and went home to watch Morning Glory (from the Library) while Ellie napped. We all felt much better! :)The next morning, Ellie went to a friend's house, and Brett and I did sealings in the Provo Temple. We only did two couples, but it was enough to bring back sweet memories. I loved kneeling across the alter from Brett again!On the Sunday before our anniversary, he got up during testimony meeting and went against his norm: he bore testimony and included personal stories too! He talked about the important covenant of marriage and that he is grateful to be sealed to me and looks forward to spending eternity with me. I wish I could remember it word for word, but I was blushing and distracted by my children who decided to get rowdy when Dad left the bench. Anyway, it was heartwarming and reassuring to me that he does love me!Brett, I love you so! We've done some growing, which hasn't always been a painless process, but I would do it all again in a heartbeat! Happy Anniversary!
(PS We got ourselves his and hers Red Sox DVD's-2004 season and 2007 season!!)

New Bikes!

Amanda got a new 12 inch two-wheeler bike (with training wheels) from the Easter bunny. It was just a few weeks ago that she figured out how to pedal the tricycle, and now feels so big that she has a bike like Katie's. She has now taken quite well to the bike, we just haven't yet made the connection with the brakes! She usually slows down or stops by driving into the grass, or getting Mom or Dad to grab her.
Well, with the renewed interest in bikes (and the snow finally stopped), Katie has been on her bike a lot too. We've been debating taking off Katie's training wheels since last fall, and on Wednesday, the training wheels came off. Brett spent about an hour running up and down the sidewalk holding onto Katie's bike seat while she pedaled wildly. No progress toward riding her bike independently.
Thursday, we took off Katie's bike pedals. Brett showed her to coast by pushing off with both feet simultaneously, not alternating feet and "walking" the bike. Still no progress. Friday, we faced freezing temperatures to again try the bikes. This time, Katie put both her feet up on the front wheel hub and coasted between two houses--no push off or anything! She's got it!! After practicing that for a bit, we put back on her pedals and she completed the process.

All in all, it took Katie about 3 hours to learn to ride her bike without training wheels! It took about another 30 minutes to add in how to start, how to stop and step off, and she's all GO! She had almost no crashes in all this process, until yesterday when she's showing off to a neighbor, and she's now chalked up two minor crashes! So fun, and we're so proud of our girls!
The beginning

Getting the coast

We've got it!!

Ellie at Four Months

Ellie had her four month well child check this week. We're excited to say she's growing!! And changing. She's starting to laugh, she still hates tummy time, but at the doctors office, was happy to be on her tummy for five minutes! (Just to make a lier out of Mom!) Ellie is almost starting to roll from her back to her front (she likes to go to her side) and loves to pull her legs up. She's still a momma's girl (wouldn't hardly go see anyone this weekend of visitors). She loves her sisters and will be content for long periods just watching Katie and Amanda read and sing and talk to her. She loves to stand, sit in the bumbo (until it makes her spit up), and loves, loves, loves to suck on her hands! I'm insisting in the binky--I'd rather have one week of binky withdrawals (like Amanda) than 4 years of nagging to get the hands out of the mouth (like Katie)! Ellie is so sweet with darling smiles and coos. We love our Ellie Bellie!!

Stats:
Weight 11 pounds 14.5 ounces (14th percentile)
Height 23.75 inches (29th percentile)
Head Circumference 15.5 inches (12th percentile)

Graduation!

April 22, 2011 at 5:00 pm, DeJong Concert Hall

Brett Thomas Nichols received his Juris Doctorate Degree from the
J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University.

It's been a long road, but we've had so many good times along the way. It hit me as Brett took his last final on April 21, 2011 that we're finally done-with law school, and school. It really has gone so much faster than I thought it would. And we suffered less than I thought we would too! I am so proud of Brett. He has balanced so many things and still succeeded, even excelled. I hope he finds the job that he wants that will value him for all that.
He came home from his last final and surprised me with a bouquet of huge, beautiful, white lilies! He said that as he left his last exam, his thoughts turned to me and he was grateful for supporting him. Wow! I was touched. (and it made up for him making me sleep alone as he pulled a couple of all-nighters this week!)
The graduation ceremony was nice. . . and long. I kinda wished we'd gotten a babysitter, but it was also nice to have the girls be able to watch Brett graduate. They've had to sacrifice their dad for three years for it after all! After Brett got his diploma cover and walked around the stage to go back to his seat, Amanda called out "Is that my Daddy?" and Brett heard it. Cute memories. I look at Mandy and think to myself, "That is exactly how long law school is!"
I spent most of the ceremony out in the halls with Ellie, who was so tired but decided she couldn't sleep in my arms. It was frustrating, but at least I got to see Brett walk, hear the best speaker (the first one), and from what I hear, I didn't miss much by missing the main speaker. Thanks to grandparents who basically had full care of Katie and Amanda!

We celebrated with Brett's parents and my parents afterward with
dinner at the Brick Oven Pizzeria.

J. Reuben Clark

Way to go Brett. Now on to Bar Prep and Bar Exams. . .

B Donald's

While Katie is in preschool each afternoon, Mandy usually just gets lunch at home with Mom, and a nap. Sounds pretty thrilling to me, but not so much to the two-year old. After getting Ellie's Easter pictures taken at the mall, we decided to treat Amanda, who was such a patient girl, with lunch at her favorite restaurant. (besides Applebee's--who knew?)--

"B Donald's"

She had a ball being the big girl (she's gets overshadowed a lot by big sister). She's even gotten brave enough to approach Ronald B Donald himself! (He had soda spilled on his lap--and since we're potty training, Mandy thought he'd pooped!)
She still isn't brave enough to go up into the caged climbing thing. She's a big vertically challenged and often needs Katie's help to get up steps or over obstacles. She was plenty busy, though, with the musical toys.

Ellie, worn out from pictures, pleasantly slept through the whole thing! Thanks, B Donald, for a fun afternoon!