House Party playdate

So, some of you might know that I am into free stuff and couponing and I just wanted to share one of my favorite ways to get free stuff and coupons (at the same time) and also use it to spend more time with friends and/or family.

I apply to do "house parties" online at http://www.houseparty.com/. This is a nationwide thing where you apply for a party and if you get selected they send you a package full of great things for you and the guests at your party. They have parties for all kinds of things - food products, sporting events, games, etc. Parties I have been selected for have been for Dominos Pizza, BIC Soleil razors, Febreze, and Sandwich Thins (yummy!!).

I just had another House Party on Saturday. It was for Philadelphia Cooking Creme. It was lots of fun and the food we made was fantastic. I just did the party as a lunchtime playdate. My sister-in-law was able to be there and a few friends from church came with their kids. A great time was had by all (I think). Plus, they all went home with coupons, new wooden spoons, cooking tips, and other goodies.

Anyway, I just thought I would share because I think it is fun!! Paisley, Ely, and Eva Paisley, Mataya, Ely, and Eva

Megan - thank you so much for coming and helping with the food. Eva had tons of fun with the girls and really wants to come to your house soon!

Jeff - we are glad you were there too. We love having you guys over!!

Visit to the Farm

Earlier this month we went to see Gma and Gpa on the farm. We all had lots of fun!

Sorry there are no pictures of mom. She was there and we had fun with her, too! She took me, Eva, and Ely with her for the Kasota Sagehens lunch at Perkins and the old ladies just thought the kids were adorable!! It was fun. And, thanks for babysitting Friday night, Mom.

Ely can't wait until he is big enough to go play outside with Grandpa! Eva had fun seeing the cows. She really wanted to pet a calf, but didn't get the chance. Maybe next time!

Big tires in the pasture.

She loves going on the tractor with Grandpa.

This is Eva on the tractor the same time last year!

Quick Update

It was too bright one morning for Eva to open her eyes, so she had to wear her sunglasses to eat breakfast. She is a funny girl! Ely is 4 1/2 months old now. He is a pretty happy guy and we love having him around!

Here is Ely at the doctor's office this week for his 4 month checkup.

He weighed 17 pounds, 79th percentile.

He was 27 inches long, 95th percentile.

He is in the 97th percentile for the size of his head.

Eva must have seen Paisley's picture and thought it looked like fun!!

Ely with Grandpa at our Super Bowl party. A few minutes later he was snoozing on Grandpa's shoulder!

Ely giving Aunt Melanie a big kiss!!

McKenzie helped make the tortilla chips for our Super Bowl party. Brian was cheering for the Steelers, thus the colors of the chips. We had a fun party...even though the Steelers lost.

The Nordic Center

On Saturday they were having a free day at the Nordic Center for City employees. Eva tried out the cross country skis for a minute but couldn't really do it. They had this sled there that you could use so Brian pulled her around. She liked riding on that. After awhile she just wanted to run and jump in the snow. I tried the skis for a bit, too, but I was so nervous that I was going to fall over with Ely, so I switched to snowshoes. It was a great workout!! We turned Ely around to face me and he fell right to sleep and slept the whole time. The weather was beautiful and we had so much fun!!

Just some random pictures...

Our "Big Man" is 3 1/2 months old now! He is a great baby and is growing so fast!!

Ely decided about a month ago that he liked to suck his thumb. Isn't that cute?!!Ely with his Great Grandma Knoeppel. She lives in Kansas, so we don't see her as often as we would like. She got to come to my parent's house for Christmas this year, so we were excited to spend some time with her!

Ely and his cousins Kevin and Adam (brothers). Ely is 2 months older than Adam.

This is me with my sister Becky. She is holding Ely and I am holding her baby, Adam. They live in California and drove to Idaho for Christmas. It was a lot of fun spending time with them, too!

Ely and his cousin Mataya. Ely is 2 months older than Mataya.

I love my little family!

You know what stinks about being back at work...

Ely just rolled over for the first time and I missed it!!!
At least Brian got it on video so I can watch it when I get home.

Yesterday was my first day back at work after having 12 weeks off to stay home with my family.
Sorry no picture right now, but Ely now weighs 15 pounds 5 ounces (94th percentile) and is just over 25 inches long (92nd percentile). In one week he will be three months old. I will try to post some pictures soon!

A few pictures

Ely hit the two month mark on December 3rd. He is growing so fast. As you can see from this picture, he is not starving!! He weighs 14.5 pounds. He is a great baby and we love having him in our family. Ely has started to laugh and he has a great smile. It has been so much fun staying home with Eva and Ely. I'm not really looking forward to going back to work after Christmas (even though I love my job). It's just so much fun being with these two kids all day and seeing Brian more often. Here is Ely with his new cousin, Mataya (Jeff and Megan's baby). She was born on November 30th. She is a cute little girl. My sister Becky also had a baby last week on December 4th. She had a boy and his name is Adam. I don't have his picture yet because they live in California, but they are coming for Christmas. Yippee!!

Here is my Dad with Mataya. What a proud Grandpa!! He just loves having so many granddaughters. (12 granddaughters and 4 grandsons)

We put up our Christmas tree yesterday. I was letting Eva put most of the ornaments on. If you can tell from the picture, they are all in the same place! She was a great help though and had lots of fun putting up the decorations.