Remarkable Ridenours: March 2009

Monday, March 30, 2009

Zoom! Zoom!

Xander sure figured out this remote control car fast. Daddy was showing him that the car moved when you push the thumbstick & he snatched the remote and started following the car around. He had so much fun making the car move around the family room. Elsha just sat in the middle of the room and watched the car zoom around her.

Xander is still working on finesse - right now the car SLAMS into everything, the couch, cabinets, table legs, the car, occasionally Elsha, and more often then coincidence could explain - my ankles!

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Check It Out

Check out all of Esha's adorable pics in the new link to the right under Scrapbooks & Albums or click HERE

Thanks for the CD Kristen! You Rock!

Friday, March 27, 2009

SUCCESS!

WELL KINDA...

I decided to try the cake thing again. Especially since I already made the buttercream icing & marshmellow fondant for my previous attempt. It worked out pretty good. There are a few things that I can improve on - well okay, alot of things. But for my first cake and my first fondant cake I'm pretty proud.

9" Yellow Cake, Carmel Filling, Marshmellow Fondant

Monday, March 23, 2009

Try, Try Again

I was feeling ambitious and decided to make a cake. I made some marshmellow fondant last night - with success. Today I just needed to make the cake. I picked out a strawberry cake and marshmallow creme for the filling. I found this nifty trick to getting the cakes to bake really flat so there would be no need to trim them. I just didn't take into account how much it would affect the baking time! I used the tried-and-true toothpick trick and it came out clean - I PROMISE. Unfortunately my cake fell apart because the bottom wasn't done. :(

This is what I was going for:

This is what I got:

Xander assured me that no matter what my cakes look like he will ALWAYS be my taste-tester.
This cake was XANDER APPROVED!!!

Friday, March 20, 2009

He Thinks He's Soooo Sneaky

Each night we gather together as a family and say a prayer before bed time. It is such a touching moment to watch Xander fold his arms and bow his head. He often reminds us we need to say prayer by saying "prwayr." He is such a good kid... until....

Last night Wylie, our dog, decided to join us for prayer. Afterwards Xander decided she needed to be outside and swiftly ran off to point to her dog-door and tell her to go "ou si" (outside). When he didn't return to his room to go to bed we went looking for him. He was no where to be found! I asked if he went outside, possibly following Wylie out the doggie door. That's when we heard it - a little giggling noise coming from the laundry room. Xander rarely goes in our laundry room & never without his dad or me already being in there. He was tucked behind our half wall giggling in anticipation of being found.

That kid never ceases to make me laugh!

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

SO EXCITED

Kristen, our photo lady, came by today to take some pictures of Elsha. I was so excited when I saw this one was already posted! Now I'm tempted to sit here and press 'Refresh' on her website over & over & over while I eagerly wait for the other pictures :)

Here's Kristen's website if you're interested in having an amazing photographer take some great pictures - I highly recommend her!
http://www.kristenspencerphotography.com/

Look for the rest of the pictures to the right under Scrapbooks & Photo Albums. It will get added as soon as I get all the pictures!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

She Just Needed The Right Motivation

Elsha crawled for the first time today! I was so excited to watch her but felt bad for her at the same time. Why??? Well Xander took the toy she was playing with so she started to cry and then crawled after him. I guess she decided the sedentary life was not so great when the good toys get taken away. All she needed was the right motivation & now she's on the move!

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Yeah! I did another page.

I'm nowhere near caught up - but I'm finally feeling like scrapbooking again. I should get several pages done in the next few days, children allowing of course. I won't post them all here - but you can check out my scrapbooks using the link under our 'January Family Pictures' slideshow. I'll get '09 updated soon!

I love this picture of Xander. I haven't been able to catch his smiling eyes before because he's a ham for the camera. There are times he smile like this so big that his eyes are just tiny slivers in a crescent shape.

(updated 5/23/10)

Elsha is 2 years old and is full of sunshine and happiness. That girl has the ability to light up a room when she enters with a smile. She is a Daddy’s girl through and through. They have such a sweet relationship. I never would’ve guessed that a child’s birthday could make James tear up – but her 2nd birthday got him all misty eyed. So does her smiles, hugs, “I love yous,” and overall happiness so I shouldn’t have been too surprised. Elsha loves letters and numbers. She has known them all since she was just over a year old. She’s well on her way to learning how to read by 3 years old! Xander tells Elsha she is a princess every time she wears a dress, therefore, she likes to wear a dress whenever possible. She is a joy in our lives and a blessing to everyone.

(updated 5/23/10)

Xander will be turning 4 this summer. He is such a playful child with tons and tons of energy. Xander loves playing with his older brother and younger sister and can be really sweet when he’s not trying to tease them. He is drawn to cars and construction equipment. It’s amazing how he can name almost every type of construction equipment and notices difference I don’t even notice on cars. He has been attending preschool by himself for a year now and loves every minute of it. His favorite part by far is the bus ride to and from school. Xander never ceases to surprise me and is often the source of much laughter in our home.

(updated 5/23/10)

Jaxson is 11 years old and is now TALLER than me! He comes in at 5’ 11” and seems to grow every week. I have told him I need to invest in some more high-heels so I don’t feel so short. I think he looks forward to when he will be taller than me by enough that even heels won’t help! It won’t be long I am sure. Jaxson enjoys playing basketball and is becoming quite good at it. This last week Jaxson won a GOLD medal from a science fair for his marshmallow, spaghetti tower (those were the only two materials allowed in building the tower). He had the highest tower for his age range and the third highest overall. Way to go Jaxson!