Elliot Stories

I need to start writing down the things that Elliot says because they are just too funny and plentiful.

1. Elliot had his first baseball game and he was very petrified to play. His games are 45 minutes. He cried and wouldn't go near the game. After 20 minutes of coaxing, I got him to sit on the bench with me. He did that for 15 minutes and then played in the outfield with Chris for 2 minutes. Then he finally played! He batted and ran the bases, smiling his face off the whole way while the crowd cheered. Well, then the game was over. He went to the huddle and then walked up to us and said, "That game sure was short."

2. We were on a nature hike at Buffalo River State Park for Father's Day. Elliot said, "Look Mom, I can see Hollywood over there." Me: "Did you know Grandma Bobbie was born in Hollywood?" Elliot starts sprinting up to Bobbie and I said, "What are you doing?" Elliot: "I better see if Bobbie remembers that!"

Ethan's 1st Day of 3rd Grade

This picture was taken on the first day of school, 2011. 

Ethan is a 3rd grader this year in Mrs. Rheault's class. He loves school. Not to be the bragging mom, but I'm going to brag about my child now. Ethan was chosen for the Discovery Group for gifted and talented kids, is in the accelerated math group, and is in the top reading group. Okay, enough bragging. I'm just so proud of him, not only for how smart he is, but because he tries so hard and cares about the work he does. He cares about getting his homework done and doing well on tests. I love that kind of diligence. Ethan still loves reading and devours books like I devour Cheetos. He's very into baseball, soccer, and basketball. He still loves the Packers and the Twins. He's very into video games especially Zelda: Skyward Sword lately. He's growing up so fast, but I couldn't be prouder to be this kid's mom. He and Elliot get along very well for the most part. Last night, on our way home from soccer pictures, they had this interaction while looking at Ninjagos.
Ethan: Elliot, how about we like Cole and Kai the best. Let's like them the best, okay?
Elliot: Okay Ethan, we like those guys.
Ethan: But can we agree, that Cole's power is lame?
Elliot: Yeah, very lame.
(We get home.)
Ethan: Thanks for the talk Elliot.
Elliot: Thank you, Ethan.

It's moments like those that I never want to forget. Hence, this blog. :) -RL

Elliot's First Year at School

 Above is Elliot's first school picture. I'll hopefully add a picture later of his spring school program where he was awarded Outstanding Achievement in Joyfulness. They couldn't have pegged him any better. Elliot is joyful. He is bursting with joy and love at all times. He loves to snuggle, loves to tell his family how much he loves us, and loves to make people happy. He is so sweet, sensitive, hilarious, kind-hearted and just himself in every way. I love his quirky, crazy, uniqueness.

 This is his friend from school. They played Mary and Joseph (Elliot says Jofus) in the Christmas program at Little Lights Preschool. Elliot loves his friend Marina and does not hesitate to tell her so....every day.

Here is Elliot singing some Muppets. Elliot loves to sing, dance, play with friends and I will post a video soon of him riding his bike without training wheels, which he learned on 4/25/12 at 4 years old.

A Few New Things for the Liens

Since it's been so long since I've added anything to this blog, I thought I'd add a bunch of pictures at once and briefly go over how things have changed. See above. Edison is standing. He's very close to walking, but has not taken a step. He's 11 months and I think he will be walking by his 1st birthday!

 Elliot spends a lot of time with Edison during the day and has been a great big brother. Edison really loves both of his brothers and they adore him.

 Ethan got glasses on November 11, 2011.

 At the end of the summer 2011, we got 2 kittens from my friend Shauna. At the top is Polly and below is Pickle. They are a rambunctious addition to our family, but the kids love them. I'm waiting for them to get lazy and fat.

Edison is the biggest and most wonderful change in our family. He has been an ideal baby. He's been sleeping through the night since he was 5 weeks old. He's the happiest, most easy going baby and we are so grateful for that. He can say Ma-ma, Da-da, and Kee (Kitty), although he doesn't know what he's saying. He is such a joy; my cup runneth over. -RL

Elliot's Book List

I have to start this post because Elliot is now 4 and we are starting to read chapter books together. As I did for Ethan, I am going to keep a list of the books we've read together. I love going back and seeing all that Ethan and I read together. I love knowing that Elliot and I will do the same and eventually Edison and I. This picture was taken on Elliot's first day of preschool and is one of my favorites.

1. Freckle Juice by Judy Blume (finished on 5/1/12)
2. Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus (finished on 5/8/12)
3. Fantastic Mr. Fox (finished on 5/23/12--Elliot's 5th birthday!)
4. Junie B. Jones and that Meanie Jim's Birthday (5/30/12)
5. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (6/20/12)
6. Pooh and Some Bees (6/20/12)
7. Pooh Goes Visiting and Pooh and Piglet Nearly Catch a Woozle (6/21/12)
8. Junie B. Jones and her Big Fat Mouth (7/9/12)
9. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (current book)

Edison Arrives!

Well, it's been quite awhile since I've added to this blog. A lot has happened over the last 11 or so months, but the biggest thing is what I will start with. We added another boy to the family Lien! Edison Lennon Lien was born on May 27 at 8:28 p.m. He was due June 15, scheduled to arrive on June 9. Apparently, he was just too excited to wait any longer! We came home on May 31 after a quick stay in the pediatrics unit to be treated for jaundice. What a wonderful addition to our family--he is so loved.Edison Lennon Lien
5/27/11 @ 8:28 p.m.
6 lbs. 15 ozs.

19 3/4 inches long

E4!

Brothers

Mommy loves you Edison!

Daddy loves you Edison!

Love this picture of little footprints. Welcome to the world Edison, we all love you so much.

Dinosaurs!

Elliot has taken after Ethan and fallen in love with dinosaurs. We took them to Walking with Dinosaurs at the Fargodome and were convinced that they would both love it. Chris, Ethan and I all thought it was amazing. Elliot went from mild fear to completely terrified within 10 minutes. We took turns playing in the lobby with him and coming in for brief peeks at any new dinosaurs that had come out. Then Elliot would point to the lobby and say, "I need to go. They gonna bite me!" The next day he wanted to go and see them again, so apparently we didn't scar him for life. -RL

Cousin Time!

The Es have a new cousin! Danika Jo Roberts was born on February 17 and she is a precious addition to our gaggle of blonde children! The boys had a fun time this summer holding Danika and wrestling cousin Julia....as pictured below. -RL I can't believe I captured this photo above. Mid-wrestle, looking at the camera and smiling?! That's a feat.

Julia looking so adorable.

New baby Danika giving a glimpse of the dimples. Awww......

Elliot LOVED holding Danika, calling her buddy, and saying, "Oh hi, sweetie boy" to her. He's got a way with the ladies.

Look at these kids and try not to buy them a pony. I dare you...try.

24/7

Ethan and Emma got to be in the church musical "24/7" together this past spring. It was the first church musical for Ethan and the last one for Emma, so it was nice that they were in it together. Emma had the lead, Avery, a radio talk show host. Ethan was in the chorus. It was fun to see them together and I think Ethan thought being in a show with his big sister was pretty cool. -RL

E's Dominate Marathon

Both Ethan and Elliot ran in the kid's run for the Fargo Marathon. Elliot ran 1/2 mile with Chris and Ethan ran the mile with me. Ethan is really fast and I couldn't keep up with him. -RL

We had Dairy Queen afterward to celebrate their running accomplishment!

They are just too cute.

Down on the Farm

This summer we bought a CSA share from Bluebird Gardens in Fergus Falls and this is how we feel about it:
We love our produce boxes each Tuesday and everything has tasted so delicious. It's easy to get used to grocery store produce, but you can really taste the difference when you get it directly from the farm. This past Saturday, it was the pea pick event at the farm. We had so much fun walking through the fields picking peas.

Even Elliot was able to help out.

Ethan did a little of this,

And a lot of that. He must have eaten his weight in peas.

The E's on a very large swing in front of the pig pen.

We also visited the chickens, which was Elliot's favorite part. "Can I have one? Those are my chickens."

These fun people came with us! Dave and Bonnie met us at the farm and helped us pick 3 big bags of peas.

After all the peas were picked, we had a picnic lunch in these woods. All in all, it was a great day and we're excited for more harvest events! -RL

Elliot Starts Gymnastics

Elliot had his first activity this summer when we enrolled him in Tumble Tots gymnastics. He was so hilarious and had a lot of fun. He would basically do the 2 things in a circuit that he liked and then bounce around and do his own thing, which is very Elliot. Watch and enjoy my little tumbler! -RL

Yes He Can! Yes He Can!

This week marked a huge accomplishment for one little 6 year old. Ethan rode his bike without training wheels! And loved it! Now, this may seem like a small, easy task, but it has been one of the bigger struggles for us. There have been several tantrums, lots of tears, and bouts of screaming ......from Ethan, not us. :) If you are nervous that he is not wearing a helmet and cursing us as irresponsible as you watch, please know that we went out and bought him a helmet right after this and he has worn it ever since. -RL

New Year's Day/Christmas Cleanup

After New Year's Day ebelskivers (see previous post), we had a Christmas Cleanup Extravaganza. It took close to 2 hours, but we got every scrap of Christmas cleaned up, organized and put away. Ethan then wanted to immediately put up Valentines Day/St. Patrick's decorations, and was a little disappointed to find that we don't have any. -RLBefore

2 Hours and some caffeine later

Happy New Year 2010!

We may have a new tradition for New Year's Day at the Lien household. New Year's ebelskivers! Santa Claus brought me an ebelskiver pan that I had been eying from Williams Sonoma for some time. My first attempt ended with a strong verdict: Ebelskivers are awesome and delicious and awesomely delicious. Adorable little pockets full of yumminess. I filled some with brown sugar and some with pumpkin butter. I have several other varieties to try that will no doubt end up as posts on this blog. Come on over for some! -RL

New Year's Eve

We didn't do much for New Year's Eve this year. Our winter break was pretty fun-filled and busy, so we actually looked forward to staying in. We had a big batch of carbonara and Chris watched Lost all night. I fell asleep reading, so we were pretty much party animals. Chris did play outside with Ethan and Elliot for most of the day and part of the night. It was -15 degrees out, but it didn't faze them one bit. -RLThis is the drift in front of our house. It's very tall, there is a tunnel going through it and the kids love to play on it.

Ethan and Chris played football in the snow for about an hour. Ethan was all smiles.

Christmas Vacation Happiness

Over Christmas break, we had Christmas Eve and Christmas with Chris' parents and Sara. Then we went to Brainerd and had Christmas with Derek, Melissa, Julia and Brian, Kendra and pending baby Roberts. While in Brainerd, we did some sledding at Big Sieve. It was pretty cold, really bumpy, but a good time was had by all. -RLEthan and Chris making the hike back up.

My brother Derek with his little Julia.

Ethan and Dad.

Ethan and Mom.

Elliot had to stay home from the sledding (strep throat), but this is the boys on Christmas morning in their new jammies. Ethan's are Super Mario Galaxy and Elliot's are pirates. I just love this picture. -RL

Emma as Mary

Emma played Mary in her Christmas program at church. (Yes, Mary had glasses. And she apparently wore Uggs.) She had to sing a solo which was really beautiful. I videoed it so quick and tried to get the best picture I could with the legions of people in front of me blocking my shot. Unfortunately, my best shot was holding my camera sideways, forgetting that I can't rotate it once it's videoed. So, I apologize for the video, but hopefully you can hear her solo. We all thought her voice sounded so pretty and clear, and we were all a bit misty-eyed. -RL

Oh Tannebaum...

We got our tree up the first week of December after a long debate on real or artificial. We went with the real tree and it was one of our best ones. Ethan was really excited about decorating the house and the tree. Elliot was excited to take down the ornaments, which got to be frustrating for my type A Ethan. -RL