It's tough, really tough...

Catching up, yet again...

OK, rather than breaking this into a bunch of posts that will never get read, I thought I'd just write one long post and get it all over with. So please, bear with me :) First off, Ella turned 15 months on the 15th of last month and I finally got her in for her check-up. She finally hit 20 lbs. and is 29 1/2 inches tall. She seems like she's getting so much bigger, but she's now down to the 10th percentile. Sooooo the opposite of her big sister! She really gotten the hang of this walking thing and has moved on to dancing and trying to run. I swear she gets faster by the minute. It seemed like as soon as she started walking, the talking picked up a bit too. Some of the new fun words she says are cheese (well, it's more like chsss, but hey), ball, baba, dad, mama, dog, and uh-oh. It's so fun to see her grow. She really is a fun kid. Though, I swear every time I take them in for check-ups we end up sick, this time it was pink eye and double ear infections for her. Thank goodness for antibiotics and she's returning to the smiley girl we know and love.

Lauren has been asking for her birthday ever since Garrett had his in January. Well the big day finally arrived and our girl turned 3. She's a whopping 38 lbs and is 3 feet and 3/8 inch tall. In the 90th percentile. Big surprise that people always think she's older than she actually is. I think she had a pretty good day, despite the immunization she got at her check-up. Our little family had ice cream cake that night (SO yummy) and she got to open a few presents. Garrett even brought her some shape pictures he made at school. In sticking with only having big parties on the even birthdays, we just had grandma's and grandpa's over for dinner and cake on Sunday. She felt like quite the little princess and has been singing Happy Birthday to herself almost nonstop since then. Lauren's favorite things right now are the tutu's she got for her birthday, Dora the Explorer (which she's constantly quoting), and all other things girly. She loves making faces at us and cracking herself up. She full of spunk and I doubt she'll ever let anyone walk all over her, but she can also put on the charm when she really wants to. I love everything this little girl brings to our lives, OK so sleeping in her own bed all night would be nice....and not screaming at the top of her lungs 50 times a day....but she definitely keeps us entertained. We love this kid and couldn't imagine life without her!

Easter weekend started a little iffy as Ella started showing signs of pink eye on Friday. I was out of town with her and didn't make it back in time to take her to urgent care. I did get ahold of the nurse though and she said to bring her in first thing on Saturday. It's a good thing because we woke up to a fevering little one. Lauren also woke up with crusty eyes so I packed both girls up (after getting to see what the Easter Bunny brought and a few quick pics) and headed to the doctor. Two prescriptions for pink eye, and one for double ear infections later, we were headed home and poor little Ella was getting more cranky and restless by the minute. We got them both started on the meds (LOADS of fun, by the way..) Eye drops 4 times a day for both of them, and that lovely pink amoxicillin three times a day for Ella. I was really bummed to miss out on the Cox family party, but I have to admit I'm glad I missed out on the wind! Sunday morning everyone woke up in a much better mood and after the morning session of conference we headed to Grandma Cole's for lots of yummy food and the big Easter egg hunt. I always love being at Grandma's house surrounded by so much family. I'm sure it would be overwhelming for a lot of people, but that's just the way it was growing up for me. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

That night I learned my second cousin's daughter passed away in a four-wheeling accident. She was 11 years old. It just breaks my heart to think about having to lose a child that way. So suddenly. It really hits home how quickly life can change, throw your worst fears right in your face. I can't imagine what they must be feeling right now, but I hope that first and foremost in their minds are the promises that our Heavenly Father has made concerning families. They are forever. At no other time are we more aware of that than during Easter, when we are reminded of the sacrifice that our Savior Jesus Christ made for us, and that we can live again, as he did. I am so very grateful for that knowledge in my life, for the peace that it brings. I am grateful for my family, and I know that no matter what life brings, we CAN and WILL get through it. Life goes on either way, but the joy that I find in the Gospel makes it that much easier. And someday, we will all be together again. I very much look forward to the day I get to see my brother, my dad, and my grandpa's again. That right there is Heaven to me.