Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday to my Eric (yesterday)! Here are some pics of my sweetie with me and my other sweeties (order totally random)--awww! What a wonderful husband and father he is. Our bodies have expanded, but our hearts have only melded closer together--can I get any sappier? :) Ok, I'll stop for now :)

Project and School Days

Well, for 5 weeks, from the last week in July through the last week in August, I was working on a project making streaming videos for U of H. I am sooo grateful to my wonderful friends Megan, Lindsey, Melissa and Shari for watching Mikaela and Elijah for a few days each during that time. And then my sweet, helpful, loving husband took them for 3 days during the week he took off work--awww, bonding time with Daddy :) Although it was fun to get to do some math again and make my brain think, being without my kiddos 2-3 days a week (except for KL) wasn't much fun. I'm so very blessed to get to stay home with them full-time.

Then the first week in September marked the beginning of our school year. I guess it never really ended from last year, but the difference this year is to add a little more structure for MJ and EM so they'll know what to expect. Mikaela is always asking me what we're going to do next and then what are we going to do after that and after that, ... so I figured it was a good time to make an Excel spreadsheet for her with her daily and weekly schedule so she doesn't have to ask me all the time :) And, no--haven't made it yet. These first two weeks have been testing out to see what is realistically going to work. We've added in a little writing since she's been asking me to write words so she can trace them. She absorbs so much right now that it's hard for me to not go totally crazy :) Fortunately for her she has a two-year-old brother and baby sister who's still nursing and being pottied, so I can't get too crazy :) Even little man is getting in on the action--all I have to do is tell him that MJ will just do his letters and colors (or whatever we're going over) for him, and he starts telling her to go away b/c he wants to do them :) :) It's too funny--it'll be good for them to have a little competition with each other over the next few years :) Anyway, it should be a fun year!

From the Bumbo Seat to the Exersaucer

Munchkin Funnies

A few days ago:

MJ: "I'm sister pig, Elijah's brother pig, you're Mommy pig and Kerith's baby pig."

Me: "Elijah, don't do that (or something to that extent)."

MJ: "Noo, you have to call him brother pig!"

Me: "Kerith, go tee-tee."

MJ: "Noo, you have to call her baby pig!"

Me: "Mikaela get out of the bathroom right now (or something like that)."

MJ: "Noo, you have to call me sister pig!"

(I just couldn't help myself :) )

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Here's little man with a very un-graceful version of "Amazing Grace"--such a boy :)

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MJ: crying in her bed

Eric: "What's wrong?"

MJ: "I really want Amelia (MJ's cousin) to be here."

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The other day at the swings:

MJ: "Mom, look, I'm pushing Amelia!" (as she pushes the empty swing)

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Many, many other times throughout our week, I hear TONS about Amelia.

MJ: "What's Amelia doing right now? Can we call her?"

Me: "You and Amelia."

MJ: "Yeah, I just love her, and she loves me. She's my best friend. So can we call her?"

Me: "Mikaela (with a sigh)"

MJ: "Me and Amelia." (smiling, and with her funny way of saying it)

If I hear anymore about Amelia, I think I'm going to scream--I'm not sure Amelia shares MJ's same sentiments, although, if Mikaela keeps being so persistent maybe one day she will :)

Munchkin Funnies: Talkin' Tummy

This morning--

MJ: "My tummy's talkin' to me." (Most of what she says is even funnier if you see how she says it--sorry--can't depict that part in writing :) )

Me: "What's it saying?"

MJ: "It's hungry--but I'm not hungry--I wanna pway with my dolls." :)

4 Years Old!!

Our sweet Mikaela Joycakies turned 4 years old today! I can't believe it's already been 4 years; it's good and bad--I enjoy seeing her new stages in life, but it would be nice if each year would just last a little longer :)

Some of our big goals with Mikaela this past year was to do LOTS of training, learning how to read, lots of Bible verses, counting, and quite a bit of other stuff that I just can't even think of right now. She's becoming quite the proficient reader (and speller, as I learned tonight when she started spelling all kinds of 3-letter-words for me and even a couple of longer words--I was kind of taken by surprise--pleasantly, of course--do we see years of Spelling Bees in our future??! :) )

As for today, MJ helped me make some chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast; she opened up a few more gifts that we didn't give her the day of the party; they played for a little while. Then it was off to a park in League City to take some birthday pics of my little princess :) Can't have a birthday w/o taking some pics, right? Well, it was pretty toasty outside, and she was only wanting to cooperate for about 15 mins anyway--perfect :) Then we stopped off at Sonic for a grilled cheese sandwich and slush and were off to the Millers' house (where the Browns are also staying right now). Poor MJ couldn't get it out of her head that all her friends weren't coming over today for her party, even though we kept telling her she already had her party--so we decided to take HER to some friends' house for a little while :) When we got home, another friend had left a little goodie bag on our door for her--what a nice surprise! She wanted pizza for dinner, so pizza it was. Overall, I think she had a fun day!

Hmmmm

Me: Elijah, what movie do you want to watch?
EM: (pointing at all his options) "Hmmmm" (sometimes he even taps his mouth with his pointer finger when he does this; he says this to many other questions he's asked too) :)

5 Months

Our little Kerith Love is 5 months today!! I can't believe it's already been that long! My little "cutest pie" is just that, although, for the past month or so she has decided that sleeping 8-10 hours at night is just not her cup of tea. We thought we might actually have this cute little baby that also lets us sleep at night, but it looks like she was just teasing us those first few months :) So right now, we are pretty tired parents, but God did give us a wonderful little 8-hour night a couple of nights ago to let us catch up a tiny bit :)

And MJ LOVES her little sis! She is so cute with her and thinks she's just the cutest baby in the whole wide world :) It's so sweet to hear her talk to her, telling her all the things she hears me say to her. And KL loves her sis too--somehow, MJ can almost always manage to make her laugh out loud--MJ's definitely funnier than Mommy--I get lots of smiles, but MJ gets the laughs :)

So about three or four weeks ago, I posted a video of KL spitting. I love it when babies start doing all their cute little baby things, so I was excited. Well over the next few days, I noticed she really only did it when I put her on the potty. When I put my kids on the potty, I always say, "pssss." So I started wondering if that was her way of copying me to make that sound. For the past 3 weeks now, I have tested her out. I don't catch it every time, but the girl spits to tell me when she needs to go to the potty! Sometimes she's telling me she needs to go, and other times she's telling me she IS going :) It's so cool--I didn't think any of my babies would ever really tell me this young. The only problem per se is that she spits A LOT b/c even if she's just passing gas, she'll spit (and she's got a lot of gas :) ). Then, there are times like today in church when I'm trying to ignore her spitting, but she just kept spitting louder and louder as if to say, "Mom, I really have to go!" So I took her, and sure enough, she let loose :) Now, she has also spit in the wee hours of the morning after having nursed, to which I'm like, "Sorry kid, you're just gonna have to go in your diaper right now." :) We'll see if she continues to do this--I'm not ready to get my hopes up quite yet, but I'm definitely going to enjoy it for now. And after she goes, she looks up at me smiling, waiting for me to tell her, "Good job, Kerith!" to which she smiles even bigger :)

Baby Addison

A friend of ours is due to have a baby girl in November. Well, Mikaela knows her name is Addison Grace, so the other day she had her brown baby and told me her name is Addison. Keep in mind that this baby has been called "brown baby" for a couple of years now, so it's actually kind of weird for her to have some other name. So, if you don't want someone to steal your baby name, don't tell MJ, b/c she doesn't have a problem taking other people's names and using them for her own babies :)

Then before we went to Walmart today, she asked if she could bring Addison with us. She kind of laughed and told me Addison was pulling her hair :) Then next thing I know, she told me Addison had to go potty--everyone else was made to go before we left--why not Addison? :) Eric told me to look, and the pictures above are what we saw--she was actually sitting with her the way I do with Kerith (not that both she and EM haven't ever pottied their babies before, but she's never sat on the potty like this with them) :) I guess she's going to potty her babies too :)

Brag Time

Well, I figured it's ok to brag--as long as you're bragging on someone else and not yourself--right? Anyway, I'm just very thankful for my wonderful hubby right now. We just got back from Walmart, and I'm sooo grateful that for the past few months (since before Kerith was born), he has chosen to go with me. Yes, I can do it by myself, and the self-sufficient part of me says I can do it on my own, but it is 10 times easier when he goes with me (and it's a couple more hours that we get to be together :) ). He figured if we're going to keep having these cute little kids, then he's just going to have to come with me :) And then when we got home, he put up almost all the groceries, unloaded the dishwasher, loaded it and washed the other things that don't go in the dishwasher (all without me even asking him!). I think he pretty much rocks and am so blessed God chose him for me :)

Maroon = "Mine Woom"

MJ: "Mom, is this ring maroon?"
EM: "Mine woom!!" (as he points to his room) :)

MJ "Mobying" Her Baby

MJ's Princess Dress-Up Birthday Party

On Sunday, we celebrated Mikaela's upcoming 4th birthday. I actually hadn't planned on having a party per se, but she is very into birthday parties and requested a princess dress-up birthday party, so we scrambled and got a party together :) We got tutus, shoes, bracelets, crowns and earrings from the dollar store. But it turned out that the other two little girls who were able to come brought their own beautiful princess dresses. So once MJ saw them in theirs, her little tutu wasn't going to cut it :) So she donned the dress given to her by Aunt Kelli and let Amelia wear the blue Cinderella dress. She really wanted to wear this other dress, which she has literally torn to shreds, but she loves it and is constantly telling me that we need to get "your mom" to fix it :)

So the party turned out to be a lot of fun. Auntie Monica and Alyssa painted all the girls' faces, which they LOVED. Monica asked me for some pictures of the Disney princesses so she'd have something to go by, and I told her, "Oh they're not going to want princesses--they're just going to want stars or hearts or things like that. Just ask them what they want." So here goes MJ--"Mikaela, what do you want on your face?" "I want Belle." :) Good thing Monica is a pretty good artist b/c it would have taken me MUCH longer to do what she did. And, of course, all the other girls ended up wanting Belle on their faces too :) So Monica painted Belle, and Alyssa painted castles on their other cheeks :)

Then we read the story "The True Princess" and tried to talk a little bit about what it means to be a princess on the inside and what Jesus looks at in us. Then we made "character sticks" (no, they are NOT wands :) ) and put a Bible verse they wanted that would remind them how Jesus wants them to act.

After that, they made necklaces with some fun beads and string. I also had these really pretty wooden beads that NONE of the little girls used. Well, after taking the girls' pics, when I came back in, all the big girls had used them to make their own necklaces and bracelets :)

While we were having fun inside, all the little boys were having a blast outside playing with toys and swimming in the kiddie pool. So it appears fun was had by all, but we were some pretty pooped parents by the end of the day :)

Munchkin Funnies

Interrupting for a quick post...This is for my friend Jo, who is having withdrawals from a lack of posts :) Sorry, but I've been a busy bee the past couple of weeks working on a math project and getting ready for MJ's party that we had this past Sunday. So this is all my brain can remember right now--will post more if anything else comes to mind :)
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MJ: I'm so very exciting about my party (with all her funny body language that goes along with her talking)!

Me: I'm very excitED.

MJ: I'm so excitED about my party!! I'm gonna wuv it soo much!
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The past 3 weeks, MJ and EM have gone to friends' houses 2-3 days out of the week so I can work on my project. One of the families' last names is Crews.

EM: (to Mrs. Crews) Coos, paw-ee! (Mrs. Crews, I have to go potty.)

She informed me that half the time he calls her Coos, and the other times he calls her Mom :)

I think that out of the three families, Crews is the only name that he can come pretty close to saying, so many times, if we're going somewhere now, he'll ask, "Coos house?"

Mikaela Funnies

As I was fixing MJ's hair, I saw a little speck of something that I was trying to get out.

MJ: What was that?
Me: I don't know.
MJ: A gray hair?
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Mikaela took a "bite" of her pretend green apple and then fell on the floor.
MJ: That's Snow White!
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After having seen some of the goodies we're going to have for her birthday party, she later told Eric, "We have tutus and shoes and bracewets, ... and earrings. Oh no, I don't have any holes for the earrings! I need some holes in my ears." :) :)

How Kerith Got to Swim After Getting Tired of the Float

Eww--Stinky!!

Sad/Happy

Kerith just rolled over from her back to her tummy for the first time, and I missed it! She started fussing so I looked over, and she was on her tummy--too bad she doesn't realize she knows how to go the other way too :) If I'm ever able to get a video of either direction, I'll post it :)

Kerith Working Herself to Sleep With Her Blankie

Me waking her up with the flash--oops :)

Tuckered Out

Munchkin Words

As Elijah's running to his bed:

Me: I love you, Buddy!

EM: uh-you....Mommy!
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after getting in the car when Eric picked them up after going to other people's houses for a couple of days:

MJ: Yay! Now you and me and Mommy, and Ewijah and Kerith all get to be together, and we don't have to go to other people's houses any more!
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Me: Did you like the breakfast I sent for you the past couple of days?

MJ: Yes.

Me: With the eggs, chees and potatoes?

MJ: I don't wike potatoes--only pink ones b/c pink's my favorite color (she'd just informed me that now her favorite color is pink :) )
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before our spontaneous date the other night:

MJ: (to Eric) My ankle hurts. My ankle doesn't want you and Mommy and Kerith to go bye-bye; that's why it's sad.

Kerith Laughing & Spitting

7 Years!

Wow! Seven years has gone by really, really fast! It doesn't seem like we've done a whole lot until I stop to think about it: marriage, grad school, work, moving to Houston, Eric finishing school at HBU, 3 babies, and lots of other little things in between! Sadly enough, this is the most recent pic I have of the two of us--Kerith tagged along with us on this trip :)

Eric's parents were very gracious to come hang out with Mikaela and Elijah while we went to eat a late lunch/early dinner at On The Border. Then we headed off to the Galleria for a little strolling around the mall and then to get some YUMMY cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory :) We got to talk and reflect, and Kerith was a good girl for us. We enjoyed our time with just the two...uh...three of us :) God provided me with the perfect mate--He always gives so much more than I can even imagine, especially when it comes to my husband. I have the best hubbie in the whole world and can't wait to see how the Lord grows our marriage in the next 7 years!

Birthday Party

Saturday night, Sam turned 1. The party was to be at the splash park, but there were some REALLY dark clouds hanging over. So everything got set up, just to have it all taken down SUPER fast. I think it was one of the quickest pick-ups I've seen :) And good thing b/c it started POURING. Fortunately, their house is right around the corner from the park, so we just transitioned over there, but Eric and I got totally soaked going the short distance from our cars to the house :) For MJ and EM it didn't matter b/c they were in their swim gear anyway with dry clothes to change into. It was fun though, and we dried fast :)

Forgive the blurry pics--my camera and squirmy kids really wanted me to use a flash, but I was refusing on some :)

Amanda's Bridal Shower

This past Saturday, we had a bridal shower for Amanda, who will marry Dave this coming Saturday! Can you tell this month has been jam-packed with parties and get-togethers and the such?! They've been lots of fun, and I have to give my sweet Eric kudos for all the time away I've had without two of my little munchkins. He's not only been home with them, but also took them grocery shopping, fed them dinner and put them to bed! KL gets 8 more months of being attached to mommy's hip :) But I have to say that even she has gotten lots of loving on from the girls and ladies at our outings :) Enjoy the pics--just 3 more days until the wedding!

A Couple of Mikaela Funnies

The other day, I was getting the kids out of the car, and while I was loading up, MJ was leaning over KL's carseat, looking in the mirror (the one in front of KL's carseat) saying something like, "I told you no! She's MY sister--you can't wook (look) at her!"
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Mikaela has done this one many, many, many times, yet here she was doing it again. She'll be eating her lunch meat, and before I know it, the eight or ten pieces I have cut for her have become 15 or so pieces, which have all become mommies, daddies, brothers, sisters, friends, etc., and she's carrying out little skits with them on the table :)

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MJ & EM many times sit togther, in the green rocker/recliner that we have, to watch tv. Recently I've heard EM start whining and fussing. I'll come to see what the problem is and MJ tells me, "Ewijah won't keep me warm!" Apparently she tries to snuggle a little too close for his liking when she starts getting cold :)

Ouchie!

Did you ever do this to your toes and feet after a few hours of swimming and dragging your feet across the bottom of the pool? Well, I'm not sure what MJ was doing the other day, but these were the results. Even her toenails were red and bruised! Then yesterday, she scraped one of her toes and made one of the blisters bleed. Poor thing has been walking on her heels :)

And I forgot to mention--I never know who Mikaela is going to befriend. There have been many times while playing at the park or the pool that MJ will go up to another mom and carry on a conversation with her. Then when she comes back, we'll ask her, "Who were you talking to?" She'll say, "That was Carolyn (or whoever)." Pretty funny :) Well, the other day at the pool, I look over, and she has befriended the lifeguard--a teenage girl carrying around a long, skinny, orange floatie thing. Next thing I know, the girl is laying on the float, and MJ is pulling her around the pool :)

Elijah Keeping Things in Line

Covered

Mikaela can't stand for anyone to be uncovered when they're sleeping, especially Kerith. I don't know how many times I've walked back into the living room to find Kerith like this :)

Jessica's Shower

Last Sunday, we ladies gathered together again for a post-wedding shower for Jessica. We enjoyed some good food and time of fellowship and got a chance to hear a little bit more about Jessica and Les. Enjoy the pics :)

Swimming

We had the opportunity today to go to a friend's neighborhood pool. Let me tell you, this pool is totally awesome! It has a large area with 1-ft water that has three slides and stuff spraying out all over the place. Then there's a very large big pool that has a beach entry that also has these tall mushroom-type-thingies that spray water out. And there's even the traditional "baby" pool with 1-ft water. And the deep end has 2 or 3 slides for older kids and adults. It's pretty cool! I did forget to bring a camera today but managed to get these two of KL with my phone. She actually had a pretty good nap in the water. I was really grateful for this cool little gadget today :) Some friends took other pics--I'lll post them when they send them to me.

Elijah Funnies

Elijah can find a "mess" just about anywhere. When he does, he's very quick to tell me, "Mama, mess!!"
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Tonight little man was "gargling" to help put himself to sleep :)
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I've started going through a catechism with the kids, and even Elijah is starting to learn the questions and answers. Here's what he tells me:

Me: Elijah, who made you?
EM: GOD!
Me: Elijah, what else did God make?
EM: aw yings (all things)
Me: Elijah, why did God make you and all things?
EM: mumble, mumble, mumble...go-wy (for His own glory)

More Thoughts From Mikaela

As she was getting a bath the other night, MJ put her washcloth over her chest and said, "Mikaela's bra." :)
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The past few nights when it's getting close to being time to wind down and get ready for bed, she says, "Is it getting too wate (late) now?"
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There have been a couple of times when Kerith and I have had to go somewhere alone. One night when I came home, Eric had just put MJ and EM to bed, so I went to tell them good-night. She said, "I don't wike it when you and Kerith go bye-bye. You'll get wost, and the wyons and tigers and bears will hurt you, and then I won't have a baby sister, and I won't have a mom."

Think she's seen a little too much tv? :)
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And this one happens quite often--

MJ: Mom (as she's tapping me with her finger), ... I mean Belle (or Cinderella, or Snow White, or whoever she's determined I'm going to be that day) :) :)

Mikaela-Speak

After having a bath the other night, Mikaela said, "Ah man, I'm tired!"
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On the way to the baby shower and at the shower, Mikaela kept telling me and other people that she wanted to see the shower. We all kept trying to explain to her that a shower is just a party. When we got in the car to leave, she was trying to come up with any excuse possible to not have to go, so she said, "But I didn't get to see the shower!" I said, "Baby, we've been at the shower this whole time." Her immediate response back was, "But the baby didn't take a bath!" :) :)
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About Kerith:

MJ: "Mom, Kerith is the cutest baby in the whole world!"

Other days: "Aww, she's such a cutie pie!"

This morning: "Kerith is the cutest pie in the whole world!"
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A lot of times I tell Mikaela she can wear a play dress. She has turned that into a "day" dress. So yesterday she asked me if today she could wear a "day" dress and on the next day she could wear a "morrow" dress :)

A Baby Shower

Today we had a baby shower for Melissa, a friend from church. She is pregnant with her 7th child (a boy) and has very difficult pregnancies. Most of her babies have been preterm (ranging from 32-37 weeks), and she would really like to have this baby at home with my same midwife, Jackie. But this little one will need to make it to 36 weeks in order for that to be able to happen. She has to put herself on complete bedrest for the majority of her pregnancies, so you can only imagine how she feels emotionally. So pray for her and this baby that he will hold off for another 11 weeks!

It is also Melissa's birthday tomorrow, so her husband surprised her with an icecream cake she wanted from Baskin Robbins. :) There were LOTS of people at the shower! It was really loud, but it was also a lot of fun.

disclaimer: Please excuse a majority of these pictures--I am horrible at inside pics. And they have these really great windows that go almost from ceiling to floor, but it makes it really hard to get the lighting right for a pic b/c it's different everywhere you go in the room.

Kids in Action

Enjoy--this girl sooo cracks me up :)

And little man is too much; you have to look closely, but he's shaking :)

Aww--rolling over from tummy to back--but she does it immediately when I put her down and not again until the next time I put her down; one day I'll catch the whole thing :)

The Fun of Spitting on Each Other (??!)

Ha!

This is what walked into my kitchen tonight while I was cooking dinner. I lost it (in a good way :) )!

More Mikaela Funnies

Mikaela was playing with her "small" dolls the other day. I have to act like I'm not really paying attention or she'll get embarrassed and stop playing until I move on. So I was listening to her, and I heard, "Here you are standing there loving me," in a I'm-trying-to-sing sort of tone. I looked, and she had a "prince" and "princess" singing to each other like in "The Sound of Music." Too funny--didn't even realize she listened to the words of the songs :)
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This morning I was going to the kitchen to do something, and Elijah headed toward the computer chair. So I told him to be sure he didn't touch anything on the desk. He acknowledged that he wouldn't, and as I'm leaving, Mikaela says, "I'll watch him." :) :)

More Kiddo Funnies

Elijah came into the kitchen with a movie in his hand.

EM: I wa dis. (I want to watch this.)
Me: No, we're not going to watch any movies right now.
EM: Aw man! (He walks out.)

EM comes back into the kitchen.

EM: I wa dis.
Me: No--I told you we're not watching any movies right now.
EM: Aw man! :)
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While we're eating breakfast:

Me: We need to pray for Amelia. She'd not going to be able to come today because she has pink eye.

MJ: But I reawy want to go see Amelia.

Me: She's going to come see us. But she has to get better first.

We talk about other things for a minute.

MJ: I don't wike pink eye. I wike red eye. (A girl after her mom's own heart :) )

Love, Me--Awww

Mikaela LOVES her baby sister and can't wait until Kerith is big enough to share bunk beds :)

Hats

Pre-4th of July Get-Together

Last night we went over to some friends' house for some good food and fellowship in celebration of the 4th of July. We had lots of fun and so did the kids. Mikaela just loves playing with the big girls, and she's in doll heaven at the Smythes' house :) And it's so cute to see the three 2-year-olds playing together--they're so funny!

My 2-Year-Old!

Well, we officially have a 2-year-old in the house now! On the day of his actual birthday, we went to some friends' house and invited another friend. They all had lots of fun playing together.

Little man is starting to talk more and more. It's so cute with his sweet little voice :) He also picks up all the things that aren't so nice that Mikaela says to him. He's getting so thick, and you just want to pinch him and squish him and tickle him :) His big milestones so far are being potty-trained (during day) and knowing his capital and lower case letters. He copies pretty much everything MJ does, from wearing her shoes to what she says to the very inflection of her voice. A couple of his new sayings right now: Hi, Yeyes (Kerith); sop it (stop it); Yeyes, nice...me (Kerith isn't being nice to me--ha, ha--also insert any other name); Pop's house; Manna's (Amanda's) house; I teeko (that tickles); I wok you (rock me); I cold; mine (he's a little too good with this one :) ); etc. All in all, he is so scrumptious, and we are so blessed to have him in our lives.

Elijah, Mikaela, Elyona, Joshua, Judah, Elijah & Nathan

Strong

The scene: Mikaela was carrying her container with her "big" dolls into a friend's house.

MJ: Mom, these are too heavy.
Me: You're ok--you're a strong girl.
MJ: Yeah, I am strong, Mommy.