Easter in Dallas

We went to Dallas for the weekend to celebrate Easter with my family. Jess, Charlie, and their 4 kiddos joined us at my parent's house. It is quite an adventure squeezing us all into their 3 bedroom house (thankfully there is a study as well). We do this several times a years, so I should explain how this works. All of the older kids sleep in toddler cots/beds and a blow-up bed on the floor in my parent's room. I can't imagine how or why my parent's insist doing it this way....they say it is actually fun :) We put Josiah in the study and Elizabeth (my sister's youngest) sleeps in their room for now. Without any kiddos in our room, my parents kindly allow Tim and I to sleep in while we are there. Thank you mom and dad!

Anyways....we drove in late Thursday night after Tim got off work. Josiah screamed 5 out of the 8 hour drive. It will be so nice when he can turn around and watch a movie with his brothers.

My sister's family came in on Friday. Our kids love seeing their cousins.

On Saturday morning, the kids dyed some Easter eggs and my dad went through the Resurrection eggs with the older kids.

We took some family pictures at a park before heading home for some much needed naps.
The naps were followed by snack time that correlated with the Resurrection story.  The kids were fascinated and really seemed to listen to my dad as he told them the true meaning of Easter.  I am so thankful to have parents that make sure the holidays are meaningful and fun.

The day ended with an Easter egg hung in my parents front yard and swimming in the pool.  

Sound busy?  Yes!  But the kids had a lot of fun and slept great that night.  We girls spent the rest of the evening watching a storm come through and talking while the guys played video games.   The drive back to KC on Sunday was much quieter all around.  Thank you Jesus for giving us a reason to celebrate!

Josiah at 3/4 of One

Josiah is 10 1/2 months and seems much older :) He is very active and bypassed all the normal baby toys so that he can "play" with his brothers. He is always stealing their trucks and cars. They build forts and walls to block him but then he cries and they feel sorry for him and let him in their forts. He gets very excited when they play peek-a-boo with him. Overall, he is a very happy baby.

He learned how to crawl up and down the stairs in the past few weeks. We are teaching him to go feet first on the way down. I have never had any baby gates, so this is crucial to survival in our house. :)

The best thing about him growing up a bit is that he finally sleeps through the night and takes longer naps during the day. I feel like a completely new mom!

He has 3 teeth - 2 on the bottom and 1 on top. I love this toothy little grin. With his new teeth, he has found a passion for eating!

Not only does he eat regular food, but I have also found him trying to eat balls, rocks, mulch, potting soil, ashes, dandelions, the sidewalk, and anything else that is disgusting and filled with germs. I am guessing he will be walking by his first birthday which will make it easier for me on our park trips. Trying to keep him out of trouble outside is a constant job!

Josiah is into waving at everyone. Once he figured out how much attention it gets him, he does it everywhere! He waves with such force - sticking out his arm and bending his little hand up and down.

He also loves other babies. He "kisses" them and leaves behind slobber on their hair and forehead. Cute but gross. Especially for new moms that are protective of their infants. Oh well. I can't wait to see his little personality come out as he grows up. I love you baby Josiah! :)

Caleb at 2 1/2

Caleb is our sensitive little guy. He likes to snuggle, read books, and is a whiz at puzzles. He has a very long attention span for his age, so he will sit still and learn his letters, colors, shapes, and numbers. He loves to play by himself and has a great imagination (something Joel taught him well).

In the past few months, his vocabulary has increased tenfold! He took a long time to start talking, but now he is already caught up to the norm for his age. We are still working on his pronunciation of certain letters, but I love to hear his sweet little voice.

With his increased confidence in speaking, he has been standing up to Joel more. He tells Joel "I just need a break" when he is tired of being bossed around. It cracks me up! They really do love to play together a lot and whenever they are having a day of fighting, I just make them play alone for 10 minutes. They can't stand it and are begging to play together again after that. :)

I don't know where Caleb learned this, but yesterday he hugged Josiah and told me "We are best friends". He loves his brothers dearly.

In the past few months, he has potty-trained and learned how to pedal a bike. This has helped our walks around the block go a lot quicker. He has also been working on taking a shower by himself and getting dressed by himself. He, of course, prefers mom to help him but thankfully dad is a little more resilient to those big blue eyes.

Caleb still takes a 2-3 hour nap every afternoon while Joel has "alone time". This has been a huge help to my sanity! :) Since he naps, he gets to stay up a little later than Joel every evening. Tim and I really enjoy this play time with Caleb, and I think it helps keep him from getting lost in the middle.

I am so thankful for you, Caleb, and I love you!

Joel at 4

This is the first of 3 blogs - each dedicated to one of my boys so I can remember some of their milestones.

Joel has almost finished his first year of preschool. He loves his teacher, Ms. Ashley, and has made lots of friends. He mostly plays with the other boys, but once in a while he says he plays with a girl. :) He never remembers the girls' names though.

He knows how to spell his name, his colors, and counting. When I pick him up, he uses his

"big man" voice to tell me about his day.

Joel started playing soccer this spring! It has been very fun for all of us to watch his games....even though I don't know if you can really call them that. :) He loves to just run

alongside whoever has the ball. Tim tried to tell him that the other team was pretend bad guys and that he could steal the ball from them. He improved a lot and almost got a goal!

This may seem small, but Joel has finally overcome some of his fear of water on his face and has started showering by himself. This saves Tim and I lots of time, and Joel thinks he is really grown up.

His newest milestone is learning how to ride his bike without training wheels! He is still learning how to get on/off the bike without assistance, but once we get him going...he is off!

I am so proud of the little man Joel is becoming. He is sensitive and sweet yet a strong leader. He loves his brothers and takes care of them. He asks many, many questions and likes to figure out how things work. I love you Joel!