Come What Come May

Halloween Night

2011-11-10T13:36:00.000-08:00

Our awesome friends opened up their home (or front yard) again this year. Everyone gathered for some frito pie and then went around trick or treating. I was so excited to have our kids all dressed as characters that relate to one another (Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach). I thought had everyone on board with the costumes prior to ordering them, but at some point after the purchase, Evan remembered that it was his life long dream to be Spiderman. So as we awaited Halloween and people asked Evan what he was going to be, he would reply with a sob-story of how his mom was ruining his life by making him be Mario, when all he ever wanted to be was Spiderman. But despite the protests leading up to the day, he was thrilled to get in his costume when the time came, and surprisingly loved his mustache.

I think they all looked adorable.

Mario and a little cowgirl having a convo

COW CROSSING!

Our little Luigi was a champ at wearing his hat.. he hung out with Minnie Mouse most of the night.

Sweet girls!

Evan found a way to slide food in his mouth under that mustache.

Thank goodness Batman was there...

They just get each other :)

Look!! Jedi Knights are on their way!!

Picking out our Pumpkin

2011-11-10T13:18:00.000-08:00

With Elena in school and Ben being gone for a couple weekends our family did not make it out to a pumpkin patch together this year... but thank goodness for HEB!

Yea, that pumpkin didn't make it... thud!

Love these kiddos!

Evan - 4 Years

2011-10-23T15:30:00.000-07:00

I really don't think Evan will ever outgrow being cute (at least to me!!!)! There's just something about the way he interprets life - still so innocent, sweet, and imaginative! There's a lot of little conversations in this list; I can't help myself. I find them so entertaining!

- Evan is so drawn to any sort of action hero - the character is irrelevant, it just has to look "powerful".

- In September he began going to a day-school two days a week. For some reason he came home from his first day saying, "He can't tell us what he did, because it's just a secret." HUH??? I thought he'd get tired of that line, but he still gives it to us anytime we snoop.

Me: "Did you like the snack?"

E: "Mom, everything I do at school is just a secret."

Me: "Oh Evan, is that song you're singing from school?"

E: "Yes, but I can't sing it anymore, it's just a secret!"

Me: "Evan, your teacher said you demonstrated 'stop, drop and roll' during the fireman's visit!?"

E: "Mom, it's JUST A SECRET!"

- Evan is lacking some coloring skills. I think Asher's pages are now looking a more full than his. He picks one color, does a light scribble, and calls it done.

- He's the most eager and pleasant in the house to say, "good morning". He's often laying at the top of the stairs waiting for Ben or myself to come out of our room. The dialogue is usually

E: "Good Morning Daddy/Mommy!" "Is it morning??"

Us (eyes barely open): "Yea."

E: "YESSS!"

The enthusiasm is a little much for me at that hour.

- He wants to open the door to the fridge for me, and again when I put the item back. He sighs dramatically and says, "I just wanted to do something good."

- He will now sit down and do some activities (specifically to help with fine motor skills), and his attention and concentration has really come a long ways! The other day we had a funny exchange as he was finishing a puzzle.

E: "Mom, are you so proud of me?"

Me: "Yes, Evan I am.

E: "YOU ARE??!!" (He couldn't have sounded more shocked if I had told him I dined with Superman for breakfast)

- The list is short of things Evan fears: Haircuts, New Foods, ... and I think that's it. New places and faces are so fun for him.

- Evan has started going to Cubbies (part of the AWANA program). I am really, REALLY surprised at how well he is memorizing the verses. And he loves his Cubbie book. The Cubbie character is a little bear, and there's a picture of him on each page near the page number. He will sit and talk to the little picture of Cubbie (I do a voice, to talk back), and tell the bear all about his birthday party, cool toys he saw at Target, etc... he feels a deep bond with Cubbie.

- He loves Elena by tolerating her constant instruction to him, and he loves Asher by giving him autonomy in his play; he's the perfect middle child.

- His voice can get so LOUD! He can't seem to help it sometimes.

- Evan was telling my friend about how he got a cut on his foot.

Sarah: "Oh, bless your heart!"

E: No, no! My heart doesn't hurt, just my foot!

Here's a couple pictures from his birthday - his party is still to come!

Elena and her FIRST LOOSE TOOTH!

2011-09-25T13:15:00.000-07:00

Guys, this is a big deal. And if you don't think so just keep reading...

After the first week of school Elena ran into the house exclaiming that a boy in her class LOST A TOOTH! Elena was beyond excited that this was happening to someone she knew and immediately was consumed with the hope that her tooth would be next.

She started asking me when she could lose a tooth. To which I answered, "Well, I don't know when that will happen. Only God would know that."

That answer bothered her. The idea that neither she (nor her parents) had any control over something so important in her life, was not one she was comfortable with.

I reminded her that God knows everything about her. God loves her. And because of those two things, the time he picks for her tooth to fall out will be the right time.

Over the next couple weeks she prayed that God would let her lose a tooth, she read story books on the subject, and asked around school trying to find out more info on this "tooth fairy" character. :)

Well, a few nights ago, Ben was talking to her and noticed that one of her bottom front teeth was sticking out a little. He asked if he could feel it, and sure enough, it wiggled!

When Ben told her that tooth was loose, her eyes widened, she burst into a grin, and her eyes filled with tears. She was so overjoyed she cried, or as she put it later, "I was so excited my eyes got wet!"

What's most beautiful to me about her reaction to the news, was that she immediately saw it as a gift from God. She began talking about how God had answered her prayers. And as she went to bed that night, she sang. Yep, she sang praises to the Lord! Specifically ,"Praise Him, Praise Him!"; and at the bus stop the next morning, "God is So Good."

I love this story. I love that God was so good and DID give her a loose tooth so soon. I love that she was uninhibited with her praise to Him. I love that once again my children are a reminder to me to recognize God working in my life.

Now Ben and I are trying to figure out the going rate for teeth. Quarter too low??

Just Like Daddy

2011-08-25T11:53:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Ben had a game on tv. At some point no on was in the living room watching, EXCEPT for Asher. He had sat down a few feet from the television and was concentrating so hard on what was going on. It was so cute! I pointed it out to Ben, and he went and sad down next to him.

It was sweet enough to watch Asher pointing out things to Ben, but when I saw Asher look closely at Ben's arms and then strike this pose... ahhh, I melted!

First Day of School

2011-08-22T16:23:00.000-07:00

I'm just going to jump around and tell little stories about the day, taking my lead from the pictures.

Yep our little girl is going to Kindergarten! Crazy! As she's grown up I'd have little moments where I'd try to picture my then baby, toddler, or preschooler heading independently off to school. I could never wrap my mind around it - the idea that she'd ever be ready. But as we were laying out her clothes Sunday night, it struck me at just how capable she's gotten. Picking out and ordering her shirts for the week, and then carefully choosing the right shorts to match. I loved hearing her talk it through.

Her backpack from Land's End lacked a little bling, so I promised her she could pick out patches.

Now if you think those butterflies are loud, you should check out these shoes. The lengths gone to get these Twinkle Toes on sale - whew! Basically it was a team effort with my friend, Melissa. The shoes were a surprise that she opened just before Meet the Teacher night.

Here she is about to enter her massive school! I cannot find my way around that place.

Her brothers - they were so sweet at saying good-bye. Asher blew multiple kisses saying, "Bye Day-Da!" (That's now how he's saying her name.)

I felt pretty lonely getting into the car - I immediately missed her. And when we arrived home I felt kinda lost - not quite sure what to do with myself. I ended up taking care of some random things, ran to Target, and spent time with friends that have little boys. Ben was working from home.

She took the bus home, and apparently had a great time talking to her buddy Emily the whole way home. Ben and I were asking her about other stories from her day and she let us know that "A boy was mean to her." We asked what happened and she said, "Well, I was helping this boy be quiet, and he did not like that!!!" I giggled because I could see the whole scenario being played out. She has some practice at telling little boys what to do.

Now it's time to get the crew ready for bed - the bus comes at 7!

Ten at the End - July 10th-23rd

2011-07-23T12:53:00.000-07:00

1) The week of July 10th was marked by Evan coming down with a really bad stomach bug. I had planned that week chock-full of fun stuff to do, but one by one, every event had to be cancelled. I kept expecting him to turn a corner, but by Thursday night he still was unable to eat, and I began to be concerned about dehydration. So Friday we headed to the doctor. We got a prescription for anti-nausea medicine, and that made all the difference. He began eating and drinking considerably more than he had, and acted more like himself!

2) Since he turned the corner Friday morning, we decided to press on with the original plan to drive to Houston to see family and celebrate my nephew's birthday!

3) For the trip we graduated Asher to the next sized car-seat, and let him sit facing forwards. He was thrilled with the new view. For the first 30 minutes of the trip he couldn't stop swinging his legs, squealing "whee!", and pointing to me (who he could now see) and yelling, "Mommy!!"

4) Ben and I love to "quote Asher" to each other. He has such a funny way of saying, "Nigh-nigh", "Bye", and "Yeah." He says all of them in a Yoda-meets-German-accent which is hilarious coming from such a little guy.

5) Elena is pressing on in her piano book. She's right in the middle of the book and needed some motivation to keep going, so I took her shopping and she picked out a Poly Pocket toy that she can get as a reward when she finishes the book.

6) On that same toy-trip, I got Evan an Iron-man toy. I told him he could earn his by finishing HIS school book (some letter pages from a preschool workbook). He played and played with the box... we're talking hours!

7) I finished off these two weeks with three photo sessions on Saturday! Whew! It was a little much, but I survived!

8) And now...

9) I'm completely...

10) Out of stories!

The Light (weight) Knight

2011-07-19T14:13:00.000-07:00

You have to be careful around here!

This little medieval dude is out to get anyone in his path!

Ten at the End - July 3rd-9th

2011-07-09T11:31:00.000-07:00

1) Evan has two speeds of talking; very slow and very fast. But one thing is consistent; it's almost impossible to understand him. One day he was eating lunch at the table and he threw a rapid mumble my way. Thinking he's asking for more of something I said:

"What was that, Evan?"

He repeated the exact same way.

"Evan I can't understand you, what?"

He then yelled slowly, "I SAID, MY FAVORITE LETTER IS 'R', MY FAVORITE SHAPE IS A CIRCLE AND MY FAVORITE NUMBER IS 3!"

Ooooh. So completely out of the blue, but that's the way Evan is; which is reason #237 that we find him so adorable.

2) We've got a new light over the new-to-us breakfast table. The light was an e-bay steal! And I love the industrial (or is it nautical?) look. Once I get the e-bay chairs, I'll post a picture.

3) I have been coughing for a solid 4 weeks. Don't try and steam wrinkles out of a weird smelling drop cloth made in Pakistan, could cause respiratory troubles.

4) This past Sunday I went to the July Bible study for Wayside's high schoolers. It was good to see a lot of the girls from my small group. Many of them had just gotten back from a mission trip to The Potter's House in Guatemala, and had great stories to tell. I can't believe these girls are going into their junior year!

5) We watched "Beethoven" (90's movie about a St Bernard) as a family, and it really made an impression on Asher. Afterwards he crawled around and sat at our feet panting.

6) On the 4th we celebrated with our ABF and some friends nearby. We had a great time, but not a single picture was taken.

7) Elena has been on a "Netflix at Night" kick. We don't get cable channels, just Netflix; and Elena is perfectly capable of turning everything on and pulling up her shows. The problem is she does this at 2 or 3am. Ben and I have to remember to bring down the remote and hide it in our room, otherwise she will be up for a couple of hours watching "Angelina Ballerina" or some weird British claymation. Oh that girl!

8) Our playgroup headed to Artworks this week. Artworks is an art studio for little ones. Kids get to go through a dozen stations making all sorts of painted creations. It was an intense hour for the moms as they supervised their unpredictable paint-flinging toddlers. But we came home with some great art for our walls.

9) When your child sits on Laffy Taffy, it's a booger to get out.

10) It's been a pretty slow week. Lovin' summer!

Ten at the End - Two Weeks Worth

2011-07-04T09:36:00.000-07:00

June 19th - July 2nd

1) So after our busy week of VBS, Elena (just Elena) did yet another week at a nearby church. It was nice for her to have something to keep her busy

2) I mentioned previously that we discovered our church's library. And now on top of that, we are LOVING the new public library built near us (Parman). I think we've gone about 6 times in the past two weeks! Going so often is pretty self-serving. Having new books in the home keep my kids busy and out of trouble.

3) On June 26th, Ben and I celebrated our 7th anniversary! We were able to celebrate the day before at... Schlitterbahn! My parents kept Elena and Asher. And our friends, the Kadanes, kept Evan. So it was just the two of us running around the park, having a ball. We finished up the day with dinner at The Gristmill in Gruene. A perfect day... well almost (see the following).

4) The only things Ben and I brought into the park were Ben's van key, credit card, and drivers license. He had put them in a plastic baggie and place it in his back pocket. Well I think you know where this is headed... mid-day Ben realized the bag was gone! Long story short, someone turned it in, and we were rescued from a VERY inconvenient situation.

5) We had a family movie night and watched, "How to Train Your Dragon" The kids are now on a knight/dragon/viking kick; even Asher!

6) Ben attended the Texas League All-Star Game with his work buddies. While there, he pursued a life-long dream and ran out onto the field. He followed the line of kids privileged to run the bases during the 7th inning stretch. Yep, I'm not making this up.

7) We got a new table for our breakfast room and I. love. it! It's a gorgeous antique round table with turned legs. I have some "wild-for-me" E-bay chairs coming our way too. We were able to sell our old table and chairs quickly on Craigslist which means the total cost for the change will be pretty small.

8) Asher has started refusing to go down for his nap unless everyone present in our home says "Goodnight!" and blows a kiss.

9) We attended the Magik Theater's production of "If You Give a Pig a Party" at (where else!) Parman Library! Seating is limited so getting a ticket was pretty competitive (they ran out in 20 minutes!)

10) Elena is starting to swim independently! She certainly needs a lot of supervision because she quickly gets stuck when coming up for air, but I'm so proud of her progress!

Ten at the End - Week of VBS!

2011-06-18T19:30:00.000-07:00

June 12-18th

Well, this end of the week recap is coming in pretty late! The past week was all about VBS!

1) The theme was "Pandamania!" - Where we learned that "God is wild about you!"

2) Evan got to be with four other 3 yr old boys and they were fearlessly led by my mom! Evan and his buddy Pierson spent most of the week pretending to be "Iron Man" and fighting off the "bad guys".

3) Elena got to be in a group with her friend, Emily. She was thrilled about that.

4) I spent the week helping out my friend Jayne in an area called "Spotlight Drama." We took pictures each day to make a slide show that would re-tell the day's Bible story. It sounds a lot more complicated than it was.

5) Every year I see such a noticeable difference in Elena's behavior after her day at VBS. I really believe that the spiritual truth that is being spoken to her and over her all morning "guards her heart and mind" and I see the impact!

6) I discovered our church library during the week! I knew it existed, but I could never seem to find a time to go. Well, I think that will now change!

7) At the library I found out about a reading challenge our church is doing. 6 hours of reading = a prize! Elena would lose her right arm for "A Prize" so needless to say she has been pouring through the books and is almost done with the challenge!

8) Asher did great in the nursery this year. Last year was a little rough, so I was happy for the contrast. I think one reason he did so well, is that he was in there with his friend, Dylan. Dylan and Asher are three weeks apart, now neighbors, share a love for balls, and can each say the other's name. So basically they're best buds.

9) Poor Ben; not only did he not receive one home-cooked meal this week, but he even had to go to the store to get the frozen entrees.

10) We have the beginnings of a Bamboo Forest growing on our window sill, thanks to the awesome pre-school crafts!

Asher - 1.5 Years

2011-06-14T13:47:00.000-07:00

You love to urgently call my name a dozen times in row with your eyes wide, like your going to follow it up with an amazing story.

You say so much now. A few months ago I realized I should write down all the words you know, but now I feel like the list grows daily. You attempt to say everything and I can't keep up!

You start your morning off with a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats that has been swirled in milk for a couple seconds and then placed delicately in the middle of your tray... but you're not high maintenance or anything.

"Cars" is said with a Jersey accent and you talk about them all the time. Asking for them before you go to sleep.

You're so cautious about the pool, but will happily leap to your death off of the couch.

Throughout the day you turn to me and say, "Daddy??" I assume you're asking about his whereabouts, so I answer with, "Daddy's at work". Then you nod and say, "Oooooh" in a very mature voice.

Now that you're sharing a room and seeing Evan get his bedtime hugs, you want in. And you insist on getting the last one before we leave the room.

You finally have hair! You're getting so many comments on how it curls up behind your ears. So cute.

And while you're lean on hair, you make up for it in teeth.

Going, "Bye-Bye!" is always a fun idea. And if I say either "shoes", "church", or "go"; you run to the shoe basket, find your shoes, and follow me around saying, "Bye-Bye?!? Bye-Bye?!?"

We all love you, dearly. Elena tells everyone that you are the only one that can make her laugh when she's crying, and Evan recently told his VBS teacher that you were God's good gift to him.

Elena's Ballet Recital

2011-06-13T12:10:00.000-07:00

This past year, Elena has taken ballet and tap at Heather Stolle School of Dance. The end of the class-year is marked by a very large recital. Elena's class did a tap number to a Shirley Temple song ...could there be anything cuter???

Both sets of grandparents made it to the show, as well as Uncle Nate and Aunt Abby. It was so sweet of them all to support her hard work that way.

And I feel like I need to give a special mention to these boys, who patiently cheered her on, every week for the past year. Asher actually learned quite a bit of the routine!

"Evan look at my flowers!"

"I SAID, LOOK AT MY FLOWERS!"

Ben and I were pretty sentimental watching her up on that stage. We'll be taking an indefinite break from dance next year, and so knowing that made us want to soak up this performance!

Ten at the End!

2011-06-11T23:01:00.000-07:00

1) Haircut - finally got one!!

(yikes! cheesy jazz hands)

2) Laundry Room - I love our huge laundry room, but have never been a fan of seeing all the mess stored in it; especially since it's the room we first walk into upon arriving home. So Ben purchased pipe, cut and hung; while I purchased drop cloths, cut and ironed. And voila we have lovely curtains. Only bummer is that THEY STINK! Literally, they stink like an old damp basement. So now I need to wash and iron them again.

3) Peach Picking - Our playgroup headed to Fredericksburg to do some peach picking! It was so much fun. The weather wasn't too hot, company lovely, and now I have a huge box of green and bruised peaches rotting on my table (the kids weren't too discriminating as they picked).

4) VBS - Here we come! Leader training was this week and the kids and I are so excited!

5) FUNNY STORY - Evan is learning the art of introductions. Ben was with the three kids in Old Navy. A little girl walked by Evan and he immediately introduced himself. Then he continued with, "This is Elena, this is Asher.... and the big guy is Ben!"

4) Asher turned 18 months! I've GOT to get pictures up here and write about what he's been up to.... oh yeah, and schedule an appointment to get those immunizations.

5) Splash Pad - Asher is NOT a fan. But the rest of us had fun hanging with friends at the Bandera YMCA. That place is amazing!

6) We came this close to buying wood flooring. But I think we'll hold off another year.

7) When Evan thinks an object is not where he left it, he gets very serious and whispers, "Maybe the bad guys took it!"

8) Our A&M flag has been flying high since the Aggies won both the Men's and Women's National Championship in track and field (third year in a row). Ben keeps talking about how "these are the glory days of A&M athletics..." or something like that. Hopefully football can carry their weight in the fall!

9) We have birthday parties to attend almost every weekend for the next month. As soon as one is over the kids begin counting down until the next one. They love them some cupcakes!

10) We are so glad SYTYCD is back on tv (So You Think You Can Dance)!

Ten at the End!

2011-06-04T23:25:00.000-07:00

1) The week started with a Memorial Day cookout at my parents! Yummy food and fun pool time!

2) Ben's newest motorcycle arrived. Let's briefly review the history of the non-four-wheel vehicles he has had: The Go-ped, the Buddy Scooter, a Ninja motorcycle, and now a 1963 Honda motorcycle. If you want more specifics reasons for the purchases and subsequent sale of each of those, you'll have to talk to him.

3) We just got these hot wheels race tracks. The kids (AND DADDY!) have been very busy creating death defying drop offs from our upstairs landing.

4) Ben has built some amazing lego creations with the kids, one of them being a robot. This week Elena recreated that robot. I was pretty impressed since it had been a few weeks she saw Ben do it, and this was done entirely on her own!

5) Does your toddler know when their birthday is? We were at the pool and someone asked Evan when his birthday was. They specifically asked if it was in August or September. He paused, squinted his eyes appearing to give it some serious thought, and then slowly replied, "SAN ANTONIO."... I love that kid.

6) Elena comes up with the most random crafts. That girl loves her some tape.

7) Along those lines, she makes us cards on a daily basis. They are always filled with flowers, hearts, rainbows, and stick figures hugging. In fact its making me think that I should give her "just because" cards too!

8) Evan and Asher share a love for Hot Wheels, and at any given time you can hear simultaneous "Vroom, Vroom" noises coming from the play room. It's pretty amazing to see Asher walking around hugging 3-4 cars at a time in the exact same way Evan did at that age.

9) We have all been looking forward to this weekend, because Ben's family was coming in to town...

10) And they were coming into town for Elena's end of the year ballet recital!! We were all so proud of her! And I think it deserves its own post.

Ten at the End!

2011-05-28T17:26:00.001-07:00

Let me try a new thing here: Ten random things posted at the end of my week. Hopefully it will give a snapshot of our life at the moment.

This picture screams, "random!" to me, so I feel like it's appropriate as a header for this post.

1) Okay this was actually just over a week ago (My blog, my rules!) Elena went to see "Pinkalicious" at the Magic Theater. The ticket was a very sweet birthday gift from her friend, Emily. She giggled the entire time and has been quoting and reenacting it all week (complete with pink marker all over the face... yay.)

2) Soccer is over! I'm sad it's over for Elena, but relieved with Evan. Evan's practices and games ended up being a very hands on event for me, and I was worn out after every one. If I wasn't running on to the field, I was yelling instructions from the sideline, "Evan STOP BEING AN AIRPLANE!"; "Evan, you CANNOT push!"; "Do NOT make yourself dizzy!!!"; "WRONG WAY! WRONG WAY!!"

3) Elena is starting piano! We're not doing formal lessons at this point, but on the recommendation from friends, I purchased a book called, "My First Piano Adventure." It's awesome for her age. There's an accompanying cd with cute songs to help her fingers get familiar with the keys. She's loving it and has been a great addition to our daily routine.

4) I've been cleaning out JUNK. Filled multiple bins for a someday garage sale. Love that feeling.

5) Well, this was done a couple weeks ago, but the BOYS ARE SHARING A ROOM! We were bracing ourselves for a rough adjustment, them sharing the nursery has allowed us to change Evan's old room into a nursery... I love it! but it has actually made our life easier. We are still shocked! It used to be that Asher would cry himself to sleep, but he is quiet as can be having his big brother right next to him.

Them sharing the nursery has allowed us to convert Evan's old room into a playroom... I love it!

6) We've been hitting up our neighborhood pool! The kids have finally reached an age where I feel comfortable watching all three in the water... in the baby pool... with floaties. :)

7) A little story from yesterday: We're riding in the car and Elena's talking about a bad dream she had. She was saying something like:

"... And then the giant Dora was trying to pull off my arms..."

***Uhh, creepy!!!**

"... And she was just being so mean to me. She was just SO DEMO! Don't you think, Mom? Wasn't she SO DEMO?"

It took me awhile to figure out where she was getting this new word, "demo"; but then it hit me. After seeing "Toy Story 3" and Buzz Lightyear's aggressive behavior on the "demo mode" she assumed "demo" was a very negative adjective!

8) Ben and I experienced the legendary 42in pizza at Big Lou's! The youth group leaders were having an end of the year party. Knowing the diameter beforehand didn't stop my jaw from dropping when it actually came to our table. The pizza was delicious and the company sweet.

9) One of my goals for this summer is teach basic table manners to Elena and Evan. I've been pretty lax in that whole area. To help with the process and to work on a few other behaviors we have introduced a chart.

10) Evan received 3 fillings and 8 sealants on Wednesday. We were pretty nervous going into the procedure, but it went extraordinarily well!

He didn't know what was coming after he put on the sunglasses, headphones, and bubblegum nose, but he was pretty sure it was going to be AWESOME!

Soccer Spectacularness!

2011-05-06T12:01:00.000-07:00

Wow, it is amazing what a shiny brass medal can do for a child's morale! This past week in soccer each member of Evan's team got a medal for... I guess being cute? It was either that or for spinning around in circles until you fall down... I forget, I'll check the inscription. ;)

Coincidentally, Elena was chosen from her team to get the medal this week. She has been very timid about attempting a kick since her first game, but showed a lot of effort this week, so a medal was awarded. Yay!!!

While I am proud of the efforts they have shown this season, the thing I am still beaming about is what I overheard Elena say to Evan when he walked over with his medal (and this was before she was awarded hers.) She exclaimed, "Oh Evan, I love your medal! Good Job! I'm so proud of you!!!!"

Ahhhhh, I've been replaying this moment over and over... especially when I'm sending them to their rooms for fighting.

Easter 2011

2011-04-25T08:06:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun celebrating Easter as a family. Friends and family have been so generous with ideas and resources that I felt very prepared this year to have a fun a meaningful day. But I feel like I need to mention that the first thing my kids did on Easter morning was watch an hour of Barney... just keeping it real.

After Barney we got dressed for church and made the resurrection cookies. Then we left the cookies in the oven, and headed to church. Worship was wonderful and the message was a beautiful reminder of how Christ's death made a way for us to be brought near to the Father. Eph 2:13 "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ"... love that verse!

Came home, opened the oven, later found the Easter baskets, and finished the day with hunting for the Resurrection eggs and reading the book that goes along with them.

I love how the day was full of things to do that kept pointing back to the significance of the day. It makes me want to think of things to do on Christmas day so we're not ending with presents in the morning.

We were a little lax about getting basket pictures... but here's what we got!

Resurrection Cookies 2011

2011-04-25T07:49:00.000-07:00

We made Resurrection cookies again this year. I'm really loving this tradition!

Asher was very curious!

Evan's turn

Asher's turn

Big sis wrapping it up

Watching it turn white

Ready for the oven!

Hey lookie there! They're hollow this year!

"Easter Party Hunt"

2011-04-24T20:33:00.000-07:00

We had a little Easter Egg Hunt with some friends on Saturday. Evan talked non-stop about this "Easter Party Hunt" the week leading up to it. Every time we got in the car he thought we were heading to it. And he packed his back-pack daily (underwear, trucks, etc...) for this thing.

Well once it began, all three kids enjoyed it immensely! And Mom and Dad had fun hanging with their buddies too.

Just. Out. Of. Reach.

I decided Asher wasn't quite ready for his jumbo basket.

"Hey, this one's empty!"

Evan loves him some chocolate!

Elena was a blur and impossible to get on camera. She's nothing if not competitive.

All three kids after it was over. Yep, that's a keeper.

Evan - 3.5 Years Old

2011-04-08T13:29:00.000-07:00

Evan, you melt my heart on a daily basis. You love to say, "Oh thanks, Mom!", "Dad, you da best!", or "Way to go Ewana!"

You are eating vegetables for the first time in your life!!! You don't like them, but you eat them.

You are not at all shy. Not a chatter-box, but you feel completely comfortable talking to anyone and everyone should the need arise. You are starting to get into trouble at church because you want to be silly and funny for your friends at the expense of listening to what the teacher has to say.

Cuddling and being close is SO important to you.

You have a funny thing about being "just Evan".

-"If we call you Evan Jesse, you quickly correct us with, "Just call me Evan! Not Jesse Evan! Jesse a cowgirl!"

-If we say you look handsome, you reply, "No, I just Evan."

-If we ruffle your hair, you ask for it to go back to "Evan hair"

Your understanding of God is slowly growing. The biggest spiritual truth that has resonated with you is that God made everyone special. You throw this out at the most random times. Like telling Daddy, "Dad, God made you special", as he's wiping your behind.

You love your striped blanket. It follows you around the house.

You know all your colors, BUT you always reverse white and black. It's so funny to me.

You can sometimes pull up your undies and sometimes your shorts, but for the most part, we have to do it for you. It cracks me up how uninterested you are in mastering this skill.

Your sister can make you madder than anything, but you also miss her and seem a little lost when she's gone .

You weigh more than your sister!

You may be quiet in the car, but you are paying close attention to the cars around us. Sometimes when we pass a car, you quietly say to yourself, "Now that's what I call fast!"

Your go-to-excuse for not coloring at church, picking up your room, or fetching your shoes is, "I'm busy!" And you say it as you are lying on the floor looking off into space ;)

We love you so much! And I'm missing you as you're spending this weekend with Daddy going to Astros games!

First Cone of the Season

2011-04-07T18:25:00.000-07:00

There's nothing singular about the "Single Cone" from Freddy's Custard.

Soccer

2011-03-28T09:07:00.000-07:00

Elena and Evan are playing soccer this spring! They had their first practice followed by a game yesterday. We hadn't done the best job at explaining the game to them beforehand, so we weren't sure what to expect. Everything Evan knew about soccer he learned from an episode of "Backyardigans"; so I think he was half expecting the "Soccer Monster" to jump out and his team to break out into a choreographed dance.

Anyways, Elena is on a team with her buds from church (yay!). And Evan is on the Rodriguez Family team. Seriously, the kids call the coach, Uncle.

Elena really amazed us with her persistence to keep up with the ball, and she had so much fun which is exactly what we were hoping for.

Evan's experience was pretty much the opposite. Poor guy, he had so much enthusiasm about the game (or what he thought was the game of soccer... curse you, Backyardigans!!) before getting out there. But that enthusiasm completely dissipated. There were tears... lots of them. Tears when I told him his water cup had to stay with me on the sidelines. Tears when we told him he can't push the kids (I think he thought he was supposed to tackle). And tears when the opposing team's player kept heading toward the goal after Evan yelled, "Stop!" right in his face.

It will certainly be fun to see how the kids progress during the season!

Elena, Emily, and Tanner!

One of her 6 kicks.

She kept careful count of her kicks and shared her tally with everyone!

Ben headed over to Evan's field to grab some action shots...

Elena's Penguin Party

2011-02-16T08:12:00.000-08:00

This was a party that we were thrilled to see come to fruition. We had to cancel it twice due to sickness in our home. So three long weeks after her birthday we were able to celebrate with friends.

Okay, let's talk about the theme for a minute: Last fall I started asking Elena what kind of party she wanted. Personally, I was pushing for a "carnival theme" since a friend was going to lend me her supplies. At first Elena went for it, but then out of the blue, became passionate about a "Barbie Party". I shot that one down, and thus began a pattern of her picking a theme only to change her mind the next day; Farms, Doctors, Family Cakes (?)... finally she announced she wanted a Penguin Party and she was sticking to it. Ahhh, okay, finally; one I can get my head around.

This party was going to be one where the parents dropped off the kids. My parents and friend, Liz were going to be helping... THANK GOODNESS. It was CA-RAZY but we all survived and did have a great time!!!

I am in love with these little cupcake toppers!

This is a BEFORE shot of the table :)

And then we ate...

Asher's a smart guy - observing from a distance

The "After" shot

We LOVE our Elena!

We are SO thankful for such an abundance of friends :)

And thanks again everyone for putting up with the many cancellations!

SNOW!

2011-02-04T09:28:00.000-08:00

We didn't know what to do with ourselves when we woke up to a thin layer of snow on our patio!

Socks on the hands already looks pretty ragged, but she had to grab a mis-matched pair. :)

The only way we could convince Evan to go outside was to promise him a Capri-Sun... soooo Evan.

Elena's 5th Birthday

2011-01-25T08:10:00.000-08:00

Elena is now 5 YEARS OLD!

Elena you are beautiful in every single way. You are fiercely competitive, but it's tempered with a desire to verbally encourage others along the way. Your biggest giggles are saved for slapstick comedy, usually performed by Asher, but you do have a special place in your heart for an AFV video you once saw of a cat jumping into a fish tank. You love being given responsibilities, and love it even more if they somehow affect your brothers.

You talk all. the. time. :) And I know I'm going to miss that when you go to school next fall. You are desperate to understand time, so you can know exactly when things will happen. Days of the week are starting to make sense, but telling time will be a ways off. Girl, you can read like nobody's business! Such an accomplishment. You are strongly left-handed which is just one of the many wonderful reminders of how unique you are.

Now we have to talk a little bit about just how sneaky you can be. Many are the premeditated "crimes" you commit in this house. The planning involved in your pantry heists scares us, but we are praying for self-control and a love for truth.

You admire anything beautiful; a disney princess, a purse with sequins, or a colorful sunset. You love roller coasters, hair accessories, and creating things out of printer paper and some tape. Your little 5 year old mind is already looking into your future and thinking about leaving for college (this saddens both you and us), getting married (you are pretty concerned over not seeming to have him picked out yet), and having kids (you don't understand why God wouldn't give you exactly two girls a "Bella" and "Emily").

No matter what you are exploring, creating or destroying we love you completely!

I'm showing off my daughter's mad sprinkle skills.

The Great Debate(s)

2011-01-24T07:45:00.000-08:00

Elena and Evan have had many different seasons in their relationship. When Evan was first born, Elena pretty much ignored him. Then as he aged he began to tamper with her things, and the physical bullying began. It was months of hearing shrieks from Evan, running to the room, and seeing Elena on top of him - punches flying.

I'm not sure if it's that Evan is now old enough to understand and obey the rules of "Elena's world", or if it's that he's now big enough to retaliate, but thankfully the physical abuse has become a thing of the past (okay, there maybe a few exceptions... but.... anyways)

But we're now entering another season and this one has a different flavor of strife. We'll call it The Season of Great Intellectual Debate. Here is a sample of the arguments you can hear at our house. Both sides are always extremely passionate on their stand and are usually brought to tears over the other's unwillingness to concede.

ELENA: Eve-A (a robot from the movie, Wall-E) is a girl.

EVAN: No He isn't!

ELENA: Yes she is!

EVAN: NOOOO! He is not a GIRL ("girl" said with disgust). Mom, Ewana said Eve-A is a girl!!!

EVAN (wearing a red hat): Look Ewana, I'm Santa Claus!

ELENA: No you're not, you're the Grinch

EVAN: I AM NOT THE GRINCH. YOU'RE THE GRINCH!

ELENA: NO YOU'RE THE GRINCH!

And on and on it goes.....

Elena running away from Evan. Evan following in tears:

EVAN: Noooo! I AM a friendly dinosaur!!! I'm NOT scary!!!

Conner Lawrence

2011-01-19T13:11:00.000-08:00

Meet my newest nephew!

Little Conner made his arrival January 18th!

I AM NEVER GOING TO CATCH UP ON THIS THING!!

2011-01-18T10:37:00.000-08:00

Aghhh!!! I am so frustrated at how far behind I am on this blog!

But venting that frustration here has been therapeutic, so thank you for listening.

If you're desperate for pics of our trip to Disney World, please go HERE to my sis-in-love's blog.

And unrelated to the above, but very important:

Please pray for my sister as she is delivering her baby boy, Conner today! We can't wait to meet him and are so thankful for his good health thus far.

This Year's Ornaments

2010-12-16T12:26:00.000-08:00

We like to pick out ornaments for each child that serves as a reminder of their year. Elena received a Clara ornament - she began ballet this year and attended the Nutcracker with Ma... and LOVED it! We gave Evan a Hot Wheels ornament - it's actually just like one Ben received growing up. And Asher got a little Moose ornament.

As a photographer I'm just really proud of this picture :)

Asher just wanted Mom and could not be persuaded to get excited about his bag.

Nope! I don't care!

You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!

2010-12-09T14:11:00.000-08:00

I think at some point every kid faces the crushing disappointment of finding out that the one Christmas gift you want in the entire world is deemed too dangerous to own by their parents.

A few weeks ago, Elena was browsing a Walmart circular when she suddenly stopped on a page and gasped with glee. She had found a picture of a very happy girl making the most scrumptious cakes with a miraculous toy - an Easy Bake Oven. Elena ran over to me announcing that this was the toy that she "most wanted" for Christmas.

My immediate thought was - no way. Way too messy, way too dangerous for solo play, way too big to store in my kitchen (since it certainly couldn't be kept in her room).

I needed a reason to give her, so I first pointed out the price. When I told her, it was $18, her eyes widened - $18 must be a lot of money based on my tone of voice. Then I looked at the picture of the packaging and saw that the recommended age was six and up (perfect!). I explained the "6+" symbol to her and that it is there to protect 4 yr olds.

She turned around; engulfed in disappointment.

A few minutes later she came back and asked me, "Mom, do you have $1?" Sensing a trap, I didn't answer her question, but reached out for the circular she was again handing me. And then I saw this:

I burst out laughing!! But Elena never cracked a smile. She acted like the new price and recommended age had always been there, that I was crazy for thinking otherwise, and she still does not admit to tampering with the circular. Heaven help us.

Another Moose Party

2010-12-08T11:22:00.000-08:00

We had a little family party for Asher on his actual birthday, December 8th. We ordered pizza, sang happy birthday, and then ran out the door for youth group (he's definitely living life as a third child).

My quick attempt at a moose cake: I think it looks like a teddy bear/cat with antlers.

Our extravagant decorations and birthday card from his sister.

"What? ANOTHER BIRTHDAY PARTY?!?!"

SO loved!

Happy Birthday Asher!

2010-12-08T07:55:00.001-08:00

The Elkins' Family Tree

2010-12-04T20:17:00.000-08:00

Early this week we loaded up the kids and the bungee cords to go get ourselves a tree. The weather was pretty chilly, which I really appreciate when doing something related to Christmas. We looked for the absolute tallest tree we could find in our price bracket, and found a great one. It was probably a foot taller than it's peers. Score!

Then came the fun part of decorating it. I felt like I was racing the kids; first to find the breakable ornaments before they did, and secondly I was trying to get as many as I could on the tree before they all ended up in one large clump.

It was a very merry time!

"Hey, this one has my name on it!"

The first of many attempts to get to those ornaments

This is the tree nearing completion:

These ornaments are not waiting to be hung; believe it or not, they're on the tree.

... and apparently this was Elena's favorite branch.

Asher's A-MOOSE-ing First Birthday Party

2010-12-04T19:42:00.000-08:00

(I tried to get clever with the title, but this is all I was coming up with. If you have suggestions, I'm all ears.)

We were in Houston with our Elkins' family over Thanksgiving. While there, we had a little party to celebrate Asher's first birthday (he's turning 1 on Dec 8th).

His siblings and cousins loved singing to him!

I think this is as close as he got to the cake; barely touching it! :)

Greetings!

2010-11-29T20:06:00.000-08:00

The past couple of months have been busy for me and the photography biz. One shoot after another where the entire goal was simply to get one great picture to adorn a Christmas card. You know, you'd think I'd take a hint and start thinking about taking pictures of my kids and choosing cards for our family, but it didn't really cross my mind... until now!

So the priority this weekend was to get a picture of all three kids. We got the picture, (only took 300 attempts) and now I'm down to picking out the card.

I've been looking at Shutterfly's options for Christmas cards, and I just love them! There's a great variety of style's to choose; modern to traditional. My favorite feature is that on most of their folded cards you can print on the inside flap a little Christmas letter, or put down a collage of pictures! Here are some of my favorites...

I love the plaid!!

Fresh and classic!

I love everything; shape, colors, font... family :)

Now my absolute favorite card for the one (emphasis on the singular) good picture we got of our kids can't be revealed yet! You'll just have to wait and see what arrives in your mailbox.

I now have our card wrapped up, most of the Christmas gifts near completion (family members don't look...hehe), and am on to picking out Elena's birthday party invitations (can you believe she's going to be 5???).

So thank you, Shutterfly! And thanks for this great opportunity!

Asher - 11 Months

2010-11-15T10:48:00.001-08:00

This past month has been full of new little tricks for Asher. The biggest change is how much we're now able to communicate with him.

He definitely understands the word "No!" And we're having to use it more often. Kitchen cabinets are an area where he keeps pushing his luck. The funny thing is that he acts totally guilty if you catch him opening one of the cabinets.

Whenever he tries to communicate "no", his head shakes side to side. I get a lot of "no's" at the dinner table now.

If he hears "hi" or "bye" from anyone at all, he waves.

He's fascinated with putting things in a box or crack and then trying to get them out only to repeat the process.

He will sometimes throw a mini-tantrum. They're mini because they're over before they begin, but it's officially a tantrum because he arches his back and screams!

He LOVES to see Ben come in the door. If I'm holding him he reaches out towards Dad, falls on him, and gives a big hug and grin. Then the two of them head out the door to get the mail. He's so excited along every step of the way to the mail box, that it sounds like he's having an asthma attack.

A week or so before he hit 11 months he took his first steps! He did it multiple times one evening, but hasn't been to urgent to repeat his success.

Sneezes are so funny that he tries his best to give his own rendition of an "ah-choo." I find it completely adorable.

It's pure joy to see him make new discoveries. And I love learning more and more about him each day.

Love you Ash-man!

A Perfect (Kinda?) Fairy Tale

2010-11-01T09:22:00.000-07:00

A Princess, a Dragon, and a...

MAGIC MIRROR!

Conceptually, I thought it was pretty brilliant, but from a craftsmanship standpoint, I'll be the first to admit it's lacking.

Yet another picture of a distraught Asher. You'll just have to take my word for it... he's really a happy baby, we just have a way of doing all of these fun fall activities when he is not at his best.

So obviously, one of our clan was having a rough evening, but the rest of us had a great time! A couple of block parties, wonderful friends, and sweet treats!

Pumpkin Patch - Take 2

2010-11-01T09:06:00.000-07:00

This months MOPS play-date was held at a nearby pumpkin patch. I was excited about it for two reasons - 1) I went to this patch last year and thought it had a great variety of fun activities for kids and 2) I wanted to try again to get pictures of Asher. My sister joined me, so we were able to get pictures of Aubrey and Asher together:

Telling him a secret

Giving a sweet/violent kiss

Which left Asher in this emotional state... sigh, no better than last time.

Elena was thrilled to get her face painted!

She chose the puppy-dog look

Elena and Evan got to pick out a little pumpkin and decorate it with stickers.

Not sure what happened to the other "girly eye" on Elena's. And by looking at Evan's pumpkin, I don't think he got the point of the exercise. All in all a fun day!

Beauty and the Beast

2010-10-19T13:54:00.000-07:00

When Elena's Ma heard that the musical, Beauty and the Beast was coming to San Antonio, she happily got tickets for Elena to go (it's a favorite of hers). Ben took her Sunday night and although it was a late night for the little girl, she loved it; and was a completely enthusiastic audience member.

Worn OUT!

Carving the Pumpkin

2010-10-18T13:34:00.000-07:00

After we picked our pumpkin we headed back home, where Ma then helped the kids carve it and harvest the seeds. The recipe she used on the seeds was so delicious!

Evan would not go near the inside of that pumpkin. :)

PUMPKINS!

2010-10-18T12:52:00.000-07:00

This is the first of multiple pumpkin related posts. :)

We headed to the local pumpkin patch when Ben's family was in for the weekend of Evan's birthday. We attempted a cousin picture...

and individual kiddo pictures.

Sadly, Asher had a cold that weekend, and was especially grouchy about getting his picture taken...

But as for Evan... well, he had a ball... as Evan does.

Evan's Race Car Party!

2010-10-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

We were able to celebrate Evan's birthday with family and friends on his actual birthday. I began planning this race car party a LONG time ago... well at least it was way in advance compared to the previous parties I've done. Ben mowed a track in the back yard and then lined it with cones. The kiddos raced cardboard box cars around the yard and also played "Red Light, Green Light". Writing this out makes it sound like these events happened in an orderly fashion, but when you're dealing with 2's and 3's nothing could be further than the truth! BUT, when dealing with 2's and 3's nothing could be cuter. :)

The kids ran around the yard, in and out of the track, completely confused as to where they were supposed to end up. And when it came time for Red Light Green Light, they initially ran towards me, but would then turn around and zip back to where they started... it was so funny.

We decided to do a donut cake for Evan... it's easy and something he loves!

Lots and lots of diapers represented by these boxes.

I decorated the house with these checkered flags. I'm so bummed that I didn't take more pictures of the decorations. Abby let me use her new Silhouette machine to make CUTE banners! They looked awesome, but silly me, I took them down too soon.

Pierson getting into his car. He was the most enthusiastic participant!

Thank you everyone for making Evan's birthday so special. He LOVED it!

Evan - 3 Years Old

2010-10-10T09:08:00.000-07:00

Oh... Evan, Evan, Evan.

Evan brings us tremendous joy. His enthusiasm and sweet spirit make him impossible not to love! Here is everything Evan is up to at 3 years old.

He's starting to drop his nap. After lying in bed awhile without falling asleep he tries reasoning with me to let him out by saying, "But mommy, is a sunny day." He now uses that argument for coming out of his room in the morning or staying up late, "But mommy, is a sunny day!" It's cute to hear when it's dark outside.

I think my favorite thing to hear coming from his lips are encouraging words towards his sister. He will watch her riding her tricycle around the cul-de-sac and yell, "Oh good job Ewana! You a REALLY FAST GIRL!!

He has been so excited about this birthday. He has highly anticipated his friends coming to his "wace car party" and singing "happy birfday to Evan."

He continues to have such an amazing imagination. He plays great by himself if it's required of him.

I think it's just a boy thing, but he can make all kinds of car, robot, or rocket noises... and it usually involves a lot of spitting (ugh).

He is a minimalist when it comes to coloring; just a few strokes on a page and he's done.

He sometimes wants to "play ball", but it's not as much of a fascination as it was.

If Elena is in the right mood, they can play very well together. He will happily follow his sister's lead; pretending to have birthday parties, be in school, or throw a concert.

For the most part he will happily/enthusiastically go with the flow, but there are certain lines he will not cross; eating new foods, getting his hands messy, letting go of a particular car, or scooting forward a little on the toilet.

He's so caring. If I run into something (stop laughing at me!) he's quick to say, "Oh, are you okay, Mommy?" And if he accidentally bumps us or drops something on our toes, he responds with, "Oh I SORRY!"

He has lots of love for his family!

Asher - 10 Months

2010-10-08T10:10:00.000-07:00

Well, the biggest news with Asher is that the day before he turned 10 months he started saying, "Uh-oh!" (HIS FIRST WORD!)

I noticed him trying to say it that morning right after I happened to say it. And then the rest of the day he would say it whenever he dropped something. It comes out more like, "uh... uh... ooooh..." I love getting a glimpse into how he's processing everything around him... apparently he views a lot of his life as a blunder.

The next big thing is that the day after he turned 10 months he began clapping! Sometimes it looks like his two hands are flailing independently, but then he'll get them to connect and gives a big grin.

In addition to those two new milestones he loves to dance, walk with confidence around the coffee table, and approach his siblings with boldness to take something from them. I really think he's going to be able to take care of himself in this family!

North Carolina

2010-09-24T18:23:00.000-07:00

So, waaaayyyyy back in June, we all headed to North Carolina to see my mom's side of the family. It was so fun to see family that we hadn't seen in over a year.

Here is my Nana and almost all of her grandchildren (and great-grandchildren!)

North Carolina: Getting Wet

2010-09-24T16:05:00.000-07:00

Asher scowling at the kiddie-pool. He hated everything wet, but doesn't he look adorable in his little rash-guard?

"Char-Char please save me from those waves!"

Evan and Elena, however LOVED everything about the beach.

North Carolina: Double Decker Bus Tour

2010-09-24T14:01:00.000-07:00

Our kids now think you go to NC to ride double-decker buses.

North Carolina: Touring Fort Macon

2010-09-24T13:50:00.000-07:00

That'll Leave a Mark

2010-09-21T12:18:00.001-07:00

Last night, Elena took a tumble. She managed to trip over the curtains, which then propelled her into a chair, with the result being a pretty deep cut on the forehead.

Too bad her hair is bout 1.8 cm long on that spot of her head, otherwise we might be able to disguise it a little better.

She really handled it VERY well! I'm so proud of her.

Checking Things Off

2010-09-21T11:13:00.000-07:00

Between the past two weekends I tackled some projects that have been bugging me.

The first project was to organize the school supply closet. For not actually having any school aged children, we have A LOT of stuff! I am a sucker for educational supplies and have been buying them since Elena was born. On top of that, we were just blessed by a family giving us their used kindergarten supplies, so it was time to get a system in place.

Hmm, I feel like diaper boxes lack some of the aesthetic qualities of other storage systems available. :)

And the other project was removing the border in our master bathroom and then painting it. We got our bedroom looking the way I wanted it shortly after moving in, but didn't even touch the bathroom. I think we were waiting to tackle it until we were prepared to pay for the wall to be textured (needed once the border was removed).

But we decided it was better to have freshly painted walls, with no border, and mismatched texture, than the current state.

Good-bye floral wrapping paper! I don't have a picture, but I'm very happy with the result!

Asher - 9 Months

2010-09-13T14:21:00.000-07:00

Asher let me squeeze in on his 9 month photo shoot. I've been meaning to get pictures of us together for about... well... nine months I guess.

Our sweet, sweet boy is 9 months old!

Asher is a fast crawler and he loves to climb the stairs any chance he gets. He's already fallen down a few steps on my watch... Baaad Mom Award! :)

He prefers upstairs to down. He figured out that's the "fun zone" with 90% of our toys being up there.

He just started chowing down on graham crackers... it's a bummer they're so messy.

He's pretty sensitive when dropped off at the church nursery, but they are great at getting him to sleep. Apparently, he loves them to sing to him.

He's gotten really good at swatting away things he doesn't want; pureed carrots, a tissue for his nose... he's got a strong swing!

He darts for any "crackly" plastic... loves the stuff.

He has five teeth.. two up, and three down.

He is a very curious little guy... once he spots something he wants to investigate, it is nearly impossible to stop him. That curiosity reminds me of another child of mine, and her curiosity has proven to be TROUBLE. So I'm crossing my fingers that in a couple of years he won't be emptying the shampoo bottle into the toilet, painting his hand and pressing it against the walls, or combing toothpaste through his hair... but maybe that's just life with kids.

However he turns out, we'll take him. We love us some Ash-man!

Stats: 17lb 13oz and 27in long

10th and 25th percentile

Cutie-"POO"-toodie

2010-09-13T14:13:00.000-07:00

Ben's comment on my last post reminded me that I really need to write down the cute phrases he commonly utters since starting potty training.

The first, the one Ben already wrote about, is that Evan congratulates himself upon every successful pee. It's not a loud exclamation, just a quiet, "ta-daaaa." And then he slides off the toilet.

The second thing he says that makes us smile is, "MY HOSE IS GOING TO FALL DOWN!!!" This is said loudly... and urgently as he's running to the toilet. I guess he thinks it feels like his "hose" (yes, that's what we call "it") is falling off or something... I'm not really sure.

Potty Training Evan

2010-09-08T12:08:00.000-07:00

(Warning: there's an overabundance of the words pee, urine, and poo in this post.)

For those of you wondering yes, we did begin potty training when we reached the end of our count down calendar (August 16th, the Monday after the wedding). And there is no coincidence that with the beginning of potty training began a very long hiatus from posting to this blog.

So here's how it went:

Monday, Day 1, we headed over to my friend's house who was also beginning potty training that day. Her son, Pierson is Evan's buddy, so we thought we'd kick it off together and maybe, just maybe, they would sorta encourage each other in the process.

That first day was spent mainly getting Evan okay with just sitting on the toilet, which he was strongly against. I gave him M&Ms, read him books, and sang songs... all to get him comfortable with just sitting there longer than a second. By the evening he was okay sitting, but nervous about peeing, so I started pouring warm water on him, and that brought about his first "success."

Tuesday, Day 2. Evan was getting better about peeing if he was sitting on the potty, but I had to take him to the bathroom to try every 15 minutes because he was not even close to realizing that he needed to go beforehand.

Wednesday, Day 3. This was the worst of the days... I was weary of the process, I had baking projects that I needed to do for a shower that night, and then it didn't help that the day started with walking into Elena's room and smelling urine. I interrogated her to realize that she decided to pee in her plastic tea-cups and then pour it under her bed... Grrr... So most of that day was just spent cleaning up urine.

Thursday, Day 4. WE TURNED A CORNER!!! Hooray! Evan went poop on the toilet for the first time, started telling me off and on that he needed to go, and he was making an effort to hold it until we made it to the bathroom. Still accidents, but fewer.

Friday and Saturday, Day 5 and 6. More progress. We went on our first "diaper-free" outing on Saturday (a pool party - so pretty safe)

Sunday, Day 7. Headed to church in underwear!!! He had an accident... but only one... yay?

Since then I've been doing laundry every day and making sure we pack multiple pairs of underwear/shorts wherever we go, but we're not going back to diapers! We made it! I survived! Woo-hoo!

(Taken on Day 1. Do those boys look happy to be in underwear or what? Elena's watching a movie and the boys are cracking jokes about their white-e tighties.)

A Post Wedding Post

2010-09-08T11:55:00.000-07:00

After Patty and Chris tied the knot, Elena was ready to throw another wedding for anyone who was interested.

I walked into the kitchen to this one day; the puzzle boxes in the background are seats, the plastic cups are the flower petals...

... and she apparently was officiating the blessed affair. Here she is getting ready to read aloud the story of Noah's Ark (a traditional passage chosen for weddings).

The Flower Girl and Ring Bearer

2010-08-17T11:47:00.000-07:00

Elena and Evan had the privilege of being in Chris and Patty's wedding! Elena was SO excited to play her role as the flower girl and would have been more than happy to take on the ring bearer's responsibility if it looked like Evan was not up for the task. But he was, especially with the lollipop awaiting him at the end of the aisle.

I dressed them up the morning after the wedding to make sure I got some pictures of them in their cute get-up. (There are more pictures on facebook)

Wedding Bells

2010-08-17T11:28:00.000-07:00

...were ringing for my sister Patty on Saturday!

Patty and Chris were married at the Bright Shawl downtown, and the wedding went really really well! Patty looked amazing (no surprises there), and Chris seemed to keep both of them calm and focused. I wish I had been able to get pictures of the day, but it's pretty amazing at how occupied you are part of the bridal party... and when you have three kiddos to keep track of (although it must be said Ben did the majority of "kid herding" throughout the evening).

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Mimun!

No Boys Allowed

2010-08-11T15:49:00.000-07:00

After she hung this sign, Elena explained to me that she simply did not feel her brother had the maturity to appreciate the finer things in her bedroom . This coming from the girl who peed in the corner of that very room last week... just for kicks.

She asked how to spell "boy"; but "princess", she was born knowing how to spell.

Hey Mom, Look What I Can Do!

2010-08-11T15:44:00.001-07:00

The fascination with going up slides backwards apparently starts young.

No More Diaper Day

2010-08-09T07:06:00.000-07:00

...is coming soon around here.

In fact it's just one week away (eek!)

I made this little countdown calendar to help prepare him for the day, but I think the concept of counting down may be lost on a two year old. However, I'm keeping it up, because it is a huge mental aide to me!

Ash-Man - 8 Months

2010-08-08T07:16:00.000-07:00

I feel like this month was a big one for changes.

He is eating his pureed veggies for lunch and dinner and loves them. He sits in his chair kicking wildly as he watches me get it ready.

He did a real crawl for the first time last week.

He pulls up on things; not to a standing position, just on his knees. He love to hang out on the bottom step of the stairs.

He is thrilled to see members of his family walk into the room (especially daddy) and again, that excitement is evident by kicking legs.

He gets giddy when he gets to look in the mirror at himself.

He takes 2 to 2 1/2 naps a day. Lately has been going to bed around 9pm and waking up around 7am.

The past couple weeks, his nickname has been "booger boy" because he had a persistent runny nose.

He can now go from sitting to the crawling position.

He wanders around the house making a funny noise, best described as a Donald Duck sound.

It really hit me this month that he is no longer a newborn (I've been reluctant to let that go). The excitement of the stages to come is tempered with sadness of saying good-bye to the little baby one I've enjoyed so much. Love you Asher. You are a big blessing to this family!

Our Proverbial Daughter

2010-08-02T07:57:00.000-07:00

How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? - Proverbs 6:9

So last night Elena came into our room saying something... I don't really remember what... and I told her to go back to bed; I immediately fell back to sleep. I had completely forgotten about the incident until I walked out of our room this morning (she was still asleep) and saw a trail of sorts left by my darling daughter who apparently did not go back to bed, but instead had herself a little party. I started cleaning things up but as I came across more and more signs of Elena's tampering, I decided to stop cleaning and start taking pictures.

The "childproof cabinet" that has beads, messy crafts, and playdoh

She played with her dough; in the kitchen and in the living room... crumbs don't lie.

A tin with beads and pipe cleaners. There was a trail of beads going up the stairs.

Little Care Bear Stamps, figured out what she did with those later.

This was Evan's party favor from Saturday. He had painted it (but just slightly) with a little yellow paint. She finished the job with a red crayon and then jammed the crayon into the hole.

More party favors - CANDY!!! Wrappers are everywhere.

And when I went into check on my worn out little girl this a.m. this ring pop wrapper was at her door and...

...the half eaten pop that I guess was used to sooth her back to sleep on her nightstand.

And here she is; now awake with cheeks and feet adorned by little stamps.

Two Cute

2010-07-27T18:26:00.000-07:00

I was trying to take some video of my youngest, but another cutie kept interrupting!

(make sure the volume is loud enough to hear Evan)

Elena is 4... AND A HALF!

2010-07-26T08:08:00.000-07:00

Which is a really, really big deal when you're her age.

(sunglasses strategically placed)

Well, let's get the obvious one out of the way... she likes to cut her hair.

She is also into everything Disney princess. If they sold a tire pressure gauge with cinderella on it... she'd pine after it.

The more glitter and sequins the better (think, "gaudy")

The girl is one smart cookie. I feel like the more she learns, the faster she picks up new things... I don't have long before she passes me up.

She is learning to read and can handle most early readers by herself. I love that we're on the verge of reading being an activity she can consistently do in room time! Her handwriting on the other hand... well it needs work :)

She and Evan are into a game that I guess I'll call, "Doggie". Elena acts like an unruly puppy and Evan chases her around calling, "Here, Doggie! Here, Doggie!"

She is a good eater and can always be persuaded to eat something that she'd rather not to.

If she has an audience then she's more than happy to perform for them... VBS songs or her new moves from ballet class.

She's trying to figure out basic geography terms, like "downtown", "state", and "city". It's really tricky when she asks something like, "Mommy, what state is Paris in?"

I can't believe how quickly she learned to use my iPhone!

Since July 4th, she's been fascinated with our country's flag and the national anthem. She has most of the words down! Now if we can just work on that melody....

She's a puzzle whiz.

According to her, there's no such thing as too many shoes. She can spend hours trying on shoes in a store.

She loves her brothers... can fight terribly with Evan and be a little rough with Asher... but she loves them.

She is especially excited about this milestone because she thinks it means her 5th birthday is right around the corner. And she tells everyone that she runs into that she is going to Disney World when she turns 5 (it's close to true).

She expresses a desire to obey God, is aware when she is unsuccessful, and is truly sorry for that... that is all a huge answer to prayer!

We love our little girl and are extremely proud of her!

Here's a video taken today of her reading a story on Starfall.com

I Love Technology

2010-07-26T07:58:00.000-07:00

Yes, I love technology (insert "iPhone")

But not as much as you, you see

But I still love technology (insert: "iPhone")

Always and forever

Thank you Ben for the early birthday gift! LOOOOVE it!

Is Ben Your Friend?

2010-07-20T06:36:00.001-07:00

...specifically, on Facebook? Well, if he is then you've seen his funny updates on our kids lately. The past couple were 1) a video of Evan eating a lemon head, and 2) a status update about Elena cutting her hair AGAIN on Saturday! Really, I should just start a separate blog devoted to Elena and her hair. I'd probably end up posting more frequently on it than I do here. Any name suggestions?... "Silliness with Scissors?", "Terrible Trims?" I dunno, but I'll be thinking.

Here's the video of Evan...

And here's Elena's hair since the most recent cut.

Evan - 2.75 Years Old

2010-07-14T08:15:00.001-07:00

Evan, Evan, Evan.

Evan is just pure entertainment to me. I don't want to take pictures of him, I want to follow him around with a video camera in hand. You just can't capture his cute pronunciations and wildly enthusiastic exclamations in a picture.

He loves, loves, loves going to friends' homes. Every morning when he wakes up, he asks me, "Mommy, where we going t'day?" I'd say more often than not we stay home, but he's always optimistic. He loves his friends, but dare I say it, he loves their toys even more.

And toys brings me to the subject of cars and trains. How long now have I been saying that he's into them... and I mean really into them. He carries a pile of Hot Wheels around the house all day. "Wightning Qween" is his favorite. If that car gets separated from the pack at some point during the day, Evan will make sure they're reunited before nap time or bed time.

Evan has really begun building a relationship with his little brother. He gets down on the floor with Asher to talk and giggle with him. Now that Asher is so expressive it really encourages Evan to engage with him more.

Birthday parties are highly anticipated... Evan's favorite part.... "Da Cake!!"

He knows his alphabet and can count for sure up to 5; beyond 5 the numbers are pretty interchangeable.

Wrestling with Dad, Mace, or Pa is a big favorite!

He will ham it up with silly noises when he's around little girls. Their giggles are highly sought after.

He's very good about saying thank you and sorry, but again he's so expressive that it comes out, "Oh tank you, Mommy!" and urgently, "I sorry, I sorry!

Still, a pretty obedient little boy; a stubborn boy when a rule is first introduced, but very compliant with rules that are already standing.

Evan has a great imagination; a clothes hanger is an airplane, a ruler is a rocket ship, etc...

Ben and Evan have fun going to a local "Coffee and Cars" (it's a casual gathering of classic car owners in a parking lot near here). The two of them get doughnuts or bagels (both favorites of Evan) and then walk around drooling. Evan sits in the drivers seat "steering" and making "vroom vroom" noises... and then he gets out for Ben's turn.

We are big fans of our little boy!

Love you Evan!

Asher - 7 Months

2010-07-14T07:53:00.000-07:00

Our oh so sweet baby boy!

He is MOBILE! I can't say he's crawling, because he scoots around like an inch worm, but the bottom line is, I'm constantly scanning the floor for choking hazards.

Ben is so proud of him; always referring to how he's our most "this and that" baby.

He is gnawing on apples through a netted baby food holder (It's a little capsule that lets babies eat solids without large chunks getting through) and seems to like them. Other than that we're just doing baby cereal.

Water and public restrooms with loud flushes really terrify him.

He's begun making a new sounds; Beyond just saying "Ahhhhhhhhh" He's saying "B'da, B'da, B'da" and "Du, Du, Du." C'mon, you know you're fascinated!

He recognizes his family members from a distance and gives big smiles upon seeing them.

He sits... but not very well.

I love cuddling him. He'll rest on my shoulder with his cheek against mine and I soak up all the little sounds he makes next to my ear.... I know those baby sounds will be gone much faster than I'd like.

Love you, Ash-man!

Opinions in Texas

2010-07-13T12:13:00.000-07:00

I was out shopping with my sister yesterday and Ben was home with the kids. Elena was in room time which is normally a time that she listens her music CDs. At one point Ben realized he was hearing an unusual sound coming from Elena's room, he went to check on her, and this conversation took place.

And really Ben, was it necessary to throw me under the bus?

Evan's (and Elena's) Haircut

2010-07-08T11:40:00.000-07:00

Before any more pictures are posted on this blog I feel like I need to post this video to explain Elena's butchered hair style.

I apologize for all of Evan's wailing in this video. He hates haircuts, but he was also in an especially BAD mood when this was taken.

Our 3 on the 4th

2010-07-07T06:14:00.000-07:00

It was a pretty low key Fourth of July for us; mainly because we had just gotten back from North Carolina the night before and we were in "recovery mode." But, we did venture out in the evening to see fireworks at La Cantera. Fireworks and kids are such a great combination; ours loved them!

Right before we hopped in the car I sat the kids down for a quick picture.

They seem pretty happy with the exception of Asher. The poor guy has a valid look of concern on his face. His brother and sister can be a little oblivious to his needs; especially when something really exciting, like grass (said sarcastically), is put in front of them.

Just the Facts, Ma'am

2010-07-04T07:34:00.000-07:00

After my post about VBS, things starting going at a pretty fast pace here. I've been keeping a mental list of things that I want to post about in detail and with pictures, but for now let me give you the summary in the order in which they happened.

-Elena started a ballet class with her friend Emily

-Elena came to an understanding of needing a Savior (it feels wrong, just slipping this in with -the other stuff, but for now that's the way it's gonna be)

-My sister got engaged

-Ben's parents came in for a visit

-Evan and Asher were dedicated at church

-Celebrated Father's Day

-Threw a wedding shower with with and for dear friends.

-Our 6th Anniversary

-Packed our bags and flew to Atlantic Beach, NC for a week.

Sorry this a pretty lackluster post, but for now it will have to do!

Dedicating the Boys

2010-06-20T07:13:00.000-07:00

On Father's Day, we had the joy of dedicating Evan and Asher to the Lord at church. When we dedicated Elena we were living in Houston, and our church there called it a "Parent Dedication" which I think is so appropriate because we view it as an outward testimony of our commitment to raise our children in a home that honors the Lord, and to publicly acknowledge that these children are a gift from God and are His to do what he wills.

Ben and I were honored to have both sets of parents there to share the day and were then later able to celebrate Father's Day together!

The other family being dedicated at that service was the Lock Family. Sarah and I have been in Bible Study together and our baby boys are only three weeks apart. This was our attempt to get a picture together beforehand. :)

VBS!

2010-06-14T17:39:00.000-07:00

This week is gonna be a busy one for our family because we are "exploring the deep love of Jesus on the High Seas!" at Vacation Bible School!

This may not be the picture to hang on the wall with Asher's diaper about to explode and Elena's recently cut bangs (more on that later), but I was determined to get a picture while we were all still in our shirts from the day. This is the real us at the moment.

She's A Great Big Sister

2010-06-09T11:28:00.000-07:00

Elena adores Asher. The highlight of her day is getting smiles out of him. As I was taking pictures for his 6-month birthday she crashed the scene and it turned into something really sweet...

And looking at those pictures reminded me of these...

Asher - 6 Months

2010-06-08T10:52:00.000-07:00

Oh goodness - half a year already!

Well I hate to sound like a know it all, but I was so right. Asher did get his two bottom teeth by this 6 month birthday... just like Elena. He is handling teething pretty well, but there has definitely been more crying when he goes down to sleep.

When he's on his belly pushing up, he's starting to pull those knees up as well.

He's sleeping really well and is waking up between 6:45 and 7am, which is a wake-up time I can handle.

Ben is convinced he's our most "smiley" baby (I just can't quite remember how Elena and Evan were so I'm not going to make a call; but I sure do love the smiles Asher gives out)

I just pulled out a new round of hand-me-downs, and theses polos were ones that Evan wore for a long time, so I know it's going to bring back memories seeing Asher now in them.

He is SO excited to see himself in the mirror. He shrieks with glee and simultaneously winces in surprise at the loud noise coming from the baby in the mirror.

We went to the doctor and I swear he knew what was coming. As soon as the nurse entered the room and he heard her voice, he started fussing in my arms. Then when I put him down on the exam table covered with that paper, he lost it; crying as if he was already getting the shot. It's amazing what they put together at this age!

His Stats: 16lb 10oz and 25 3/4in

(75% and 50% respectively)

Laughing at my jokes - he makes me feel so funny :)

Woah - what are THOSE wiggling things.

We're so in love with this guy!

The First Tooth

2010-06-02T17:27:00.000-07:00

Asher's first tooth popped up over the weekend. I wanted to throw him a parade when I saw it; I was just so proud of him! I seem to recall feeling the same irrational pride with Evan and Elena as well.

It was his bottom right tooth and I think the bottom left one is going to be visible any day now. He's really handled it so well. He's been a little cranky as he goes down for his naps, but perfectly sweet when awake; just very preoccupied with soothing those gums!

No pictures of the tooth yet because when a toy isn't in his mouth his tongue is rubbing those gums.

Way to go Ash-Man!

Schools Out for Summer!

2010-05-26T13:41:00.000-07:00

Well, the kids final day at Kids Day Out was last Monday. They have had a great time at the program and it was really good thing for me this past year with all my doctor's appointments on Mondays before Asher's arrival and then the adjustment of Asher's arrival.

Although we've loved it this past year, we're not going to be attending this upcoming year; partly because we now live further away and partly because I really want to spend more days at home with the kids.

The entrance of their "school"

Elena with her teacher

Ahhh - good memories of running up that red carpet... late... and yelling at Evan to run faster :)

The church that hosts the program has a steeple that we see on our way to our church. Evan enthusiastically yells, "I SEE SCHOOL! I SEE SCHOOL!" every time we pass. I wonder how long that will last?

My Not So Lady Like, Lady Bug

2010-05-26T12:59:00.000-07:00

The older kids at the Kids Day Out program Elena and Evan attend put on a musical program last week. Everyone knows there's nothing cuter than preschoolers singing!

This was a fun chance for me to observe Elena interact with the kids. Apparently she's comfortable telling others what to do even outside of our home. At one point, the girl to Elena's left didn't hold her hand at the designated time and Elena would not drop the matter. Elena stopped singing or paying any sort of attention to the teacher, and directed all her energy at making this girl hold her hand. The girls were squabbling about it long after the moment in the song had passed... so, so proud.

But really I am; not about her bossy attitude but just in general. I love my little girl and this first little musical of hers made me beam!

Room Time and Nap Time

2010-05-19T15:02:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest things we do around here is room time and nap time, so I figured I should get it on film. This is a time for Elena and Evan to play and sleep in their respective rooms. It's also time for me to have a little one on one time with Asher before his afternoon nap, and to enjoy some quiet!

Evan is not allowed off of his bed, and he really doesn't seem to mind. He plays with his cars before drifting off to sleep (although more and more he's not sleeping at all)

"Bwankets!" - he's gotta have those!

This little girl has really come a long way in being able to entertain herself. Unlike Evan, it doesn't come to her naturally. On good days she "reads" to herself, plays dress up, or cooks in her kitchen. On bad days she gets seriously bored; trashes her room, removes all of Elmo's stuffing, and pees in her toy box (not exaggerating)

It's a good day

Tickle Monster's Gonna Get You!

2010-05-17T20:44:00.000-07:00

Uh-oh... almost here....

Stop it some more, Mom! Stop it some more!

5K

2010-05-16T16:17:00.000-07:00

This Saturday was the Run for Hungry Children 5K. Two things I learned : a) I can run in the morning and b) running with friends makes the whole thing so fun. In fact we're talking about doing more together soon!

Thanks Meg, for getting us to do this - I loved it!

I need to get cuter running clothes :)

I think I was checking the clock - I look a little odd

Asher - 5 Months

2010-05-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

- I think Elena is his favorite person at the moment. There are grins and laughs reserved only for her.

- He is so curious about what people are doing around him. I can't feed him when the other kids are sitting on the couch because he wants to stop everything and see who's talking, laughing, or yelling.

- He started waking up a little early for my liking, so off went the monitor; well, not entirely just on select mornings.

- We still haven't tried any solids, but the plan is to do so soon.

- Sometimes when I'm changing his diaper, he will stick out his tongue to blow spit bubbles, wait for me to respond in kind, and then do it again... he loves that game.

- Still munching on those hands... again, I think we'll see teeth next month

- He is wonderfully sweet, social, and easy going. And he's getting too big too fast!!! Love you Asher!

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

2010-05-03T20:46:00.000-07:00

Yep, he's officially rolling over. It happened over night, literally. I came in one morning last week and he was on his tummy. And then every time he was put on his back that day he rolled. He's now going from back to tummy and tummy to back. I'm telling you, he's brilliant... really.

Handy Man

2010-05-02T20:51:00.000-07:00

Ben is SO brilliant when it comes to home improvement projects. I am continually surprised at what he's willing to bite off. Take for instance our thermostat. For some reason when they built the house they decided to put the thermostat right in the middle of this wall. Sure the placement does not at all impact the effectiveness of the device, BUT it does put me in a pretty pickle on figuring out what I'm supposed to hang on the wall. Do I create a collage of pictures with the thermostat as one of the featured items? A shadow box somehow on top of it? Bushy flowers in a vase to cover it up?

Anyways, Ben knew it bugged me. So today, completely out of the blue, he begins sawing into our wall. And then next thing I knew he had the thing moved over to the edge. "Wowsers!" - says the girl who is just proud to know how to use the thermostat. :) Love you honey!

Bright Hope 5K

2010-04-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to say that some friends and I will be running a local 5K benefitting the organization, Bright Hope International. Here's a description of the organization taken from their website: http://www.brighthope.org/why_brighthope/difference.php

Bright Hope works to provide holistic help to the extreme poor through the indigenous church delivering basic needs including:

Physical: food, clothing, shelter, medicine and education.

Economic: micro-loans and job training to produce a product for fair trade.

Spiritual: poverty is not just a physical or economic condition. There are emotional, psychological, and relational wounds from living in poverty that only Christ can bring healing to.

If you'd like to donate to the organization I have a fundraising page here - http://www.firstgiving.com/AmyElkins

Resemblance?

2010-04-28T06:36:00.000-07:00

This is my dad's grandmother, Miss Mary or also known as Grammy Harper. Growing up people would always come up to me and say, "Oh you look just like Miss Mary!" But I had never met my great-grandmother or seen a picture, so I just had to take their word for it. Then in college I saw this picture for the first time and was like, "Woah! It's like me with a bun, no eye make-up, and a much better nose!"

Cousins

2010-04-26T14:53:00.000-07:00

Family came in town this weekend and this was the first visit that the adults were outnumbered... and it definitely felt like it at times. :)

Evan and Micah exploring their artistic side.

Asher gave Micah his truest giggle yet! He just laughed and laughed when Micah sat in front of him. So cute.

So what do we want to do after tummy time?

Lizzie is two months younger than Asher, but you wouldn't think it to look at her! The girl is looong!

Micah earning his keep.

We love our kiddos and are thrilled that they have each other to grow up with!

Please Pray...

2010-04-26T10:40:00.001-07:00

for a mom and baby this morning. The mom, Jenn is going into labor at only 26 weeks. We're praying that the baby would, despite it's prematurity, thrive with the medical care it receives after being born. Thank you all.

Just the Boys

2010-04-25T12:11:00.000-07:00

Okay Asher, time for a little guy bonding time...

I'm going to tell you everything you need to know about important things... like how to throw a ball; any shape or kind.

Hmm, he doesn't seem as interested as I anticipated.

Oh well, that can't stop me from having a good time.

"Bro Time" is awesome!

But then Evan is shoved aside by another face vying for camera time.

And just like that, the boys club was infiltrated by pink.

Love Him!

2010-04-13T21:02:00.000-07:00

Busy Week with Ma

2010-04-12T11:48:00.000-07:00

This past week Ben and his dad were camping/hiking in Big Bend. They have great pictures, that I'm hoping to put up here at some point. While they were off having their "man-time", Ben's mom, Susan was here helping me hold down the fort. She was a huge help and we did a lot. In fact by trying to take advantage of the time she was here, I probably tried to fit in too much; shopping, the zoo, book sales, photo shoots and of course laundry, laundry, laundry. :) Thank you, Susan!

Elena and Ma share a love of puzzles!

Asher - 4 Months

2010-04-08T13:19:00.000-07:00

- Asher is just at that sweet stage; sleeping through the night, long stretches between feedings, and beginning to entertain himself with watching life go on around him... it's great!

- I think the biggest thing that has changed since last month is that he officially sleeping in his crib. I was finally ready for him to make the big move upstairs.

- He's a spitter-upper. I'm so used to it that I forget not all babies require a bib for themselves and the person holding them.

- He's not taking a bottle... grrrr.

- I think he has begun teething. He can't figure out the paci, but his fists have a permanent place in his mouth. In fact I'm going to make the prediction that he'll have two little teeth just like Elena at 6 months.

- I love his company shopping or working at the computer. Who doesn't enjoy big baby grins coming their way?

- Stats: 15lb and 25in - 50% percentile for both

Asher, you are a blessing to this family!

Evan - 2.5 Years Old

2010-04-08T12:46:00.000-07:00

Evan is officially two and a half!

- Swords are SO COOL. Any Bible story with a picture of someone holding a sword is his favorite. He recently fell in a broken-hearted heap on our stairs, sobbing a good 30 minutes, because he was not allowed to take the neighbors sword home.

- I don't know how he gets a good nights sleep. First of all he sleeps in all sorts of weird positions on his bed, but especially because he roosts on his lumpy, metal, Hot Wheels cars as if he was a mother hen... can't be comfortable!

- Of course he can't be too uncomfortable in bed because he obeys the rule of staying in bed beautifully... so obedient!

- He's learning his colors, or at least green, red, and blue because those are the colors represented in the Nutri-Grain Bar variety pack.

- He loves to sing along to the songs we listen to in the car.

- He gives his siblings (or anyone else for that matter) such warm greetings! "Hi Wayna, I miss you!" or in a super high pitch voice, "Hi Asser, Hi Asser!"

- He'll often call motorcycles, "scooters" because of his familiarity with Dad's scooter. I'm sure Harley-hogs would really appreciate him putting them in the same category. :)

- Oh, and on the subject of motorcycles. There is a model motorcycle in his classroom at Kids Day Out. He picks that thing up the moment he walks in the door and doesn't put it down till it's time to leave.

- With Evan, counting is fun. You never know what the numeric order will be that day.

- We pass so many trucks on our way to church, which is just thrilling. In between singing he's saying, "Woah! I see truck!", "Look mommy, der a truck!"

- "I hold you" is Evan speak for, "Will you hold me?"

- The kids have to ask to be excused before they get down from the table. It usually goes like this with Evan:

"Mommy, I be escused?"

"Yes Evan, you may be excused."

Pause.

"Mommy, I get down?"

"Yes Evan, you may get down."

- On our scale he is 32.5 lbs, which happens to be only 2lbs less than Elena!

- Whether it's swinging a bat or golf club; catching or throwing a ball, he's game.

- Grandaddy Mace says, "If he doesn't know the word, he says it louder."

He is uber enthusiastic about life and such a joy to raise. We love him to pieces!

The Reach

2010-04-06T12:33:00.000-07:00

Last night Ben noticed that Asher was not just sitting and staring in his bouncer as per the usual; far from it! He was sitting, staring, and reaching for the dangling toys. What an accomplished child we have!

I tell you what, these milestones are no less exciting the third time around. I love celebrating them!

I think I can, I think I can...

the foot grab

Gotcha!

The Infamous Baskets

2010-04-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

I stacked mucho tupperware in the bottoms of these suckers for filler. :)

Easter Bonnet

Hot Wheels!

Asher had a little light up toy in his... but he didn't really seem to care.

Resurrection Cookies

2010-04-04T17:53:00.000-07:00

Part of our Easter celebration this year included making "Resurrection Cookies." My friend, Kate gave me the idea to do these and sent me the link, ( Resurrection Cookies ). Even though ours didn't turn out exactly the way they are supposed to, they still were fun to make and a great way to get the kids involved as we talked about Jesus' death and resurrection.

No Guilt in Life, No Fear in Death

2010-04-04T05:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter Everyone! What a day to celebrate the life we have been offered through one man's death and resurrection!

In Christ Alone

In Christ alone my hope is found

He is my light, my strength, my song

This Cornerstone, this solid ground

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease

My Comforter, my All in All

Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh

Fullness of God in helpless babe

This gift of love and righteousness

Scorned by the ones He came to save

‘Til on that cross as Jesus died

The wrath of God was satisfied

For every sin on Him was laid

Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay

Light of the world by darkness slain

Then bursting forth in glorious Day

Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory

Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me

For I am His and He is mine

Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death

This is the power of Christ in me

From life’s first cry to final breath

Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man

Can ever pluck me from His hand

‘til He returns or calls me home

Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

My Kid's Easter Basket Ate Your Kid's Easter Basket

2010-04-02T18:24:00.000-07:00

So many cute pictures from today, but I had to at least post this one before bed. I've gotten so much flack about the ginormity of my kids' Easter baskets... and it is all deserved. :)

Bluebonnets!

2010-04-01T11:23:00.000-07:00

Three years we have been waiting! Waiting for a season of enough rain and whatever else is required to make bluebonnets bloom here in San Antonio. My heart is so happy to see all the wildflowers along the road but even more happy to now have these pictures.

I was looking up the pictures we took three years ago and couldn't resist sharing them. Elena was only a few months past her 1st birthday and an only child!