We would like you to meet . . .

Simeon Edward joined our family on Wednesday, Sept 17. He was 8 lb 11 oz and 19 in long.


Many of you have asked how we chose Simeon's name. His first name means "God hears" and it is our prayer that he will learn to trust God and rely on Him. His middle name is my (Katrina's) father's middle name. It was also my great grandfather's name. As with Eli's middle name, we wanted Simeon's name to reflect the spiritual legacy of our families. Our boys are blessed to have the example of several generations of Christ-followers in both of our families.

This was when Eli first met his little brother. The first order of business was to check out Simeon's nose and ears.

Baby Update

Many of you have been asking what is going on with the arrival of the new baby. As of this minute, I am still pregnant . . .

The official due date is Sept 16, just over a week away. I am large and uncomfortable and have had many many contractions. The doctor said things are progressing at the same rate as with Eli, who came a week early. He said we could have another week or he/she could arrive any day.

In the meantime, Kris has begun to call this child "The Baby who cries Wolf." We have had several "scares" in the last week where we wondered if we were headed to the hospital. Our friend Rick even came and spent the night Thursday because we were that convinced we might be headed to the hospital. Of course, just about the time he arrived, the contractions that had been 3 min apart for about 2 hours began to settle down. Thanks for being flexible, Rick! This whole hospital thing is a bit more complicated with another child to make arrangements for before we leave.

Aunt Susanne is still hoping to celebrate her birthday today with the arrival or a new niece or nephew. Anything is possible, Aunt Susanne, but it isn't looking very likely right now. Happy Birthday anyway.

And, no, we haven't looked at the envelope. We still do not know whether this is a boy or a girl. And we also do not have names picked out. Come on, are you really surprised?!?

So we will continue to keep you all updated and we appreciate your prayers. The contractions continue but no baby yet . . .

Pears & onions?!?

While helping Kris make dinner last week, Eli asked for a piece of onion. Kris, being the Dad that he is, gave him a large chunk of sweet onion to try.



He was obviously quite impressed . . .

Eventually we interested him in a pear instead. He generously shared his pear with me after chewing on it for a few minutes. It tasted an awful lot like onion to me! But he obviously enjoyed both.

Pears!

We are blessed to have three wonderful pear trees in our backyard. This year our pear harvest was quite nice. Eli discovered that he loves pears! He even loves them whole!

Again. . . who needs toys

Water fun

So a few days ago, Eli had an exceptionally fussy afternoon. Kris was trying to keep me off my feet so he decided to let Eli help him wash dishes. He put Eli on the counter, put the plug in the sink, and turned on the water. Who knew this would be sooo much fun! He washed everything he could and just about the time he started to get bored, Kris pulled the plug out. Then we had another 20 min of entertainment, running water while he put the plug in and out. The world is a fascinating place when you are learning so much every day! He probably sat on the counter like this close to an hour!

8 month belly pictures

Here is the belly picture from August. Around this time I had a friend who hadn't seen me in about 3 weeks look at me and say, "wow, last time I saw you I didn't think I could get any bigger!" And yet here I am - bigger yet!

The room is finally finished

A few weeks ago, while Kris was in Seattle, my parents blessed Eli & I with a week long visit before they returned to Africa. During this week, they helped me with a few projects around the house. And now that Eli is 18 months old, I can say that his room is totaly finished :-). My dad repainted the trim around the window and door. He put in new baseboard trim and vent covers. And Mom & I finally made the curtains. I know it is kind of hard to see in this picture but I think they turned out cute. The curtain fabric matches the bedding in the crib.

Favorite Way to Travel

These are my two favorite men! I wanted to share this picture because I think it is adorable and if you look closely, you can see that Eli discovered a fairly effective way to hold on . . . to Daddy's ears.

Trucks!

As many of you know, we live right next to an elementary school. This summer they tore up the entire front yard of the school to redirect the driveway and parking lot area. That meant all summer we have had our own personal construction site right outside the window. Every day Eli has climbed up on his kitchen stool and watched the trucks. He also loved it when Daddy would come home and take him out to get a little closer to the big trucks. And who knew Mommy would ever learn so many names of construction equipment!?!?

Who needs expensive toys?

Band-Aid Firsts

We had a big first in August! While Daddy was in Seattle for a conference, Eli fell and skinned his knee. This was definitely not the first skinned knee but since Bama and Bapa were here, Bama (my mom) and I decided this skinned knee merited the first ever band-aid. As with most kids, he was very excited about his band-aid. We had to take pictures for Daddy to see! The band-aid didn't stay on very long but it was still fun.

Practicing for baby

Another fun thing we've done to prepare for baby is to play with baby. This is Eli's Baby Albert (thanks Aund Jodi!). It is the only baby doll that we have for Eli. So some days we pick up Albert and play baby. In this picture you can see Eli sharing his pacifier with Baby Albert. When he wants to, he takes good care of Baby Albert.

Adjusting to the idea of baby . . .

So funny story for the week . . . .

Many of you have asked how Eli is adjusting to this idea of a new baby. Frankly, who knows?!? He is 18 months old. How much of this does he understand?!? We have done what we could. He is in a big boy bed with the crib "for baby." The infant car seat is waiting by the kitchen door "for baby." We went to the store this week and he picked out a toy "for baby." When you ask him to give baby a hug, he hugs my belly. He has even begun sharing the occasional toy with my belly.

A few days ago, Eli was in his high chair before lunch. Kris and I were standing on each side of him holding his hands and thanking Jesus for our food. Kris was praying and thanked Jesus for the new baby about to come to our house. As he said this, Eli let go of my hand and patted my belly. Awwwwww.

Then he reached over and patted Kris' belly . . . .