Personal Space Issues

Eli loves his baby brother. He loves to give him hugs and play with him . . .


As long as Eli is the one initiating the contact. If Simeon tries to spread the love, this is what happens . . .

Another first

Simeon tried cereal for the first time right after Eli's birthday. He wasn't quite sure at first but soon discovered that he loved to eat!

Party #2

The second birthday party was quite different from the first. This was a party full of little friends and fun. We had four two year olds, one three year old and two baby brothers in the house . . .


The living room looked much like this through the party . . .

Eli got a new soccer ball and goal for his birthday from Mommy & Daddy. He is a very good shot already!

Among the fun were cousins . . .

And creative games . . . I still have no idea why climbing under the table was so excited but Eli & Evvie did this for quite a long time!

This is probably my favorite picture from this birthday. Here is Eli right in the middle of his girls! Among the baby boom of our friends, Eli has very few boys to play with but he doesn't mind so much. In this picture, his cousins are across the table from him and he is sitting right between his two girlfriends, Lilley & Sarah. Happy Birthday, big boy! We are so proud of you!

Party #1

The first Birthday party was on Eli's actual birth day. This was a fun evening that included many of the singles who hang out at our house. A few kids tagged along, too, though.

Thank you, Aunt Dawn, for the very fun ball and hoop!

I've also been trying to upload a short video from this party . . . I guess this will have to wait.

Birthday Cakes

In Kris' home growing up, there was a tradition of birthday cakes - they were masterpieces. My MIL is very talented in this way. . . I am not. So Kris is very involved in the cake decorating at our home. I do the baking and some shaping, he does the rest.

Of course Eli likes to help with the baking part.

And since we had two parties, we had two cakes. This is the masterpiece for party #1. It is a soccer ball, People. Can't you see that?

For party #2, the true genius came forth. I thought I would show you a bit of the process. Can you guess what this is?

It is Dadot!!

A two year old boy's dream - to eat his best friend! Daddy did an awesome job with the Dadot cake.

Eli chose to eat his eye.

Poor Dadot, you tasted so yummy!

The Boy turned 2!

The first week in March, our Eli turned two. Can you believe it?!? So in celebration of the big 2, we had 2 parties. . . and, no, that tradition will not continue with the years.

What a big guy!

March was a month of exciting milestones for Simeon. Six months old is big for that, you know. So in the first week of March, he decided to show us the first one - sitting up!

He is very pleased with this new skill.

Don't you just want to squeeze him??!?

Did you know he still sleeps like this? He has chosen a different, bigger teddy bear now but he still sleeps with his arms around it. It has got to be about the cutest thing you will ever see! I sure do love this boy!

doesn't everyone need . . .

a picture in a laundry basket?!?

Brother Time

These pics were taken throughout February. This was really the time when I saw the beginning of intentional playing between them - usually Eli doing what he can to entertain Simeon.


Reading books . . . this was when Simeon still had the toupee look to his hair.

Playing in the bouncy seat . . .

Exploring the baby toys. . .

And, my personal favorite, the giggling . . . this video was taken 2.20.09. They have developed this game quite a bit since then. I will have to get a newer video of it for you to see.

Our Trip to Colorado (or I Didn't Really Forget How To Update The Blog)

I know, I know, two months is not acceptable. And I appreciate how all 3 of my readers have been complaining, I mean requesting, that I post more. I do have so much to catch up on from the last two months. The boys have changed so much! But since this is primarily a family record for my kids, I should fill in a bit of these last months. I need to tell you first about our trip to Colorado.

We kept forgetting to get pictures on the airplane. This is about the best we ended up with. Despite how miserable he looks here, Eli LOVED the airplane . . . at least at first. Overall, both boys did great. As we boarded our first plane, Eli walked down the aisle to our seat with a giant smile on his face and greeting each individual passenger that he passed. This made many travelers smile and, I believe, made them more understanding when my adorable children became less adorable two hours into the flight. Eli's fascination with everything happening lasted through take-off. About 15 min into the actual flight, Eli turned to Kris and said, "Daddy, Boy fwy all done." Sorry kid, another 3 hours to go. But we made it. And God answered my prayers about the individuals sitting next to us. They were both fantastic, both flights!

We went to CO for a conference but because of traveling with small children, we gave ourselves an extra few days to travel. This also gave us the chance to visit friends. We saw many and, of course, forgot to take pictures of most. I am so glad, though, that we remembered with this family! This is Jeff & Amy. Jeff & I were classmates in grad school at MGS. We hadn't seen each other since graduation 6 years ago. I was very surprised to find them through facebook and to find that they were living in the Springs! It was also fun to discover that they have two boys. Their oldest is one week older than Eli. Their youngest is 6 weeks younger than Simeon. Isn't that fun?!? Jeff & Amy, it was so fun to reconnect! We loved our little visit! We promise to see you next time we head to CO.

The babies were less interested in visiting. Perhaps these two will grow up to be good friends and we will be able to show them how their first meeting went. And in case you can't tell from the hair, Simeon is on the left.

Glen Eyrie is the name of the Navigators headquarters and conference center. This is an amazing conference grounds in the mountains that literally borders the Garden of the Gods. Our conference was at the Glen this time. One afternoon we took a family drive through the Garden of the Gods. Again, we didn't take very many pictures but we took a few. And we wanted to show you the power of CO weather. These two pictures were taken at the same approximate spot . . .

. . . 45 minutes later.

Our trip to CO was very fun. It was a great time to reconnect with many friends and learn from our co-workers from around the country. Wish we could share more.

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

Tomorrow is the day. Eli has been talking about this day for weeks. We are flying to Colorado for a conference. Eli has no concept of where we are going or why and he doesn't really care. The important thing is that we are going on an airplane. Ever since the grandparents came on airplanes to visit a few weeks ago, the fascination has been growing. Every day this week he has been repeating "Fwy Mommy Daddy Boy Baby airplane fwy." He usually has to name every member of the family to make sure that we are all going. His favorite game at the moment is fwying, also. Sometimes he will fly by himself. Sometimes one of us will pick him up to help him fly. Either way, we are all about the flying, I mean fwying.

To illustrate how deep the excitement goes, last night Eli started calling for Mommy in the middle of the night. When I went into his room, he was sound asleep and yet STILL talking about "Mommy Daddy Boy Baby airplane fwy." He was dreaming about the airplane!

Unfortunately, he has also gotten a really nasty cough/cold the last few days. We are praying that this doesn't take away from the comfort and joy of the long-awaited airplane trip. We are also praying for a quick flight. You see, we have only two seats for the four of us. And currently our list of items to "carry on" include one stroller, two carseats, a rolling carry on, a diaper bag, a toy bag, a computer bag and a stuffed frog - oh, and two boys. This combined with our very limited space on the airplane could make a 3 1/2 hour flight much longer. I have been praying for quite some time now for gracious individuals in the seats around us.

Next week I will tell you how it goes. In the meantime, feel free to pray for us . . . and stay away from the NW flights to Denver tomorrow.

Birthday Fun

At the beginning of February, Kris' parents made a somewhat unplanned trip back to the U.S. Dad was here for flight training when Keren passed away and Mom came home a few days later for the funeral. Since they were here for their birthdays, which happened to be about a week after Kris' birthday and our nephew, Xhayvian's first birthday, we had one big party! Aunt Kathy had fun making cakes and counting candles. If you can see past the massive flames, you would be able to count the correct number of candles on each cake.



If you look closely at Kris' dad on the far left, you might be able to catch a glimpse of what Kris will look like in a few more years . . .

Buddies

This is Isaiah. His parents work with the Navigators, too. He is six weeks younger than Eli and boy, do they have fun! During our last staff meeting, they literally ran circles around the adults while they talked.




Then they discovered this! It is a cart for moving stacks of chairs - or it is a really cool car for two little boys. They had so much fun riding it. Then they took turns pushing each other around the room . . . and into walls. So much fun!

Toes = Toys

In January Simeon discovered that his toes are amazing. Unfortunately, because of the cold weather, he usually can only find them when he is getting his diaper changed.

One more video

I know there have been a few videos in a row here but I couldn't resist this one. Although Eli is adding new words each day, this is the song that we have heard every day for the last two months. Have I mentioned that "Boy" is how he refers to himself? He is an encouraging soul already. And who says boys aren't as verbal as girls?

Another first

On January 12, Simeon overcame another milestone. He rolled over! And this child apparently likes an audience because he waited to do it until we had several people over. And ever since, he has only rolled over when he has admirers . . . this could spell trouble for me.

Listen closely and you will hear the encouragement that we all hear daily. I had a "Go Mommy Go Yeah Mommy" song sung to me today while I heated up spaghetti-o's for lunch. Trust me, it does wonders for your ego.

LoveFest

So much love to go around!

So Many Talents

Eli loves to sing and dance right now! We thought you might enjoy a little taste of his many talents. I believe this is a solo performance of ring around the rosy.

If you think this is amazing, you should see his breakdancing. Boy's got moves!

Potty Training Breakthrough

We aren't there yet but we are slowly getting closer to this whole potty training thing. Eli has been more interested lately. He has started telling us when he has just gone, which is a little late but we are getting it. And he pronounces potty "poppy." We even got a movie from the library a few weeks back called, "Go Potty Go." Because of that lovely piece of art, Eli sometimes runs around the house singing "Go Poppy Go Poppy Go Poppy Go." Ah, the joy.

Our major breakthrough, though, came when Dadot decided to wear a diaper one day. Then he decided to sit on the potty and wear big boy underpants. Who knew that a stuffed frog would catch on to potty training so fast!?!? It has been weeks since he has had an accident! And whenever Dadot tells Eli that he has to go potty, Eli likes to go, too.

Who says that it is only girls who go to the restroom with friends?!?