It's been a while...but here's some cute kids!

Okay, I am just not very good about actually downloading the pictures on my camera to the computer. And once I do have the time to do that, I have so many that it takes forever to get them all filed and I never get around to doing anything with them. Oh well, maybe someday I'll get it all done on a regular basis...but not today!

It is almost Eli's birthday--May 10th--he is going to be three years old! Time flies! He is going to have a Star Wars party with "light wisabers," as he calls them, and "friend wrestlers" (little Star Wars character thumb wrestler party favors). He is very excited about being a big boy and has already decided that he going to go "Amity-style" on his cake and not use his hands (he saw her experience her first cake at her first birthday recently and was obviously inspired by the amused reaction that everyone had when she stuck her face in her cake).

Eiley is coming up on 8 months old and is making us think she may skip the full crawl phase and move right into walking. She prefers to be standing, rather than sitting, and she can pull herself to a (somewhat wobbly) standing position on various pieces of furniture. She also likes to "walk" places with you holding her hands as she takes steps. She has developed an enormous and contagious smile that we all love and try to elicit from her as often as possible (she and Eli have their own special smiles for each other--very cute).

Out-of-date, but still sweet pics with family!

Checking out Aunt Taylor's sparkly shirt.

Enjoying the softness of Aunt Emily's fuzzy blanket.

Meeting Uncle Doug...

and Uncle Dan for the first time!

SAT words already? Only from a family with 2 teachers as parents!

Some of Eli's most recent quotes:

"Dad, the swing is being cantankerous. I need help getting on."

"Eiley is making a ruckus."

"Loud noises! Loud noises!" (when Eiley is making a ruckus)

"Just so you know...(followed by bits of information of varying importance)."

Dylan is now trying to get him to use the phrase, "wreak havoc," so we'll see when that one makes its debut.

He has been doing great in gymnastics--actually trying to follow directions and participate in rhythm activities (hopefully he will have better coordination than me!). We are so proud to see him growing up to be a great little boy!

Eiley is working hard on developing a means of transportation. She will likely be commando-crawling before we know it and she is close to perfecting the tummy-to-back rollover. We are watching for some teeth to come in any day now (there has to be some justification for the copious amounts of drool pouring from her mouth, not to mention her fussiness!).

Eli's Funny Words

Eli's quote for the day came as I was singing "You are My Sunshine" to Eiley yesterday: "You're not my sunshine!" said Eli. "Who is?" I asked him. His response: "Dad!" This says a lot about why his underwear is on his head in this picture!

The other day, he also shared this little comment as he was watching the PBS show "Martha Speaks": "What's he doin'? Bicyclin'? I would have a bicycle like that and ride it so girls could watch me!" (on the show, there was a boy riding his bike up to some female friends, not showing off for the girls or anything, it just happened that Eli's choice of words worked well to sound like that!)

It has been so beautiful here lately that we had to break out the bubbles (in February!). Eiley was fascinated! We can't wait to hear the wonderful words she will have.

Two posts in one day...don't always expect this!

Just wanted to share our excitement about our new camera! Even Dennis and Candis love it! (It has a wonderful feature that allows you to make people have smiles, whether they had one or not.)

I love my kids! I love how they love each other! Eli--who I think looks like Punchinello of the Wemmicks in these pics--is such a ham (if he feels comfortable around you) and Eiley is full of smiles, especially for her big brother. She had her first cereal experience the other day, and Eli was glad to help her eat!

Words for the moment...

Last night, as I was sitting and thinking about all that I had to do and all that Dylan has going on, I started to dwell on the burdens of hospital bills and busy schedules, and then God enlightened me. In spite of those burdens, HE is and has consistantly been providing; even when we think we are about to hit bottom, God always places a cushion there to catch us and hold us until we are back on our feet again. He has been generous and faithful in so many areas of our life this past year. As we have seen our worries about Eiley's heart condition put to rest and as we look towards Dylan's ever-nearing completion of his master's degree, my faith is renewed in God's steadfast, strong, and true promise of helping us through all that He asks of us. God is Good!