Video Updates

We are constantly saying, "I wish we had that on video" when it comes to new things Joshua says, or Gabe making a funny expression. So here are a few videos of short clips of the boys...

We have recently been working with Joshua on saying his full name...sometimes his middle and last name get switched around...


In a post last week I said that Joshua was singing "Jesus loves me so" and in this clip he added "Up above the world so high".


And here is a clip of Gabe laughing. Elizabeth Riddle had him giggling after church yesterday by tickling his toes. Of course by the time I got my camera out he was through with the good belly laughs. (Sorry that it is sideways...I forget!)

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

I decided to update the blog from the last couple of weeks, so there are lots of posts and pictures to follow...


Friday night we had an apartment event at the Rangers game...it just so happened that they were playing the Astros. As we walked to the stadium, we caught a glimpse of our shadows...I love the pic of us holding Josh's hands. Gabe's shadow is melded into mind...he was in the frontpack.

Peter and I were pretty torn over who to cheer for, but we figured since we were sitting among many Ranger fans, we'd better cheer for the home team! Josh and Gabe were also torn...Joshua cheered for the Astros and Gabe for the Rangers. Little brother proved to cheer for the winning team, as the Rangers won 16-8. It was such a fun game with lots of hits and homeruns. Joshua loved each time the fireworks went off after a homerun.

Before the seventh inning stretch, Josh and Gabe both fell asleep. The excitement was too much!

Sweet Boys of Mine

Here are some random pics of the boys this last week...























Last week at McDonald's Joshua enjoyed his first ice cream cone...it was a little messy. Don't worry, when it started to melt and drip down the side, I helped out!

Gabe's teachers at Kid's Day Out took some cute pictures of him and his friend, Bear. I'm so glad that they are in the same class together with Miss Lauren and Miss Sarah.

His other friend at KDO is Klaire. Today at a lunch after church, Klaire's mommy and I were talking about how much bigger Gabe is than Klaire. Krystal put Klaire in Gabe's arms...she immediately fell asleep and Gabe smiled from ear to ear. His expression in this picture make me laugh!

Outside

Many times a day, Joshua requests to go "ou-side". So we try to make it a point on beautiful days to go to the park or at least take a stroll around our apartment complex. Recently Joshua had a fun park date with Laney and Ella. They played on the swings, slides, merry-go-round, and dug in the dirt.



































With little prompting from the mommies, they grabbed each others hands as we were leaving and walked together for quite a while. It was such a precious sight! They were even talking to each other as they walked. Who knows what they were saying, but it was cute to hear their jabber form into a conversation.


















Last weekend, we got to go to the park as a family for Savannah's 3rd birthday party. She and Joshua have spent a lot of time together at church. Savannah's mom has been Joshua's KDO teacher all year and is also a Kid's Care teacher. Joshua loves Miss 'Chelle (Michelle) and always enjoys playing with Savannah. She was a sweet birthday girl and just beautiful in her party hat!

Bluegrass & Blue Bell

Our church held its 2nd annual "Bluegrass & Blue Bell" event a few weeks ago on a cool Sunday evening. It was such a nice time to enjoy our friends, music by the Shady Grove Ramblers, and ice cream! Joshua got a close up view of the musicians...



















Gabe loved being outside and was enthralled by all the people...


















Joshua, Ella & Laney enjoyed some time in the bounce house together...


















The boys had fun being pulled in their new red wagon...

Picture Perfect!

We just got pictures from Joshua and Gabe's school and wanted to share. These pics were taken a week before Joshua turned 2 yr and when Gabe was 3 1/2 months...

Gabe turned 4 months old today! He is a baby full of joy and he brings joy to our family each day. It is amazing how a smile and laugh from him can completely change the way I am feeling at the moment! He is precious and such a sweet baby. Gabe loves to grab toys and holds on to them with a strong grip. He enjoys tummy time and is starting to push himself forward when he is on his stomach. He has pretty good head control now, and he likes to sit up while we are holding him. He lights up when Joshua is around him, especially when Joshua is right in his face. I'm pretty sure you can tell from the picture, but he likes to eat! At his four month appointment last week, he weighed 16 lbs. 9 oz...that's in the 80-something percentile for babies his age! His height and head circumference were both in the 70-something percentile, so he's pretty much proportionate :)
























It is hard to believe that Joshua is two years old, and we are not wanting to believe that the "terrible twos" have come to our family. There are some of those trying moments for sure, but we just love the personality that he is developing. He loves his family and friends and talks about them all the time! He loves hotdogs, ice cream, fruit snacks, and raisins. Those are the foods that he asks for on a daily basis. His vocabulary is developing every day, and he surprises me with what he says. He is putting three and four words together in short sentences, so it is much easier now to figure out what he wants. Joshua's first song to sing is "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". He actually sings one line over and over..."Up above the....so high". Tonight though he surprised us with a new line of a song..."Jesus loves me so" and then immediately followed by "Up above the...so high". I will try to get a video of that sweetness...it melted my heart when he sang "Jesus loves me so".

Aren't boys the greatest?! I never thought I would say that, because I always wanted the frills and dresses that go along with girls, but apparently God knew better for this momma!

Joshua's Birthday!

I can't believe that I am just now posting about Joshua's actual birthday! It has been two weeks! We had a fun day on his birthday, Cinco de Mayo. He had Kid's Day Out, so I took cupcakes for his class to enjoy. He liked wearing the birthday crown, and even shared it with some of his classmates.



















I'm not sure what Joshua was worried about, but here he is posing in his "Birthday Boy" shirt!























After we finished work, we headed to Chuck E. Cheese for Joshua to have some fun and enjoy pizza! The Smiths joined us and Joshua and Campbell had a great time playing together!

Mother's Day

Here is a late post for Mother's Day...


We spent Mother's Day apart from our moms, but had been able to celebrate them the weekend before when they were with us for Joshua's birthday. Our moms are so special to us and we are so thankful for them. It's amazing how much more I appreciate my mom and what I put her through, now that I am a mom. I realize the sacrifices that she made for me and my sister, and the godly example that she set for us daily. I know that Peter would echo those words for Diane, and I am so grateful to have such a wonderful mother-in-law.


Here are our sweet moms together with their presents from us...monogramed aprons...























Peter and the boys were so sweet to me on Mother's Day! After church we went out to eat and then had a relaxing day at home. The boys colored a card for me and gave me a new tv for my bedroom and new DVD player. Our DVD player broke last week and it was a long week of Joshua asking to watch Veggie Tales, so that gift is much appreciated! Peter also cleaned out and vacuumed my car for me which was definitely an act of service on his part. I am so thankful for my boys and for Peter making it such a nice day!

Joshua's Birthday Party

Joshua's birthday party was on Saturday at our church. We had so much fun planning the construction-themed party, and even more fun seeing the kids have a good time. On Thursday, a small load of dirt was delivered to the "work site". Luckily, Foreman Josh was there to observe the dirt load being dropped off.

Ella gave Josh a sweet birthday hug when she arrived...

Joshua, Ella & Savannah were eating their brown bag lunch before it was time to work...

Joshua's Aunt Oksana and cousin Elizabeth were there for the fun...

After lunch, Peter and Josh explained to everyone what we were going to be doing. Each kid received their own hard hat and shovel...

All of the kids formed a "shovel parade". They each pushed their shovel on the ground all the way to the worksite.

The task of the work day was to have fun in and demolish the dirt pile..

Foreman Josh was making sure everyone was working...

...and they were!

Daddy helped Joshua push the dump truck to the top of the dirt pile.

Here are several pics of the tots hard at work...

Gabe wanted to get in on all the fun, but instead he just observed from the dump truck...

Of course Joshua couldn't let Gabe be the only one to sit in the dump truck!

What's a party without cupcakes?!

I think they enjoyed them!

Joshua's Grannie and Pop gave him this great red wagon. He loves it!