Daniel 10:19

"God wubs you wery much." - Danyal 19

Yep, you guessed it. Elijah has memorized his first Bible verse. How sweet is that?! I have to admit, he learned it a few weeks ago, and has since then memorized a second!

"God's gooness is shine down fwom heaven." - 85:11
(That is the shortened toddler version of Psalm 85:11)

Can I just say that I am so proud? I mean super proud. Not just of him, but of ME! I am going through a realization phase in my life of what it means to raise kids. They aren't just babies anymore that silly toys can keep them learning and occupied. It's become so obvious to me now, that it's a complete gamble raising your kids outside of God's Word. I am so thankful I understand this now, while they are so young. I have our new church to pretty much thank for most of it. Grace Community Chapel (http://www.gcchapel.org/) - sorry, my hyperlink button isn't working and I'm too lazy to figure out the code again.

So I definitely had to share the versus with you - I think it's so awesome (especially because he is enjoying it so much!)

Aside from memory work, we've had a few more firsts since the last time I posted.

Like, first time making and eating yummy, homemade popsicles!

A first chemistry lesson!
Isn't he the perfect poster child for The Bradley Method (TM)!

First time playing with sidewalk chalk. I wonder if either of them will take after Brad and have an artistic side.

 

And, a first sandbox! They are in heaven in that thing.

And this picture. We'll it's no "first", but it is so cute I had to put it up here. Elijah and his cousin Evan - Elmo twinkies :)

I wish I can update you more with events happening, but it will have to wait until later. My little Athena is showing allergy symptoms to something (milk maybe??) - she has tiny bumps all over her since this morning (along with 4 teeth trying to push through!) Anyway, now she's calling for her Ma-Ma.
I can't leave my Dee waiting!!

Athena’s 15 month check up!

  We’ve got ourselves one healthy little girl. Praise God for that. She is tall and skinny! 31 1/4 inches and only 19 pounds 3 oz. And let me tell you I am proud of her….

When her doctor (who I really like) started to check her out, she fought like it was the end of her life! And when the shots came – whoa – all I can say is that I’m glad Brad was there with me because I don’t think I could have managed it all.

I am proud that she has a fighting spirit! It encourages me to think that she will fight against things that make her uncomfortable, hold her back or just make her mad.

I know most kids would react this way, but when your first child is like Elijah (that doesn’t even cry or squirm when he gets a shot), then it’s pretty eye opening to see the flip side of that demeanor.

My little fightin' chick!

I can’t believe how big she has grown in the last few months. She is really starting to take off walking now. She’s been quite stubborn about it the past few months – knowing how, but not quite interested.
It’s hard not to think about how much she’s grown and reflect back on how exciting it was anticipating her birth, her first smile, her first solid foods – and all those milestone events. Makes me appreciate myself when I blog like I should, so I can always click back and enjoy when my babies were little.
My little Feensie, I love you so much.

We can’t wait until the weather gets nice

We also can’t wait until we decide to get a back yard patio or not. It hurts to spend our savings we’ve been diligently accumulating lately (actually, it hurts Brad more than me – I really want a patio). We’ve been in this house for more than 5 years, so it’s time to have something back there.

We’re still debating.  But here is some proof why we need it. Especially when the weather gets really nice and we’ll be outside all day long! I’m tired of being on the front step!!!

I know what you’re thinking – and yes, she IS even cuter in person ;)

See, if we had a patio we could have a sandbox, and I could be sitting in a comfy rocking chair…

“Cheeeeese”. This boy loves his diggers and dirt.

So we have a few people lined up to give us a quote next week – I hate that whole process. Hopefully something works out soon!

Let the potty training begin!

I’ve gotta be honest, I’ve been nervous about potty training Elijah since I found out he was going to be a boy. Everyone has heard those terrible stories about how difficult it is to get a toddler boy on board.

I will also be honest, that I was in no rush to get him out of diapers. Mostly because he is pretty shy and uncomfortable with it – so I didn’t want to push him.

Well I decided to give it a try when Logan (Elijah’s older cousin by 3 weeks) showed me first hand it can be done! One evening while we were watching him he said he had to go potty, and so he did!

Please don’t read this as a comparison! My mom pointed that out to me – she thought I was comparing the boys. Naturally as a mom it’s hard to not compare sometimes (like why my kids STILL don’t sleep through the night…), but this time I think it was more of a conviction for me to not be lazy and teach my boy!

So on Monday (the 5th) we started. After some hesitation and Elijah peeing through all of his undies we own (3 pairs), I decided just to let him go bottomless. That was the best idea. He peed river all over my floor and he was completely captivated! He had never seen what his bits were capable of doing. So I had been teaching him to sit down – would you believe that just on that same Monday he went to the potty nearly 10 times. More than that, he only chose to stand up!

It was seriously the funniest thing to see him peeing in his potty while using both his hands – high above his head – bracing himself against the wall.

So that’s the story. Since then it hasn’t been going so great. While we’re out he still pees in his diapers without feeling a need to tell me. He also REFUSES to go poo. He will request a diaper just for me to change it less than 5 minutes after he’s had it on. Also, he goes to a mother’s day out program twice a week and I don’t think they are going to be very supportive about it.

He does so well at home that he goes potty on his own and doesn’t even care to ask me for a sticker to put on his poster (that I was so proud to make for him). So now I just have to focus on having him poo on the potty and making him aware to ask me when we are not at home.

Since I love to share pictures, this one was appropriate.  (His potty in the corner now has a towel under it – he isn’t the best aimer). He told me he was cold so he had to wear his hat – not pants, socks or even a diaper. Only a hat….too funny.

I’ll keep you posted how this is going….

What's sweeter than a baby girl?

TWO baby girls!!

Mya and Ava (my nieces) were born yesterday. Yep, February 29th - on leap day! Can it get more special than that?

They are so sweet. Mya is on the left and Ava is on the right. I got to the hospital right on time as the photographer was leaving, so I was able to take my own pictures while they were still snuggled together.

Sleepy Ava.

Snuggy Mya.

They both have those enticing "kiss my cheeks" kind of cheeks!

I have to throw in these last two photos because they make me laugh when you look at them together!

    

Me: start of baby fever                     Brad: fear of baby fever

he-he, I'm funny (right Brad?) :)

These babies are so beautiful. I couldn't be happier for their family!! Christmas, birthdays, random BBQ's and family get-togethers just became a lot more fun!

CONGRATULATIONS Tim, Natalie and Logan!