He IS Risen!

Just a few Easter pictures to share on this gorgeous April day! Hope you enjoyed your Easter day as much as we did. In no particular order:

Here's Peter on the way home, sleeping, clutching one of his prized eggs. :)

Proof that we were there. (tee hee hee)

Freedom

Well, for awhile, anyway.

And then I realized what time it was. And that on my very first morning of child-free errand running I was taking longer than I wanted to. MUCH longer. Way to not take advantage of a friend on the first day, huh?

And then I realized (at the checkout) that my laziness in keeping track of how much I was spending in Walmart today was not a good choice. I had more on the conveyor belt than I had money for. And there were people behind me. And I was hungry. REALLY hungry. Know what happens when I'm hungry and slightly frazzled? I get more frazzled. So I put a few things back, paid for what was left and went out to the parking lot.

Wandering...what does the new van look like again? Ugh, where did I park??

And the whole way back to pick up my sweeties, I chastised myself over and over and over, so that by the time I got to Elizabeth's house, I started crying.

And then she fed me some yummy, amazing tater-tot casserole. What could possibly be better for soothing an emotional wreck than tater-tot casserole??

Then I went home, unpacked the groceries I did manage to buy and realized that what I didn't get wasn't all that big of a deal! I mean, who needs diapers? :) Who needs diapers when you already have a stack big enough to last until next grocery shopping day, I should say! And so here I am, not missing any of those items that seemed like such a big deal. And determined to be more careful next time!

April Lovely Weather

**This info is a week outdated...FYI**

It is April. Most of the snow has melted. Bliss.

Yesterday Peter was sick, AGAIN. And David's nose is runny. AGAIN.

Today? Peter is well! David's nose is still runny. But, I think he's getting his eye teeth, so I'll just continue to wipe his nose and not fret. Hopefully those little buggers will  pop through quickly!

Last night Luke looked at David and said, "Honey, he needs his hair cut. For real, please cut his hair." So, I sighed, pulled out the clippers, set him on the counter and with #8, I gave him a 1" cut. He wasn't really very fond of it, I will say! But what can a mom do? I either could give him a somewhat even haircut with the clippers, or a terrible, choppy haircut with the scissors. Either way he'd wiggle, wail and thrash around.

He looks older today.

His hair looks lighter, too. Maybe it's the lighting? Maybe it's my imagination? Maybe it's my hopeful thinking that I'll have at least one light-haired child?

David had his 9 month check-up a couple weeks ago. He's holding steady at the 5th percentile, so the doctor gave the stamp of approval. Such relief coursed through me, I can hardly describe! A few new, noteworthy things:

• He has his top two teeth. The two surrounding them are coming...**UPDATE! The left one came through on Monday 4/11
• Tried bananas again yesterday and liked them!
• Has issues with constipation. Grrr....I will have to limit the banana intake.
• Is suddenly outgrowing clothes (size 6-12 mos). Must have just had a growth spurt.
• Has stood all alone for several seconds (10 even!) several times now. My baby's getting so big!
• Still will quite happily go to anyone.
• Loves going for walks.
• Likes to eat just about everything we give him. Still has issues with yogurt, though. I'm hoping he doesn't have dairy troubles, but I'm suspicious that he will. Both with regular formula and yogurt he has gotten a red rash wherever the offending substance touched. Hmmm.....
• He knows how to clap. Just a little bit ago, I clapped my hands for no particular reason and suddenly I realized that he was copying me. :) What a cutie!

Peter:

• Is starting to outgrow some of his 24mos/2T clothes. Yikes!
• Will need new shoes soon, too. His size 7's are starting to think about being a little smallish.
• Hasn't cried at BSF at all the past several weeks! Yay!!
• Realized the other day that hot dogs are pretty good. Last summer he decided he didn't like them. What child doesn't like hot dogs?

David Firsts

1.  Mimicked me while I was on the phone today. He held up the toy he was playing with to his ear.
2. Was mistaken for a girl at the library. Poor guy. How much more masculine can I get than red shirt, blue denim overalls and train shoes?
3. Started cruising around the furniture! Will be walking in no time, I think!

Another Lucy kennel boy!

And there they both are. Like two peas in a pod!

A Few Random Thoughts

1: Peter

• Is starting to dress himself. Put his "monkey shoes" (Bobux shoes) on all on his own the other day.
• Did not cry at all at BSF yesterday!
• Knows the words to the chorus in "Trust and Obey". As he was playing the other day, he recited it. Also "Holy, Holy, Holy". Cute, cute, cute.
• I am beginning to really see evidence recently of our hard work/sweat/tears/prayers. He is becoming a very good/sweet/helpful little boy.
• There was something else, but I forgot what it was.

2: David

• Now stands up in his crib.
• Tries to swallow everything he can get his hands on.
• Still has a cold. It has been going on pretty much all winter, it seems. Maybe it'll go away when his tooth comes through?

3: Luke

• Took me on the most phenomenal surprise date of all time last Saturday! It happened like this:

• Got up in the morning. Ate breakfast. Got the boys dressed. Packed the diaper bag, etc., for them. I knew we were taking them somewhere for several hours.
• I put David down for a nap while Luke ran out for a little bit. He came back with a cup of hot chocolate for me from Caribou Coffee. Oooohhhhh....yummy!
• I took a shower and got out to find a note on top of my cup. HE WROTE A POEM! My sweet, precious, non-poem writing husband wrote a poem for ME. Wow. 
• Also bought me a half dozen BEAUTIFUL red roses! I love roses! I never get roses! I've never been the recipient of RED roses in my whole life! THEY ARE SO BEAUTIFUL!!!
• We left, going on a wild goose chase to Luke's parents' house. I was so proud of myself for figuring that part out on my own. :)
• Dropped the boys off and headed to our first destination: lunch. The restaurant was closed! Well, just not open for the day yet. Rats.
• Plan B. Bowling first. No lanes open for an hour! Double rats!
• Plan C. Lunch at Pizza Ranch (romantic, huh? haha!! yummy, though!) and then some wandering through a couple antique shops in downtown Litchfield. I forgot how much I used to love antique shops! That was so fun...I need to remember to do that more often.
• THEN, we went bowling. And played pinball. We acted like a couple of goofey teenagers. It was so fun, too!
• And then for the grand finale, we went back to Peter's golf course/club fancy restaurant for dinner. I had salmon. I've been craving salmon for so long. YUM.
• I love you, Luke. Thank you.

4: Me

• I decided in January, since my hair was getting pretty long, that I would donate it sometime this year.
• Last night, I took the plunge and got 10 inches cut off! I now have chin-length hair, but I think it's super cute and now someone who has no hair can have some of mine! Now I just have to decide who to donate it to...

And that's all!

DLW - 8 months!

David is 8 months old.

Wow.

I was looking back on some old pictures of Peter the other day and noticed a few differences between the two:

• Peter has a much more square head than David does.
• David has way more hair than Peter did at this age!
• Peter had three teeth while David only has the bottom two still.
• They both have the most adorable smiles, though!

Currently:

• David continues to love any and all people. It is a true blessing to be able to drop him off at his BSF class or at the Co-op nursery and know he'll be happy and content. 
• David has recently, probably within the past week, discovered his voice. He loves to jabber away incessantly! He even likes to sing/talk to himself sometimes while he's falling asleep. That's cute.
• David is now for sure a full-fledged crawler. A few weeks ago he perfected the "on all fours" crawl. 
• He loves to escape into the bathroom and get into all sorts of mischief. The other day I found him with an entire bag of cotton balls all over the floor. And a huge grin on his face, of course!
• He is into the putting everything into his mouth phase. He loves to try eating our plants.
• He just figured out how to shake his head as though he's saying "no". His favorite time to do it is during meals. It is a sure form of entertainment for his older brother. :)
• David, upon watching and learning from  his older brother's example, has decided he, too, hates getting his hair washed. Funny thing is that Peter finally now is okay with it. Sigh...
• David LOVES eating. So far he has had:
• bananas (no go)
• sweet potatoes
• peas
• carrots
• green beans
• avocado (no go)
• apple sauce (no go)
• baby oatmeal, rice cereal 
• yogurt (broke out in a rash...we'll wait awhile on that one)
• David prefers Peter's toddler toys over his baby toys. He even knows how to play with Matchbox cars on the floor!
• The other day, after wiping his nose countless times during a cold, he grabbed a burp rag and swiped at mine - not once, because that could have been just coincidence, but SEVERAL times. What a smartie pants!
• This winter has had three colds (one or two of which seemed to last for several weeks) and now has pinkeye. Yuck! Where do we pick these things up?
• He loves Lucy.

Peter:

• Constantly cracks me up!
• Knows so many words now...he's really starting to put many two and three word sentences together. He repeats at least half of the words that come out of my mouth. I walk around feeling like I have a shadow all day long!
• Two random funny things from him today: 
• At lunch as I was eating cottage cheese, "Mommy, cotton cheese, please?" Me: "Huh?" Him: "Cotton cheese! Cotton cheese!"
• I walked into my bedroom and saw that my side of the bed was all messed up, despite the fact that I did indeed make the bed this morning. I grabbed the blanket to straighten it out and discovered Mr. Potato Head tucked in. Taking a nap.
• He loves to "say  hi" to his little brother when David wakes up from a nap.
• Greets me with a sweet "gooood morrrning!" each time I get him up regardless of the time of day.
• Is becoming interested in this whole potty training thing. Basically because then he can get some Thomas underwear, but, I'll take what I can get! I'm hoping/planning to undertake the task this summer.
• Says several things on a daily basis that I want to remember. Too bad I never remember to write them down so I can remember them!
• This winter has had 2-3 colds, a couple weird 24 hour bugs, and a few throwing up bugs. I would like to be done with sicknesses now, please.
• Continues to love Lucy and David.
• Loves to watch airplane videos with Daddy.
• Favorite songs:
• Holy, Holy, Holy
• Trust and Obey
• Jingle Bell Rock
• The B-I-B-L-E
• Thinks any video with Veggie Tales characters on it is a B-I-B-L-E CD.
• Is suddenly scared of several Thomas and Friends episodes. I put our two videos away. We will revisit them in several months. 
• Loves Winnie the Pooh videos, though! Especially Tigger ones. He reminds me almost daily that we returned the Tigger Movie to the library. :)
• Still loves books. Favorite two serieses (sp?) are the Mr. Small books and Little Critter books. Excellent choices!
• Loves Mrs. Kim at Co-op. LOVES her. Doesn't cry when he goes anymore, as long as she's there right away. Such a blessing for me!
• Is getting better, slowly, about going to his BSF class. He still cries, but last time Mrs. Jones said he stopped within 5 seconds of me leaving. Yay!
• Talks about going to Josh's house often after visiting Elle, Josh, Sophia and baby Evelyn one day.
• Talks about his friends, as well, although he doesn't always act like he loves them when he's with them! But will talk about them constantly afterward: Jackson, Sam, Heidi, Uriah, Annie, Handel, Rozel, Adde, "baby" Jude, Levi, Micah, Samuel, etc...
• Loves reading his Bible. Really loves it. It makes me smile to see his heart so tender for the Lord at such an early age. He will lug it around everywhere, take it to bed, etc. One morning at 5am when I went in to feed David, I looked over at Peter's bed and saw him laying on his back with his Bible propped up on his stomach, paging through pretending to read it. :)
• We have read through the entire book of Psalms and Ruth. Esther is next.

And me? I am ready for spring. Really ready. :)

David and his beloved Lucy.

Drooly, teething baby.

Almost sitting on his own!

First bites. Not too bad!

Loves walking around!

I guess he was getting ready to go somewhere. I'm not sure where. He just likes to be prepared!

My climber. He will climb on anything he can. Really. See more below!

Peter "reading" Daddy's Bible.

We have to get creative when it's so cold outside! This was and still occasionally is a boat.

Snuggling with his "baby"

Two loves: Play doh and his little yellow airplane.

He really will wear just about anything as a hat.

Post first  haircut. 

COLD STONE!

We like to read missionary biographies/autobiographies together as a family. Here he's "reading" one to me!

Sweet brothers. I do pray often that they are fast and always friends.

That sink still works well for containing a wiggly little baby!

Too cold to go out into the snow, so we brought some inside to play!

The airplane was practicing landing in the snow.

My climber.

Every child needs to have a cupboard to play in. :)

Yet another of his beloved hats. He even wore it to co-op the other day before I realized he had it on.

Into everything!

He climbs under, over, around, on top of, and into anything he can! Nothing stops him, it seems!

Nothing! :)

Oh, Peter. I love you. You make me smile.