e.b. turned three!

our little girl is already three years old. she celebrated during the day with her classmates and in the evening we had a small celebration at home. e.b. chose pizza for dinner so marshall picked one up on the way home. last year she did not eat her cake but preferred the ice cream so this year i made her a layered ice cream cake. she opened presents and then it was time for bath and bed. she enjoyed her special day. c did much better this year allowing her to have her own moments.

a friend sent some princess gifts to e.b.!

thank you b, c & s! 

our little girl loves to dance and she is excellent at working puzzles

thank you j, k & g!!!

it's always a treat to find a gift on the doorstep too!

c had to try them out

thank you n, j, j & r

not only a beautifully packaged gift 

but...

a gift that e.b. and i can use together for lots of kitchen fun 

for many years to come

what could it be?

a microphone for jamming!

e.b.'s turn to have the spotlight

singing, music, jamming, noise, laughter, dancing, jumping, craziness!

playing with her hands too

"Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore He will rise up to show you compassion." (NIV) "For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for His help." (NLT)   Isaiah 30:18

absent...

yes, we've (i've) been absent from posting. sigh. thanks for checking back in with us to see if there's anything new. here's a brief list of things we've been up to since c's birthday...

* another 10 day trip to st. louis
* spending time with poppy, ohnie & pahjie
* seeing all of daddy's sisters and cousin t
* going to the magic house with poppy
* showing daddy the train museum
* e.b.'s first family day (with a special ice cream treat from poppy!)
* our 17th wedding anniversary (crazy)
* a date night!
* a visit to see my former colleagues (the kids loved it!)
* e.b.'s first hair cut
* c's 4 year check up (4 vaccinations -- was not pleasant!)
* marshall had a week long business trip (the week the kids started pre-school!)
* the kids started at a new pre-school
* c's third family day
* e.b. decided to potty train one random tuesday
* e.b. decided the next day she did not want to use the potty (that was fun)
* now she is mainly using the potty but still wearing diapers (it's a happy medium right now)
* small group from church
* we had play dates with several special families!
* j's finalization party!!!
* in between all of the above we made many trips to home depot, lowes, sams, target, the grocery store, downtown to watch for bnsf trains & the zoo (to ride the train)
* played the bus stop game for hours on end
* the kids have really started having lots of pretend play together

pics below... very much out of order...

above & below hitting the trail on scooters

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myrt sure has her own style!

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the next 7 pics are from the magic house...

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e.b. taking off hand in hand with cousin t

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the kids hamming it up in o & p's basement

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e.b. at the st. louis zoo

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relaxing at pottery barn kids

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the kids enjoying a special ice cream treat on e.b.'s family day! (she's been home one year!!!)

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e.b. made herself a pizza dough "nose"

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the kids think this type of phone is hilarious!

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first day of pre-school 

(c in the 4s class & e.b. in the 2s class)

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e.b.'s first hair cut and "up do!"

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chillin' at lowes!

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pretty girl

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c pushing e.b. in her baby doll's stroller

hope you enjoyed. bye for now...

"The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the Word of our God stands forever."  Isaiah 40:8 (NLT)

4 years old!!!

we celebrated c's 4th birthday last week. our precious little one has become a young boy faster than i anticipated. sometimes i long for the days where he napped on my lap and the many nights i gave him his bottles. he can now do so many things by himself and i am amazed at his abilities and his desire to do and learn new things.

his birthday began early (around 1am or so) when a huge storm pushed through and woke us up. storms usually don't wake up this crew, so suffice it to say this one was quite the spectacle and a little frightening even. i snuggled with c on the chair in his room until most of it had blown over our home. to our surprise and happiness, we maintained our electricity on this round while most of our neighbors were without power. unfortunately, though, the lack of electricity around us did impact our little guy's birthday, as we had to change plans more than once because the places he wished to visit did not have power. so instead of the zoo we did (drum roll please) home depot! and later, instead of riding golf carts after dinner, we headed down town to (hopefully) view some free entertainment from a real train rolling along the tracks and to one of our favorite pizza joints. c happily welcomed the changes and later in the week we were able to fit in all of his special requests, plus daddy took him to see a movie ("turbo") in the theatre!

c managed to extend his birthday from one day to four! thank you also to friends who mailed him gifts and even a package dropped off on our doorstep! it's hard to remember the little guy who was too overwhelmed to even open a single package at his first Christmas and second birthday...he now rips into gifts and plows through the stacks like a pro.

pumpkin muffins and chocolate chip muffin tops for our little guy on his big day!

what could be better than a gift on the doorstep to start the day?

well, having a crane inside!

(thank you j, k & g!)

our sweet friends remembered e.b. too!

learning how to use his new crane!

the next best thing to the zoo train?

"tractors" at home depot of course!

trying each brand out

miss e.b. was not thrilled as you can tell

funny faces at dinner...

snapping a pic of little sister

e.b. trying out her funny face too

digging into the stacks

what a cool game!

thank you b, c & s!

c is really into garbage trucks these days too!

and books about trucks!

hoping to see a train (but no luck!)

a bike to fit our growing birthday boy! 

(he is right at about 42 inches tall!)

and finally two days after his birthday...the golf carts!!!

e.b. taking the wheel too

(for late july the weather was beautiful after the storms)

"Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth."  
 2 Timothy 2:15  (NLT)