A little taste of Isa

I will try to get Isa talking more on video but for now this is from this morning after she got dressed. Drew tells her every morning how pretty she looks and she always rubs her shirt and smiles.

Ben's Drawing

We had our friend, Anna, over for dinner last night. Benjamin finished eating before us (big surprise) and went into the living room to "draw Anna picture Mama." After a few minutes, he came back with this masterpiece:

How talented is our almost 3 year old? Apparently Anna is the one on top, and Daddy, Mama and Benjamin are on the bottom.

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Samuel with his sweet taggie blanket from the Goads. Kristi, do you recognize this outfit? You bought it for Benjamin.

Our beautiful, beautiful daughter. I'm so jealous of her skin. She has the most gorgeous coloring.

My camera was too slow to catch the smile but still cute. Tricia, do you recognize this outfit? You bought it for Benjamin. :)

Every night before bed Isa gives kisses to all in the room. Last night Drew brought her in the kitchen to say night night and she leaned way out of his arms towards me with her lips puckered up and said, 'ma ma ma' for the first time. Oh did that feel good.

Eloisa is saying more words at this age than Benjamin did. She is saying 'done, night night, cheese, no, daddy, mama, gentle, and more that I can't think of right now because I'm too tired. I need to get her saying 'gentle' on tape because it is hilarious...she says it almost every time she touches Sam because we have to remind her over and over to be gentle with him.)
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"We're a family."

The last few days Benjamin has been pointing to each one of us, saying our names and telling Isa, "Mama, Daddy, Isa, Ben, Sam...we're a family, Isa." When Eloisa first got home we would point to ourselves a lot and say who we were but we never ended with, "We're a family." I almost started bawling the first time he said it. My almost three year old is wise enough to understand what a family is and teach his little sister. My reply, "That's right, Benjamin. We are a family."

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Visit with the Goads

We spent a wonderful 25 hours with one of Drew's roommates from college and his sweet family. This is the best of about 15 pictures that Drew snapped of the 5 kiddos together. It was nearly impossible to get them to all look in the same direction.

Enjoying the swings.

Racing down the slide.

Just sweet.

Eating yummy pancakes.

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The Bouncy Chair

Benjamin is always crawling in and out of Samuel's bouncy chair but until today Isa was never coordinated enough to get in. She was SO happy and giddy when she finally conquered the bouncy chair. She sat in it for a good 30 minutes after dinner tonight. She would just sit and bounce and grin. It was too funny. I wish I had taken a video of her getting in and out of it...hilarious.



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Our Weekend

The kids had to nap in the car Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday as we were on the road for Drew to speak at his home church in IL. It was a fantastic weekend. We were so blessed and so encouraged. Thank you to all who came to see us and support us and love us.

I don't know if you can tell from this photo but Isa has the longest, most beautiful eyelashes I have ever seen.

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Just Funny

I was playing around with a friend's camera today and EVERY picture of Isa was blurry because the girl never, ever, ever stops moving. Anyways, this is my favorite smile of hers. She scrunches up her nose and just looks so adorable and silly.

By the way, Drew and I had to dig a piece of bread out of her nose today. No, I'm not joking. What is the deal with this girl and her orifices?

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Family Photos

Since it is finally Spring here in Ohio, we attempted to take a family photo outside. Because Drew was holding Isa, Benjamin was scared to death that he was going to fall off of Drew's shoulders and would not let go of his head.

So I tried to hold both Isa and Sam, but ended up just smashing them both.

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The Many Faces of Sam

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My 3 Favorite Boys

After 4 weeks and 1 day, Benjamin finally wanted to hold his little brother. We have asked him from day one if he wanted to hold Sam and the answer was always, "um, no."

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The week in review...

This is the face Isa makes whenever she throws something, drops something, hits something, etc. and is trying to prove her innocence. It is pretty hilarious. Thank you PJ and Barb for Benjamin's giant coloring pages! He LOVED them. He never left the table the entire evening until every last page was colored. I kept asking him if he wanted to take a break but he was too focused to quit. At one point, I walked in the kitchen and he said, "Mama, my hand is tired."

Benjamin insisted on having snack time on this blanket. He told me to count 1,2,3 and he yelled, "picnic!"

Isa: "Move over!" Benjamin: "No, YOU move over!"

I asked Benjamin if he wanted an orange and he said, "Uh-huh. Mama, need apron. No get shirt dirty." Ha ha ha. Seriously, he cracks me up. (He is becoming more OCD every day just like his mama. I'm so proud.)

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Mr. Chubby

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Favorite Moments

Two of my most favorite moments from our day yesterday.

#1. I got ready for church and walked out into the kitchen where Benjamin was eating breakfast. He looked up and said, "Mama, you're tritty." I said, "I'm pretty?" Benjamin replied, "uh-huh, tritty."

Seriously, how sweet is my almost 3 year old?

#2. Drew spoke at church last night about what our family will be doing in Vancouver. As he was introducing all of us, he mentioned that some of them probably hadn't met his daughter. As he pointed to Isa, she looked right at him and threw him the biggest kiss. 'Awwwww!' was the entire congregation's response.

Our sister-in-law's parents bought Benjamin and Isa both Cubs outfits because their daddy is a big, huge fan. Benjamin has worn this outfit every day this week. If I dress him in something else, at some point during the day he remembers his Cubs uniform and insists on putting it on. Foam free and feeling good!

Blurry but too cute to delete.

Pretending to be Murray on the Wiggles. That tiny little yellow and red thing is his guitar.

Daddy's day off. Watching cartoons with the kiddos.

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One More Interesting Thing About Isa

I like to shove things up my nose. In fact, I just got home from the ENT and he pulled three pieces of foam out of my nose ranging in size from a pea to a small baby carrot. My parents thought I had toddler halitosis and they were learning to accept the fact that I was really stinky. However, a very wise pediatrician friend suggested that maybe there was something lodged up my nose.

Sure enough, I was storing foam up my nose like a squirrel stores nuts for the winter. I thought it was a great idea at the time. But now that I can actually breathe through my nose again, I think I'll stop using my sinus cavities as storage bins.

(The foster mom told us that Isa had a chronic runny nose so who knows how long that foam was up there. The ENT told us that foam from cushions is one of the most popular things for kids to shove up their nose. We had Eloisa on a three week course of antibiotics thinking that it was some sort of stinky sinus infection. She has been foam free for four hours and her nose hasn't dripped once and she is smell free! Hallelujah! Poor girl. The ENT said she had just learned to breathe out of her mouth. )

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