Easter

He is Risen!!!!

So we taught Emry to say, but she isn’t exactly sure what Easter is all about yet. Thankfully, that’s a blanket statement. She doesn’t understand the Easter bunny, coloring eggs or hunting for them any more than she understands the death and glorious resurrection of our Savior. So for now our parenting skills are intact. She doesn’t think finding Easter eggs is better than celebrating what Christ has done for us. Next year, though…

Naturally, I dressed my children very nicely for Easter Sunday. It’s always a wonderful Easter further north when the weather is actually warm enough to dress in nice spring clothes. Emry wore an adorable dress my friend Allyson had given her to wear last summer, but it didn’t fit until this year. And Ethan had on a very cute pair of overalls he inherited from his cousin Benny…which he proceeded to dirty with a whopper of a diaper before church concluded. Not that it mattered ultimately for he slept through the photo-op up at the West End Overlook anyhow. So our parenting skills are again lacking – no adorable pictures of our kids together for the Easter holiday. Maybe next year…

Still, we got some cute pictures all around. And, in the end, Easter isn’t about pictures anyhow, right?

He is Risen, Indeed!!!!!

Emry in her Easter dress as the West End Overlook.

Ethan wasn’t happy until the overalls were off!

Enjoying Easter chocolate. (And Mama thought she couldn’t unwrap it – hah!)

My Bumper Sticker

We’ve all seen them. Bumper stickers about honor students, sports stars, brilliant dogs, amazing grandchildren. I’m going to get one that says “My Kids are Off the Charts”…because they are.

On Tuesday, we had Ethan’s 2-month doctor’s appointment and Emry’s 2-year. Both kids are quite healthy. I was just about right on Ethan’s weight – a pound bigger than his 1-month. He is, in fact, a full pound and one ounce larger, weighing in at a whopping 8 pounds and 7 ounces. Looking back and Emry’s chart, he’s actually two ounces smaller than she was at that age, but an inch longer. Which is probably why newborn sleepers don’t fit anymore even though newborn clothes do. But if you put his weight and length together, he’s not even on the charts. Just like his sister.

And speaking of his sister, I wasn’t anywhere close on her weight. I was thinking about 25 pounds, tiny but growing. Try 22 pounds and 10 ounces. She’s a full 31-inches tall. Put these together and she doesn’t even hit the charts – unless you’re looking at the chart for an 1-year old. She’s probably the only toddler that’s wearing the same clothes she did last summer. Not that we’re complaining. Some of her clothes are awfully cute!

To Emry

My Little Girl,

Today you are two years old. One! Two!

This past year has been full of so many changes. This time last year, you would happily sit wherever we put you, playing contentedly with whatever toys were within reach. You weren’t even crawling, and I wondered if you ever would before you decided to attempt walking. But you did crawl…and then at 18 months you started walking. And today you multi-task at your play – lawn bowling with me while blowing bubbles. You come by that honestly.

You have gone from smiling and cooing to giggling and narrating your entire day almost non-stop and always in third-person. I love to watch you play with your dollhouse or your stuffed animals, mimicking your daily life as you train them to “tinkle-potty” or walk to the library. You’re a busy little person. You’re very good at puzzles, you can count up to three (and sometimes up to six, although you tend to skip the number four), you can say some of your alphabet and fill in the blanks of the first four verses of Psalm 23 as I’ve taught you. You love to read books, especially Biscuit, and I love listening to you read the same books to your stuffed animals. Your favorite books are dog-eared in the right upper corners because you turn your pages just like I do, only rougher.

You are a very observant little girl. The other day you watched a little boy throwing rocks in the river. Although you know how to throw the rocks, you watched how he pulled his arm back and then did the same, hurling your rocks twice as far as you had before. You know how to sweep, and use a screwdriver, and stir cookie dough just by watching (even if your skill level is just beginning). And while you love to watch other kids, you are never pressured to follow the bigger kids in their games. You know your own mind and make your own decisions. You come by that honestly, too.

You have the memory of an elephant (as they say). The other day you picked out a shirt and informed me you had worn it to “Mr. ‘n Ms. Timko” (your Sunday School teachers), which you had the evening they babysat you three weeks ago. You talk about your “old house” all the time and tell us the story about the spider on the light switch that fell down and was found again near the ceiling fan before Papa took care of it every time you see that light switch. If I say you may do something after your nap, you remind me as soon as you get up. I am learning to watch what I say.

Most of the time, you are a very sweet girl. You are gentle with your brother (unless you feel it is your turn for attention, which you then make very plain). You play nicely with other kids, and you are willing to learn. But you can also be very stubborn, whine to get your own way, and potty-training has been an arduous journey. Some days I just want to give up. But I won’t. Because I love you.

Two Months!

Life is so full that it’s hard to believe two months have gone by since my son was born, but he is two months today. He is growing, as he ought with the way he eats! Yesterday he had his first hair cut (he was starting to look like a little monkey with his hair growing over his ears and collar). No one seems to have told him that “back is best” for he tends to fall asleep on his belly during “tummy time”. So when he wakes up, he kicks to try to flip over. I have a feeling he will be faster at this trick than his sister was. He tends to be a serious infant. The other day, I was on the floor trying to get him to smile. His lips would twitch, but then he would stop the smile and put on a serious face. So, I was quite fortunate to catch some good pictures for his two-month “birthday”.

 Smiling!

His usual serious look.

With his new Sock Monkey.

Happy 1^st Birthday, Benny!