Thursday Date Night

Kathy often comes on Thursday afternoons so I can go out for errands.  Yesterday she took both of the little ones back home with her.  So I was able to run out and then Mike and I went out to dinner at a yummy neighborhood place we like, The Tavern.  It was so nice to get out with Mike and not prepare or clean up!  When we arrived at their house to pick up, this is what we found :)....

...and Gram was reading Peter his favorite book of theirs... My Truck is Stuck!

and I thought I'd include this sweet pic from a couple weeks ago. 

Thank you Kathy & Ski!

together again....

Caped Hero

There was a caped hero in the backyard this week as we enjoyed some time outside with warmer temps. :)

He wanted to be sure the little girl was safe & secure in the stroller. :)

I loved his little arm around her. (It didn't last long.)

and she finally got the stroller to herself while he played.

Stack 'Em

I just took some pictures of Lily with the stacking stars.  I thought it would be fun to compare them to some I took of Peter.  It turns out that they were very similar ages... Peter was 7.5 months old in his pics and Lily is almost 7 months old. 

They look pretty different, huh?  Light hair, dark hair, different face shapes.  Despite being very similar weights at 6 months, P was 16 lb 5 oz and L was 16 lb 8 oz, Peter looks more lean and Lily has a bit more sweet chub.  They are both perfect!

Visit from Melissa (+baby #2) and Annika

We enjoyed a special treat at the end of last week.  Melissa and Annika came to visit us!  We try to see each other every 3 months or so (lately, that's needed to be before or after a baby is born).  And with Melissa getting a great report lately from her doctor and just 2 months to go, she graciously headed here for a visit.  She has a perfect, beautiful pregnant belly.  I loved seeing it- it was my first time to see her this pregnant. (I was a little unsure she got a belly that truly looked pregnant. :) )  Yes, I pulled her jacket back to get the full effect! :)

This was definately a milestone visit in that Annika and Peter were more on the same playing ground.  We did "corrupt" her a little a have her watch a show with Peter at too young an age.  And instant friends, they wanted to hold hands on the couch.  I am not sure who initiated the first hold but I definately saw Annika grab Peter's for a second hold.  How sweet are they!!

pulling his arm in close!  (who can blame her- he is quite cute!)

And Peter wouldn't have truly shared about himself if he didn't have Annika play in his "bus".

We also had a fun morning at Kangaroo Jacs (and I forgot my camera).  They both loved it!  The visit was such a nice combo of down time to talk and visit (Peter and Lily took a 3 hour nap on the day she arrived!) and fun activities.  I'm excited to see them again and meet the new baby when we head their way in April!

Peter's First Sentence...

"I drive a bus."

Peter's First Song Sung...

"Hap Day to You!"

Truth

Nuggets from Wellspring....
My Identity:
I am crucified with Christ therefore I no longer live but Christ lives in me.
(I feel like I am having a new little perspective into that verse that is freeing, rather than morbid or heavy.)
My Orientation:
The life I live, I live by faith in the Son of God who loves me and gave himself for me.  I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.

I write these out to preach them to my heart.  I esp need to hear the last part... I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained thru the law, Christ died for nothing... I often set aside God's grace, expecting perfection from myself and feeling ashamed when that isn't met. 

Anyway, I am tired now and my brain is foggy but its been an encouraging weekend just with truth (at church, in books read, etc).  I am starting to really find value in just the simplicity of God's Word (maybe that is b/c I am not smart enough for much more mumbo jumbo)... but I am thankful for the ways God speaks to and encourages my heart by His Word.

sweet meat

i love, love, love this little roll on Lily (not that I don't love every.single.bit. of her)

i am frequently overcome with love attacks for her (and the little boy)

Week in Review

me and the little love bug

Peter told me he was going to "Goo's House" in these next two pics...

Playing "rough" one evening...

Peter likes to tell Daddy "rough" when he comes in from work b/c he wants to do just this (love it!)

Maw was here on Wed and took the littles for a walk so I could....

make enchiladas for some friends! :)

Peter is reading a book to his (Lily's) baby while he waits for breakfast (so sweet)...

and trying on the "gear" that I'd worn on my walk with Blair

(I was impressed that he'd gotten this all on by himself!)....

Love at First Taste

Lily had her first rice cereal this eve... she was quite happy with it!

She reminded me of a little ostrich trying to peck at it

(maybe I wasn't giving it to her fast enough)!

Then she went for the spoon to take matters into her own hands!

If she liked rice cereal that much, I can't imagine how she's gonna feel about good food!

Evidentally, cardboard tasting mush is appealing when your sister is eating it!

combined 6 month birthday

These 2 sweet girls are just 2 days apart and today is the "middle" day b/t their 6 month bdays.  It was fun to have Emily, Landon and Fields visit us today!

(We're just missing Ruby in these pics!)

A Suprise Visit from Paw

My mom often visits us on Wednesdays.  But yesterday, we had a special visitor- my dad came too!  We were all happy to see and spend the day with BOTH of them!

We went to the Science Museum in the morning.  We looked around and then went to an IMAX movie (Peter's first).  And in true Dennis fashion, he fell asleep--- just like his mom and grandPAW often do in front of digital entertainment ;)

Maw & Paw came bearing gifts (as usual).  This time with some tools for Peter from Uncle John and Aunt Jessica.  He LOVES them!  Thank you, J&J!

My Favorite Time of Day

... is when Mike comes home from work!  Monday eve we just played in Peter's room for a while.  Mike often holds Clove like a baby and Peter wanted to... so Peter sat in Mike's lap so he could hold Clove.  Can you tell we have a great cat?!  She totally just laid there!

And I am calling Monday, 1/4, the day Lily could officially sit up!  Isn't she just adorable?!  Look at that sweet smile.

Another favorite thing is clean babies!

New Years Celebration & VT Bowl Game at the River

First item of business after arrival was setting up for the VT Bowl Game.  There is no cable there & just a small little TV.  So Mike found a free satellite dish on craigslist and Tim brought his flat screen TV and Direct TV box.  Things started off a little dicey with big questions about whether it would actually work.  But as you can see from this pic, there were some BIG GRINS on their faces as they got it working.  Tim is coming back from a high five in this pic- thus the funny looking R arm.  So we enjoyed watching a VT victory on ESPN.

The younger fans...

And the youngest guests...

Chris & Kristy also joined us (but once again, no pictures of the adults).

We had as good of a time as you can have with 2 little boys (who are very pumped to be together) and 2 sweet babies, who we wouldn't trade for the world.

Let's just say we were up long before the sun rose each morning... :)!