Milestones and Braids

Well, Emily has reached another milestone. She is now able to roll from her back to her tummy. Good job Emily! She is also eating solid food on a regular basis. So far, she has enjoyed the following flavors: rice cereal, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, and apples. She has taken to all of them although I think the oatmeal may be causing her tummy to hurt. I'm not sure yet.

Lizzy on the other has taken to a new favorite hair style, the braid. Mommy has been able to do both a regular and a french braid. Lizzy thinks they are really cool!

Look at me Mommy! are you proud of me?

Lizzy is so proud of her baby sister's new skill. What a wonderful big sister she is!

My sweet little girl is looking so grown up.

Lizzy's pretty braid =)

This is a really cool toy mom! Thanks!

Mom, I just got to take a few moments our for finger sucking. You wouldn't believe how good these fingers taste. I love them so much!

Our sweet girlies! We LOVE you!

Nana and Cousin Gracelyn Come to Visit

Nana and Cousin Gracelyn came to visit this past weekend. We absolutely love spending time with them! The weekend didn't go exactly according to plan. After arriving late Friday night, both Nana and Grace woke up Saturday morning feeling sick. Nana was especially sick and was in bed almost the entire weekend (poor Nana!)

Nana, is my mom (Amy's mom) and I absolutely love spending time with her! She is one of my best friends! Lizzy, Emily and Eric love to have Nana come and visit too =) She is a bundle of joy and we always have so much fun with her =) Thank you so much Nana for driving so far to spend time with us. We Love You!

Cousin Gracelyn is my niece and she is so sweet! She is very kind, thoughtful and polite. She is such a great cousin to Elizabeth and they have such a great time playing together! We Love You Gracie!

What a beautiful sunrise! Thank you Lord!

The beautiful artists enjoy some outdoor painting time =)
Lizzy loves mixing her paint colors to make new colors. She has definitely come up with some interesting ones =)
Gracie sports her auntie's stylish red sunglasses. She enjoys painting land scrapes and has quite a passion for artwork =)
Next, the girls decided to pick some oranges so that they could pretend sell them =)
Lizzy spots a winner!

They were so proud of their pickings!
Great job girls!
Well, they didn't make much in the way of money, but all their hard work paid off as they enjoyed the fruit of their labor =)
Gracelyn showed Lizzy how to peel an orange for the first time =)

Yum, Yum!

Lizzy made an important milestone this weekend. Saturday I took Lizzy and Grace to the YMCA swimming pool. Lizzy swam all by herself wearing her life-jacket in the pool. She was so thrilled!!! I was just as thrilled for her!!! She absolutely loved it and can't wait to do it again. We are so proud of her!

The Smith's Come to Visit!

Our sweet friends, the Smith's, came to spend a weekend with us. It was just the moms and the kids hanging out together (Eric was working and Darrin was at a men's retreat). Monique is one of my best friends and the kids have known each other since birth. Although Monique and I talk very regularly, we don't get to see each other very often. It was a real special treat to have them come and visit!

Lizzy and Kaylee had a great time together! Here they are rocking away =)
Monique and Benjamin strike a pose. Benjamin is learning to smile on command =) As you will see, it's pretty consistent and really cute!
More fun for the girls!
Of course they needed to take time out to feed their babies =)

(Just like any good mommy would do)
Another great smile from Benjamin!
Monique snaps a shot of sweet little Emily =)
We were able to spend a some time outside, which is always nice for the kids. The girls continued to balance the responsibilities of pretend motherhood with play-time. They did a great job!
Benjamin was very kind to sweep our driveway =)
He was also able to run a few errands!

This is how we found the girls watching their video together, hand-in-hand.
What sweet friends they are! Just like their Mommas!!

Another shot of Monique and Benjamin. What a sweet mother-son duo!
Cutie pie!

Time for some dancing!
The girls gave us an awesome show!
Fire Fighter Smith was ready to help with any emergency needs =)
It's so fun to play dress-up!
Hey there! I'll see you later =)

Thank you again to our friends for coming to visit =) We had a wonderful time together!

The Thomas' Come to Visit

Bonnie, Josiah and Joshua Thomas came over for dinner and play one night while the Dads were at work. Josiah and Elizabeth continue to grow in their friendship as they find ways to play and interact in areas of common interest =) It is so cute to watch them interact and have fun together =)

The little ones are working on getting to know each other as well. They have a ways to go, but are off to a good start!

An Unexpected Visit to the Sedy's

Well, we finally got to meet the newest addition to the Sedy family, sweet little Zachary Paul. He is adorable and definitely has the physical traits of a Sedy child. There's no mistaking what family he belongs to =)

Zachary and Emily get acquainted on the play gym, a mutual place of interest for them at this point =)
The 3 girls enjoy a yummy lunch together. It had been a long time since Elizabeth had seen Brianna and Bethany and they were all very excited to be together =)
Our day was packed with lots of fun and we thank the Sedy's for having us over and letting us meet little Zachary =)

Getting Older, Growing Closer- I Love You!

Lizzy snaps a shot of mom and dad.

The first thing Eric and I said when we saw this picture was "Wow!, we are looking older." I guess that shouldn't be surprising, since we are in fact getting older. I can't believe we will have had 14 years together coming this November. The past six of those years, we have enjoyed the blessing of a marriage and family built on the foundation of Jesus Christ. Christ has made all the difference in our lives and we thank Him every day for His marvelous, transforming grace.

I love you so much Eric and I thank you for your sweet love and companionship to me. You are a precious gift from God and I thank you for who you are and all you do.

I LOVE YOU!

Getting Ready for Bed

Getting ready for bed is a special time for our family. On the average night, we have a consistent bedtime routine that looks a little something like this: Change into Pajamas, eat a snack, brush teeth, wash hands, go potty. Once we are all settled in Elizabeth's bed, Emily drinks her bottle while we all read a Bible story together. Next we pray and lastly we sing a hymn. On nights that Eric is working, Lizzy calls dad at the fire station before we sing our hymn. We all love this special time in our day together and we thank God for our sweet family.

Emily is mastering the art of finger-sucking. She has settled on her two middle fingers . . . the ones her mom used to suck =)
Our sweet Lizzy girl!

Auntie Erica and Uncle Colin Come to Visit

What a sweet Auntie for our sweet girls!
The girls adore Auntie Erica and Uncle Colin. When they come to visit, they spend a lot of quality time interacting and playing with Lizzy and Emily. It is such a joy to have them as part of our family.

Lizzy enjoys some fun morning play time before we leave for church.

Emily enjoys the last bits of her morning relaxing comfortably in her Aunties arms.