Sneaky Sneaky

Hmmmm, where's Xander? Hiding on the loveseat, bag-o-candy in hand, and in mouth... sneaky, sneaky.

From the Eye of Uncle Jon

Party day just doesn't lend itself to freedom to photograph, when you're the mama throwing the party. What a blessing it was to celebrate on Saturday, when Daddy could join us, and Grandpa and Grandma and Aunts Sarah and Emily and Uncle Jon. I really really appreciated having all the extra help. I did the best I could to document the festivities, but Uncle Jon took several more, and here are some fragments in time that he captured from behind his lens.

I can't help but comment... I mean, that's just what I do, right? And after all, it is a blog. So here's my comment on this pic. I love that Xander's curious and getting in on the action. He doesn't really know the joy of receiving gifts, nor does he care for princesses, but he knew in his heart of hearts, there was a reason all kiddos gathered around his big sister at this moment. Let me see!


Clearly, Uncle Jon didn't take this picture. Thanks to whoever did. :)

Now, from what I could gather, Maren didn't necessarily appreciate the dual ride on the elephant, and Xander didn't necessarily have a clue.

a princess moment

love those hands

here's full frontal of the cake.

and the table, fit for a king. even though i toppled the tulips and broke the pretty pink vase moments before the royal guests arrived. . .



And now these photos are not from Libby's birthday party, and in fact they're mostly from Thanksgiving/Christmas. Quite some time ago indeed. But we found them on Jon's camera and nabbed them for their greatness.

Em and Libbs sharing giggle time with dad/grandpa.

two silly libby faces. the girl loves to make silly faces. i like that about her.

and a natural sweet face

look how X has grown since thanksgiving. but doesn't he look dapper in his little sweater and cords?

and this is totally xander. drinking milk or sucking his thumb, and rubbing his belly. right on the button. cute as a button.

Baby Turns FOUR!

It's official, my baby is 4. Unbelievable! Thursday, March 5 was the big day, and after Libby woke to a balloon and streamer filled bedroom, we celebrated with donuts for breakfast, later, dinner out with Aunt Brett, followed by presents. I was told she would never forget it, it was the best day of her life. Though she hasn't corrected herself, I have to think Saturday trumped the birthday, since we partied with the best of them and had a fantastic time.

It was a princess and butterfly party, and Libby invited royalty from across the land to come celebrate with her. The ladies wore their finest princess party attire, and the prince was here to charm them.

I posted a handful of pictures in reverse order, starting with birthday and ending with Saturday's party. I have more great pics of the birthday girl, and if I find time, I'll post them for you as well. :) Could I be more noncommittal?


xander. love him.

after the party, uncle jon plays prince for aunt em and libby

her royal friends sing happy birthday to libby

another shot with the cake because she's just so cute. she really did love her cake, and her party in general. i've been thanked no less than 10 times since the big event. which is pretty sweet. :)

you might notice the kids eating "fruit on sticks." that was a must-have, according to the bday girl, after she first experienced such exquisite dining at her friend Emiliana's party.

libby with her cake. there are a couple things in this picture that i love about libby. first, the way she posed with her foot up on the chair. second, the fact that she's holding her lovie. i love you so much elisabeth adelaide!

this is maybe the only picture i got with each and every party participant. not too shabby...

family photo with the birthday princess

butterflies make the birthday girl beam

"okay, now let's take one that shows our rings!" she was really thrilled that she and aunt brett had matching pink rings on that day. and, aunt brett saved the day when she went back to the restaurant to retrieve the ring which was accidentally left behind on a messy table...

taking a picture with aunt brett. notice the amazingly huge smile on my birthday girl's face. :)

xander loved his "byooh". in fact, he loved it so much that he wouldn't eat his dinner, because he'd rather devote all attention to his byooh.

enjoying her yummy birthday dessert

another freakishly huge smile :)

What Bothers You?

I know, I know, what you want is birthday photos, birthday photos, birthday photos. But, those take time and I have but a minute, while Libby changes clothes and Xander makes a mess of her room (as she reports to me from down the hall).

Last night, Brian read to Libby from a new book he bought for her, "Sammy and His Shepherd." It's a story to help kids (and adults) see Jesus in the 23rd Psalm. Anyway, at the end of each chapter there are discussion questions, and one last night was about what bothers you? Libby's response,
"When I'm just sitting, trying to write a nice thank you card for my Grandma Shelley, and SOMEone comes up to me, and climbs on me, and bumps me and tries to make my card say, "goo goo ga ga blah blah blah."

I love that girl. And that SOMEone who can't help but pester her as he adores her as well. :)

25 Things About Me

As some of you know, the recent rage on facebook was a list of "25 things about me." They could be anything, important or not, just random facts. Well, I decided to put together a list for my kiddos as of this fine day. We'll start with Xander because when Libby wakes from her nap I'll solicit her input. :)


This is Alexander Elliot

1. I love baths.

2. I want to take a bath. Right now. And then when I'm done, let's bathe.

3. I have had my hair cut twice in the back (and I need it again), and trimmed up on top, but I still don't have any growing in on the sides. :) Still, I'm cute.

4. I like to dance. If you mention music I'll nod to a beat until you pump up the jams.

5. I like Libby's toy phone. I've got Cinderella, Snow White, and Aurora on speed dial. Our conversations go like this, "Why Hello, I'm Snow White," "Heyyyo". "Hello, it's me, Cinderella!," "Heyyyo."

6. Speaking of Libby, I want to be like her. I realize I can't, so the next best thing is to steal the things that she loves best. Namely her crayons. Anyway, like any little bro, I mimic her and think she's a riot.

7. One of my favorite toys is mom's dust pan. It's bright yellow and super cool. I like to walk around with it and say "sweep, sweep, sweep." I hid mom's yellow dust pan last week in an incredibly sweet hiding spot. She has NO idea where it is.

8. I love "UP" and then "Down." The epitome of this is "up, up, up" and "down, down, down." That's what we say when going up and down stairs. I love to go up and down the stairs.

9. The other day we went to the park and played. Mom was kind of spacing off and I climbed right up to the top of the big jungle gym. Mom watched me, but didn't stop me. Duh mom. I'm up at the very top and there are lots of open spaces up there for me to fall down. But, she came to and coaxed me to the big big slide, and I went down like a champ and got hooked. Poor mom.

10. My mom is really totally the best. I prefer her to anything and everything, which is really flattering to my totally humble and amazingly wonderful mom.

11. I do not like to get buckled into my car set. Not one bit. However, bribing me with my milk may work. Wait, mom doesn't bribe, she rewards.

12. I am a thumb sucker.

13. I am also a tummy rubber. What this means is that when I'm tired, or need to soothe myself, I suck my right thumb and rub my tummy with my left hand. It's really quite sweet.

14. I'm pretty healthy now, but 2009 has been hard on me. I got my first ear infection and it wouldn't go away. I was medicated for 35 of the first 39 days of the year. My parents aren't really into that, but you should have seen me. I was a mess. Hopefully I stay well!

15. I say please when I want something. Mostly, food. "please? yesh! yesh!"

16. I have beautiful brown eyes like my daddy.

17. My dad spends his mornings with Libby and me, and I love him so. When I hear him walk through the door at night I give him a shout-out, "DADDY!"

18. My favorite book is "Wiggle, Waggle, Loop-de-Loo"

19. I really love to be tickled. Sometimes I'll remind my parents that I haven't been tickled in a while by tickling my torso and saying, "tick-uh-tick-uh-tick."

20. I can belch the alphabet. (not really, but some day he'll want to, won't he?!)

21. I'm a cuddle bug. I give my mom the cuddles she doesn't get from Libby or Daddy. Don't get me wrong, they love her to pieces, but they're just not cuddlers. Mom and I have to stick together. Let's cuddle. And rub our tummies.

22. I'm super sweet and a big time smiler. Mom thinks I'm a charmer. What can I say? People seem to love me.

23. There was a time when I was a skinny little man, in less than the 1st percentile when it came to my weight. Those times are gone, I'm up holding my own up in the 70s. Still, I am not the big eater my sister was. One of these days that will probably change and I'll eat the fam out of house and home.

24. Speaking of eat, I inherited my mom's love for fries and my uncle Mason's need for ketchup.

25. Why do mom and dad have those little white buttons on the cabinet doors? It's a nuisance to have to push them when you want to open the doors and get stuff out.

25. My mom and dad adore me.


Okay, I interviewed Libby. Sometimes I asked her, "what do you want me to type about you?" That's when you get a Libby quote. Sometimes I gave her a more probing question. You'll be able to tell the difference.

1. "I have two flowers. A purple one, and the one we got mama at Costco."

2. "We have yogurt drinks."

3. "I love mommy and daddy very much."

4. I like to eat..."you're going to guess this one! donuts!"

5. I like to... "make little princess notes for my family."

6. When I grow up, I want to be... "a vet."

7. I don't like... "being sick."

8. What's a good memory you have, something that made you happy? "That we went to church
to have a little party to celebrate Valentine's Day."

9. What is something you like about yourself? "I like that I have a bunny."

10. What's something you're excited for? "Thanksgiving."

11. What is something you want to do when you're 4? "I want to draw the land."

12. What do you like to do on days when we're at home? "I like to go to Kids Club."

13. What is your favorite part of the day? "I like that after naps you can have snacks."

14. Is there anything you've done that you don't ever want to do again? "no."

15. What are you excited to do when summer comes? "have my birthday. i mean, go to school. and play on the playground."

16. What do you love about Xander? "That he's my brother."

17. "I love to give my mommy 3 kisses and give my daddy 9 kisses."

18. What do you love about daddy? "That daddy's my daddy." What's the best about daddy? "That he knows everything."

19. What's the best about mommy? "That you're my mommy." Is there anything about me that's extra special? "Welllllllllll, that you're just...that my daddy knows everything and you know everything too."

20. What is a special blessing that you're thankful to God for? "My family."

21. "I love God."

22. What is something that you get in trouble for? "Nothing." Are you sure? "I'm sure." Try to think, is there anything you get in trouble for? "Not obeying you."

23. What is the worst owie you've ever had? "this owie, bleeding papercut"

24. "Are you going to send the things about me to people you know?" I'm going to put them on your website, so people can read them about you and learn about you. What do you want people to learn about you? "That I have a really bad owie and I love God."

25. This is the last thing we're going to type about you, Libbs. "okay, then you'll get me a donut? Actually, I want to write, I love Grandma Shelley. and Grandpa Mark, and all the rest of my family, oh yeah, yeah, yeah."



But I have to do my own version. 25 TidBits about Libbs. By mom.

1. I have super beautiful highlights and the ladies about town always want to know if they're natural. They're totally natural. I was born with a little circle of white hair and it stayed. Now, I have gorgeous hair and it doesn't cost me $100.

2. I am kind of a coloring and cartoon junkie. If mom would let me, I would spend the whole day sitting in the den, coloring while watching cartoon after cartoon. That's living the dream. Oh, and snacking.

3. Snacks are at 10:00 and 3:00. I really love 10:00 and 3:00.

4. I'm a tricky combination of confident and shy. When I'm with those I know well, I'm quite confident. Large and In Charge. But if I'm in a crowd, or if I don't know you reeeally well, I'm super quiet and reserved. I'm working on that. I don't want to be rude or unkind.

5. I adore Xander. I love that he's my brother. I love to hold his little cheeks in my hands and make silly faces at him, kiss him and hug him and cuddle him. I love to carry him around, but that doesn't work so well.

6. I'm a bigtime watch dog. I keep an eye on my dear little brother and if he so much as looks in the wrong direction, I gasp, "*GASP* MOM! XANDER!"

7. I decided to call Xander, "Bud." It's pretty sweet and endearing. "Come on! It's bathtime, Bud!"

8. I love to talk about things of the Lord. I will drop anything, even cartoons, to read my story Bible, and I'm really curious and have a heart to learn about God.

9. I think, if mom would let me, I could jump rope.

10. I turn 4 in 8 days. I'm counting.

11. I like to decorate, especially my bedroom. If I find or design something particularly lovely, I like to hang it on my wall. Mom put a princess canopy above my bed and I DO feel like a princess when I rest my sweet head.

12. I do not like to rest my sweet head in the afternoons. Every day I tell my mom, "I don't really want to nap." Every. Day.

13. I love to sing and dance. Especially songs about God. Right now, one of my personal faves is "Oh Little Town of Bethelehem." :)

14. I like to play games on the computer. Dora's my favorite. I'm quite computer savvy and can surf the net quite handily. I'm a natural. It's frightening.

15. Kids Club is my favorite favorite place to go. I get to go on Wednesday mornings and I LOVE IT.

16. I will go to preschool in the fall. My parents are still in a state of shock. I am pretty excited, though no one would be surprised if I get cold feet on the first day. Still, I have a great personality for school. I'm going to thrive.

17. I love hanging out with my family. I openly adore them and love to express my thankfulness for them. Saturday is my favorite day because after a loooong week, daddy gets to stay home. He and I make pancakes every Saturday morning, then we all spend the rest of the day together. I also love my extended family, aunts and uncles and grandparents. I like to color pictures or send cards to them whenever mom lets me.

18. I like to write and spell and sound words out. I think it's really super fun.

19. I like my hair down. If it were up to me, I'd never comb my hair and never wear it up.

20. Ice cream is one of my favorite treats. And brownies. And donuts. I have a taste for the good stuff (chocolate). Like my mom.

21. I'm a big helper to my mom during the day. I'm an easy kid. I'm largely obedient, I love to serve, I'm eager to set the table or fold laundry. However, I don't like to pick up my toys. That's BO-RING.

22. I love stickers and tatoos. I'm working on getting over my fear of bandaids. I have a love/hate relationship with bandaids. I love Dora and Care Bears on my bandaids. But I'm afraid they're going to hurt when I pull them off. But, I'm learning that if I need to remove a bandaid I need to get it wet and let it slip off. Still, I worry about it.

23. I love to pick out my clothes. Every day. I have my own sense of style. I like to layer and I don't like things to be "matchy-matchy." My philosophy is this, "if it's one of my favorites, wear it." Mom kind of likes my style so she usually lets me get away with it. :)

24. I would love to be a princess. And a ballerina. And an artist. And apparently a vet, though mom had no idea. I love to wear dresses. I love to have tea parties. I love sparkles and pink nails and perfume and shoes that make a lot of noise. I'm girl, through and through.

25. My mom and dad adore me.

Mommy Misc

Time for a new post, I suppose, so here it is with some of this and some of that. We're in the midst of our V-day celebrating, and I won't post pics until I have taken all of them, and there will be more tomorrow (not surprisingly, since tomorrow is actually Valentine's Day). So, I found some pics of our lives from the past couple of weeks when we weren't prepping for this holiday that I love, and this is what I came up with.

These are Libby's feet in her ballet slippers. She loves them. I bought them for her for Christmas, and then decided she had too many Christmas gifts, so I held them back for her birthday (coming in a few weeks). Well, she found them. :) "Mommmmmy? What is THIS?!" What could I do? Lie? Make her wait? No way. I smiled and told her they were a special gift for her and I haven't regretted it for a moment. They used to have Fancy Nancy medallions in the midst of the yellow poof, but those fell off within 12 hours of wear, but that doesn't bother me one bit. Libby seems to have forgotten. For now.

Xander and his doggie. Woof-woof-woof. (you know, he's at that stage where anytime he hears the word doggie (woof-woof-woof), or sees one, he thinks he's supposed to remind us of what the doggie (woof-woof-woof) says.) He LOVES Barns. I love hearing him tell Barns to sit. He says it with such confidence he often gets an obedient response.

Is he not just precious? Ugh! I love this little man. He is wooing me day by day. If he treats his future wife with the same unashamed adoration as he does his mama, she is going to be one happy lady. And he better.

Any picture I take of Xander must be followed by a picture of Libby. Thankfully he hasn't caught on to the even-steven way of life yet, or I'd never get anything done. :) But let's face it, she's equally adorable and just as sweet. She gets her fair share of smooches, too.

Another post-bath moment. btw, those are Libby's all time favorite jammies. Jammies are a big deal to her, and she spends precious time picking out her bedtime "look" every night. (Those of you who know her eclectic mix and match and layering style will probably not be surprised to hear that she takes the same approach to jammy wearing, unless she's wearing her one piece jams, "that zip down to the toes.") She loves them.

Thank you, Great-Grandma Sharon, for the cute little apron for Libby (and for mine as well) that protects her and her eclectic little outfits from the occasional drip. And, it makes her feel grown up, too. :)

Jammy Time

I love you two.

All You Can Do Is Try...

Me: making meatloaf, having removed all fine jewels
Libbigator: Mom, can I hold your special love wedding ring from daddy? Can I hold it for you?
Me: hmmm. Okay. You can hold it but be very careful with it, it's very special to mama.
Libby: Okay. I will try not to drop it in the trash can.

Every Story Whispers His Name

I can't help but make a recommendation. I don't do this often. In fact, I don't know if I've ever done this. Well, except for Libby's recommended reads. :) And this is another one. Only, it's more than a recommended read. It deserves more than to be part of a list on the margin of the page.

So, let me tell you how much we love Libby's newest storybible. It's called the Jesus Storybook Bible. It's phenomenal. This storybible is a delight for Libby to read through, and she loves it almost as much as Brian and I do. In fact, it's not uncommon for me to hear Brian at the end of the day, "What!? You're this far already?! You and mommy read all these stories without me?" Neither of us wants to miss out on storybible reading. :)

The storybible is written by Sally Lloyd-Jones. The stories are so very well written, recounting not only the Bible stories many of us are so familiar with, but telling them and elaborating on the context, and showing us how Jesus fits into each page in the scriptures. Lloyd-Jones helps little readers (and big readers alike) imagine and better understand the eerie feeling in the garden after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, and a girl who is hungry after being brought back to life by Jesus, and God's frightened people standing at the edge of the sea, as well as God's purposes and the foreshadowing of our Savior. Listen to this excerpt,

"What were God's people going to do? In front of them was a big sea. It was so big there was no way around it. But there was no way through it -- it was too deep. They didn't have any boats so they couldn't sail across. And they couldn't swim across because it was too far and they would drown. And they couldn't turn back because Pharaoh was chasing them. They could see the flashing swords now, glinting in the baking sun, and the dust clouds, and chariot after scary chariot surging towards them. So they did the only thing there was left to do -- PANIC!
"We're going to die!" they shrieked.
"Don't be afraid!" Moses said.
"But there's nothing we can do!" they screamed.
"God knows you can't do anything!" Moses said. "God will do it for you. Trust him. And watch!"
"But there's no way out!" they cried.
"God will make a way!" Moses said.
"Another minute and it would have been over. But then the strangest thing happened."

Isn't it exciting to read? :) This storybible is written to help the reader see the Bible in its entirety as a puzzle, and Jesus as the missing piece that makes it all fit together. And from the Old Testament through the New, Lloyd-Jones reminds us that Jesus is a part of the story; that every story bears his name. What's that, you say? What did Jesus have to do with the parting of the Red Sea?

...continuing on in the story of the parting of the Red Sea, from Exodus 14-15
"God's people were safe. They danced and laughed and sang and thanked God -- when there had been no way out, God had made a way.
Many years later, once again, God was going to make a way where there was no way.
From the beginning, God's children had been running from him and hiding. God knew his children could never be happy without him. But they couldn't get back to him by themselves -- they were lost, they didn't know the way back.
But God knew the way. [JESUS!!]
And one day he would show them."

Now, I will take one or two lines to point out that this is a storybible and not a Bible, which is worth noting because the words on these pages are not God breathed, they are not inspired as scripture is (2 Tim 3:16 "All scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.") And this storybible shouldn't serve as a substitute for reading the scripture. Lloyd-Jones is taking liberties, as does any storybible author. But, as believing parents who have read our share of story Bibles, we believe that her interpretation is faithful to the details revealed to us in Scripture (and surprisingly, many storybibles we've read aren't) and it seems that where Lloyd-Jones supplements, she does so in a way that supports the larger theme in scripture: Jesus as the centrality to the storyline.

And it must be mentioned, the illustrations are phenomenal. Jago is the illustrator and we're just amazed by his work. Every page is brilliant with color, with fascinating and almost childlike sketches. That said, we do have to remind Libby that we don't KNOW what it would have looked like when God spoke the moon into existence, and we don't KNOW that Jairus' daughter had beautiful curly brown hair (Libby LOVEs her hair in the illustration:) But, we do know that the illustrations are fun to look at, and that God's miracles would have been even more breathtaking in person.

So, all that to say, check out the Jesus Storybook Bible. Your little one, if he or she is attentive enough to sit and listen to a number of words on a page, will surely love it. And I would imagine you will too. This book is well put together, and it's educational and helpful to those who may have never read through the Bible, to those who know some of scripture and are familiar with various stories but couldn't necessarily put their finger on "the big picture", and to those who are well versed in scripture and appreciate a storybible that holds to the truths laid before us in the Word of God, in particular, the truths that our God is the author of history, merciful, all knowing and all powerful, and the same thousands of years ago as He is today. Specifically, the God of the Old Testament is the same as the God of the New, and his works from the beginning were deliberately laid into place with a foreshadowing of his redemption of his people through Jesus Christ our Savior!

**The excerpts I gave you are from the storybible, and each excerpt was off one page in the book. I mention that so you can see about how many words are on each page. It's not a storybible with one or two sentences of summation, it's a bit more involved. BUT, I think you'll be impressed with how the text captivates your little one, while the illustrations give them more than enough to contemplate until you're ready to turn the page. If you'd like to see more, click on the link to the Westminster Bookstore, which allows you to see 10 pages from within.**

Our Little Libby

L: (waking up from her nap) Mom, is it snack time? Can I watch a cartoon and have a snack?
M: Yes, it's snack time. And let me see what cartoons are on right now.
L: No, wait. I want to watch the new president. It's more important!

Ya Hungry, Barns?

Okay, to most of you, this is going to be a boring video. I mean, even I can see how it's boring. But, to a mom and a dad, it's one of those moments that kind of tickles you. It's 30 seconds in the day of our lives. 30 seconds just watching our son think, try to figure something out, and make an attempt at being a big boy, doing something that apparently, he's been observing from afar.

Two Kids One Chair

Yes, this cupcake has feet.

No, that is not Xander's chair. But, I let him eat lunch on it ONE time, when little miss Carla sat in Xander's seat, and since then he's decided he really, really likes it. He nods as he tells me "sit. sit." and climbs into the chair he longs to claim as his own.

Hudson Turned Three

Hudson turned three and Brittany hosted a fabulous party to celebrate his little life. Like any good construction crew, the kiddos assembled houses, ate sack lunches, and took a little break before they were back at it to open presents. It was a great party, most of all because we could gather to celebrate our little Hudson James. Happy Birthday H!

Hudson grins, Jack Libby and Kate labor away on their construction.

I LOVE this picture. So cute.

Xander eats his sack lunch on break.

Libby, Andrew, Kate and Jonah. Chow.

I also love this pic. Very Cute.

Here's the crew! Lookin' good. Happy Birthday smiley guy!

Movin'

Look at my little man. :) He's walking. That's what he does. He gets where he needs to go. And you know, crawling used to get him where he needed to go. Crawling was sufficient for a long time. Until... Xander realized that walking allowed him to carry things wherever he needed to go. hmmmm. Now that changes things. So here he is, with a double ear infection and eyes nearly swollen shut, walking like a manimal, taking his alltime favorite nalgne with him. Everwhere.

And then his adoring big sister snatched him up, much to his delight, and gave him some special Libby love. Have I mentioned that we're in the midst of a really sweet season with these kids? They've both been so dear lately!

Thank You Aunt Wendy!

THIS is one of the coolest bath toys. Thank you Aunt Wendy.
(what you can maybe not necessarily see, is that the blue part is full of water, and two little people sail in their little sailboats on the blue water, the gate opens and closes, the very bottom of the picture is a cave with a waterfall, and sometimes the poor sailors find themselves under the waterfall...)
Oh, and while I have your attention, let me warn you. Stay away from bath crayons. They are every bit as evil as I suspected they might be. I avoided using them for a loong time, I caved and gave them a try, and I regret it wholeheartedly.