Easter already!

Gabe's 6th birthday party

Joy's 1st birthday party!

Chicago

Time sure flies by! I am eagerly waiting for summer vacation, when time is on my side. :)

We had a great time exploring the Chicago over Mid-winter break. Joy turned one the following week on Feb. 26. Unfortunately we were all sick, but we celebrated anyway! Joy enjoyed her cake and all the attention.

Joy has grown so much! She started walking at 10 and a half months and she hasn't slowed down since. She is full of new vocabulary. She says more, no no no, uh oh, Todd, nana, papa, and kitty. We think she says Gabe and bottle, although we are not encouraging that one because we want to get rid of them soon! She is drinking from a sippy cup like a pro, and she happily eats table food. She started sleeping through the night a day or two after I switched her to whole milk. I'm so thankful.

Now she is thrilled to go outside or even in our screened-in porch. It's so exciting to see her experience the world around her. She has an amazing degree of empathy. She has comforted crying babies by giving kisses in our church nursery and patted her 5 year old cousin Owen tonight when he was crying. She has been throwing kisses for months, but we never get sick of it because it is so cute! She also has a temper, but we only see this when she is tired or not feeling well. We are in love with this beautiful little girl.

Gabe turned six on March 31. He is an amazing little boy. He received so many legos as gifts and assembled them all within two days. He alternates between pretending to be Indiana Jones and Link from Zelda (a video game). He's got great costumes and a great imagination!

Seth and Megan are exceptional students. Now that they are in the grade I teach, I can see how responsible, friendly, and hard working they are. We always thought they were fabulous, of course, but they make me proud everyday at school. Sometimes it's easy to forget this though on the ride home because their arguing in the car drives me crazy!!

We are truly blessed by our children. God is good. All the time.