17/52

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Elise:  All about cartwheels this week!  Uncle Hayden and Josh have both taken time to show her their skills and give pointers, too.  (Sadly, I'm too scared I'll break myself!)  Yesterday she declared she was "really getting the hang of it!"  ...and I have to agree, she's improved a ton over the past two weeks.  

Caleb:  After a pretty major wipeout, Caleb was in the kitchen attending to his wounds and Eden came right over to check on him.  He is always so very sweet and gentle with her, it really seemed like she wanted to comfort him...though it also became apparent that she was interested in the ice pack...either way, it was very cute.

Lucas:  Always balancing, swinging, jumping off or climbing on something...my little acrobat!

Eden:  If you look very closely I think you can find the two top teeth that have made their way out this week.  She's gonna look so grown up once they're fully in!

16/52

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Elise:  Love these girls and their beautiful smiles!  This picture makes me thankful for my wonderful sisters and aunts, too.  

Caleb:  He had such a great time working on building projects with Uncle Hayd!  Here they are working on an "impromptu jail" built with pallets that will eventually be used in Makari and Sote's tree house.

Lucas (1):  Wish you could have seen these two going from one grand adventure to the next.  Cousins are the BEST!

(2) Working together with Uncle Grant during a pretty intense game of "Guess Who?" (One of the new games we "discovered" during our visit.) 

Eden:  Won't be long until these two (and Finn and Zia!) are running around and having big adventures of their own...for now, though, sitting amidst a pile of toys on the kitchen floor is just perfect!

Spring Break!

I made a spontaneous decision to take a solo trek north with the kids to spend part of Elise's spring break with our families and I'm so glad we did.  We missed Josh a lot, but he stayed home to finish up his work for the semester and get things ready for his upcoming finals.  He got a lot of work done while things were quiet at home and we soaked up the cuddles, games, trampoline time, playgrounds, and meals with some of our very favorite people!

An impromptu building project with Uncle Hayd - the boys were in heaven!

Lunch in Stage One of the soon-to-be backyard fort of Makari and Sote'.

These two were just about as precious as could be going from diggers to trains to puddles of mud in their all day adventures together!

A beautiful day to enjoy lunch and a walk to Hanes Park with Grandma and Grandpa! 

Oh how I love to go up in a swing!

Mini-cousin time!

Fun in the dirt in Grammie's garden...guess we should have put them to work!

Game night classic and a little Easter gift from Grammie and Granddad!  Lucas woke up the next morning and the first thing he said was "Can we play 'Don't let the bear fall in the water' again?"

On our way out of town we stopped to see Lydia at her new job and she treated us to lunch.  Thanks Lyd!

Thank you dear family for warmly welcoming us and caring for us so well...even with only a split second warning that we were on our way!  We had a wonderful time!

11 months old

'Tis spring again and this little lady is getting so big!  Sadly, this month Eden had an ear infection and cut her top front teeth, so she's been a little more clingy and little less cheery than usual.  Still, there's no stopping her almost constant desire to wave and say "hi" to everyone who will smile and respond to her!   She loves when we chase her around with big stomping feet and peek-a-boo continues to be a hit as well.  The big kids are still faithful and amazing at sitting down and playing with her and are usually patient when she plays the role of "monster baby" and destroys whatever it is they've been constructing or playing with on the floor.  The dishwasher and fridge remain her favorite hangout places around the house...though I don't let her play in the fridge for long and her acrobatics on the open dishwasher door suggest that I should probably put an end to that game as well!  

Sweet Eden, you bring joy to our days and we can't get enough of your cuddles, giggles and waves.  Soon you'll be one and the next chapter of our adventures with you will begin!

15/52

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Elise:  Elise and one of her best friends, Z.  We had such a nice time enjoying her sweet class during their Easter party this week! 

Caleb:  This boy has been begging me for months to serve duck for dinner...He first had it last summer in Sicily during one of our "last hurrah" dinners at Becca and Elliott's and he was in love!   I have a strange fear of roasting birds AND dark meat, so this was a labor of love for me.  Thankfully, Caleb, Lucas and Josh devoured the whole duck while Elise and I enjoyed the orange hoisin glaze on our rice and veggies!

Lucas:  Josh was teaching him how to wink and we had the most hilarious time watching him contort his face trying to keep one eye closed and one eye open.

Eden:  Look who fell sound asleep at the park with Grandma and Grandpa!  I guess if someone was swinging me gently for half an hour on a warm sunny afternoon, I would probably do the same thing.  

14/52

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Elise:  Love finding my girl curled up with a book.

Caleb:  This boy is the very sweetest big brother to Eden.  She practically tackled him to taste his lollipop and he very patiently shared more than a few licks with her.  

Lucas:  My sweet boy who rarely sits still!  I love finding him quiet and still with a book or legos or trains.

Eden:  So many new tricks!  She was so proud and kept saying "Hi, hi, hi" to get my attention."

Art!

This week we were inspired by some new drawing paper and water color pencils that Caleb received for his birthday!  Caleb spent an entire afternoon drawing and painting and we had so much fun that later in the evening we enjoyed our Friday night dessert and family time with lemon bars and drawing books.