Happy 3rd Birthday, Andrew!

Today is Andrew's 3rd birthday. Last night, I put balloons on his chair and streamers around the kitchen. Elbert and I went into his bedroom while he was sleeping and put balloons and streamers around his bed. We woke him up singing "Happy Birthday" this morning. He was excited to see all the decorations. I made him cinnamon rolls for a special birthday breakfast. Seeing all the special treatment Andrew got, Nathan's comment was, "I don't feel really special today."

Here are a few pictures from breakfast:

Andrew Wrote His Name

While Nathan was in preschool this morning, I had "school" with Andrew. I've been trying to come up with activities that we can do together while Evan is napping. Today, I taught him how to write the letters in his name. He was so excited and wanted to keep practicing.

Here is the first time Andrew wrote his name:

It's hard to believe that Andrew will be 3 tomorrow!

Nathan's Prayer on Sunday

At the very beginning of our church service, we have a Prelude. It's a time when the pianist plays and we as a congregation pray to prepare our hearts for worship. It's a silent time of prayer, but to train the kids, we sometimes whisper prayers in their ears. Lately, Nathan has wanted to whisper prayers to us during this time. Here was his prayer last Sunday:

"Thank you for our freedom that we can pray and do all these wonderful things before God. Amen."

First Steps!

Evan took his first step on Friday while I was reading to Nathan and Andrew. Evan was standing by himself just a little ways away. All on his own, he took one step and came over to where we were. He was so proud of himself. He took another step on Saturday for Elbert to see. And, at church on Sunday, they said he took 2 steps by himself.

Ready or not, here Evan comes...!

Pirate Ships

Elbert took Nathan and Andrew to Lowe's this morning for their Build and Grow session. This morning, they made a pirate ship. Both of our boys are enamored with pirates right now, so this was the perfect (FREE) activity!

They gave each child an apron with a nametag and a pair of safety glasses to take home. They were so excited to come home and show me their creations. Elbert said it was really fun.



Evan loved putting the safety glasses on when they came home!

Three Hats are Better Than One

Our Morning Science Experiment

I had Elbert bring home 4 pipets from school. I filled up ice cube trays with water and food coloring. Nathan and Andrew combined colored water to see what new colors they could make. They both had a great time experimenting (and learning). Then, they wanted to "paint" paper with the colored water. They stayed occupied at the table for 45 minutes!

One Tough Boy!

I had to take Evan in for a blood test yesterday because the doctor wanted to check his lead levels. He has shown no signs of anything wrong...this is simply a precautionary test. I thought they would prick his heel like they did when he had his bilirubin checked just after birth. Oh no...they drew blood out of his arm like an adult!

I held him on my lap, and the woman felt around for his veins. He squirmed a bit and fussed slightly when she held his arm down. But, when she stuck the needle in, he didn't make a sound! Then, she had to dig the needle around in his arm to find the vein...still not a peep from him. I was shocked. I know how much it hurts me when they have to dig around to find the right spot. At the end, the woman said, "Wow...you're tough!" She was amazed that he didn't cry.

Here's Evan with his Bugs Bunny bandaid.

I Got My First Tooth! (Finally)

Evan's first tooth came through on Wednesday. It's his bottom right tooth. He's celebrating in the picture.

Great Morning Hair

This is from about a week ago. Nathan and Andrew had such great morning hair!

Nathan's Picture of Mom

Nathan drew a picture of me this morning at school. He sealed it in an envelope and handed it to me as soon as I picked him up.

When he was describing the picture to me, Nathan said, "She looks kind of mean, but she's not mean. I'm sorry for making you look mean."

He must really like the punch of the ballerina because he has used it on every single art project from school. I especially like that she is dancing upside down!

Missing His Brother

This morning:

Mom: "I need to go get Evan so we can get ready for school."

Andrew: "For Nathan?"

Mom: "Yes."

Andrew: "Then, I will miss him."

Nathan: "I know you'll miss me, but I'll come back."

Andrew: "After we come pick you up?"

Nathan: "Yes".

First Day of Preschool

Today was Nathan's first day of preschool. He is going Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:45-11:15am. He woke up this morning all excited and ready to go. Here are a few pictures of him with his backpack before we left.



It's a good thing that we packed an extra outfit in his backpack because he went down a slide during recess time and slid right into a puddle!

When I picked him up, his teacher told me that halfway through the morning, he announced to her, "I'm having a good first day of school."

Teachable Moments - A Merciful God

I found a link for a free subscription to a kids Lego magazine. Nathan loves it! Each issue comes with a small comic book. I dutifully read it to him even though I think the Bionicle comics are pretty stupid.

Yesterday, a part of the comic was talking about how one of the Bionicles was offering mercy to another Bionicle that he had captured. I asked Nathan if he knew what mercy was. He said no. So, I told him that mercy was not giving somebody something that they deserve. I wasn't intending to take it any further than that, but Nathan said, "Oh...like God. He's merciful. He gives us things that we don't deserve." Talk about a teachable moment...

The Magic Age

Elbert has a computer game called Starcraft. A few months ago, Elbert let Nathan and Andrew watch a little introductory video for the game on the computer. Nathan asked how old he had to be to play. Elbert told him he had to be twelve.

A week ago, Elbert was drinking a Mountain Dew. Nathan was fascinated by it. We don't let the kids have pop, so he asked how old he had to be to drink it. Again, the answer was twelve.

At breakfast yesterday, Nathan and I were talking about weight. He wanted to know how old he would be when he was one hundred pounds. I told him that I thought he would be eleven or twelve.

He immediately connected the three events and excitedly exclaimed, ""You know what Andrew? Twelve is a magic age, I think. When I'm twelve, I can play Starcraft, drink Mountain Dew, and weigh one hundred pounds!"