What Elias Has Been Up To

 

Late night snacks.  

Getting some cute baby curls in the back. 

 

So. Much. Reading. 

 

Reading books. Constantly. This one is his current favorite. He prefers animal pictures above everything else. 
 

Riding Aunt Beth's horse.  

Elias' favorite animals at the zoo are the flamingos and turtles. 

Reading books with our good friend and now soon to be neighbor!!!  

The animal pages. 

What Lewis Has Been Up To

 

Sending funny faces to Aunt Beth.  

Building pet stores.  

Building "beds".  

Playing street sweeper with Nicholas.  

Wearing his backpack (finally).  

Helping his baby brother. 

 Getting more and more brave around the peacocks. 

What Augustine Has Been Up To

 

Being super brave at the zoo and asking Nancy to get the alligator out so he can feel its skin. 
 

Reading to his baby brother.  

Holding any baby that visits us.  

Being super brave again at the zoo and feeding the goats. (He couldn't do this for years because the feed has soy in it, but now he can!)

New Rug

It's a big deal when you have a baby walking and falling and crawling and playing on the floor. We spend a lot of time down on the floor and I was really tired of being cold. I was really tired of the frayed and curling corners due to all the vacuuming. I was really tired of the dingy colors and stains. 

I decided to save up for a new rug, but it was taking forever. I had saved $0 for the $300 rug I was eyeing at IKEA, so I was reluctantly planning to use my birthday money toward it. It was big, 8 x 10, to maximize playing space, and maybe keep the furniture from sliding around, and maybe keep toys from constantly going under the couch, and make less mopping area. 

Last week before we all got the GI bug the little boys and I were making a target run...maybe that's where we got the bug. There were some great clearance aisles (don't you love perfect timing?!) and I found a 7 x 10 rug on clearance for $80!!!! I just love a great bargain. 

 

I don't love it, and I don't hate it. I quickly realized that it's going to be ruined by the time we are done with it, so I'm really grateful that I 1) didn't spend $300 on it 2) don't love it. 

It's very soft and comfy. It also keeps me a *little* warmer when we sit on the floor to play. 

Have I mentioned that Lewis was spinning on it so long when we laid it out that he made himself puke? Yep. (See merry go round incident story a few posts back.)

Adventure Day

 

Grandpa Burda joined Logan and the boys on a day trip to Kearney and Hastings.    

They enjoyed many museums, sandwiches at Firehouse Subs, and good company.           

They had hoped to spot some Sandhill cranes, but unfortunately they didn't have any sightings. 

Thanks for a great day Grandpa!

Teeth

 

Elias got two molars and a canine last week. Sheesh. The last two nights he's slept so well that I've been waking up after stretches of sleep lasting four hours. FOUR HOURS!!!!! Do you know how fast the night goes when you sleep that many hours without interruption?! He's eating more again too. So much that I get worried he will burst, but so far so good. Praying we can finally move out of the baby food stage finally. He prefers puréed foods still, and is a bit limited due to intolerances, so the transition isn't easy. But that's nothing new for us, so I'm trying to un-block the memories of what I used to feed Lewis as far as table food so Elias gets some variety. He still can't have dairy, avocado, bananas, or broccoli. We've added chickpeas to the list as well after a failed attempt with hummus and baby teether biscuits made with chickpea flour. 

Mish Life

Every year missionaries come and go. Some years we meet new ones who become life long friends, like Ashley. She's been a blessing since day one, four years ago. The boys love her and so do Logan and I.

 

This will be her last year on the team with Logan. But we won't have to miss her because she's staying here to live, and will be living in a house a block away from us!!!! We couldn't be more excited for such a great new neighbor!