Easter!

A sampling of photos from our Easter weekend....James heard the magic words "wash dishes" and scooted his chair over to the sink at Grandma and Grandpa's house. He LOVES to splish splash. What a pill.

I know I've said it before--18 month-olds come with LoAdS of personality!

James really enjoyed shooting hoops with his daddy.

And now I'm joining the scores of parents who must post Easter-egg hunt photos. Here's James with his basket--not quite sure what to expect. My parents, Mark, and I made quite the ordeal out of it, with two cameras and a video camera to document the whole process.

James was really into it--for the first six eggs or so.

But 12 eggs later, he was starting to fizzle. I could just imagine him thinking, 'why are they making me clean up all these eggs?'

Two baskets were required to hold all of his eggs--a good sign that there were a few too many. It was fun, though!

Miss Annie

James and I got to spend several afternoons with my brand new niece Annie last week. What a blessing that was! She's (obviously) adorable and turns seven weeks tomorrow. We were so glad to finally meet her!

What's not to love?

We've had such a big week. Between a huge consignment sale (that I volunteered and shopped at multiple times) and the wonderful blessing of my brother Joel and his family visiting we've had a lot going on! My mom (and James) and I also got to babysit sweet baby Annie a few times. During those times I snatched a few moments here and there to take pictures of this sweet little girl. Okay, I took a few hundred pictures this week. At one point I believe James was feeling a tad left out and more or less asked me to take his picture! (a first--trust me). He even posed and sat really still for this picture above. What's not to love?

Annie will have her own post, coming soon. But here's one picture of her from earlier in the week, at exactly 6 weeks old.

James was a little curious about Annie. We've been practicing her name a lot in the weeks leading up to meeting her and he does a pretty good job pronouncing it!

Here he is going in for a cousin smooch.

I'd have to say that Uncle Joel is wildly popular with James. He lets James hold his I-Phone. That's a pretty big deal, considering I don't usually let him touch my own wimpy cell phone. Uncle Joel's phone plays music! We've so enjoyed spending time with you Joel, Elizabeth, and Annie!

The Park

I've been meaning to post new pictures for weeks and just feel quite behind. James is VERY into the park lately! He loves to run free outside and spent hours outside over the weekend. These photos are from two weekends ago.

On the move

Well, it's too tiny. I'm just still figuring out how to make photo "collages" and post them. James is 17 months today and keepin' busy! He has learned to climb up on top of things; the coffee table (a no-no), kitchen chairs (also discouraged), the glider in the living room (dangerous because it moves), etc. He's a little monkey! He also popped through a 12th tooth...phew! He's finally got a 'mouthful'.

My New Niece

It really seems like yesterday that Mark and I were sitting in a Chinese restaurant, visiting my brother Joel and his wife Elizabeth. I remember they were a little giddy and excited to share with us that they had just found out they were expecting a baby. Although they don't live very near, it has been so fun to wait in anticipation with them for their sweet baby girl to arrive. Yesterday afternoon their little Annie was born. She and Elizabeth are both doing so well. Yesterday afternoon, my mom came over and we were able to talk with the three of them via Skype. I'm thankful for this technology but it made me want to be there even more!

These photos aren't the greatest quality but I think you can see the joy beaming from their happy new-parent faces. I like to think little Annie was giving me a smile. :)

This was their reaction to me saying, "Ooh, I think her mouth is moving." They didn't want to miss a moment!

And this is what is making me the biggest mush right now. My brother is a daddy. Can you see how proud he is of her? Mark even mentioned something last night about it after we finished Skyping with them. He's just radiantly proud of his beautiful daughter.

I don't doubt for a second that Joel with be an awesome father. Growing up we have had an exceptional example in our own dad and I expect Joel to follow in his footsteps.

Elizabeth, you too, will be a wonderful mother! Little Annie is so blessed!

Play "Date"

My friend Kristen and I often tease that our two little ones will get together some day. A few days ago we had an impromptu play date. Elianna is now big enough to interact more with James. How fun!

Seriously? This little one is so gorgeous!