lately, celebrating 1 year and the beach

before we get into all the festivities around our baby girl turning 1, i'd like to share a little about this guy and all the fun things he's up to. his sponge of a brain never ceases to surprise us, almost daily. about a month ago he started counting in spanish from 1 to 10. it has been one of his favorite things to do for the last few weeks. i'm pretty sure we have "dora" to thank for this. but his teachers should probably get some credit too. his teachers have also taught him sooo many songs...he comes home singing a new one daily. listening to buxton sing is one of the highlights of my days right now. it's beyond precious.

elin's developmental highlight is learning how to shop:

on the sunday before elin's birthday, we had a little celebration...just the 4 of us. i made carrot cupcakes and maple cream cheese icing, and of course let the birthday girl assist.

i colored a little bit of the icing just to add a little pink and purple "girly-ness".

elin's big gift was a kitchen. it fits perfectly in our new sun room and the color and vintage look to it make it a nice add, instead of a huge eye-sore.

she loves it.

buxton may love it more, and it has really inspired some creativity in him with all that he's "made" for us so far.

finger lickin yummy

one day when elin is sneaking out 2nd story windows via a drop rope ladder and other things i did as a teenager that should not be written on the internet, i will appreciate a documentation of how amazingly easy she was her first year.

the short and sweet of it is that this baby nursed easy and well, took bottles easy and well and never had a preference for either from day 1. she started sleeping 8 hours at 9 weeks and since then has maybe woken 3 nights total in the middle of the night. and those 3 times were due to illness. and she's always gone to bed easy, not needing to be rocked (although I do some nights). she literally lays down and is like "night night", every night. this was really a blessing when buxton was adjusting to her being part of the night routine...you know the one that involves me being alone with them 5 nights a week (until Ben comes home at 8 to read to buxton).

she is always happy and never meets a stranger. just this week an older man that is a long-time customer at the fish camp asked to hold her. she went right to him. she is a lover, and her hugs and the way she lays her head on my shoulder sends tingles through my body. God gave us this precious child a little sooner than we expected, but He knew what he was doing, and I thank Him every day.

in between our mini bday celebrations, we took a trip to the cleveland county fair. it was just what you expect a fair to be and the kids loved it. buxton's cousin, hunter (3) came with howdy, doris, and aunt bridget. so most of our experience there was about them.

check out this bungee thing buxton got to do. it looks like something a 2.5 year old shouldn't be doing. but i assure you it was safe.

he loved it.

does this say "fair" or what:

on elin's real birthday, the 4th, we had some family to the fish camp to eat.

i used some left over cupcakes for this fancy presentation, and also had a store bought pound cake. we don't do "fancy" for 1, well when do i ever do "fancy".

she was as happy as could be and soaked up all the attention from everyone.

this girl loves her daddy so much that she usually starts to cry when he leaves the room. and elin has put that sparkle in ben's eyes that only little girls can give their daddy's.

and now to the beach.

last weekend we were in hilton head with mom and bill. mom had a work conference. we were supposed to spend 3 nights, but the lack of time we actually got outdoors sent us packing a day early. it was so windy. not really rainy, just windy.

can you tell by buxton's hair or how he's squinting his eyes?

or perhaps by the white sand being blown down the beach? or buxton's yellow truck that he's running to save?

i took this shot of ben and buxton playing on the shoreline from our hotel balcony. they came in soaked and covered in sand...like sand in places it shouldn't be when you are fully clothed. or maybe you shouldn't be fully clothed playing in the sand that is blowing 90mph.

i took elin out there for a little bit. we tried to find cover behind a sand dune. it didn't really work. here she is trying to eat the sand off her feet. like the headband? it keeps her hair from her face so well, even if it makes her look like an aerobics instructor.

so we hung out indoors. hit the indoor pool once, along with 50 other kids.

and went to the marina area where there is an awesome park

great views

live music

boats to watch

and cute babies.

we also attempted a bike ride but ben's tire went flat right after we started, and elin's helmet was making her angry, so we got a blurry photo to remember it by.

almost 1

we are 1 week and 2 days away from elin's first birthday. as i go back and look at the last 12 months in pictures i am overwhelmed by a bittersweet feeling of happiness and sadness at the same time. everyone says how quickly the first year goes by and i think the more kids you have, the quicker it goes. i'm so thankful for every second of this baby girl's life and feel blessed to tears that God brought her into our lives. she is my heart and the affect she has on my heart brings me closer to Jesus every day. she has the same affect on Ben and watching him interact with her may be the most precious thing i've ever seen. the devotion in our "The Love Dare" book last night talked about how a family is not only a blessing from God, but honors him as well.

here is an excerpt that really spoke to me:

"Our oneness and companionship reflect His union in the Trinity. Our purity honors His holiness. Our procreation reflects Him as Creator of life. Our love is founded in the truth that God is love. And our love provides a living portrait of the gospel -Christ's unconditional love for His people, His church, His bride (revelation 21:9).

i highly recommend this book, by the way.

now here are some pics of our sweet ones.

watching daddy and buxton mow the grass:

walking old man zion before bed:

i love that my children have gotten to know this dog that has been with me for 12 years, even if they don't remember him later on.

hangin outside before dinner with papa on our usual wednesday night dinner with him:

elin loves her papa:

had to use the bobcat and camera lens to get them in a picture together:

4 years, potty time and an 11 month muffin

friday marked 4 years of marriage for ben and i. we went to dinner and a movie to mark this special occasion. it's hard to believe that it's been 4 years and we are so grateful for how full life has been. we are continually learning about life, love, parenthood, and our faith. i feel so blessed that ben is my partner to walk through life with and God made him so perfectly for me. ben and i have accepted the challenge to read "the love dare day by day". this daily devotional for couples is said to do wonders for your walk with God as a couple. it's a big deal for us to pursue something like this and i'm really excited about what's in store for us.

a little pool time this weekend:

and a little potty time. buxton is starting to get the hang of using the potty, but his favorite place to "go" is outside:

(sorry for the butt shot, but what a cute butt it is!)

elin is 11 months old!

she's in 18 month clothing. with those thighs, you can see why:

cruising the furniture...maybe walking in a month?

and with her 5 tooth coming in, she does a lot of this on this pine trunk:

here is elin giving buxton one of her many open mouth kisses of the day. kissing is one of her favorite things to do!

heavy equals heavenly

Lots of loved ones are grieving this week due to the passing of a wonderful woman yesterday. My heart has been very heavy knowing that many of my close friends are hurting right now. I've been praying a lot for them and being aware of how I'm so much more in touch with the fragility of life due to Sydney's passing, in hopes that I will hold on to that feeling a long time. It's amazing what tragedy does to us. We really take a look at living life to the fullest and where we are on our path with Jesus.

When Sydney's husband, Todd, updated her Caring Bridge site, the Lord spoke through him, which in turn spoke to the hearts of his readers. I've witnessed this with 2 other friends that also wrote so perfectly and so in tune with God's walk with them during their suffering, when experiencing major tragedy. Those 2 friends did not lose their loved ones and it was undoubtedly the power of prayer that saved them. Thousands of people praying, reading the most perfect and eloquent words of the authors that undoubtedly had the Holy Spirit running through their veins. So I feel blessed to have a heavy heart and live in a world with suffering, because it makes me focus on Jesus. And therefore I'm able to pass that love for Jesus to my children.

Last night at the dinner table we asked Buxton to bless our food, hoping we would recite the "Johnny Apple seed" blessing we always sing. Oh how we were surprised when he started singing a different blessing, which he obviously knew very well, and was very proud to share with us. After a sad day this was my silver lining.

And as I listen to Buxton talk himself to sleep right now, he is naming all the people in his life that "Jesus loves". Most nights we sing "Jesus Loves Me" and then name everyone that Jesus loves. Usually everyone in our family and all our friends are named. Some people are named twice cause he forgets he said them. Tonight he listed Grace, Aunt Carla, Uncle Ed, Hunter, Wynnie and Bobby....and then he started talking about trucks or something. But witnessing him grasp the concept of love and attach Jesus to the same thought is more heart warming than I could ever describe.

I like to think that 2.5 years of reading Todd's CB updates impacted my personal path with Jesus, which has impacted Buxton in a positive way. My dear Amy affects my path with Jesus in the same positive way. She too is an amazing writer and a strong woman of faith. I've told Amy many times that her battle with cancer has already affected so many people in their walk with the Lord.

These are the words to Buxton's blessing, which we got on video tonight before bed:

God our Father
God our Father
We thank Thee
We thank Thee
For our many blessings
For our many blessings
Amen
Amen

wedding weekend

mom and bill are married! we had a great weekend in blowing rock celebrating their marriage.

they each had their closest friend and spouse stand with them.

this is bill's son, andy with his wife, jenny and their son, emmett. they live in denver, co. andy is one of my 3 new step-brothers!

sharing a laugh from a toast:

we are really happy for my mom and welcome bill into our family with open arms!

and for good measure, a shot of our almost 11 month old baby girl...who is saying "uh oh", giving kisses (open mouth of course), cruising the furniture and getting into everything, eating everything, and who is still the sweetest little muffin ever (ok big muffin).

a 10 month muffin, friends and a big boy bed

elin is 10 months today! if i could bottle this time in a jar i would for any price. she is so very sweet, cuddly and always happy. eating and sleep (except at daycare) come really easy for her too and she's grown partial to table food over baby food. she has 2 teeth on the top coming in to join the 2 on the bottom. and i'll bet that there will be 2 more on the top soon. i made my first trip to purchase hair clips the other day and loved every minute. her hair is long enough to hang in her eyes in the front and i'm hoping that starting the hair clips early will get her used to them so she won't pull them all out down the road.

this is elin in her partial down dog. just had to post it so everyone could check out those thighs!

here are buxton, vivan, wynnie and elin after some recent time in the pool. vivan is seriously almost as big as elin! it's so fun to have them all together.

since getting buxton to eat is an everyday challenge i had to post this picture of one night that he actually cleaned his plate. he had whole wheat noodles covered in a butternut squash puree, topped with cheese, and some chicken. i've been using the Deceptively Delicious cookbook to hide veggies in his food and i promise you he acts so much better when he eats balanced meals. one thing he loves is applesauce. so i add pureed beets, cinnamon and a little stevia and he eats it like crazy. homemade pizza with spinach is always a sure thing too.

it takes a lot of time and energy to focus on Buxton's eating, but it pays off when he cleans his plate and i know that everything he ate was good for him. another thing i've learned is that eating before 6pm usually leads to more food being eaten and less tantrums. no i don't have a personal chef that gets dinner on the table before 6 when i work until 5. but i would love one!

here is a quick shot of buxton's new big boy room. he's done so well in his new bed and seems very proud of it.