He "slept through the night"!

If you consider 5:30 a great time to start your day, that is (like Grandma Balfour :). I think Joshua is making up for his recent daytime restlessness (my latest theory is that his larger dose of thrush medication has begun upsetting his tummy, because I'm certainly not eating anything offensive! Wish I WAS, but I'm NOT) by giving Mom an unbroken night's rest. Whatever the reason, I'm grateful. He's back asleep and I decided to seize the day and what else? Blog! And take a loooong shower. Ahhh...today's already a great day.
oh. p.s. happy 8 weeks, Joshua!

Ellie Sings

Okay, so she probably doesn't have a future on Broadway, but it's pretty cute anyways.

Playdate with the Harders

Last week (before 'the caraaazy weekend' had started) my good friend Allison came over with her two cuties, Azelin and Kiley. Kiley is only 12 days younger than Joshua; Azelin is 4 months younger than Ellie. We had a blast! Allison brought over delicious, fattening muffins, Azelin and Ellie played like a dream, and the babies, for the most part, slept. Oh, and of course the cameras came out. :) I could do a playdate like that any day of the week.

Auntie Allison stealing a snuggle from Joshua

Big brown-eyed Azelin.

Sleeping sweetheart.

Joshua's stoked about the camera in his face. He probably thinks the camera is his mommy since it's all he ever sees.

Kiley thinks about waking up...

....and then thinks better of it.

Joshua decides he's done with pictures...

...and Kiley wholeheartedly agrees!

Update

The results are in: Ellie has her very first ear infection, and the thrush has returned to make Joshua cranky (thrush is incredibly difficult to get rid of). Things are still chaotic and slightly miserable, but it's that much easier when you know WHY. At least, it is for me. p.s. Joshua pooped big time today. Never thought that a big, yellow, gooey mess could look so good. That's motherhood for you!

Caraaaazy Weekend

Well, I'm not so convinced that Ellie's just teething anymore....seems more like a NASTY nasty cold. Joshua isn't all smiles, either...he hasn't pooped in the last 4 days (a trend that's begun to happen) and is having an incredibly difficult time falling asleep for his naps. So between the two of them, Rob and I definitely have our hands full. But it could be worse! They both slept almost all night, we have sun shining into our windows, and Rob and I are still healthy! And tomorrow we have a doctor's appointment. Hopefully today is the worst of it.

Here Ellie is just coming down with her cold and Joshua is choking on his thrush medicine. :)

Teething

The two-year molars aren't treating Ellie kindly. Today she's got a fever, diaper rash, drool, and Niagra Falls coming out her nose. She's being super sweet and extra cuddly, but tearfully asks for 'Neenex' every few minutes and has tears running out her eyes because of the congestion (I think she inherited my lovely sinuses). Poor thing. Life can be rough!

The Smile Part II

BIG...

...BIGGER...

BIGGEST! (That's gotta hurt!)

Joshua's decided that he really enjoys this whole smiling business and when he's not sleeping, eating, or burping, it's pretty much his favorite thing to do. He'll smile at anything...my hair (I think he enjoys how it, you know, sways back and forth as I change his diaper), the window, air is a particular favorite...

Of course, now that Ellie has figured out how to do that little 'tap-tap-tappy' thing on Joshua's lower lip...

He'll smile for her, too!
But Joshua's all-time best reason to smile?

His Daddy!

It's Sunday afternoon and both my children are napping at the SAME sweet time, so I am taking advantage of the serenity and am doing what has become a favorite past time...blogging. I guess that's what can happen when you're cooped up inside and don't have television. Anyhow. This is why I just posted four posts. For those who might be wondering.

Ahhh...tummy time.

Which parent DOESN'T have a series of photos like the following?All is peaceful and calm. For about three seconds...

...and then out pops that lip that makes Mama a bit of a sucker, but she perseveres...

...until we end tummy time on a bit of a louder note. Start to finish? One minute. Maybe.

Playdate or Play DATE?!?

On Friday my friend Elleah and her beautiful baby girl, Kiera came over for lunch. There are so many babies being born in our church family that it's next to impossible to have a playdate without at least briefly mentioning the fact that our kids COULD possibly end up getting hitched one day. Hey, you just never know! So now we have photos for their wedding slide show...just in case. :)

Oh, and Kiera is about 2 months older than Joshua. He's getting downright chunky!

Ellie was a bit of a third wheel but they didn't mind.

More Ellie Antics

A tea party gone wrong.

Yogourt gone wrong.

Ellie has adopted Joshua's bumbo chair as her own. Then again, she's adopted everything that exists on this earth as her own. She's two (at heart).

It makes a great hat.

"Code cheeks, Mama!"
(Rob took Ellie for a sled ride to the bank and it started to sleet on the way home. Nasty.)
p.s. Hey Leila. Ellie thought Puja and Booboo should pull her, not daddy. :) She loves your puppies!!

It was an accident...we think...

Here's a photo of Joshua's first sister-inflicted cheek wound. One of many wounds to come, I'm assuming! Ellie was just trying to read Joshua a story, but somehow ended up swiping his face with the book in her attempts to lie down beside him. But boy, there really is nothing quite as heart-rendering as the wail of a wounded infant! It even scared Ellie.

The smile

Grandpa and Grandma Balfour this post is just for you. :)

The smiling shots are always blurry...you have to take 'em before the camera has a chance to focus! Ah, well.

Siblings

When we found out I was pregnant with Joshua I right aways began praying that Ellie and the new baby would be great friends. I know it's way too early to say what things will be like, but so far we've had six weeks of this prayer being answered, which totally blesses my heart. Ellie very obviously loves Joshua, and now he's begun following her with his gaze around the room... and seeing this and realizing how cool it is to see my two offspring 'love' each other reminds me all over again of how it must bless God's heart when his children love one another.
That challenges me.

Playing with Joshua's 'tute' (cute) hands.

Ellie leaning in for a kiss (she didn't actually bite his head off, contrary to appearances).

Ellie absolutely loves playing with Joshua on his play mat.

Joshua looking very amused as Ellie empties her crayon box onto his lap, one by one. (Pretty sharp lookin' sleeper, hey Aunt Nancy and Grandpa?)

More play time.

Can't get enough of those hands! No broken fingers....so far!

What a goof!

Elianna's most recent choice of costume was a real winner (note the Croc on one foot and the moccasin on the other. Classic.) She was actually sick with a cold this day which I think made her act a little crazier than usual.