HE IS RISEN!

He is risen indeed! This was such a special Easter weekend with two baby boys under our roof. The last few weeks have been such a shining light for us after what seemed like the longest winter EVER! :) Being able to enjoy our afternoons together as a family in the daylight truly feels miraculous and nurtures my soul. We've had a long winter of colds, ear infections, coughs, sore thoats, which all lead to no one sleeping. We're glad to have that season behind us!

Charlie just recovered from his double ear infection, which started in February. And he seems like a new man the last couple of weeks! He's happy to play on his own and explore without being held (which he would still prefer above all else :)), and he so wants to be running and riding toys with his brother. He just can't get his little body to cooperate. He's eating much better both milk and baby food. He loves to be outside, just like his brother. He's still not great at sitting up or crawling, and prefers to army crawl or pull himself across a room to get to where he'd like to be. He does love to stand, and wishes someone would always be there to prop him up to walk and stand. Here he is in his 9 month photo. His hair is starting to grow so quickly, thick and mostly straight.

Andrew has become more and more of a parrot. His vocabulary is in turbo explosion mode. We are really having to watch everything we say, as he loves to repeat and learn new words. He's also making short sentences, and you can see him pause and formulate a thought in his head to explain to you what he's thinking about. It's such a neat thing to be able to have a two sided conversation! His favorite things right now are CARS and TRUCKS. He could play with them all day. We received a large hard bound vintage car catalog in the mail (for mom's work), and he looks at it ALL the time, and loves talking about all the cars.

We decided to worship yesterday for our Easter worship service, so today we've had the whole today together. We chose to go to the Botanical Gardens and feed the fish and take a few pictures. Here are some of my favorites!

We also had Grandy & PawPaw visit last weekend and got to enjoy the TCU Easter egg hunt with them. We also had tons of fun looking at and playing in PawPaw's boat!

And then we had our own private egg hunt with our buddy YaYa!

And finally, here a few more pictures from the last few weeks. One from the doctor's office when Andrew was making eyes at all the nurses and others from days out with Amanda.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Andrew!

Andrew had such a fun birthday weekend in Sulphur Springs this year. Uncle Tate took Andrew out on this big tractor, and Andrew talked about this for WEEKS and WEEKS afterwards. It was the highlight of his year as a TWO year old!

Andrew even got introduced to chickens, which he was not excited about

He played outside all day and got to open lots of fun presents and play with his cousins all weekend.

Happy birthday to Andrew!! We love you so and can't believe you're already two! We are so proud of you :)

Learning how to be brothers

Charlie boy is now 8 months old! He is such a happy boy and wants so badly to keep up with his brother and get involved in everything he's doing. Every day, Tim and I feel like Charlie grows bigger right before our eyes. He loves to be held and to watch people's faces and expressions. His favorite thing is to blow raspberries all day long as loud as he can. He wants to crawl and explore, but he also wants to be held and near to whomever is nearby... but if he can't see you he forgets that he wants to be held and can be distracted by all of his brother's toys.

Andrew still isn't sure if he likes his baby brother. Sometimes he worries over him when he cries and he brings him his car toys or ALL of his pacifiers. Other times, you can catch Andrew sitting or standing on his poor brother. Or throwing a book at him. It's a dangerous world for a little brother! He hates it when Charlie comes near his toys and would prefer that neither of them play with the toys rather than having to choose to play with them together. He will often take all of his toys out of the play room where no one gets to play with them when he's faced with the idea of Charlie touching them. We're learning more and more that Andrew is somewhat timid and meek around his friends... choosing to share his toys and stand back and watch when someone else faces a problem or is upset. He's hardly ever aggressive or possessive around other children... but is more passive and quiet. However, he does turn and take any building frustration out on his unassuming baby brother!

Enjoying one of his first swing rides... loved it!

Headed to the rodeo with Dad

Home sick with Mommy

Lunch with Yaya!

A Friday visit from the family

Watching the mailman

Running to Yaya's house

Playing with Sofia Grace

Warm weather walk in January

At the museum with Amanda

Playing fireman with Dad

Requesting to wear his robe in the evening

This is how Andrew is sleeping every night with a blanket draped over his head!

Sweet Charlie 8 months old!