Fun at School on the Weekend

We are thankful that the boys go to such a nice school. We really like the education they are receiving, they both have wonderful teachers, and they are making nice friends. The school has great facilities, to include a pool, large soccer field, multiple playgrounds, basketball court, and rock wall. And, it is open on the weekend to play, which is what we did last weekend. This first picture was from Caleb's Spring show the week before.

Caleb and Nathan playing basketball, yes, that is Benjamin climbing the rock wall with his cast, and Eliza and I watching from the sidelines.

Races on the soccer field. These boys are fast, like their dad.

View of the field.

Caleb practicing his pull-ups on the soccer goal.

It was a nice day to be outside and play for a couple of hours!

Our Loves

Love, love, love these 3. We had a week of fevers and coughs, but everyone is on the mend and feeling pretty good now.

Benjamin is doing great with his cast and he only has 2 weeks left. We are amazed with how well he has adapted to using his right hand to do everything, including writing, and it looks just about as good with this right as his left hand. He has had such a great attitude, despite some of the limitations, and this has definitely challenged him in new ways. We asked him which hand he plans to use when he gets his cast off and he said, "I'm not sure?" Maybe we have a truly ambidextrous kid. 

Caleb loves being around Eliza, reading to her, and especially dressing her up! He wants to see her all the time and give her kisses. She in turn is a great sport about it, and she gets a big smile pretty much any time her brothers are around.

Our love ;). He is such an incredible husband and father, and so engaged with the kids. Nathan and the boys have been enjoying a book written by a Navy Seal, on how to be a Warrior Kid. 

Sweet Valentine's Day flowers :)

Just a girl and her cat. Eliza keeps a good eye on Twix, and Twix is very patient with her. 

This past weekend, we went to a furniture workshop to look at a piece of Syrian style buffet table we are having built. They boys enjoyed wandering around the workshop looking at antique furniture and seeing where they do the work. Benjamin may have stayed if we let him!

Later that day, we took the boys to a trampoline jump park. I didn't get any pictures inside, but here's the view from where it is located, looking down into our neighborhood area.

Afterwards we went to this really large home goods store that I've been wanting to check out, and they had a lot of random life-size dinosaurs and other zoo animals around the store for kids to climb on. I really love that about this part of the world, it's so kid-friendly!

Hope you all had a Valentine's Day full of love and sweetness :).

Caleb's Writing Celebration

Last week, Caleb had a writing celebration at school, which is when the kids showcase stories that they have been working on. Caleb wrote two stories, one about virtual reality and another about maps. They had to create a table of contents and write on each topic. He did a great job and was proud to read his stories.

Caleb has such a great imagination and is very creative in the things he thinks and writes about, and we are glad he has a teacher that embraces and encourages him in his work.

And one day during rest time, where he was supposed to be laying in bed reading a book, I came to find this goofy kid. Magic merlin hat, snorkel mask, sheriff's badge, baseball mits, Christmas necklace, and night slippers. We truly love Caleb's imaginative and fun spirit.

Eliza Rose: Five Months Old

Eliza Rose turned 5 months old last week. She lights up our days, and is full of smiles.

This month she has learned to do a lot of new things. She reaches and grabs for toys and brings them to her mouth, and still intently studies her hands. She is getting strong on her tummy and can now easily roll from back to front and occasionally from front to back.

Eliza is enjoying her bumbo seat, and recently began sitting in her high chair. No food yet, but she likes being part of the crew at meal times.

She loves bath time with daddy, and even cuts him a break by not pooping in the tub as often these days. And she has found her voice and loves to use it!

She eats 5-6 times and loves her milk! She continues to be a great sleeper and will sleep 10-11 hour stretches at night, though as I write this about a week later, she began waking at night but I think it's a growth spurt because she is starving and has outgrown some clothes this past week! She takes between 2-3 naps a day, and is usually awake from the mid-afternoon until bedtime. It's hard to miss out when there is so much excitement around her. Eliza weighs somewhere between 16-17 lbs, she is in a size 2 diaper, and 6/9 month clothes.

Eliza adores her brothers and the feeling is mutual. They love seeing her first thing in the morning when she wakes up, playing with her and reading her books. We have no doubt that she will get right into the mix as soon as she is able!

The boys can make Eliza laugh better than anyone. We can tell she will look up to her big brothers, and pray for them to have a strong bond as they grow up.

Happy five months sweet girl, we love you!