Elfie...day 24

Elfie brought a special gift of new pjs and a special Christmas book to share together!

Elfie...days 22 and 23

On day 22 we learned how Elfie was getting back and forth from the North Pole.

On day 23 Elfie picked up Tabs' cold and took it easy.

Jake's new trick

Starting yesterday Jake has learned to play peek a boo.  He loves playing this game as we eat.  He gets such a kick out of it and can't stop laughing, which in turn makes the rest of us laugh!

Elfie...days 20 and 21

Day 20...

Day 21...Elfie was reminding us to play music for the Lord!

Elfie...day 19

A few hours late, but Elfie showed his love to us yesterday.

Elfie...day 18

Ahhh...I guess Elfie needed a bath today.

Loving the milestones....

I love it!  It seems like each and every day holds something new with Jake.  Today Jake decided that he was going to blow us kisses. It's much too cute and he does it with a huge smile on his face!

Elfie...day 17

It seems that Elfie has gotten into "Frozen" as well this year.....

Elfie...day 16

Tabs was a great helper in the kitchen helping me to bake cookies this past weekend.  Elfie noticed and decided to try put a cookie himself.

Elfie...day 15

I usually have first dibs on finding Elfie every morning as I'm up before everyone else.  As,I was looking for him this morning, I realized that even I couldn't find him.  So, I began a search and rescue mission for Elfie.  It became apparent that he lost his way either to or from the North Pole, which isn't surprising with all of the fog we've had recently.  Luckily the mission was a success as he was found behind the piano.  As I went to get ready for the morning the little guy found some of friends and gathered them for a group photo.....

Hopefully Elfie's photo turned out less blurry than this one!

Elfie...day 14

Today, Elfie reminded us the reason for the season.  Performing in two Christmas programs over the weekend reminded Tabs and the rest of us what a beautiful time of year it is.

Elfie...day 13

Once again, Elfie brought some good stuff for us from the North Pole.  Tabs thought they tasted a lot like Cheerios.

Elfie...day 12

Elfie brought "magic" snow from the North Pole today (and a mess along with it 😉)

Elfie...day 11

Today Elfie reminded us of the story of how Jesus feed thousands from 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread.

Elfie...day 10

Elfie was found this morning having some fun!

Elfie...day 9

Today Elfie reminded us one to do something special for someone else.  The cookies were gone when we returned home from work!

Elfie...day 8

Today Elfie was found doing a check up on Elmo (note:  Elmo was found to be in good health!).

Jake's growing up!

Even though Jake is a compact little guy, he has been doing some growing up in recent weeks.  Over the past week he has learned how to stand up.  He's not standing alone yet, but uses a little help.  He's also taken a great interest in walking.  I now remember why I didn't miss this stage as my back hurts from walking while holding his hands.  He has also decided to sprout a whopping four new teeth in the past two weeks.  He went from having two teeth for about three months to sporting six total chompers.  And when I say chompers, I mean chompers!  I learned this the hard way by accidentally getting my fingers in the way.  Yikes!

I'm sure Jake will surprise us with many more new things in the upcoming weeks!

Elfie...day 7

Today we found Elfie enjoying a sledding trip down the stairs.

Elfie...day 6

Elfie...day 5

Ahhhh....so Elfie thought that he would find a catalog and some toys the kids might like.  When I told Tabs what the note said (Gift ideas for Tabitha and Jacob), she looked at the items circled and said "well, I don't want those things".   Guess Santa's going back to the drawing board!

Elfie...day 4

Today Elfie made a surprise visit in the bathroom.  He was covered with floss and had toothpaste on him to keep encouraging Tabs to do a good job brushing her teeth.

Elfie day 3

I'm a bit late with this one but yesterday we found Elfie had done some decorating.

Another Jacob milestone...

Much to our surprise tonight, Jacob decided that he was going to stand up.  We were all on the couch and Jake was on the floor. He crawled over to the couch, and barely grabbing on, he put one foot down, pushed up on it, then the other foot down and up he went.  We all cheered so loud for him that it frightened him and he started crying.  

Way to go Jake!

Elfie...day 2

Yesterday we learned that one of Tabitha's teachers has cancer.  A sweet gal who is much too young to be fighting such a horrible thing.  To help everyone through this, Elfie wanted to make sure that we made something special for her.  He went through my "special" craft supplies and found some good stuff to make a card with.  This evening when we returned home from school, Tabs sat down and made her a beautiful card....even writing out "Get well soon Miss Missy".

Elfie...day 1

Elfie...our resident Elf returned this morning, much to Tabitha's delight.  Yes, it was a looong letter from Santa but a good one this year.

Happy 1st birthday Jake!

It's been one year...hard to believe how fast it all went.  My little guy is not a little baby anymore. He's a budding little person with personality and smiles!  I love his sweetness and how he'll turn around and give you the biggest grin....reminding you how good life really is.  

Likes:  toys, exploring, "petting" Fred, eating, crawling, and smiling

Words:  dada and mama (yeah...he said mama today!!!)

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

With Jake's first birthday less than a week away I thought that I would list some of my favorite things that he does.

1.  His toothy smile.  When Jake smiles its big!  He's now sporting the three tooth look.

2.  The way he claps when you put in him his high chair. Make sure loves his food.

3.  The way he bops up and down when listening to music.  It's too cute (now if I could just catch it on camera).

4.  The way every time you try and get him to say mama, he says dada instead.

5.  His big blue peepers.  Jake's eyes are usually the first thing that people compliment him on.

6.  His love for playing and exploring.

7.  The way he gets excited when Fred comes around him.

8.  The way he waves bye-bye. Jake just flops that little arm of his around...it's so darling.

Love letter

I had a love letter waiting for me on my nightstand last night.

Today tabs and I got a little time together--just one on one girl time.  We went out for lunch where tabs got Mac and cheese and I got a chicken sandwich.  We did share the yummy chocolate malt.  Next we braved the saturday afternoon crowds at Target.  It was nice just to have a few hours to ourselves and catch up on some laughs and being silly.

 

First words....

About 3.5 years ago Tabitha surprised us with her first word...Dada.  While we were excited, I wondered how long it would be until she said Mama.  So, when Jake was born, my hope was that Mama would be his first word.  Unfortunately that wish did not come true.  

This morning the kids and I were all in the kitchen getting ready to head off to school. James came down the stairs and before anyone could say anything Jake turned his head towards James and shouted Dada!  It was too cute not to laugh at it, and of course Jake was very proud of himself!

It  was a bongo drumming sort of night....