5 Months in a Nutshell

I know many of you out there thought that my blog had died by now.  And it nearly did.  But today I am here to give an extremely quick update on the past 5 months. 

We are extremely blessed and are so thankful for this crazy and yet wonderful life with two precious little kiddos.  Each of them grow more beautiful and more fun each day it seems.  What a gift from a gracious God it is to be able to see them grow.  I love getting to see the ways that each of them reveal more of their little personality daily.

Eli is our sweet little fireman.  Just the other day we took a meal over to some friends.  The husband told me, "we've had a lot of kids over here, but never have I had anyone ask me where the smoke detectors and fire extinguishers were until Eli." :)  We are frequent visitors to the fire station and Eli has even begun to share the firefighting love with Karis, as you will see in the pictures below. :)  He began attending preschool two days a week and is loving it!  I think it is really good for both of us, and Eli being the little sponge that he is is learning a ton.  I am so proud of our little man and love him more than all the words in the world could convey.

Karis is our precious "baby princess" (as Daddy likes to call her).  She has such a sweet disposition and is a very happy baby.  She loves to smile and laugh and thinks her big brother is just the funniest thing in the world.  She is rolling over, babbling (we've definitely heard some clear "mama's" although it is not intentional at this point), and I'm pretty sure teething (but I always think that). :)  Like most women, Karis seems very social. :)  If you are holding her or giving her your direct attention she is just the happiest little girl.  She is sleeping well at night (most of the time) which is greatly appreciated by Mom.  We are so thankful for our little beauty.  We chose her name from the Greek word "charis" from the New Testament of the Bible.  It means "gift" or "grace", and indeed she is...our gift of God's unfathomable grace to us.  What a sweet blessing she is!

As for Ethan and I, we are doing well.  That about wraps up our summary. :)

Without further ado, here are some recent pictures (not in order, sorry).  It is by no means a comprehensive collection of all of my cute pictures of the past few unblogged months, but it rather a sampling. :)  Hope you enjoy!

We recently went on vacation to Wimberely with our friends from College and their families.  It was a wonderful time!



The Tradition continues...here are all of our future little Aggies in one pic!



Ethan, the kid charmer

 

Karis and Daddy on the way to Wimberely

Starbucks stops make me excited too!

Our handsome boy

The men enjoying the porch

 

View from the back porch, very relaxing

Mommy and Karis about to go for a swim

Eli and Daddy loved swimming together this summer.  This picture was at the pool in Wimberely, but on most Sunday afternoons this summer Daddy and Eli would go and have Daddy/son time by going swimming at the pool nearby and then going to Dick's and Jamba Juice.  Love watching these two play together! 

Sweet Father Son Moments

My little beauty

 



Eli and Kelsey



 

 

Sweet friends enjoying vacation!



Eli has learned how to slide down the "fire pole" all by himself



 

Eli and his school "pet" Stanley playing at the park



Eli and Stanley watching a show from Eli's favorite spot



Some sweet smiles from my happy girl this morning

Can't get enough of this little cutie!

Fireman in all of his gear, including his mask (ear warmer) and oxygen tank (backpack) 

I gave Karis her first taste of food the other day...rice cereal...she was not too impressed

On Friday I took out the trash and came back in to find Karis wearing her fire helmet.  I wonder how that got there?

The baby firewoman (as Eli calls her)

My two little fire fighters...feeling awfully save around here

Picking up Karis after Bible Study...love my sleepy little girl!

"Hey' where'd all these pumpkins come from?"

Kroger "pumpkin patch"

Meeting new friends at Kroger :)

Visits to the fires tation are always fun!

The Fireman gave him a new helmet

Karis in her sweet little swim suit

Karis and Sophie, her giraffe teether

Eli says he wants to be a fireman for Halloween (surprise surprise).  No problem, already got the full costume. :)

Collage of Eli and Stanley for School

Karis spending some time with Mamie on our Shreveport trip

Beautiful Karis

Nonie and Karis

Yummy, ginger ale and animal crackers

Nonie and the great grands

Mamie the baby charmer

Eli, Ethan, Gimpa

Karis and her great grandpa

Karis and Gloria

Love this pic!

We are always fed well at Gimps and Gloria's :)

Love this too!

Love from Pops

...and Mamie

Sweet memories with Great Grandparents!

Ethan planned a special stop on the way back from Gimps and Glorias...

Ah, boys and big machines

Pretty sure this boy was the most entertained

Running up a big dirt hill = awesomeness

 

The girls

No running involved

 

 

Karis has surgery on her eye in July to remove her hemangioma.  Praise God that all went well and now our little beauty is hemangioma free!!! :)

More pics of our pretty princess...5 months old

Big bro super excited about picture taking

I told him if he smiled I'd give him a donut...yes, I resorted to bribery :)

Karis sitting in her bumbo and helping me with the laundry :)

4 months old and loving her toes

First pic without band aid  after surgery

Me and my girl