Family Ho Nu Nee Nee

Yes, that is what Ethan calls Family Home Evening. We've corrected him, but the name sticks. It's much more fun to say anyway :) So this week James gave an excellent lesson about following Jesus' example. And we had an awesome time singing "Do As I'm Doing." But the best part, I must say, was dessert. James bought me a funnel cake kit for Mother's Day and he's treated me a couple of times. His funnel cakes are even better than at the fair! He tops them with powdered sugar, whipped cream, fresh raspberries, yummy, yummy, stuff... We all thoroughly enjoyed them, even Woody.

I also have to post a couple from the day before.  Unfortunately, James was busy busy being a responsible student as usual, but the day was beautiful, so we went for a walk/bike ride and Lilah went down her first slide!  Don't worry, it was a very small slide.

If you'll notice Ethan's lip... the day before, he had a very unfortunate encounter with the pavement.  I actually stepped on his untied shoe and he went down face first in the parking lot.  There was lots of blood and tears, but fortunately, no more lost teeth.  Poor little guy!  I felt so bad for him, but he recovered enough to eat a hot dog that night, so I think he's okay. 

We also played train dominos and wrote a letter to a friend.  Ethie is very fun to hang out with!

And of course, Lilah was just busy being adorable...

I just love that little girl!

She's so happy and smiley, but sometimes it's hard to capture it.  Her favorite thing is when we hold her on the couch and she can look at the pictures behind us on the wall.  She smiles so big and talks to them! 

 

Fun fall days

I LOVE THE FALL!  The weather is still pretty warm, but not as humid and unbearably hot.  And it smells so good and the trees are so pretty and I can eat candy corn and everything pumpkin and I just love it!  We've done a couple of fun things so far to celebrate. 

The end of September, we went to the North Georgia State Fair which was pretty close to us.  I had read that they would have bear and dog shows, as well as rides and food and the normal fair things.  But we didn't know this fair would be huge and the bear show was incredible!  Three big bears came out and rode bikes, climbed stairs, shot basketballs, etc., right in front of us.  So cool!  Ethan loved the dog show with dogs catching frisbees, etc. and of course the rides.   

The beginning of October, we went to Carrollton for Meccafest. My dad's band was playing, so we got to hear his wonderful music while Ethan had fun with the kid activities.  Lilah got TONS of comments on the little hippie outfit she was wearing that Dad and Jeanette had gotten for her at a music festival.  What a cutie :)  That night we got to go hear the band play at a restaurant while Ethie made a new best friend.  He is very good at that!

Then last weekend, we went to a haunted corn maze in north Georgia with Mom, Scotty, Ashley, and Brandon.  We tried to go to one, got lost, and somehow ended up at a different one.  But it was fun!  The maze was a little scary for Ethie, but he was fine on James' shoulders with his hands over his ears.  One of the guys even came out and took his mask off to show Ethie it was just pretend.  I forget he's still little sometimes!  He loved the petting zoo and the hayride and we all had fun!

 

Lovely Lilah growing too fast!

Today Lilah is 2 months old!  It has been so much fun getting to know her these past 2 months and we can't wait to see what the next will bring! 

Things we love about Lilah...

• That little smile is just so contagious!  We love to just sit and watch her and try to get her to smile.  It's not very hard because she is such a happy baby!  She rarely cries and when she does it's so soft and little just to let us know she's hungry or dirty or tired.  She's usually just content to look around and smile at the wall or ceiling or whatever she's looking at :)

• She loves to be held and we love holding her!  I'm typing this with one hand while she chills in my arm.  I can't get enough of her, so I'm glad she likes being close.  I wear her in the wrap when we go places and get lots of comments about how cute her little head is :)

• She also loves to sleep with us and I love that time to cuddle with her!  She's so soft and warm and she smells so good.  She usually falls asleep about 9 or 10 and James will put her in her bassinette in our room.  Then she'll wake up about 2 to get in bed with us and then about 6 or 7 to eat.  She's a good sleeper!

• She also loves practicing standing up.  She will smile so big if we hold her little hands so she can stand on her legs.  She's so strong to hold herself up on those tiny legs!  The doctor also commented that she holds her head up well for her age.  That's our girl :)

• She absolutely loves bath time!  She gets so peaceful and content when I put her in the water and she's even fallen asleep in there a few times.  She holds onto the towel and she looks so cute!

• And dressing her up, of course!  It's so much fun to have a little girl!!! 

We love everything about that girl!  She is still pretty petite and little, but long... 9 pounds, 12 ounces and 23 inches at her 2-month check-up.  She has pretty blue eyes for now and a tiny stork bite on her forehead between her eyes.  Her bellybutton is so cute and little, but she still has pretty long feet.  And all that hair!!!  It's lightened up a bit, so who knows what color it will end up, but she hasn't lost much and it curls a little bit on top.  She gets so many comments about it!  She makes so many different expressions and we just think she's about the cutest little thing we've ever seen! 

• She's also started cooing and making little happy noises and we love it!  Here's a little peek at our happy, sweet little girl!

Sweetest siblings

Everyone always asks me how Ethan is with Lilah and if he likes being a big brother.  Well... he LOVES it!  I was a little bit worried that there might be some jealousy or looking for ways to get attention, but mostly he is super patient, attentive, and just so sweet!  When he gets in the car after school, he always says, "Hi, baby Lilah, hi!" first thing in a cute little voice and tries to get her to hold onto his finger.  When his friends come over or we meet someone he always lets them know that she's his baby sister and then he asks if they want to pet her.  Aaaah!  Usually we can distract him in time, but I think it's so sweet that he's so proud of her!  Lately he loves to "make her burp" and he thinks it's awesome that he can pat her back and she will burp.  He is also the binkie monitor in the car, which is a huge help on longer trips.  He loves to give her kisses and hugs all the time and every night, he asks if she can lie on his arm in his bed while we read books and sing songs.  Most of the time, she lies by him perfectly still and content.  It melts my heart!!!  All in all, he is a loving, affectionate, sweet older brother and I'm so thankful that Lilah has him!

 

Lilah is very tolerant of Ethan's kisses and attention and I think she already loves him!