Sunny Funny

The warm, sunny afternoons here have included some pool time on our deck lately. I know we'll have many more fun days ahead of us since summer is just beginning. Walks to "fish" at the dock, digging in the dirt, and praying over the few little pea and onion plants in our garden have been highlights for Joel. I on the other hand have been praying AND pulling weeds...hoping to at least have a nice little strawberry harvest in a month or so. I have yet to get my fense put up to keep the bunnies out. UG!

John's been a steamroller, clearing out the vines and bushes from the backyard over the last few days...and burning it, much to my delight (and the neighbors dismay). I got to roast strawberry marshmellows last night! He has plans to get the huge tree that is close to our house cut down later on this year...and try to make our backyard useful in some way. Things just don't move fast with him being out to sea for months at a time. I was also very thankful he tackled the scary job of getting up on the roof to clean the gutters. He jokingly said he was risking his life for me (cause I'd been badgering him for a long time to do it!), but really he said he felt secure up there. He even got the bird nest dislodged out of our heating vent, (which will hopefully fix our propane heating unit!) and covered it with mesh to prevent birds and bats from entering our house. Once the nest was removed we found out we needed to do this--the swallow returned to find his home gone and flew down into our house to pay us a surprise visit!!!

Elianna is starting to talk more, which is fun. I seem to hear a new word everyday..although I forget to write them down most of the time. As she nears 16 months, I keep wondering when the day will come that she will finally be walking! She sure is taking her sweet time...but I imagine when she does, I will officially have to call her a toddler and say goodbye to my baby. Waaaa Waa, sad Mama. She loves laughing at her big brother all the time (except when she's cutting teeth). Even when I do the same thing Joel does, she only looks at him and laughs...like I'm not even there! I hope they keep that sweet sibling bond over the years. She still isn't into dolls, but does like to squeeze a stuffed animal now and then. The blankie sucker is really all about whatever Joel likes; and that is, still, CARS! Not into reading much, but I just read around her and hope for the best. She likes the fridge letters, dancing to music, eating, taking all the books off the shelf, watching the neighbor and his dog, and watching BOZ movies. She loves to crawl into my lap and cuddle, esp when in pain. It's been a long stretch of teething and late night crying...the end must be near, for awhile at least. I'm dreading the upper eye teeth that will likely be next. She has had some fevers and upset tummy from this teething spell...and a few nights of waking up multiple times. Yuk!

Joel loves stories and we are plowing thru one new story after another...using Sonlight for 3-4 year olds. "Harold and the Purple Crayon", "The Bee Tree", and almost all of the fairy tales are his favorites at the moment...along with his "Cars" board book which is falling apart from all the daydreaming and playing with it daily. He likes Mighty Mind, puzzles, and doing artwork...but the majority of the time if asked what he wants to do, it's play with cars. Lining them up and making them talk to each other. He's pretty much outgrown his need for a nap and only "accidently" takes one if in the car for longer rides or if exhausted from a late night out. I'm enforcing a 1 hour quiet time though to preserve my sanity (0: His little imagination is growing by leaps and bounds now...it started out with alot of talk about monsters, but now includes many more tall tales. I'll share cute sayings in another post down the line. For now, he is still being a stinker about potty training. I'm dreaming of that blessed day... I will likely go from potty training one to the next in a matter of months! Oh the joys of motherhood (0: