Family of Four

A few months ago, when I was cleaning the bathroom--I was just struck by these four toothbrushes. It made me grin to see a Daddy toothbrush, a Mommy toothbrush, a Big Brother toothbrush, and a Baby Sister toothbrush. For some reason this little mundane piece of our life just really hit home to me that we are a real family. Not just a brand new little family--but a real live Husband, wife, and 2 kids family. And I LOVE my family.

So, here is an overdue update/catch-up on our family over this past winter.

Alex successfully got older.
The next day we left for Utah/Christmas.

The car trip in the snow with 2 kids went great. No problems.

We stayed at my folks for Christmas. It was fun to spend time with family...but would have been better without the stomach flu ripping violently through the whole family.

It was so fun to see the little ones interact. Edgar and Calvin were good pals by the end. And, Lexi and Sabrina were super cute. Even if they did try to pull each other's hair and poke each other's eyes out.

Then it was back home. HOME! We have really enjoyed our new house. Alex and I spent most of our winter evenings here:

...in our living room reading books by the fireplace or playing board games after the kids go to bed.

Heaven: evenings spent together after the kids go to bed about 8:00.

The week after we got back from Utah, Anna (my best friend since I was 9 years old) came to stay with baby boy for a week while she attended some workshops in Portland. It was so great to have so much uninterrupted best friend time! My sweet husband even used a day off of work to watch the kids so we could go spend a whole day together. He is totally awesome (=

At Multnomah Falls

That same week, Sabrina turned ONE YEAR OLD! I seriously can't believe how fast that goes!

And a few weeks ago, I successfully got older too.

And so our busy family of four just keeps busy. I love my job of being mommy to these kids. Time is moving too fast! I feel rotten about not documenting this time better...but then I never feel like I have the time to stop and organize pictures / blog / write in their journals...etc. etc.  I guess if I want to remember how much we are enjoying this busy time--I just have to do it!

So, here is a little update on each of the kiddos.

Edgar is "Two and a half" (he turns 3 in 1 1/2 months). His day is summed up well by the following picture:

He LOVES cars. He watches Cars movies. He reads books about cars. He plays with Cars (Disney and otherwise). He sleeps with his current favorite 1, 2, or a dozen cars under his pillow. They accompany him to the bathroom, downstairs to do laundry, up to the dinner table, to read scriptures, etc. The have names, personalities, and good guy or bad guy status. He plays pretend scenarios, acts out scenes from movies, and pretends they are people that he knows. He is always telling me what is going on with his cars. All day. His world is complete if he has his favorite cars with him.

Edgar is a funny guy who likes to tell jokes. Actually, he only knows 2 jokes, but we hear them alot. He is always saying the funniest things (which I regularly and shamelessly post to facebook).

He loves music. Alex and I just got our new records/cds in the mail for the band we are in. When we brought one to show to Alex's parents, Edgar proudly declared, "That's us! These are OUR very own records." He likes to play music with us. We are babysitting some drums for a few weeks while we rehearse for our record release show, and I have really enjoyed listening to Edgar play them. He has a great ear for good sounds (=

Edgar has decided what he wants to be when he grows up: A daddy. Here, he is visiting Daddy's office. He pretty much adores his daddy. I think it would be fantastic if he grew up to be just like daddy (=

Sabrina is our Monster Truck Princess. She loves anything pink, frilly, cuddly, or furry. She doesn't have a favorite stuffed animal--she adores them all equally. She loves babies, clothes, shoes, and jewelry. Also, she loves monster trucks and cars. How could she not? My favorite "picture" of her (I didn't have a camera) was when she was at church all dolled up in a super girly outfit...driving her monster truck complete with sound effects (rrrrrrrrrrr!) Love it!

Sabrina is a happy giggly girl. She loves to wrestle with her brother. She ofter instigates it by smacking him on the head, tackling him, tickling him--and then laughing her head off. (He totally loves it...most of the time). She is really enjoying books and trips to the library lately. She likes to take a book to the window cushions and sit and read.

Sabrina doesn't talk a lot yet..but communicates quite well. She says Ma-ma, Da-da, Ed-duh (edgar), Grah-pa (grandpa), Dah (dog), Beh (bear), Bau (ball), Heh-yo (hello), Ni-Ni (night night), uh-oh, ba-ba (banana), di-puh (diaper), crah-crah (cracker), crrrrrr (car), ticka-ticka-ticka (tickle), and <> Breeta-breeta-breeta-bree (for her name--what Edgar and I often call her: Brina-Bree)

She is also learning some signs. She loves watching Signing Time. Here are some of the signs she uses a lot: ball, baby, more, all done, eat, drink, candy, cookie, diaper, outside, dog, cat, bear, please, thank you, milk, and hat.

And, she shakes her head yes and no pretty emphatically. It's pretty darn cute.

I just love these kids. They make my life full, busy, crazy, hectic, and wonderful.