A few beautiful shots of our cousins

Girllpower + Yonas

Youngest and Oldest

Perhaps a Wilcox/Hastings baby?

Yogurt spa treatment

Doting Cousins

Remaking the World

My beloved husband fixed some shelves in our library that had been missing since we moved in --almost two years ago.  So, in my OCD mode, I re-organized all the toys.  If I had the technology I would blow this picture up, and laminate it, so that Elias would replicate it when he does his nightly clean-up.  He sure cleans-up willingly, but I have found items in the strangest places--like baby rattles serving as book marks.  Incidentally, I labeled his drawers in his dresser last month and now he is able to put his laundry away.

Our Locavore

Today Jed enjoyed his first taste of pesto made by me from our very own garden.  Yum!

Gold fish

A few days ago I needed to do a Target run.  Yes, it was that time to stock up on laundry detergent, gum, beach towels, and all those other things that happen to land in one's cart on a Target mission.  Eli and Addie begged to come along.  Daddy said they could as long as they did not ask me for anything that was not on the list.  They did really well.  At one point Adelaide asked for some kind of food and Eli promptly retorted, "Is it on the list?"

So, today, I got a very sweet post-it note from Adelaide.  In her own handwriting (which was the first surprise because I didn't know she could write), she wrote goldfish.  Now she spelled it "piael" but she very cutely handed it to me and said, "Mommy, here's your list.  It says goldfish."  She, by the way, is a huge fan of goldfish and we ate quite a bit on our road trip.

DJ (aka the dumb jock)

We have affectionately nicknamed Josiah, DJ.  You see, the 14 month old boy says almost nothing.  In fact, I casually mentioned this to the doctor when we were there yesterday for a upper-respiratory infection.  She looked concerned and asked, "How old is he?"  I told her and then she concluded after the visit that his receptive language seemed good. I wasn't concerned; in fact, I was just trying to make conversation.  However, the silent boy is really coordinated.  Although he walked late, about a week after he started moving on two legs he started kicking the soccer ball.  He throws very well.  And, tonight he started his own version of golf with a wooden spoon and a plastic beach ball.  He was quite pleased with himself.

Vacation?

I forgot the battery charger for my camera so I wasn't able to document our visit with the Charlottesville clan.  After our trip to C'ville, where we joined Bibi and her dogs and the family of ten, we made our way to Myrtle beach for four days of sand and sun.  I am still finding sand in all kinds of places, but the kids had a wonderful time bodysurfing and building drip castles.  Adam has a lot of extended family and at one point Adelaide asked, "Is that my cousin?"  I said, "Yes" and she added "Why do we keep getting so many cousins?"  I guess she's right!  In the last year, they got two new cousins and in the last two years they got 4 new cousins and a new brother!

It was time for the first haircut

BEFORE WITH CURLS

AFTER looking a bit like a greaser

When old men say, "she sure is going to dream about me tonight" after playing peekaboo at a restaurant, it's time to rethink whether your boy, who others see as a girl, needs a haircut.  These comments combined with his very strong propensity to sweat led us to cut his hair.

Unfortunately, the boy hit his nose yesterday on some play equipment, but his hair was getting so long in the hot sun that we bit the bullet and took him for his first cut.  We all cheered him on.  He didn't enjoy it like his brother did when he got his first cut.  But, he tolerated it and even though it looks like we beat him, he sure looks like a tough buster brown now.

Adelaide takes Holy Orders

Two days ago, Adelaide informed us she was going to start her own church.  I told her that was very Protestant of her and inquired where such church was going to be.  She replied, " Our house."  So, a house church movement began.  We were told that there would be no communion at this church, even more Protestant, but soon she requested some red peppers for communion bread.  I'm guessing her Protestantism went out the window as she surely trusted that the red peppers were the body of Christ--a new look at the doctrine of transubstantiation.  Her church service was mostly comprised of some opening sentences and taking communion.  Although, at the end, there was a reading from Noah's Ark.

What I loved the most was the next morning I came down the stairs and found that she took a silver cup and bowl from the living room and had placed them on her African drum of an altar.  Then I knew that she was a true Anglican: silver and the African church.  That's my girl.