Playtime with cousin!

(From the drafts folder)

Splish! Splash!

Rain is sufficiently a novelty around here that it is hard to resist a rainy day recess even if it means lots of towels and clothes to dry.

Pouring Action

A couple of weeks ago, Elijah had a lot fun pouring and mixing colored water. (As a side note, our aesthetics have been so much improved ever since my dear friend recommended only providing colors that mix well together--no more browns!)

My 7 Month Old

Josiah is growing, growing, growing and sitting, sitting, sitting! (And still not rolling both ways--who needs to move?) He's a snuggly, happy little guy. And so cute!

Big Boy Bed

A few weeks ago we moved Elijah into his big boy bed. He was thrilled--he loves being able to get in and out of bed. The bed was my mom's as a little girl, and all my siblings and I slept in it as toddlers.

We're still working on not getting out of bed too often, but he no longer falls out on a regular basis. :)

Most mornings, he still reads in bed rather than coming to get me.

This post is brought to you by Richard Scarry. He currently is sleeping with five Richard Scarry books lined up along the back edge of his bed.

Happy Thanksgiving!

My Snuggle Bunnies

My Little Rabbit holding Baby Rabbit

The other night at bedtime, Elijah snuggled in close, gently petting the baby rabbit, while I nursed Josiah. Then he sweetly sang "This is My Father's World" with me as I put Josiah in his bed.

They've been rabbits for two weeks now--I think because Elijah recently learned how to jump. Before this, they were alligators. Before that, Elijah was various trains and Josiah was the coal car.

If you want to use any form of endearment or naming with him, Elijah quickly reminds you that he is a little rabbit. (Same goes for the Baby Rabbit.) This can cause some complications. For example, he was telling me at dinner about his Sunday school lesson, the story of the children coming to Jesus. Having established that Jesus wants the little children to come to him, I asked Elijah if he was a child. He promptly replied, "No, I am a little rabbit."

Post-nap Snuggles

At the Dinner Table

Snapshots from this evening:

Elijah has been skipping naps lately. I gave him an early (for us) dinner while I prepped dinner, but he fell asleep while waiting for me to come read.

Josiah, having got up from nap #3 at 8pm, joined the adults for dinner.

Avocado was not a hit as a first food.

Happy Fall!

Train Trip to Aquarium

For Labor Day, we took a train trip down to Long Beach to visit the aquarium (sensing a theme with our family days?).

Riding a light rail electric train is always fun!

Touching moon jellies

There is a lorikeet section that Josiah loved. The lorikeets' screechy song inspired him!

"Touching" bat rays--Elijah couldn't quite get up the courage to touch them. They were friendly and would swim right up to you.

Josiah loved staring at the big fish tanks.

And then we took the bus back to the trains and rode on the green line and the blue line and an escalator, as Elijah will quite willingly tell you.

Train to Oceanside

Back the beginning of August, we took a family train trip down to Oceanside. It was mostly about the train, with the beach being a fun destination.

Elijah loved his first trip on a diesel train. An added bonus was that the tracks go right by Grandpa and Grandma's house!

It was hot--the water felt good. Elijah surprised us by running through the water. He's definitely gotten more confident in the water this summer.




The day was such fun that Elijah couldn't stay awake even on a train.

Brothers

All dressed for church (these are from about a month ago):



Elijah likes to make Josiah smile, and Josiah loves watching Elijah. It's fun to watch them interact more. One day sweet big brother went over the Josiah's bed to pray for him.

Fresno Farm

We headed up Fresno last month for Dustin's 10 year high school reunion. While there, we also enjoyed visiting a pick your own fruit place. Elijah loved it!

Picking plums--the branches were nice and low

Elijah loved pulling the wagon

Peaches!

Josiah was happy, as always, to hang out and watch the activity

Since returning home, Elijah's talked the most about "clipping grapes"

Enjoying the fruit--we were allowed to eat whatever we wanted as we picked. Yum!

There was also a little petting. Elijah liked feeding the donkey and pony one little bit at a time--poor, patient animals. :)

We've been enjoying our fruit ever since.