Easter 2014

Easter weekend was a lot of fun this year! We attended a Good Friday service at our church, and Judah stayed in the service with us. They showed some footage of Jesus dying on the cross, which was a bit difficult for Judah to see (he specifically said that he did NOT like the soldiers), but it was a great opportunity to talk to him about the reality of Jesus' sacrifice for us. Then, he also sat in the Sunday morning service for Resurrection Sunday. It was really neat to talk about the fact that Jesus won over death and the contrast between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. What a great opportunity to talk about these things with our kids!

Grandma Rowe was also in town this weekend, so we spent Sunday at my parents house with all the grandparents. The kids always think that is so much fun. We even got a visit from my brother, Uncle Abe! It was such a beautiful sunny day. The kids played outside literally all afternoon. As a matter of fact, their faces are a little pink from the sun today! We haven't really done many Easter egg activities in the past and this year was the same, but the kids had a blast playing with bubbles outside (and throwing balls, and running around, and whatever else you can think of). Fun was had by all. :)



Before leaving for church in the morning

This was Asher's first weekend to actually sit in the grass!



We discovered that little boy loves grass. He picked blades of grass and loved to hold them and shake them around.

The look on his face is so funny!

My dad has this really cool bubble wand. The kids love it!

A series of pictures depicting "miss personality"



After his nap, Asher is back to playing with grass. I just love that red hair!

"Look what I have, mom!"

 

They love their uncle

 

 

 

Asher 9 month photos

Eden's 3 year photos

 A few things about Eden girl recently-

 

Eden is our little ray of sunshine. She lights up a room and brings us many laughs a day with her antics, silly talk, and general goofiness. She tends to be shy in new situations (like talking to an adult or meeting someone new), but she is anything but introverted in comfortable situations. She likes to run around with her older brother and generally likes to play whatever the two of them decide on, but she is also able to play on her own well. She is not a quiet girl. During "rest time" (naptime) if she is not tired, I can hear her all the way downstairs talking to herself in her bed (this can happen at night, too). Sometimes she is "reading" a book out loud or just talking to herself pretending something. It's hilarious.

 

Eden likes to play with a variety of things, but her current favorites are cars, dolls of all kinds, and sometimes dress up. She likes to "drive" her little cars around the house all the time, and is specific about which cars she will use. She also loves stuffed animals and has tons of them in her bed with her. Recently, she has also started to pile toys in her bed in addition to the stuffed animals. Sometimes we wonder how there is any room for her to sleep in there! I really need to get a picture of this soon. She loves music, too, and she likes it loud. She gets this from her daddy who likes to crank up the music in the car or at home. While Judah isn't always a fan of the loudness (particularly in the car), you can be sure you will hear Eden's little voice pipe up saying, "Turn the music louder, daddy!". Her current fav toons are the Frozen sound track and the Kingdom Rock CD (from last year's VBS), which has literally been her only music request for the past 8 months until Frozen came along. Eden is fascinated with doctors, and enjoys seeing a doctor on a show and/or talking about doctors.    

 

As far as food goes, Eden is a fairly good eater. She is picky about some things which include veggies and some meats. She is minimally interested in bread and sweets, which she will eat but not a lot of. We like to joke that she and Judah are almost opposite in what they will eat sometimes; together they will eat a whole sandwich-Judah eats the bread and Eden eats the meat. :) Eden likes to eat grilled cheese (or cheese in most forms), chicken, pb&j, fruit, hot dogs, mac n cheese, spaghetti, lunch meat, and pancakes.  

 

Eden is an expressive communicator, whether it's the look on her face or what she is saying. Sometimes just the look on her face will cause us to burst out in laughter. She is usually the first to provoke her older brother, but she is also the first to share a toy. She gives great hugs. Eden is smart and catches on to things quickly. She is a fast learner and always wants to try doing something by herself first to see if she can do it. We continue to be so grateful for the joy and life she brings to our family. :)  

 

 

Judah 5 year photos

A few things about Judah from this past year-

 

Judah has developed leaps and bounds this past year, especially since he started pre-kindergarten. I am so so proud of him. Some main areas of growth would be fine motor skills, self-help (zipping, buttoning pants, getting dressed, etc.), and confidence (making eye contact when talking to an adult, speaking in front of the class, etc). He has also grown in other areas like following directions at school, articulating his thoughts, and so much more. He is drawing more, writing his name well, coloring better, and cutting on the lines (things that he wasn't interested in all that much last year). He still LOVES sports. It's his favorite thing. Anytime he gets a chance to go outside he wants to throw balls, play baseball, shoot hoops...you get the picture. We need to sign this kid up for some summer sports asap! :)

 

Judah is still our pickiest eater. Among the things he doesn't like are pasta, beef, and cheese, which eliminates a lot of things. The boy doesn't like pizza...who doesn't like pizza??? That being said, he likes a variety of veggies (peppers of all colors, cucumbers, carrots, oh, and he will eat a whole tomato like it's an apple!). He likes chicken, bread, pb&j, hot dogs, salads, fruit, soup and anything sweet. His favorite things to eat are Panera broccoli cheddar soup (with bread, of course) and Portillos hot dog with fries and cheese dip.

 

Judah keeps growing and growing at a ridiculous pace. I think last time I checked a couple months back, he was in the 51-52 pound range, and he is moving into size 7 boys clothes. One of Judah's favorite ways to play with his toys is to line them up or create "scenes". He leaves them up in his room for days, and only takes them down when we make him pick up. He knows when a part of his creation has been moved even if it's just a little bit. He has actually been pretty creative in some of the things he has arranged in his room-everything from "dinosaur cities" to construction zones, to knight battles, to car and plane arrangements. It's so fun to see this part of his personality come out in the way he plays.  

 

Judah is still our fun-loving, smiley, energetic boy. He is definitely a people person and loves to be around people. He lights up when he is able to play with a friend, and he is often asking when he can see (insert a persons name) again. He is more of a follower than a leader, and at this point seems to be drawn to stronger personalities, a dynamic that we need to help him navigate through. He is a fantastic big brother; Eden loves running around with him, and Asher's face lights up when he sees Judah. We are still working on helping him learn what it means to make good choices and listen before acting as well as confidence (among other things), but we could not be more proud of him!