Cousins!

One of best things about being back is the time we have gotten to catch up with family. It has been quite an adjustment to have the opportunity to share our lives with the ones we love again. We have had so much fun playing with Lily and Patrick in Houston. Lily, Patrick, and Joshua were all born within about six weeks of each other. We sure didn't plan it that way, but it will be great to watch them grow up together! I have such fun memories of my cousins, and I am thankful Joshua will get to experience some of that fun!

Sweet siblings

I have treasured getting to know our two kids. I have learned in the months we have had Ellie just how distinctive those little personalities and tendencies are from day 1. Joshua has been such a terrific Big Brother; we have been pleasantly surprised with how he seems to enjoy Baby Sister. His morning greetings have grown into "sharing" toys with her. I think he realized she is a person like him and not a meerkat like the ones at the zoo. Joshua has attempted to give Ellie his plastic plane, which is nearly as big as she is. He also sweetly hands her the little plastic links we bought for her to explore. Ellie can actually grasp these now when I put them in her hand or she accidentally finds one. Joshua doesn't understand that, so he holds a link out to her for a while, and then just sets it on her when he gets impatient waiting for her to take it from him.:-) All in good time, my boy! Joshua also likes to start the music on Ellie's bouncy seat for her. Today, he wanted to show her the pictures in his book, so he stood right next to her face and held it open for her to see. Obviously, she didn't really respond, so he just put the book on her and moved on to something else. It will be so fun when she can interact with him more!

On the other hand, I was feeding Ellie yesterday, and Joshua wanted to sit with us in the recliner. I pulled him up next to me, and he promptly began shoving little Ellies feet and legs over so that he could hog the space. Later in the day, I sat down with Ellie near Joshua, and he came toward us. I thought he was going to sit next to me, but he sat ON Ellie's legs in my lap! I think it must have been an extra-needy-feeling-jealous kind of a day!

First "real" haircut

So, the bottom picture is the "before" picture. Joshua did pretty well at his first professional haircut, and I must say, his hair turned out a LOT better than it did when Mommy attempted to cut it! Of all of the sights and toys at this place to grab his attention during this potentially traumatic experience, his eyes were glued in a somber state of shock to the mirror rather than the television show, and his hands preferred the child-sized clippers that he actually got to TOUCH! (You know, one of those forbidden items at home.)

Excessive electricity

No, not excessive, but I couldn't think of any other word that started with "E." We have been enjoying those wonderful April showers lately. Hmmm... I do love rain, but I don't know if I can full appreciate it with a 19 month-old! The other evening Ellie was taking a nap while David and Joshua were out. It was raining and thundering, and I realized that I kept expecting the power to go off. I know it happens from time to time when lightening is involved, but I am used to a 95% chance that they will cut the power when it rains. ("They" being the proverbial man who switched our power on and off every four hours...) Anyway, I had to sigh with relief every time a clap of thunder sounded and the lights remained.

This and that

I think this is the new face of blogging in my life... a hiatus here and an update there. It feels a little less important since we see friends and family SO much more frequently these days, but I will keep it up as sporadically as I am able!

It is hard to believe we have been back for just over a month. It feels like it has been forever, but it has also gone by quickly... if that is possible. We have had a whirlwind of a month, but I think we are finally getting into a manageable routine.

We take frequent trips to the zoo in Waco where Joshua loves to run around see all of the animals. His favorites are the giraffes and the birds... not the caged birds, but the obnoxious ones that plagues Waco. Our least favorites are the vultures that hang out around the bears to eat their lunch.

Joshua loves all things outside; he would stay out there all the time if we would let him. Unfortunately, he seems to be quite prone to allergies around here. He is also exploring the world of art. Joshua loves to sit in his chair at the table and color. He also brought home his very first finger painting from church the other day... you can see that he is quite a natural!

In other news, Ellie is now 3 months old. She took a break from growing, but I think we are back on track there. Ellie is a sweet little girl, and she seems to be very disturbed at times by her rambunctious big brother. That's the news for now in our world!

Ellie's jeans

David bought Ellie these precious little jeans. I thought she would be so cute in them, and she will be... some day. I put them on her a couple of weeks ago, and she was kind of swimming in them. Ellie is about 2.5 months now, and it still seems like she sleeps all the time. I think that is because we are used to Joshua's wakefulness. She is a very sweet little girl, and she likes to have a companion near her when she is awake for about 30-45 minutes at a time. She gets a little fussy, but then she starts to smile and coo as she sees a friendly face. And those of you who have seen her recently will be happy to know that she is growing some new hair on top of her head.:-)

Pediatric Protocol... round 2

I have mentioned the way things went with the medical system in Lebanon. Now, I feel compelled to remark on our first experiences with the system in America. Ellie was having some trouble over the weekend. It was no emergency; I just needed some reassurance. You might remember the way things went in Lebanon: simply call or text the doctor, and receive a response within minutes. Well, what do you do when you don't have the doctor's cell phone number? Answer: call the random person who has no idea who you are or even in what city you are located so that they can have a random nurse call you back and give you some textbook answer. Hmmm... add this to the list of things I will miss about Lebanon... and mark it as my first meltdown since we arrived in America that was related to cultural adjustment. (How was that for a good sentence?) Or try plan B: call the nice doctor from your church whose number happens to be in your friend's phone. The good news is that we had already scheduled general check-ups for both kids this week, and once we finally met our new doctor, we were very pleased. The picture is of Joshua and his Lebanese doctor. No, Joshua did not love visiting the doctor, did he? Well, our American doctor's office gets points for having an actual waiting room with an aquarium to distract the unassuming patient. They also gave Joshua two little toy trucks, two books, and little Tweety band-aids. (Oh, wait... I guess we indirectly paid for all of those things...:-p)