Thanksgiving and beyond

We had a wonderful couple of days with family here for Thanksgiving. We also loved having Daddy "home. all day!" (in Joshua's words) for several days in a row! Today it is back to normal in our household. We all were sad to see the long weekend end, but I think it is nice to "get going" in life again. Joshua woke up this morning and said, "Miss. People." But he has also been very happy playing by himself! He is currently 1.5 hours into his nap and chatting away with his alligator and Ellie. (Ellie is not in the room with him.)

For Thanksgiving, Ellie ate turkey, roll, and winter squash. What a grown-up Thanksgiving meal! Joshua loved the ham best of all. Unfortunately, we don't have many pictures from the weekend, but I love the chaos in the kitchen in this picture! I guess we can put that big space to good use from time to time.

I loved opening up a couple of boxes of Christmas decorations that had been stored for us since before Lebanon. It is so fun to be back for this time of year, although it was fun to make traditions there and share them with our friends.

Sibling non-rivalry

Maybe I have posted a lot about Joshua and Ellie together, but it is just too sweet, and I appreciate it every day... so I will continue to talk about it! Joshua has picked up on several phrases we have worked on teaching him. (Phew... finally!) He runs into the house and announces when he is "home", he says "thank you" (sometimes,) and he ALWAYS remembers to say "Morning, Ellie!" or "Morning, Elle-Belle!" whenever she wakes up. I encourage him be telling him that some day she will answer him when he greets her! There bath times overlap from time to time simply because they have so much fun. I am trying to think about what they do together, but I think they pretty much get excited, laugh, and squeal. Ellie flaps her arms in an effort to handle her delight, and Joshua scoots around and shares toys with her.

Dealing with Dogs

Joshua loves dogs... at a distance. A decent distance. When he is certain they are not going to come toward him. There are three dogs that he has been around with relative ease. Two of those three are gentle, laid back golden retrievers, and one we just recently met.

Ellie loves dogs. She probably doesn't realize what a dog is at a distance as Joshua prefers, but let her get close and even get her toes licked, and she will bounce and laugh in excitement. It is really funny. We will see if she continues to have fun with dogs or if she gets a bit more skiddish as she grows.

Meet the dog that is perfect for both of our kids. His name is Raleigh. I have never met a dog like Raleigh before, but this is just Joshua's type of dog because he keeps his distance. The other evening we were in the room with Raleigh for hours, and he never once approached anyone except Ellie, much to her delight. So Joshua could walk around and not get attacked, and he could enjoy looking at the dog as he felt safe. And Ellie got her toes licked because Raleigh felt comfortable approaching her... I guess because she can't walk yet. And Mommy was relieved because the dog didn't have to be banished for our visit!

Movin' and Groovin'

Our kids like to dance. It surprises me how much they are aware of rhythm and music. It is like they can't resist moving, no matter how young they are or how uncoordinated they seem! Joshua loves to bounce and drum when he hears music. He has also been learning motions to songs at church and MDO. He nods his head and taps his fingers to different beats. Ellie bounces as well, but on her little rear end. It is hard to see in the picture, but Ellie has taken quite well to Joshua's little drum. It sat on the shelf for awhile, but now each child holds a stick and has a blast!

More on movin'... Ellie still hasn't crawled yet, but she gets around! It's not as if we watch her scoot around, it's more like, "Hmmm... I am pretty sure I did not set her down right next to that electrical outlet," or "Wait, how did she get my shoe and shove it into her mouth?" or "Oops, Ellie is stuck halfway beneath the couch!" Maybe she doesn't want to crawl because she doesn't ever see Joshua crawl. All I know is that she wants nothing to do with hanging out on her tummy! She can get onto her hands and knees or hands and toes easily, but she never tries long enough to get the movement down in that position! The more I notice all of Joshua's little pieces and toys strewn about, the more I am just fine with waiting for Ellie to get going!

Maturing interaction

I love watching both Ellie and Joshua as they figure out how to interact with the world and the people around them. Joshua enjoys jumping into conversations with an insistent, "uh-huh!" He also tells a "joke" and jumps in with exuberant laughter when he hears others laughing. Ellie's current favorites are peek-a-boo and patty cake. She also is quite conversational as she initiates and responds with grins, "da-das", and claps.