Happy Birthday, Melissia!

On Saturday, Brian's mom celebrated her 60th birthday! She had a lovely party with good food and good friends. We all had a wonderful time! Daniel especially enjoyed the exciting wildlife at Grandma Missi's house. There were pretty koi in the fish pond, a Cockatiel named Dennis (see photos below), three dogs, and lots of squirrels and snails. What more could a little boy want?






Melissia, we love you and hope you had a wonderful birthday. You are an awesome mom, mom-in-law, and grandmother to our little family!

Jumping baby!

These photos could almost make one of those little flip books!







This last one is just cute. I love my two boys!

To the zoo!

We took Daniel to the nearby zoo this weekend. What this zoo lacks in animals, it definitely makes up for with beautiful landscaping.

My little man and me...What a wonderful Mother's Day!

If you enlarge the above photo, you can read that little sign on the fence. I didn't notice it until I stepped back to take this photo. I still snapped the picture, but then quickly made him get down. I promise!

A boy and his turtle

Meet Toot, the friendly box turtle that we had been holding captive in our backyard.
Daniel loved Toot! He showed him to everyone who visited our house. He loved feeding Toot. Notice the turtle's red chin in the photo above. Yep, that's strawberry juice. Even if Toot did not appreciate his small living quarters, I am sure he enjoyed the abundant menu of worms, fruit, and veggies.

Daniel loved playing with Toot. Oh my, that poor turtle had likely never experienced such affection and adoration.


We decided to set Toot free on Friday. I told Daniel, "We are going to take Toot to a new home." I'm not sure if Daniel completely understood what was about to transpire, but he was very excited to load Toot in the car and drive to the local park/city pond. Daniel kept repeating "New home! Toot's new home!"

At the park, we said our farewells and released Toot in the weeds next to the pond. Daniel eagerly watched as Toot made a dash for the water and began swimming along the shore. After a few moments though, Daniel began patting his leg (in the same manner as you might call a dog) and saying, "Come, Toot! Come!" I explained that this was Toot's new home, and we were going to leave him there. Daniel handled it pretty well, and shouted "Bye, Toot!" as we headed back to the car.

Daniel still mentions Toot from time to time. When he and Brian visited that same park the next day, Daniel took his Daddy all around the pond looking and calling for Toot. Oh, the joys and sorrows of bringing home a box turtle!

Kite Flying

This spring has brought many new "firsts" for Daniel. We bought him his first fishing pole, which he absolutely adores. Then, Brian found Daniel his first pet box turtle. We have been keeping it outdoors in a big tub and feeding it earth worms, strawberries, and various vegetables.

Daniel's latest first has been his new kite. Daniel loves, loves, loves flying his kite. He can frequently be heard chanting, "Pie kite! Pie kite!" (Translation: Fly kite. His "f" sounds sometimes come out as "p" sounds. Very cute, but it makes deciphering what he is saying somewhat difficult for the untrained ear.)

Above, Brian is getting the kite in the air. Daniel really wanted to do it himself, but he settled for pretending while Daddy did it.

Our fish kite! Isn't the blue sky just gorgeous?

And here is Daniel, finally getting his turn at flying the kite. He did very well and never let go of the string. What a big boy!

Easter Weekend

We had a lovely Easter this year. So lovely, that I had to take approximately 150 photos to document it. Praise the Lord for digital cameras! Here are some of my favorite shots.

We took Daniel to a local Easter egg hunt on Saturday morning. Aunt Sara and Uncle Kevin also came to watch. There were so many kids...it was pretty fierce competition for the eggs!



We spent Saturday afternoon with Brian's mom, Sara, and Kevin. We played cards, walked to the park, and just had fun together!

Daniel and Grandma Missi

Swinging on his belly!

In case you are wondering, that huge tank sits at our local park. Daniel loves climbing on it with Brian while I hover about below, shouting "Be careful!" and holding my arms out to catch Daniel in case he falls.

On Easter Sunday, we went to church and then ate a delicious meal at my grandparent's house.

Daniel at church with Grandpa John.

The two look alikes--Daniel with his Uncle Jonathan

Reading "Peter Cottontail" with Grammy

After dinner my aunt, uncle, and cousins arranged an Easter egg hunt for Daniel. He loved it...especially the jelly beans and ring pops!

And here is our little family of three.

Praise the Lord for His sacrifice, so that we can have abundant life and spend eternity with Him! We serve a risen Savior!

Anniversaries

Well, it seems I have taken a three week break from blogging! Funny how the time slips away without me realizing it. Over the interim, I missed blogging about some very important happenings. First of all, Brian and I celebrated our sixth anniversary at the end of March. Yea!

And just three days after our anniversary, my parents celebrated their 36th anniversary!

And just a week later, Brian's sister Sara and her husband Kevin celebrated their very first anniversary!

You want to know something absolutely crazy about the three couples shown above? Each one of us had our first anniversaries on Easter. What are the odds of that? Brian and I won't have another Easter anniversary until our 12th anniversary, I believe.

Happy anniversary to all of us!