Time with the Wakley's

Adeline spent some special time with Doug. She says that she remembers when she was a baby and he held her. I am not too sure about that but I know we do have a picture of it. Adeline was telling Doug how to write her name....and then she got sidetracked.

We went outside to play before dinner was ready. Andrew was a little shy around Doug so he spent some time with Mommy.
Adeline and Angela were making sand cakes.

I got a new picture of Addy with Doug so when she sees him next we can refer to this shot. I need to find the other one but it is on our external hard drive and I am lazy.
cheese!

I love this girl. I love how she loves my kids.

Andrew giving his hugs and kisses good-bye

James took Addy to Awana so I had a few extra minutes with Angela and her Dad before they left. I was also able to enjoy one of my oatmeal creme pies Doug brought me because he remembered always buying them for me as a kid. I love them!

Please pray for Angela while she is in Kenya. This is going to be an amazing experience for her.

Corbin girls

I had the pleasure of watching the Corbin girls today. In the morning both Addy and Maya were in school so I had Sophie and Andrew. Sophie reminded me of what a fun stage 2-3 is. All of the cute innocent things they say. And Sophie has this quiet squeaky voice that is irresistible. Andrew showed Sophie what the routine is when Daddy leaves.


The two played so well together. There was a moment when I was in the kitchen and I heard Sophie talking to Andrew saying "it's ok Andrew, everything is going to be fine". When I walked out I saw Sophie patting Andrews head very gently. She was telling him that everything was ok as she was trying to get the barbie car from him. Everything was going to be ok because she was going to play with it for just a little bit. Unfortunately Andrew didn't cooperate so we had to take turns but it was SO cute to watch how Sophie used her sweetness to get something she wanted.

After I picked up the girls we all played outside. Maya and Adeline told me all about school and writing the number two.

Sophie enjoyed the sand box.

Andrew discovered new hiding places.

Addy and Maya...school buds. Adeline has told me many time lately that she wants to have a sleepover and have Maya, Katie and Taylor over. I guess that sometimes when Adeline plays with Katie, Maya plays with Taylor. I am glad that they are getting to know new people.
My childhood girlfriend Angela came up to visit with her Dad. Angela will be leaving tomorrow to South Africa for five months on a mission trip. Her Dad was like my second Dad growing up and is a very special man. They were both so flexible with me watching a couple extra kids and even treated us all to lunch.

We met James at McDonald's for his lunch. This allowed him some time to see Angela and her Dad and was also a fun outing with the kids.

Silly Sophie! I promise Ryan and Angela they did have fries but they also had apples.

Andrew didn't want to sit in his high chair so he sat with Daddy as we watched him very closely so that he didn't get Daddy dirty.

After many attempts to get these two to sleep I finally caved and brought them downstairs. They sat together and watched The Little Mermaid.

Andrew and Eli

This Fall I started watching the Morse kids once a week. Some days I just have the boys and other days I have all three. But I always have Eli. Andrew and Eli have become pretty good pals. They give each other their blankets, pacifiers, or cups. They like to keep each other happy...most of the time.....

This is hard to explain but the other day they were playing together and at the same time they both wanted to push the same toy. In Andrew language "lots of grunting and pointing" he tells Eli to go and play with the shopping cart instead. In Eli language "one big scream" he tells Andrew no. I am trying to capture another moment similar to this on video because it is so cute to see them communicate. For Andrew to know that he wants to play with the toy but then to offer Eli the option of playing with something else. And for Eli to understand that Andrew is not willing to give up the toy and that he does not want to play with the shopping cart was so fun to watch.

And then while they were outside playing with the basketball hoop Andrew apparently didn't like how Eli shot his baskets. So each time Eli would go to shoot Andrew would run up and knock the hoop down. What a bully. Eli didn't like that either. And Andrew didn't like it when I told him to stop and be nice.

Cookie time!!

Andrew is now officially a part of our baking team. He even has his own apron. Actually it is one of Addy's old gardening aprons but he doesn't know. Addy does pretty good with her brother there but we will have to set up some special Mommy and Addy baking days too.
Yum! Both kids enjoying what I think is the best part...the cookie dough.

It's AWANA time!

Last year Adeline started AWANA in late December and had to memorize two verses a week to catch up with all the other kids who were in it since Fall. This year Adeline has started with all everyone else so we will be able to go at a much slower pace.
There is almost a year difference between these pictures. I remember getting the vest and thinking that it was so big and now it seems a little small.

What sweethearts. This is at their awards night in May.

The tire swing

Adeline always wants to ride the tire swing when we are at the park but with Andrew we haven't done it very much. Since Andrew can hold himself up on a regular swing I thought we would try the tire swing. He did really well. Adeline loved it even though I didn't push very hard.

My two kiddo's

Just some pictures I took while the kids and I were outside playing. Andrew was attached to his football. I don't want to be one of those annoying moms who talk about their kids as if they are superhuman. But I do think Andrew shows many signs of being athletic, and maybe just maybe I will let him play football if he really wants to. I will just jump out on the field the first time some kid tackles him :-)

Adeline was riding her bike around and around in circles. Watch out because she will run you over if you get in her way.

Sunday afternoon

The kids enjoying a healthy snack of licorice before we all head out.
James called my name to come quick and take this picture of the kids.

After lunch we all got in the van and headed to Olivet. This allowed us more time with the Philly Beans. There was a lot of confusion as to how they were going to get to their flight in the morning but it was finally figured out on the drive to Olivet.

It always seems to take Andrew some time to warm up but once he has (and if Grandpa Bean isn't around) he is all yours. Andrew and Uncle Josh were able to form a special bond.

Pictures with Great Grandpa

Thank you Great Grandpa for coming to visit us and for being so flexible. We really enjoyed our time with you especially two little ones who adore you. We love you!

To the beach

It was really cold but it didn't seem to bother the kids. We wanted to at least show Brooke, Josh and Bethany how close the beach really is to our house.
Andrew was being fussy only wanting to go to Grandpa.
Brooklynn was loving the sand. We decided that Brooke and Andrew have changed personalities.....Andrew is now the fussy one and Brooke is more calm and relaxed.

I seriously have to shake and dump Andrews shoes because they are full of sand.

Fun shot with Aunt Erin

Great Grandpa was waiting at the bottom to catch Addy who likes to go down face first.
Bean family 2010