18 months

Do I remember how to do this? It has been a long time, not sure if anyone is still out there but I thought I'd write tonight and do a quick update. The boys will be 18 months old on Friday, I can't believe how time flies! They are little boys now, running around, trying to talk and learning more each day. Today, I finally got them to color without them trying to eat the coloring crayons :) I never tried coloring much but then noticed that it was a common playdate activity that my kids didn't know about. They would eat the crayons instead of color so I'm glad we are getting this toddler skill up and running:) They are also getting more interested in reading books and like to look through them by themselves, calling out when they see items they know, airplane, ball, doggie etc... They call for help when they need me and are able to play by themselves for a little while. They still much prefer Daddy or I to be in the room though. Caleb is still a bit stronger and more comfortable in new situations, Eli is talking first. They both are quite determined and know how to express their needs and wants clearly:) I am loving watching them grow and have been amaized at the things they notice. When we first arrived in DC (we moved here 3 weeks ago) Eli looked up in the sky and said "moon, moon" and pointed to the moon. I'd never pointed it out except in books, so fun to see what they observe. They look in the sky a lot now, pointing out birds, airplanes, squirls whatever they see that is up...

We are in a fairly small townhouse now in Arlington with three levels, no garage and no backyard. I really am excited about living here, so much to do and see, easy fun places to walk and a ton of young professional families. It is interesting though that we move from our large suburban home (the second we've owned in our marriage) into a smaller, urban setting now that we have kids. There are 4 sets of stairs to go down to get to our place, so to go anywhere with the boys is quite a job right now. I am 22 weeks pregnant (with boy #3) so my doctors tell me not to carry the boys. This is not possible, but it probably isn't smart to carry both of them-so usually up the stairs I carry Eli (who really likes to be held still) and hold Caleb's hand as he tries his best to walk up the stairs. I am hoping once the weather clears (we now have about 3 feet of snow on the ground) , and warms up, they can crawl up the stairs and then learn to walk up the stairs, I actually have them crawl sometimes now but it just takes SO long as they get distracted at every turn by the trees and sticks and stones-true "boys". I've enjoyed taking the boys to the parks around here and walking with them to do errands, so I tried to do this yesterday in the snow quite unsuccessfully. It is much harder to push a stroller in the snow than I ever thought it would be:)

Anyway that is our quick family update. Sean is still with World Vision, just a new position and new office. He is enjoying it quite a bit. He is such a good Dad and the boys LOVE him. When he is out of town they ask for him constantly. Here are some pictures over the past few months:
Halloween:

Eli Fall, in WA

Caleb fall-Wa

Eli-about 15 months

Caleb-same

Go Georgia Tech! (caleb)

The snow was so fun when it was only a few inches!

It is still fun, but we're ready for it to stop anytime:), it took Sean over 2 hours to dig our car out


The boys, helping us unpack-Eli then Caleb!


God has been very good to us, continuing to bless us at each step. Can't believe just a year ago we were still in Ethiopia waiting to pass court! Wow time flies...
You can also follow us on facebook, I'm a little better about posting there:)

Rachel