Happy First Birthday Eliot!

I cannot believe my baby is one. In fact, to be exact, he has been one for a few weeks now. We did manage to have a great time on his first birthday with cake and all. Grandmother and Granddad were able to join us for lunch on Friday as was Aunt Natalie and Cousin Silas (who we were all thrilled to meet for the first time). We were so chuffed that Natalie's visit corresponded with Eliot's first birthday.

We told the older kids that they could get him a gift together. So we headed off to Target to pick it out. It was really funny because the older kids all had ideas of what the best present would be - mostly revolving around what they wanted themselves at least that was the case with Theo and Addie - not so much with Jack (age does mature a bit!). We finally settled on a really cool set of keys that even has a remote control fob thingy. They look baby-ish and real-ish at the same time. We did all this by whispering since Eliot was in the front of the shopping cart! Despite this, I think he was surprised when he opened it!

Our main nickname for Eliot this year has been 'Baby'. We all really like to call him Baby. With quite a bit of authority, however, Theo announced on Eliot's birthday that we should all stop calling him Baby because he was now one and not a baby anymore. I reluctantly agreed. He will always be my baby, but as I told the kids, I would hate for him to go apply for a job at 22 and introduce himself as 'Baby Anderson'. So from now on we will all strive to call him Eliot.

This year has gone really fast and has lots of big events in it. Looking back, I am so glad that Eliot has been part of this year. In twelve months, he truly has made his place in this family. We wouldn't want it any other way.

Is that Alec singing?

We were listening to music in the car on the way home from St. Louis today. It was music performed by The Crossing music team. Alec came up and Theo and Addie were trying to say that the singer on the song was Alec.

After laughing (!), Charles and I tried to correct them and tell them 'no, actually this is Scott Johnson singing.' That song ended and a new one started. The new song was sung by a soprano - clearly a girl. Theo quickly piped up and said, 'O.K. I think we can all agree that this is not Alec singing.' LOL. 

Happy Birthday Charles!

In order to ensure we keep our blog somewhat chronological I will post regarding Charles's recent birthday back on April 22nd. We were blessed with amazing weather. It was a day that you woke up and you wanted to celebrate, and we were happy that we had something and more importantly someone to celebrate.

We took a picnic to Rock Bridge State Park and had a nice hike to the Devil's icebox waterfall/cave area. It was a great time. The kids really had a good time, despite Jack getting a splinter (which was a huge deal to him at the time). They have asked numerous times when we can go back to that park. Given that it is less than 3 miles from our house, we are hoping the answer 'soon' will be true.

We ended the day with family pizza and a cookie cake. We invited my parents up for pizza and to help us celebrate in the evening. Given that my dad's birthday was just a week before we also included him on the cookie cake - 'Happy Birthday Dad^2'. Charles doesn't love cake so my mom made him a Mexican seven layer dip which served as his cake, at least for him, the rest of us enjoyed the cookie cake!

Charles and I commented that it was one of our favorite of his birthdays in a long time. I think a large part was the weather, and it was just a great day with family.

Charles and Eliot enjoying their walk

Charles and all the kids

Jack and Charles exploring the cave

 The card Jack made for Charles - my favorite part (which is kind of blurry) says 'Welcome to your Gerald R Ford year!' - what? you might ask (especially if you live in England). This makes complete sense to a seven year old - Gerald R Ford was our 38th president! :)

Jack's First Baseball Game

One thing we missed out on while in England was baseball. Many of Jack's friends started playing baseball a few years back. Now that we are back in the US, Jack has been happy to join them in America's favorite pastime. Tonight he had his first game. We were praying for a positive experience, and I think that prayer was answered. Here are a few pictures for your enjoyment:


Jack in the dugout:

Jack at bat:

Theo and Problem Solving

The following story is not suitable for those who don't like to talk about poop. You have been warned.

The other day Theo came to Charles right before breakfast and said 'Dad, my poop isn't coming.' Charles showed proper concern and said, 'Oh Theo, are you a little constipated? We should make sure you drink a lot of water. That will help.'

Charles got Theo a drink of water and Theo quickly drank it and then ran off. Charles asked Theo where he was going given that breakfast was just being served. Theo yelled back 'I am going to see if my poop will come now.'

In Theo's four-year-old mind, his four sips of water and two minutes of lapsed time were going to make all the difference. Wish all problems were truly solved in a four-year-old ways!