Cute Pics...

Since I have been remiss in my blogging over the last couple of months here are some pics to tell the tale...


The Rodeo is a big deal here in Houston...so Naomi's school had their annual Rodeo Day Parade...

We went to the park and Elisabeth dragged the two lunch boxes all over the playground...

We've had a little of this...

And a lot of this...

Andy bought a basketball hoop. Not the in-ground one that he really wants...but it'll hold us over for now. It has been a huge hit!

Andy figured out the perfect Valentines Day gift. A bouquet of my favorite candy..

Tal celebrated his "100 days" of school! It's a pretty big deal in kindergarten so they have all the kids make these shirts with a hundred of something on them. We chose a little of everything that Tal loves...I think this shirt weighed 5 pounds!

More interesting additions to the Calvin sleeping saga...

Andy took a week off of work and we had a "staycation" We stayed at home and got all sorts of useful things done. It was actually a really fun week - I'd definitely recommend it...

Elisabeti loved the staycation - we spent a lot of time digging in the yard...

Tal continues to love to "build" things. I opened the fridge one morning to find this little dude smiling at me...can you see his face? It was so funny and cute I didn't even get mad that he'd used one of my yummy Lindt truffles...

Elisabeti turned 1!

Wow! I can't believe our baby turned one! I think because she is so small I forget that she is getting older. What a year it has been - but with all the stress and chaos some of our life-changes have created Elisabeth has been entirely wonderful. Our little Angel, here are some of the things we love about you...

• I love the way Elisabeth's cheeks consume her face when she smiles. It's impossible not to smile when you see it!
• I love that we found such a great nickname for her...Elisabeti. We were at a wellness visit right after she was born and I was reading a book to the bigger kids. The little girl in the story (from Jamaica) was named Elisabeti and it stuck! It has morphed into Beti...but we love them both!
• I love that Elisabeth is small...for the Law family that is. She is in the 25% for weight - and for us that is just something so different from our other kiddos that I laugh every time I see her little body. And while she is small she still has perfectly kissable, pinchable cheeks!
• I love that she has an opinion. She is already so determined to keep up with the big kids - she wants to have what they have and be where they are. She has already figured out how to climb up onto the trampoline and throw a full-size tantrum when we baby her. She will be a hard one to slow down.
• I love what a little girl she is - she already holds her babies and loves walking around with a purse on her arm.
• I love that she has been so easy to love. She has saved us this year with her mellow tendencies. She can be content for hours just playing by herself. Again, with all of our big personalities she has been a fun change!
• I love how much the big kids love her. She will forever be the baby in our family. In fact Calvin only calls her baby. Today, after he admonished her not to take his candy, "No baby no!" he pushed her down. I told him to say sorry...he said, "sorry baby." And Naomi, just can't get enough of her. It's so fun to wake up in the morning after Tal or Naomi has taken her out of her crib and carried her downstairs to see them all playing together!

Honestly, I think that someone upstairs knew how much we needed our Elisabeti. She has brought so much joy into our home!

Last year, when Elisabeti was born, Andy took the kids to Build-A-Bear. So in honor of El's birthday we took her to choose her own. She loves this bunny!

I actually think holding the wrapped presents is more fun for Elisabeth than actually opening them!

Before...

After...

Christmas Highlights

Just so my kids know that there was a Christmas 2010 - here are some of our favorite pics...

Of course Talmage. being the only one who truly understands what Christmas morning brings, woke up at some unearthly hour. He tried to wake the other kids - Calvin wouldn't move and Naomi's response was, "Go on, I'll be down in a minute" at which point she went right back to sleep!

Evan sent the kids Pez dispensers for Christmas - it was a huge hit!

Naomi earned her brand-new bike! She taught herself to ride on two wheels in November (a small miracle) and was so excited for a bigger bike so she could keep up with Tal!

The new trampoline! Santa and Mrs. Claus stayed up all night on Christmas Eve setting this puppy up in our garage...then we had to move it around the house into the backyard - not one of Mrs. Claus' finer moments.

Grandma Law knitted the girls the super-cute dresses!

Not one of my more-flattering pictures but gotta go with the majority on this one...

Plus, it's a great display of Grandma Law's handiwork!