Dear Buddy

Thanks for choosing us to be your forever family. When we found out that you had lived in two homes prior to ours, we promised you that no matter what happened, you were stuck with us for the rest of your life! Thanks for making that an easy promise to keep!

From our first ride home

 to our first family picture

  to the first time we saw you "roaching"

and running in our backyard, we were in awe of you!

You were the best dog we could have asked for. You were patient with the cats from the beginning

 and you learned to be patient when the kids invaded your home

 

and your personal space.

 Okay, you weren't always perfect, but you were OURS!

 We enjoyed our road trips with you--sorry about the snow!

 We loved catching you sleeping on the couch--yes, it was okay!

  We loved giving you treats

  and taking naps with you.

 You've always been our "Angel Buddy" and we sure hope there are dogs in Heaven,

 because we'd love to see you run like this again!

We love you, Big Boy!

Eli and Micah got toolboxes from their Uncle Taylor and Aunt Roxy for Christmas. When we got home, they had some time to start sanding the pieces

 and nail the boxes together.

 After going to the store for some paint, the boys got to paint the toolboxes. They worked so hard on these boxes and are really proud of them!

Eli

 Micah

 

Over the last week, we have had some beautiful weather and have taken advantage of it every day!

Eli, Micah, Joshua

 Joshua really likes the sand box...and has only eaten the sand a few times.

 

 

When I was downloading and going through our Christmas pictures, I realized I didn't have any pictures of our Christmas celebration with Grandma and Grandpa Cheney! I'm not sure how that happened...maybe I was too busy playing Honeycomb with Eli and Micah! This is one of their favorite new games and we've played it many times since Christmas.

Micah takes his turn.

 

 Eli takes a turn.

 A few rounds later...the bee and all the honeycomb pieces fall!

 And, as promised, a montage of videos showing Eli and Micah "scootering" every where!

Micah is on the blue scooter, and Eli is on the green one.

 

Christmas Break

We started Christmas break with a couple of surprises. First, Daddy came to pick up Eli and Micah from school. They saw him in the hallway and said, "What are you doing here?" It was fun to see their excited faces! Then, the ducks on campus let us get a really close look!

Before going to Kansas, we had a day at home and we let the boys open some of the gifts we weren't going to take with us. Uncle Mark and Aunt Rebecca got the boys these camping chairs, perfect for their camp outs with Daddy!

Micah asked for a microphone "just like the ones at church." I couldn't find a kid-friendly black microphone, but this blue one seems to be a hit!

Eli saw a picture of Marble Works in a few toy catalogs we got before Christmas. He couldn't stop talking about it. Eli and Micah have had a good time setting up "tracks" for their marbles to race down.

Eli and Micah have been asking for snow for a long time. We were excited to find Nana and Papa's yard still had snow on it! While the snow was too dry to throw snowballs at Papa, Eli and Micah did the best they could!

They even tried doing some snow angels!

Joshua got out in the snow, too.

It wasn't long before he was signing "all done."

Papa is fun to play with outdoors and in.

Joshua's too little to fly, but he had fun building and knocking over blocks with Papa.

The 5 of us on Christmas Eve

Kristy, Joshua, Paul

Eli & Micah

The grandsons in their Christmas Eve jammies

Papa (& Squirt), Micah, Eli, Nana & Joshua

By far, these scooters were the favorite gift of Christmas. Eli and Micah couldn't wait to ride them, so Papa agreed to let them use his garage to try the scooters out!

Joshua is curious about everything, but Nevaeh was very patient with him while he was exploring her gifts.

Nana got time to read to 3 grandkids.

All 5 grandkids.

Amory, Nevaeh, Eli, Micah & Joshua

We are blessed that our other Sister-in-Law is also from Kansas. Often, we try to coordinate our visits so that the boys can see all of their cousins in one trip--and we love seeing all of our nieces! Eli had spiked a 102 temp the day before we left and was still running a fever during our visit with the Cheney cousins, so he wasn't feeling very cooperative for pictures.

The Cheney cousins

Britton, Kaelyn, Joshua, Micah & Eli

The Cheney kids and grandkids.

On the second day of the trip, Micah spiked a 102 temp. Poor kid! He was such a trooper and really had a good attitude most of the day. He slept much of the afternoon, which his body obviously needed.

Our second week of break wasn't exactly what I had planned--with all three boys sick, (Joshua spiked his 102 temp the day after we got home.) we stayed home and had a lot of family time. It was good to have so much unplanned time together and when the big boys were feeling well, they got some time out in the garage with Paul! I will post those pictures soon!

The Lord's Prayer

Eli and Micah have been learning the Lord's Prayer in Sunday School, so we started saying it regularly at home, too. Here they are showing off what they've learned!

Eli

Micah

12 Months

Joshua, I can't believe you are already 1! We have had a fun year watching you grow and develop.
At 12 months, you:
-can walk!

-have started climbing stairs, our small picnic table, and the couch when the cushions are off.

-love playing with your brothers.
-cry or yell when Eli and Micah don't include you in their play.

-say Momma and Dada regularly.
-point to the things you want.
-like to tackle Daddy just like Eli and Micah.

-still take 2 naps everyday.
-like going to the church nursery (and they love you, too!)
-have a Christmas tree filled with pictures of you this year, dubbed "The Joshua Tree."

-love music and dancing.

-like wearing shoes and hats.
-love Chocolate cake!
-begged Momma for more cupcakes when you saw them on the counter before Christmas.

-like to go outside and try to crawl out any open door.
-had your Birthday dinner with your Godparents, who love you dearly!

-have 2 bottom teeth and are cutting 4 top teeth.
-will crawl to get somewhere fast, but only after trying to walk there first.
-like standing/walking over being held.
-will use anyone/anything to help you stand up, including your brothers. Eli helped you this time.

-giggle at yourself whenever you sneeze.
-love Buddy and try to pet him as often as possible (even if Buddy doesn't like it!).

-have started saying something that sounds like "up" when you want to be picked up.

-are still Momma's little man and can often be seen just like this--holding onto Momma's leg.

Joshua, you have been fun to play with and take care of this year. You have been a curious, active, determined, laid-back, and happy baby. We pray these character traits remain with you throughout life and that God will use them to serve His purpose on this Earth. Happy Birthday, Joshua Jasper! We love you!!-Momma and Daddy