30 months and 10 months

Playing peek-a-boo through the dog door

Helping mommy with dishes

Fun with daddy

Getting into the cupcakes at the MOPS steering mtg.

Brothers...look at Eli standing! No steps yet though

Wow I can't believe how fast this last month has gone. I guess between the holiday's and my surgery it was over in a flash. I can't believe how close we are getting to Eli's first birthday. He is getting so big and so much more interactive with everyone. He is 21 lbs and 29" long. He wears size 12-18mo clothes and size 4 shoes.
One of the cutest things he does is grabs your face with his hands and opens his mouth all big for a kiss. I love it so much. He also says "momma" all the time now but we're still working on "Dadda". He is also screaming alot less now that he is signing which helps. I want to teach him a lot more signs than I did with Kyle but that involves training myself to use them all the time first.

Kyle is getting better with his emotions and screams alot less. He has been talking more about being mad or happy and talks alot about Eli being happy and smiling. When I tell him to be quiet because brother is sleeping he says, "brother time to get up".

Kyle is also getting better at sharing but now takes my phone and says, "mommy share"...um no. LOL

2011

I know I'm a little late on this, but with recovering from surgery I haven't had much time with out being on painkillers.

2011 is a year I have a love-hate relationship with.

It was a year joys- adding Elias to our family, Kyle turning 2, going to Maui, remodeling our kitchen
And a year of extreme difficulty- Getting Post-partum depression and anxiety, finding out I have Grave's Disease, and finally getting my thyroid removed.

But through it all I have learned and grown so much. I know now that God gives us the grace to get through anything. Even though we don't understand why we have to go through such difficult things, we can be comforted to know He will not allow us to go through anything that He has not predetermined is for our greater good. And when you have days where you don't want to get out of bed and do it again, calling on Him for His strength is the best thing to do.

This year I have learned the importance of saying "no" and learning my limits when it comes to stress and amount of activity. With that in mind I've seen the importance of spending as much time with my boys as I can and not letting the business of life push them aside. It's okay to let the laundry and cleaning go and sit on the floor and play.

So while I hope 2012 is a little less....eventful...I hope I grow just as much as a person and in my relationship with Christ.