Life is funny

The girls have been so funny lately. Ellie is starting to walk a bit, which is a lot of fun. Hannah is her biggest chearleader...though she's frustrated because Ellie won't walk to her yet. You can see the video of her on youtube at the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54cKfV53bsk

For those of you who are wondering...yes, those are raisins I'm bribing her with and yes, her head is partly cut off in most of the video...but it's the feet that really matter in this case!

Hannah is speaking more fluently lately. Of course, like any smart three year old, she's using her new found gift of expression to manipulate! On the way home from church last Sunday she asked Andrew if she could have something. When he didn't respond right away, she said,"Daddy, just say, 'Yes, Hannah"!

We said goodbye to Chris and Jess last weekend. It is sad to see them go, but we know they will do amazing things for God's Kingdom in Peru. Keep them in your prayers! Hannah and Ellie had lots of hugs and kisses for Joshua before we left!

Standing Up for Herself!

Ellie is excited about her newest accomplishment. She has started standing up all by herself...no hands! At 14 months, she's still taking her time and she's enjoying the ride. She even got herself to a standing position from the floor, but only once. It's so funny to watch her stand there and grin with pride. Then she flops down on her bottom as hard as she can, laughs and starts clapping for herself. Gotta love it.

Smile!

Just before the new year, the Graesser's took advantage of having the whole family in town and had some pictures taken. Since our last photo shoot, Ellie was born and we have two more babies on the way (Kim and Mel are both pregnant!). It'll be an exciting year.

Ellie's First Haircut

Ellie got her first haircut last week! All of a sudden, she seems like such a big girl! Who am I fooling? She's 14 months old and still showing no interest in walking...she's going to be my baby girl for a while! She's finally starting to call me "mama", but only after I ignore her first 12 attempts at calling me "Dada". All in all, she's very happy with herself!

A visitor

Joshua Rose came and stayed with us this weekend and the girls really enjoyed having a baby boy around. So, of course we had to take a couple incriminating pictures for later in life. Hannah gave baby Josh at least six dozen kisses over the course of a day and a half. He's a cutie!!
The poor guy fell victim to a house full of little girls! No neutral hooded towels to be found!

Playing the piano

Hannah got a toddler size grande piano from Blake and Kristen this year for Christmas. It's an electric keyboard and both the girls love it! I still think it's really funny to see the sit there on the stool like a big person and play the piano. I had to share a couple pictures!

As you can see, Ellie prefers to play in the nude...actually she perfers to do everything in the nude!