Ruth's 3rd Birthday!

We hung streamers outside the kids door with a few balloons on the floor. Ruth came out in the morning and said, "These are decorations!"

We hung streamers and balloons in the dining room, too. 

She picked chocolate cake with chocolate icing, and she decorated it with candy corns.

What a sweet Birthday Girl!

She was so cute blowing out the candles. We lit them for her 3 times.

And then, she licked the cake! All on her own!

Mommy and Daddy with the Birthday Girl!

Then Dinah pointed to show us exactly where she licked it. :) Guess she wanted to make sure Ruth ate that piece. 

The best family picture we got!

And on to the presents. A family of owls from Dinah, John, and Ezra.

Some jewelry.

A purse.

Some Strawberry Shortcake dolls.

Daddy looks just as excited about them as Ruth. :)

And a new Curious George book.

And a bag of goodies from the Uncle Tom and Aunt Bev and boys.

We had a great day with our Ruth on her third birthday. She's a kind, sweet little girl who makes us laugh daily. We are so thankful for our precious girl! Happy Birthday, Little Bit! We love you!

Wordless Wednesday

Sweet Friends

The Chilsons, our great friends from Wake Forest, came to visit a couple weekends ago. We had a great time, and our eight children had an awesome time playing together! It's so hard to believe there was only one child when we first met! Here are a few pictures of our families together.

Lydia, Dinah, John, Joshua, and Asher playing with Alphie.

Ruth checking out David eating his bread.

Rain outside and daddies gone to ride their bikes=

play-doh time for the big kids.

The baby boys, David and Ezra.

Two cuties.

David is just a few months younger than Ezra but he seems so much more babyish and is so sweet to hold.

They really enjoyed Alphie and playing together.

Miss Jessie and Ezra. :) What a sweet moment of seeing the fruits of months of praying for this little guy.

And the big boys all loaded with their bikes for the bikes ride. 

What a great weekend with our precious friends we miss so. so. so. much when we are in Kenya!

Our Ezra...

does.not.like the sound of the vacuum cleaner.

is getting used to his car seat.

screams when he wants something.

is a left hip baby just like his sister Ruth.

can eat us out of house and home. That boy can eat!

loves, loves, loves his Daddy!

will go to other's, mainly grandparents and aunts and uncles, but not for long. He's right back to Mommy or Daddy.

is walking all.over.the.place! Definitely trying to keep up with his big brother and sisters.

is learning he doesn't need 2 bottles during the night.

is cutting several teeth.

has definitely learned "no" and looks when you call his name.

A Sweet Day

Wow. I'm over a week behind in getting Ezra's birthday pictures posted. But better late than never, right?

A family picture on his birthday. Not too bad for a timer picture!

Trying to get into his birthday present. Wow, toys are really in the packaging!

A hammer!

And it goes straight to the mouth! 

Love, love, love that he is in our arms on his first birthday!

We weren't sure how he would do with his birthday cake since he wasn't a big fan of bread when we first got him. But he did not disappoint! He dug right in and had it all over!

Love those chubby brown fingers with cake all over them!

On your birthday in Kenya, icing gets dotted all over your face. We thought we'd give him a bit of Kenya for his birthday, too! ;)

Our boy has a great smile!

He figured out the present thing pretty quick, too. Didn't take him long to figure out those toys were meant for him!

Of course he has lots of help to get them open since he's not so sure about tearing the paper off yet. 

Love that he knows what to do with the cars and trucks. 

We had a wonderful day with our 1st birthday boy! We could not be happier to have him in our home, loving him and taking care of him! We love you, Ezra! Happy 1st Birthday, Son!