giving thanks

summer smiles with my favorite boys

garden hose and plastic pool= hours of fun

thank you, God, for my beautiful family... both here and in Africa.

jumpin' in

so here we are. not even three months home. we are all stuck together like grilled cheese--ooey, gooey in love. Joshua keeps us all on our toes and delights us with his hilarious "drunk eyes" and crazy expressions. He loves to say, "Hi" to us and is constantly making us laugh out loud. He likes this funny song that toby and i sing to him and he fills in the "yeah" part with full body exhuberance everytime.

the boys are having a great summer--swimming, hiking, zoo trips, swings, pony rides and sitting in the cheap little plasic pool in the yard. we are off to maine soon and hope joshua will breathe deep the salty air and forever be hooked like the rest of us. not sure he will want to brave the water with me and toby but i will do my best to get him in the ocean. we all know, dave will not be out there swimming. he protests every year.

i can't believe how much toby has grown...traveling to Ethiopia, turning five, becoming a big brother...he is such an amazing kid. he has thoroughly enjoyed his summer at the park pool--learning how to swim by simply jumping in the water, letting himself touch the bottom with his toes and then floating back up. (there is a little bit of a lesson there...are you feelin' it?) jump in. enjoy the ride.

i love this picture of my guys. toby is pretty sick of my camera at this point in his life so he is very likely to turn his head or make a goofy face just to see me get flustered...but joshua, well, he just looks right at me with those great big eyes, so happy with his big brother at his side. how can i not take a little snap?

woohoo!

i am absolutely delighted to say that Joshua has gained 5 pounds in the last two months! His pediatrician was amazed at his progress and confident that he will catch up soon. He has even made it on the American baby charts! A happy day indeed! He is such a fighter and such a sweet guy.

everytime i think of you, i smile for awhile--dan zanes

brothers.

these guys are hilarious playmates. and when the going gets tough with feeding joshua babyfood...big brother can shovel mashed peas into little brother's mouth like a pro! When i need someone to keep the baby awake in the car...toby is there to make his brother laugh and sometimes cry:) toby comes downstairs each morning with a huge grin after seeing his long awaited brother. although it's six in the morning...it still makes my heart glad.

when we first met joshua, i was nervous and a little reserved not wanting to freak this little guy out...not toby, he was jumping around us in a circle shouting, "I love you, I love you!" over and over again. it was a beautiful reminder to us to live and love freely.