This is so funny to me because it commemorates the first time Ella tattled on Peter as well as the first time Peter had peanut butter! That morning, Ella and I shared an apple with peanut butter and I really didn't think there was that much left in the bowl! Well, I was in the kitchen getting a bottle for the baby I watch and Ella came in and said, "Peter is making a big mess with the butter. On his face and table." I came in and this is what I saw. He thought it was funny until I walked away to get the camera, but you get the idea. It was a mess and I was actually glad Ella tattled on him. It's also a good thing Peter doesn't have allergies.

This is a really late post, but I figure if I'm going to print this someday, I'd like to document Peter's first Easter. Once I go back and read it later, it won't matter that Easter was about a month ago :). It was a nice day for the family. Of course the day that I would like to get up and get going to Easter breakfast at church, the kids sleep in. Yes, I had my time to get ready, but it made it hard getting them ready late. Andrew had just finished work in time to come with us, which was so nice. We went to church, an hour late for the meal, but hey, 2 small kids to get ready by 8am. Please. A little slack here. We ate and went to the service then came home for naps. We had a dinner with some resident friends and the kids did another egg hunt. Now, for about a week after Ella did 2 egg hunts, she talked about it non-stop and kept wanting to go again and find more "bunny wabbits and candy." I said, "Next year will come before you know it, " and she said, "what Mommy?" Never mind. I'd just explain it again the next day anyway. :). Peter got a big ball with water in it like an Easter snow globe that he loved and Ella liked her toys, but mostly her candy (which I had just taken from the previous days egg hunt and re-used.) HA for Mommy tricks. It was a nice Easter and I am thankful for God's blessings this year and for His salvation. 

Well, here we go again! Upcoming events in the Cornelius house...one small baby due November 15 (or thereabouts)! Today was my first appointment, there will be better ultrasound pictures to come, but for now, we know he/she is in there and I saw the little heartbeat, which is always amazing. I think it's funny that now days it's socially acceptable to put a picture of the contents of the uterus online, but these contents are pretty special, so we make exceptions, right? :) Peter and Ella have no clue what's going on, especially because the only way that is has affected them is for the better. Mom snacks more, which means they do too. Mom likes to lay on the couch more, which means more "toons." Mom cannot explain to them that the fact that now neither one of them are sleeping in past 7:30am is going to soon have larger effects than they would like. Oh well, the time will come when neither will fit on my lap comfortably, where I can't pick them up much, and I will be too big to run and chase, so for now, they can soak up the snacks, "toons," and lack of understanding. 

This pregnancy so far has been my easiest, knock on wood. I think it is best this way. I get nauseous, so I eat and hope it goes away. I get tired, but can't do much about that. The only time I was sick was a few weeks ago with the actual flu. Thank goodness that's over and the current nausea doesn't produce. Third pregnancies should, by God's grace, be better than the others. Not because there is to be a fourth, but just because it's too tough to keep up with everything and feel terrible at the same time. Already things have fallen behind, but Andrew has been a great help to everyone even after working a full day. Good husband, good dad, and apparently, very capable reproducer :). Gotta love it. I do....

Dear Peter,

You gain my affection more and more every day. Those big hazel eyes could knock any woman off their game and you are becoming more aware of that I think. Your silly little laugh and your sad, very pitiful cry have this Mommy coming to your attention all the time. It has been almost a year since you were born and while napping is not your strong point, I have loved every minute of life with you in our family. You love to eat, now that you have a lot of teeth, the more variety, the better. Ella has a great time feeding you, though half the time, she loves it better when you share what's on your tray. You are a good sharer so far, but I think when you get old enough to realize what she's up to, you may change your mind about putting your fat little hand out to hers and plopping in your last yogurt bite. Almost crawling! We keep hoping every day as you get closer and closer that your body will move on all fours, but a few face plants in the hardwood floor have got you a little less than excited about it. Daddy calls you a "Mama's boy," but you know what, I love it. You cuddle with me when you have your bottle and right before you sleep and I would not trade that for anything other than a "Mama's boy." Daddy says already that he's excited to show you about hunting and fishing. I say your a little young for a BB gun, but that Daddy thinks you'll be smart enough next year to shoot the neighbor's bad little dogs. Not my idea of hunting, but then maybe you can play in the yard in peace. :) Just kidding. I was thinking the other day about how your name Peter means "rock." It's been so fitting for you in particular because you just like to sit like a rock on the floor and play with your toys. If one gets away, you put your arms out and wiggle your hands until I, or Ella get it for you. You are steady and planted in place, just like a big rock. Someday, when that changes for you, I hope that it will mean something deeper, but for now, I think it's funny. You are a special and wonderful son and I love you very much. 

Dear Ella,

Yesterday was a big day for you. I wanted to write all of this down then, but the day did not allow for it. You slept in the "big bed" for the first time! It is something you have wanted to do for a while now, pointing at the bed and always trying to get in it, but I guess I just wasn't ready for that step in life. I didn't know that was the reason until last night around 10pm I went in to check on you and while you were fast asleep horizontal in the bed, you looked peaceful as ever. I, however, went back to my "big bed" and cried. I told Daddy that I could not believe how fast time was going by and how silly it was for me to be in tears over you sleeping in a big bed, but that's just what Mommy's do sometimes. You are getting so big and Daddy and I are so proud of you and how you are turning into such a nice little girl. I'm glad you don't take after my toddler days, at least not yet. Your energy and love for life are contagious, even when I just want to lay on the couch and relax, your squealed question, "wanna chase me?" could make me hop up in an instant. You take such good care of Peter and have recently loved to help "seed" (feed) him, which is messy, but so great. Your favorite thing to hear us play is "Jesus me" (Jesus loves me) and you ask for it often. I am attempting to teach you the ABC's and I love hearing your interpretation of it. Maybe they should just invent a new song and dedicate it to you. Tonight you helped Daddy plant peas in the backyard. You're already a more experienced gardener than I am. I haven't even "thrown" seeds in the ground as well as you did. You are a smart, silly, and sweet daughter and I love you very much. 

We had a nice weekend off with Andrew home and our date trip to Home Depot :). This week I was by myself all but Thursday night, and now Andrew is on-call again tonight and Sunday. I am looking forward to next week already because maybe I will see my husband again! He took Boards Step 3 in Harrisburg on Wed & Thurs so now that it's over, he can rest a little easier. I started babysitting my friend's 3 month old this week. I will be doing it for 3 days a week until he gets a little older to go into daycare. It was really not too bad since he naps a lot still and the kids like having a baby around. Ella is such a mom when it comes to babies. She was right next to him getting him toys and putting her blanket on him and sharing her dolly and ducky. These three items are precious to Ella, so sharing them is a big deal. Peter just liked to watch him and I had to keep him from touching his head because he seemed to want to do that a lot. The first day I had him (Wed) we had some bank trouble that needed to be dealt with and I had to drag all 3 of them in the bank. What a sight. I got all kinds of crazy looks from people and I had to explain that they were not all mine about 10 times. "You've got your hands full," is what I heard the whole time. Luckily it was fast and I don't plan to have to do that again. 

Peter is eating all kinds of things now, but he has learned that he can hold onto the spoon with his teeth, so that's what he's doing in the picture here. Ella wanted to show us that she could do it too, so I took her picture. 

The kids are both enjoying the kitchen (Ella still calls it a "chicken"). She got an apron for Christmas and the day I took the picture, she was wearing ONLY the apron! She's so silly. She still doesn't like me to take her picture all that much, but sometimes I can convince her by yelling silly things or playing peek a boo with the camera. 

I plan to get out this weekend, not sure what I'll do, but I would like to get some supplies to plant flowers and Snap Peas. We'll see how this goes, seeing as how I know nothing about planting and the last thing I had was a cactus and I killed it. Then I heard that "It's almost impossible to kill a cactus," yeah right. I have the black thumb of death. 

Ella's quote yesterday, "Oh No! It's raining all day morning!" 

Well another week gone by and we are looking forward to Andrew having this weekend off. Tomorrow the kids are going to a friend's house and we are going to make a trip to Home Depot. This is our new idea of a date :). Maybe we'll get ice cream on the way that we don't have to share with a small person in the back seat yelling, "Peams! Cones!" Peter has been a little sick this week, but he seems to be in good spirits and still his silly self, so I'm not too worried, just tired of concerning myself about germs and kleenex. 

I have been putting off going to the store all week and every day Ella tells me that we need to go to the store because when we run out of something she knows, "We go to sore and get more." Yes,  "sore," not a typo. Things around here have just seemed to fall behind, but hopefully this weekend we can get caught up on everything. Laundry, cleaning, organizing...an endless job. 

Yesterday I was doing a little photo session and Ella and Peter woke up from their naps. I brought them down while we got the baby I was photographing to sleep and I put Ella in her play chair and Peter in his high chair with some Cheerios. I wasn't even thinking when I left the box in there with them, and I was only in the next room. Well, this picture of Peter is what resulted. Ella decided to "help" Peter get some more and dumped the rest of the bag on his tray, which he obviously didn't mind. Then she had her own very full bowl she was enjoying herself. It was quite funny. 

Ella has a favorite game of stacking things up, and knocking them down. The picture of her and Andrew is the before, and the laughing is the after the tower fell. It has been nice for Andrew to be home in the evenings lately. This might change a little bit over the next few months, but I will soak it up for now. 

This morning I taught Ella about glue. She had a lot of fun "gooing" shapes to her paper and making a really fun picture. I think I will get some more foam and we can make our own shapes. These little feet and hands have been with us for weeks now. I got them for her to have on the plane (yes, it was a mess, but she likes little things), back in February when we went to California. Ever since then, they have been in just about every kind of container we have. Yesterday, I was laying on my back playing with the kids in their room and Ella dumped the shapes all over me. The phone rang and I hopped up to get it and they poured down my fleece. It was Andrew and I told him that I had shapes all over me, to hold on a second. Well I thought I got them all out, but last night when I was getting my PJ's on, Andrew started laughing and said, "Shapes just fell out of your clothes all over the floor." We just laughed and I thought, it's a good thing I made it to my meeting and back tonight without getting in an accident. That may make a paramedic ask some questions, or that ladies I was meeting with. Not too many questions though, they are all moms too :).

As I mentioned on Facebook for those of you who are "users," I had a frustrating time at the salon last week when I wanted a trim of a few inches and ended up with what I feel is more of a "chop." Well, it's more healthy, I will give my hairdresser that, but man, it feels short. You can see it in the picture of Peter and I. I like this picture because you can see Peter's teeth. Anyway, speaking of things getting behind, I'd  better use my time wisely.

My kids are growing faster than I could ever imagine. Seeing them in this truck makes me nervous and excited for the years to come, but more scared for other drivers in the future :). We have survived the weekend with no company and Andrew on-call 2 days. The weather is getting nicer and I am looking forward to more nice days. Right now my mission has been to figure out what to plant in our yard. I'm thinking Snap Peas. I wanted Sweet Peas, but the seed is poisonous, giving symptoms of Scurvy if ingested. I figured I would do without Scurvy in small children for a few years. Not that Ella has been a plant-eater in the past, but Peter might be and I just don't know it yet! Let's avoid all diseases that sound deadly. 

Now that the yard is extended back to the carport, Ella has more room to run around, and when Peter decides to become mobile, he will too. As for now, he doesn't seem affected like she does. We have a lot of little projects we want to get done on the house, but they take time and money, 2 things we are lacking right now. So, we'll just dream it up for a little while. The kitchen and bathroom are next after installing Andrew's dream coal stove in the basement to avoid $450 heating bills. 

I have been doing more photography lately, which has been fun. Next on my list is to update my website, but I have enjoyed taking pictures for other moms. Ella sees the camera and tells me, "No thank you mom, no thank you." Hey, at least she's polite, but I do miss taking her picture these days. Peter doesn't care yet, so he's my subject of late. His teeth are coming in like crazy, I am praying that this slows down soon. Every other night, I get a good night sleep. Not sure why he does this, but it's been like that for about 2 weeks now. 

We've been trying out cloth diapers. To get Ella to wear one at night, we call them her "special undies." Now, she says, "Bubba's peshal undies, Ella's peshal undies, put em on." Ok little boss. This is how she has been lately, silly, but bossy. If she doesn't want Peter to do something, she says, "Bubba, no no, I said, no no." So yes, just like I say it and it's crazy living with an overgrown parrot. She also really likes feeding Peter his little pieces of bread and "fuffs." Puffs. She tells him, "No biting Peter, here's a Bubba piece." Then puts it in his mouth.  It has been a lot of fun and mealtime is more enjoyable with Peter's newfound skill of chewing. 

Speaking of Peter, he's crying in the monitor and Ella is saying, "Bubba's sad, go bem him."