Blessed!

I am feeling 100% completely blessed today. I was just able to rock my sweet Eli and lay him in his bed. I am not a normal rocker, but I am thankful for the times that he allows me to do this! (I'm also thankful that he doesn't REQUIRE a good rock to take a nap, but every so often...I indulge that he's my BABY!)
So...we had a big birthday party last weekend. It was nothing short of a fantastic day. Thank you, Lord! We've had a winter for the record books. Sawyer's birthday is February 15th. We could have planned a party for Feb. 13th and played in the snow, but fortuantely, we had marked the calendar for Feb. 20th, and we had a WARM day full of sunshine! Thank you, God!
I will tell you that this 3-year-old business has brought tears to my eyes on SEVERAL occassions! I feel like I have known Sawyer forever, but at the same time, he's THREE, and it's going by so fast!!! I'm just really trying to soak it all up!
He has an OBSESSION with excavators, so we had an "excavator" birthday party. My child is a WORKER! (obviously a trait inherited from his daddy) He is constantly "getting the job done." His imagination is out of control. He'll play in his sandbox for hours building a hospital, a school, or a house. He also LOVES to help! He'll run as fast as he can if I ask for a bib for Eli or a spoon out of the drawer. He's incredibly happy and LOVING! He'll tell me MANY times a day that he loves me, and recently, Walker told him that I was the prettiest girl in the world...so, Sawyer has started telling me that throughout the day. Of course that's ridiculous, but I sure do appreciate him saying so! :)
I heard someone say that having children is like having your heart on the outside of your body...I GET THAT! I totally agree! These little boys are my little hearts walking around, and I'm so thankful for them and their crazy good daddy! I think Walker's probably 98% responsible for why my children have turned out so well so far!
Anyway...sorry to go on a rampage. Just wanted to write down a few of my blessings! Nothing wrong with liking your family, right?? :)
I also think there's no better reason to throw a party than to have family and friends to celebrate a year of life.
Just a little b'day advice...I read in Parents' Magazine that a cheap, fun thing to do for your child's birthday is to blow up balloons and fill the room with balloons while they sleep the night before the birthday. We did this, and it was a HIT! Sawyer said, "Mama, Daddy...come look! I have balloons in my room!" PRECIOUS & cheap! ;)

"Cheeeeeeese!!"

I brought the camera out yesterday afternoon, and this is what Eli did! :)

Here's the live version....

(In case you wonder...The big scab in the middle of his forehead is from his attempt to jump off the front porch step. I watched him "Count" 1-2-3, and then dive head first into the sidewalk.)

ABC's

My little man has had his abc's down pat for a while, but I was able to get it on video the other day when he decided he'd sing it for me with the camera out. :)

His other favorite songs include Jesus Loves Me, The Wheels on the Bus, Zacchaeus and I'm in the Lord's Army (which is also Eli's favorite at the moment). Eli has SEVERAL words , but yesterday, he walked outside and said "Tractor" as plain as day. I was impressed! He has put 2 words together once. I was talking to Allyson, and told him to say, "Hey, Sissy!" He did. :) Sweet boy! Anyway...here's my video...I like Katie's so much today that I decided to add my own. Also, if you don't normally read her blog, you might want to read it today. She talks about the Bell Center where Caroline is going to "school" two days a week. Hope you'll enjoy!