Laurel Elisabeth Stevens

I was looking through some things of Tim's that Kristen sent down, and found this photo of Tim with Grandad. Grandmother had written this verse on the back. "My thoughts are not your thoughts--nor my ways your ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth so are my thoughts than your thoughts and my ways, than your ways." Isaiah 55:8 Thank you, Grandmother, for always pointing us to God.

Img4762 , originally uploaded by j_lstevens . Here's our big guy once again--about 21 pounds and wearing size 12 months clothes. This was taken at the end of October. Now, a few weeks later, Henry is moving well on his tummy, but only if there is something he really wants, like Elisabeth's pink Crocs or any book I'm trying to read to Elisabeth. If he's not in hot pursuit, he is crying for me to hold him, or playing with the "learning table"--a musical toy with buttons for him to push.

Img4757 , originally uploaded by j_lstevens . Still working--this is 5th position.

Img4758 , originally uploaded by j_lstevens . Elisabeth has been taking ballet at the YMCA since September. She really enjoys it and is very serious. It is so fun to watch her efforts. It reminds me of my days in ballet, although I didn't start until age 5, and what I remember most is Ms. Nancy harping on us to hold our tummies in and turn our thumbs in. Obviously neither of those things have been emphasized yet here! At home she enjoys watching DVDs of ballets--so far Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. She would watch the whole thing at one sitting if we would let her. She also likes to listen to cds of the music. Emily, her doll, also goes to ballet class, Elisabeth recently told me.

Img4746 , originally uploaded by j_lstevens . Uncle Nathaniel helps Elisabeth collect leaves for her "leaf girl."

Img4744 , originally uploaded by j_lstevens . The results of too much love . . .

Img4743 , originally uploaded by j_lstevens . See, it is already too warm for the sweater. (Notice Elisabeth's stripes. Stripes go with stripes, right?)

Img4735 , originally uploaded by j_lstevens . A rare moment to wear a super cool sweater from Grandma. Try as he might, he can't get the hood off (because he always pulls it down over his face). Elisabeth calls it his jester hat.

Img4721 , originally uploaded by j_lstevens . Elisabeth and Henry really enjoy each other. When Elisabeth comes into Henry's room in the morning (provided I get to him first) his face lights up the room. When I bring Henry into Elisabeth's room, they both smile. E. just loves to nuzzle H. and H. loves to pull her hair or whatever is in the way. Henry is just now learning to crawl on his tummy, so we haven't had too much of him taking Elisabeth's things, but I know that is coming. Right now her favorite things to play with are tiny, so we'll have to be careful . . .

Img4656 , originally uploaded by j_lstevens . Elisabeth enjoys building with legos lately.

Img4645 , originally uploaded by j_lstevens . Henry at 6 months old--just beginning to sit, but needing help from the boppy etc. Right now he is easier to photograph than Elisabeth is!

Img1585 , originally uploaded by j_lstevens . This is from the archives, but I'm experimenting with Flikr and somehow this photo was there already. But it is a touching one, and I'm happy to see it again. It's from Christmas 2004 in the Hill Country.

Elisabeth enjoyed her 4th birthday party. I think she says her favorite thing was the cake, but she really enjoyed jumping on her trampoline. Watching the kids play follow the leader around the backyard was a hoot, but the best part was an impromptu game of ball: Mia, a friend of Elisabeth’s, grabbed a long skinny balloon and told one of the other kids to throw a round balloon for her to hit. What ensued was a lot of popping of balloons, since we were outside and grass is sharp. The look of surprise as each balloon popped was priceless. It was all fun and games until the balloons ran out, but it was time for the party to end anyway! The celebrating continued on Monday, her actual birthday, with a donut from Daddy in the morning, and then meeting Daddy for lunch. Elisabeth got lots of phone calls from family (grandparents and Uncle Andy) wishing her a happy birthday, but she seems to need to be in a certain mood to want to talk on the phone. We’ll work on that for next year! The bicycl...

Uncle Nathaniel and Henry. Nat was telling him the history of WW2. Henry gave close attention. This was taken at a picnic the day before my cousin Nathanael's wedding in PA. Maria and Elisabeth (Maria's mom was my college roommate). We visited them in PA. First day of preschool! First day of Ballet at the Y. John takes her. He says she is a very eager, attentive student. Grandmother holding Henry at Quarryville, September 4th. Henry has just turned 6 months old. Our newborn is getting so big! He is rolling over and even can be happy by himself on his tummy. Just yesterday he started going after one of Elisabeth's toys, so we're entering a new phase of needing to clean up better. Unfortunately Elisabeth's seat at the table is right by the blanket where Henry often plays, so I envision lots of little bits of food finding their way into Henry's mouth. I'm trying to teach Elisabeth to be responsible for the food she spills. We'll see how that goes. Hen...

(Henry is holding himself up better, but this sitting position didn't last long. Sure makes him look thinner though, and a lot like John!) Just a coincidence that he's wearing the same outfit as 4 months old. Makes for a good comparison. I started giving Henry rice cereal on Monday. After 3 days of it, he finally today started opening his mouth to taste it. Even Elisabeth was excited. He wants to grab the spoon, but I know where that ends up -- I guess I did learn some things the first time around. He isn't rolling over yet, but he's getting close. At 18 pounds he's got a lot to move! Elisabeth rolled over right around 5 months, so maybe any day now. We bought Elisabeth a pair of ballet shoes today. She will start ballet at the Y in September. She is so excited. As far as I'm concerned, she doesn't really need it. She dances so sweetly and prettily as is. It may be that once she realizes you have to do as you're told, she may not like it so much. On the...

Henry's favorite tummy time distraction: watching the truck loading and unloading. The vehicular fascination begins early! We visited both of John's grandmas. Henry is Grandma Marva's first great grandson and his name comes from the Stevens family--Grandpa Jack Stevens, her husband, and Great Grandpa John Henry Stevens. At Grandma Gray's house Elisabeth got to go swimming while Henry took a nap. Waiting for icecream!

At the end of July we headed up to Traverse City, MI for a week. It was Henry's first visit and John's family enjoyed seeing him. Elisabeth made 4 trips to the beach, but one was enough for Henry (maybe too much). On Monday we went to Sleeping Bear Dunes and pushed Elisabeth to the limit. She walked the whole way, except for a few moments in Daddy's arms. We encouraged her onward by counting how many steps it took to get to certain landmarks, and singing songs. She loves to sing, and sometimes has very creative wording. She had plans to roll down the dune at the end, but it was just as well that she couldn't figure out how to roll, because sometimes kids get going so fast they lose their cookies. She just kind of rolled sideways. Another highlight was going to a Beach Bums game, Traverse City's minor league baseball team. Elisabeth shocked us with her fondness for the mascots, Suntan and Sunburn. She walked right up to Suntan to get her picture taken, but because o...

Anya holding Henry . . . Finding his tongue Thinking about food? Enjoying his sister ** To my great delight and his, Henry has discovered his feet. He's so excited to have a toy right at the end of his legs. I don't think he knows yet that they are there all the time. He is so precious and fun, with so much laughter. And he's beginning to take longer naps and fall asleep on his own, sometimes even without crying!! We're off to Traverse City to see John's family and swim in the lake.