“Eat with your fork, not your hands.” We must say it a hundred times a day. So, as E ate some toast this evening, I wondered, “Can a child be too obedient?”

Most people tell us that Evan looks like Joe and Maren looks like me. They don’t look a lot alike!  Here are pictures of Evan and Maren at about 3 months:

What do you think?

Life is full of little blessings. I try to notice them.

Remember them. Enjoy them. Thank the Lord for them.

This week has been especially full of sweet things.

Fellowship. Friends. Laughter. Prayers. Hugs. Chocolate.

I made a cake and some cupcakes for a party:

A friend brought us some tulips:

Maren turned 3 Months old:

And Evan asks to hold her all the time. These two are really beginning to “play” together, and it makes me happy:

I say it often, but we are so blessed.

Some weird people don’t like bananas (ahem, JD). But we love them and eat them almost every day. Sometimes, they are better to play with than to eat…

And sometimes, this mother has to take pictures before telling her little boy to get his feet off of the table and stop playing with his food. It was quite the conversation!

Here’s another song from Evan. Suz works so hard with him, and it makes me so proud to see him learning.

• The Days of the Week (Video)

One of my favorite things in the entire world is hearing little children sing. When the kids choir sings at church, I either get a little teary-eyed or can’t stop giggling at the sweetness of those little voices singing about God. Even if they are usually a little off-key. I think I can understand why Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me…” Their innocence and child-like faith just get me every time.

Imagine my joy when I get to hear my child sing every day! Evan loves to sing. His favorite tune is Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, but he knows lots of songs and sings them throughout the day, sometimes pretending to strum the guitar while he sings, and often getting the words wrong.

Here’s a glimpse of the little guy singing last week. I had to video him in the chair, because it’s one of the only times he is still enough to get on video! Enjoy!

1. Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
2. Row, Row, Row Your Boat

What do you think…future American Idol?

and this is what he said, err…sang (to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star):

Thank you, Jesus, for the Bible, tells me so…
And for Shem and Japha (Japheth)…
Shem, Shem and Japha…
Lamech, Lamech, Lamech, Lamech, Lamech, Lamech, Lamech, Lamech.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

He loves talking about Shem and Japheth, but seems to always miss out on their brother Ham. Hmm…And Lamech…how he got stuck in Evan’s mind I don’t know.

Ah, how sweet it is to hear prayers and Scripture spilling from the lips of your child.

Dear Evan,

I can hardly believe that you are 3 years old today. I remember the day you were born so well. It snowed that day, which was a little odd for mid-March in Texas. And it snowed here today, as if we need one more reminder of how special this day is. As much as we wanted you and prayed for you, we could never have imagined how much our lives would change - for the better - with you in it.

It’s been a joy and an honor to watch you grow up and learn and become a big boy. You’ve made us laugh more lately than ever with all of your silly toddler antics and funny observations. I’ve often found myself wishing I could get inside that little head of yours and see the world through your eyes. Do you understand how much we want the best for you? Do you know how much you are loved?

We’ve had some tough moments lately as you have tried to exert your independence more and more. We see this every day as one of your favorite phrases has become “I don’t want…”. You have said this so much lately, much to our chagrin, that it has become pure habit. You will say, “I don’t want muffins!” just as you are putting some into your mouth. I am consistently getting more gray hairs because of daily occurrences like these. In fact, I think my hair is turning more gray just thinking about the drama of life with a now 3 year old.

Your dad jokes that you got your obstinance from me, but I say you are that way because you’re a toddler. We have had our challenging moments, but overall you are a great kid. You are usually well-behaved, and all of your sweet hugs, kisses, and “I love you’s” by far make up for any rascal-ness on your part. I look forward to getting up in the mornings so that we can spend the day together, and I feel so blessed to be home with you each day. I pray that God would help you to be a good boy and me to be a good mommy. I think this year is going to be a good one!

Happy Birthday, Buddy! We love you!

Thank you, Lord, for making us the parents of this sweet boy.

“Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.” Psalm 127:3

With a busy weekend ahead, we decided to celebrate Evan’s birthday a little early. And with sickness going around, some of our sweet friends couldn’t make it (we missed you guys!). We had fun anyway, and enjoyed cake and ice cream:

Evan likes cake and trains, so he was one happy boy.

He especially likes Thomas the Tank Engine, and we realized tonight that he likes trains MORE than cake. How can he be my child?! Choosing a weird (in my opinion) train over dessert? That’s crazy! More for me! I bought that train in the above picture to go on Evan’s cake - it’s Henry from Thomas the Tank Engine. “He”turned out to be too big for the cake, so I went ahead and gave it to Evan before the party as an early birthday present…a bit like opening one present on Christmas Eve. Well, most of the evening, we heard, “I want Hen-wee.”

Evan has already enjoyed playing with all of the fun toys he was given,with “Hen-wee” in one hand, of course.

Thanks, everyone, for making Evan feel so special!

This photo says it better than I can describe how much this boy loves trains: