Just Playin' Outside

Luke on left, Zach on right, Eli ducked just as I was taking the picture!

It seems like every time someone asks me what we've been up to, I say, "Just playin' outside". John and I put together a play area-slide-thing last week and the boys have been loving it. The weather here is great, a little hot but I don't want to complain when I think of my friends in PA and CO! So every day we've been just hangin' in the backyard for a couple of hours at least, and we're enjoying it while it lasts! Here are some pics of the guys playing:

Zach loves to play with balls, and that was one of his forst words

Some funny stories I've been wanting to share... We've been going to an indoor play area at a local church every week and it is sooo fun! The boys are getting to play with lots of different toys from what we have, which is neat. Today they were all hanging out in the area with the little kitchen and table and chairs. They were chewing on plastic hamburgers, beating little bowls with spoons, checking out the little mini fridge - very cute. I can't wait until their next birthday! So anyway, one week I found Zachy pushing a little girl probably twice his age (that would make her a mature 3) on a swing. So cute!! He had never been around one of those little stand alone toddler swings before, but he has seen me and other people push on swings. He just looked so gallant - very calmly and easily pushing the little girl!

Check out Eli;s dimples and choppers!

Eli has taken strongly to singing. I'm not always sure what moves him, but he'll just stop what he's doing, sway from side to side and sing, in a higher pitch that his usual voice, little syllables and cooing. It's so sweet, and he really feels it. All of the boys seem to like music, but I think that might be true of all babies. They definitely all jam to certain songs on the radio. I haven't exactly figured out their tastes yet, but Luke rocks out to all different music types, from cell phone ring tones to country. Zach likes a lot of bass, which he gets from both of his parents. Eli seems to like softer, sweeter music, like the little songs that their toys play and Elmo songs really get him swaying.

Isn't Luke a sweetie pie?

Sweet little Luke... there's a story that I'm not writing about him, because I don't want to embarrass any of my children (too much) if they should ever happen upon this little "ode to Amigos". He is a sweet, angel baby, but I have seen the dark side of Luke, let's just put it that way! He has just started really saying words, so now all of them are saying a few words and I think it's going to snowball. Luke talks the most, but it's just unintelligible (to us? to the other babies?- who knows?). Zach says the most words, and Eli is just coming along great too.

Eli is very adventurous on all new toys - I think he's

about to walk down the slide here.

My Dad and I talk usually every day, and he always talks to the boys on the speakerphone. Well, the other afternoon I called him because they were chattering a lot and I thought he'd like to hear it. So when I had the speakerphone up I said, "Say hi to Pappy" and Zach distinctly said "Pap pap". We were both (Dad and I) so excited, that it made Zach excited too. The next day, almost the same thing happened but with Eli! Neither of them had ever said it before, and they both said it while he was on the phone. I thought that was so cool!

So the boys are really growing up! Pretty soon I won't be able to call them babies anymore. Toddlers are fun too!