In the 12th month...

[Jesus said,] "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you 

and your joy may be complete." - John 15:11

In the 12th month . . . 

. . . Eva gives hugs and kisses on command (and sometimes voluntarily). She is a joy to be with everyday. We consider her a true blessing in our life. 

. . .We visited Grandma and Grandpa Hallas at their house which is always fun! 

. . .We saw and danced to Daddy's Jazz Band at the Parent Preview Spaghetti Dinner. It is sure to be a  good time when we get to hang out with the CCHS band family. 

. . . Eva's vocabulary now includes more consonant sounds but "gawg" is still the only word spoken with meaning. 

. . .We visited Great Grandma and Grandpa's house twice- once during Spring Break and once for a an Easter weekend brunch with family. 

. . . She went to her first friend birthday party. It was so fun to celebrate with Larkyn and Rhys!

. . . We celebrated our second Easter with Eva. Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed!

. . . Eva uses any assistance she can get to stand or walk. This girl has got to move. Crawling is still her fastest mode of travel. 

. . . Friends James and Charlie (and Auntie Carrie) came for a visit. These two little ones had so much fun chasing each other up the stairs!

. . .She loves her veggies and fruit but BOY was that birthday cupcake a hit!

. . . Eva has begun to "blow" kisses when asked. This is just one more way she seems to her to show her joy for life and love for others. 

Hi! I'm 12 months old.

I'm 12 months old...
did someone mention cake?!?!

Family Resemblance

I had so much fun compiling these photos of some very happy one year olds. Do you think there is any family resemblance? I do. Obviously, Eva's girlie dress helps her look like Aunt Sara and Mommy. But Daddy and Uncle Ross come through pretty well, too. Uncle Chip with the open mouth, ready to eat, is an Eva-look for sure. 

Excited to watch this little girl grow through the years to come. 

Ten on Ten // April

I didn't take these photos with 10 on 10 in mind, but they will capture the fun sights moments of yesterday's visit to Cleveland. Enjoy. 

Investigating cupboards.

Pregame show filming in the background.

View from our seats.

Smiles from right field.

A pig.

4th Street at night.

Plants growing out of the wall. 

Another pig.

A stop at Colossal Cupcakes.

Tower City. 

Play Cafe - Party @ eat play love

This time our visit to a play cafe was for a super-fun birthday party for Larkyn and Rhys! Eat Play Love in Lewis Center was a great space for Stacie to have the Peppa Pig themed 2-for-1 birthday party on a Palm Sunday afternoon.

This big open room had plenty of play things for kids of all ages: bouncers to slides. There was also plenty of soft chairs and couches to lounge on with little ones or to just relax. 

We had our meal of birthday sandwiches and birthday goodies so we didn't get to check out the food or prices of the play cafe. Also, Lewis Center is a little bit of hike for us so this may be our only trip to Eat Play Love unless Stacie has a party there next year. (Keith even said as we were leaving the house, "Lewis Center? Yikes. Pack a bag." - Yup, we are city folk!)

The best part was that Eat Play Love was filled with all kids we knew. (Or who knew Larkyn and Rhys.) What a fun visit!

Watch me go UP the slide. Weeeeee.