Ellie is 19 months old!!

Ellie is 19 months old (as of April 29th... we've all been sick so it's taken me awhile to get around to posting about it)! She is turning into a little girl rather than a baby, which makes me so very sad while still excited to see how much she's grown. She is very communicative, and tries to say any word we throw at her (sometimes even correctly!). I can give her instructions and she will (usually) follow them, such as "find your shoes," "go to James's room) etc. Along with this new communication has come a LOT of tantrums... the girl knows what she wants and is not afraid to let you know if she is displeased! Ellie is also a climber, which gives me a few grey hairs at times when I see what she is climbing on and what she's been able to access because of it. James has started having a whole imaginary life that he is very vocal about. Apparently he drives a blue mini cooper with yellow stripes, lives in a red house in California (with lots of stairs), and also has about 3 planes and a purple helicopter. He likes to tell me about how he is going to drive me to his house in his car or take his helicopter and go to daddy's work and pick up his truck with the helicopter and bring it back to our house. It's quite funny and it's been going on for about a month now. He had a very vivid imagination! We've been busy getting the backyard ready for our summer garden. James helped by moving some rocks and digging, and Ellie pretty much just practiced going up and down the stairs on the porch (which she sits down to do, even if it is a small step haha!). We are putting in a big garden this year, complete with potatoes and onions (new for us), and I am taking some classes on Urban Homesteading this summer including foraging, canning, and preserving. Today Eliot played at a local nursery for their open house, and I visited with the kids. Both of them took turns playing with daddy... James loved it as he's been asking forever to "play music on the stage!"

A big change in mindset for me is being grateful for what I've been given instead of always wishing for something more. So we've been fixing the house to accomodate our family of 4 instead of complaining about not having enough space. We got a new pantry that has provided enough space for our food in the kitchen, freeing up our kitchen counters. I'm moving the kids (in September) into the same room so we can free up the other room, and I am making the kid's room also into a playroom so we have a place for them to play besides the loving room. I'm also decluttering the house and getting rid of anything that isn't necessary, and also finishing part of our attic so we can store more things up high rather than in the house. The Lord has blessed us with two wonderful children and a house to raise them in. I can't guarantee we will stay here for a long time, but for now I choose to see it as a blessing instead of complaining about the lack of space. Many people in the world would view us as rich with all that we have... I'm choosing to see us as rich as well. And now, for pics!