It's been too long (again)...

Above and below: Estelle after she found permanent markers before waking Mommy or Daddy up this morning. (Note: Rubbing alcohol works wonders!) Her face did look like her belly, but Josh started wiping her down before I could snap a picture.

Above: Zeke playing peek-a-boo and getting thisclose to rolling over to his belly.
Below: Zeke Showing his true feelings about tummy time.

Below: Estelle being a wonderful big sister/camera fiend.

February, March, and April have just flown by for our family. I could swear Estelle’s birthday was just yesterday, but it was over 3 months ago already! Zeke continues to get bigger and bigger…if he doesn’t slow down, he’ll be as big as his older sister by the time he’s a year old (or earlier).

Estelle, as you will see from the pictures above, can be quite the troublemaker. She’s good at being quiet, and I seem to have a knack at getting sidetracked and forgetting that silence in our household is not a good thing. That is, unless I’ve managed to get both kids napping at the same time. Oh, how I wish I could do that more often—it is SOOOOO wonderful!!!

Zeke is thisclose to rolling over by himself, but doesn’t seem to have the desire to do so. He does sit up very well though; he needs just a teensy little bit of support to stay upright. Our old horse collar works great for that—we just cover it up with a big blanket, plop Zeke down and sprinkle toys around him. He’s good for at least 10 minutes that way, longer if Estelle is “helping” Mommy take care of him.

Josh is still working third shift at Meijer. I think he dislikes it as much as I do. His body (or any human’s, if you ask me) was not made to run on third shift, not to mention the lack of family-time it brings about. * sigh * God’s timing is perfect, right? On a more positive note, he takes the Civil Service test Monday morning. We’re hoping and praying that he can pass it, get an interview in the corrections system and maybe start working at one of the gazillion prisons we have around here. We know people that feel strongly at both ends of the spectrum about working in a prison, and Josh seems to think he would at least not hate it. Although I feel petty mentioning it, it would be a nice pay increase. If he gets a job and starts at the bottom rate, he would be paid at the same rate he is at Meijer, but he would make somewhere between 4 and 5 thousand dollars more a year just from the difference in the cost of benefits. That would be very nice for our young family!

I signed up for substitute teaching at the end of March. I have been enjoying it quite a bit. It’s helped me to cement the feeling that teaching IS the right career choice for me, even if GVSU disagrees for the time being. Although I have not-so-nice feelings toward the school, I do hope to re-enroll this January to start finishing my special education degree (yes, again). If all goes well, I should have a nice teaching degree with 2 or 3 endorsements before Zeke’s second birthday. Another good place to mention God’s timing is perfect, even when it is not what we had planned. The only other “news” I can think of pertaining to me is that I’m trying to start running again, or at least exercising in some way on a very regular basis. I went for a short run at the state park today in some gorgeous weather, and it got me hungry for more. I forgot how awesome it feels to have accomplished what you KNOW was a good workout. I think there’s a 5K at the fair every year…