Paper Pullers

We were at Grandma's house over Memorial Day weekend and I saw Nora doing this:

It was a serious flashback to photos of Zeke doing the same thing - at nearly the same age, and in nearly the same outfit!

Love these kids, despite their need to scatter things far and wide.

Believe it or not, Zeke is older than Nora in these pictures, even though he is smaller and not crawling yet....

Kid Compare

When Nora did this a caouple of weeks ago,

I had to snap a picture because I have a very similar one of Zeke at close to the same age.

And here are Nora and Zeke at 3-4 weeks:

I love that they share a lot of features (like the pinchable, kissable chubby cheeks), but they really are different. And just like with Zeke, Aaron and I have both been told that Nora 'looks just like you!'

Growing and Gaining

Nora wasn't many hours old when I realized that there was just no stopping her from growing up, starting immediately. While I'm looking forward to getting to know her better and seeing her achieve milestone after milestone, I know how fast Zeke has grown and I wouldn't mind slowing things down a bit!

Sunday afternoon I was taking a few pictures because it was her first time at church and thus her first time in the cute dress Grandma L gave her. This is our adorable Miss Nora at almost 3 weeks old (20 days).

In reviewing the pictures, I pushed the 'forward' button and it took back me to the oldest picture on the camera - Nora at 4 days old.

There's the photographic proof: Nora growing up is not only unavoidable, it has already begun. I personally think she gets cuter every day!

A Little Respect

I feel sorry for 2009.

Practically everyone we have heard talk/write about 2009 mentions how glad they are it is over. (Like a whole lot changed in your life when the clock struck midnight...I know, I know, it's symbolic - but still.) I don't remember 2008 or 2007 being so quickly shoved out the door. Or 2006, or 2005.... Maybe we missed the memo? We don't think 2009 was so bad.

2009, I don't know why everyone was so ready to get rid of you. Maybe they are just ready for a change. Maybe people are ready to switch to more familiar 'twenty-ten' rather than the cumbersome 'two thousand nine'. Or maybe it's simply that 9 is forever the runner-up to the celebrated number 10. Regardless, we remember you fondly even while we look forward to the new year.

2010, there are some big expectations out there for you, and I trust you are up to them.

Trio of Us

Ya'll aren't going to be able to see our new place, so I thought I'd show you the family picture collage I'm putting together. Using the past 3 years of family pictures was Aaron's idea :)

Another Airplane Anniversary

As of the end of May, Aaron has been flying for 2 years. He got his first plane beginning of June 2 years ago. We took pictures then, we took pictures last year, and we took pictures again recently with the plane and Zeke. This year they've both changed.

The NexStar has gained a new fuselage (wings are the same) and a new power system (electric instead of gas).

Zeke last year was just barely walking. This year he ran over to the plane (once we finally convinced him to come) and talked about the plane. He pointed out and named the star in the NexStar logo and tried to identify the letters too.

Father's Day Planes

We have developed a pattern of giving Aaron airplanes for Father's Day. Usually as early Father's Day gifts to be used for spring flying. Last year he got his Zero.

And this year he got a Slow Stick. We got one because his club scheduled a combat with slow flyers at the annual electric plane event. However, Aaron enjoys his so much there was no way he was going to put it in combat danger!

Mother's Day Flowers

I love that our ward gives out potted plants for Mother's Day.

Last year I got an African Violet,

which has lived in our bathroom and grown up just as much as Zeke has in the past year.

This year I got a Cyclamen. I had never heard of or seen one before. When I received it, I wasn't quite sure how I felt about it. But now I like it more every day. It is a bright light - cool temperatures plant, so it will have to move around the house as the seasons change.

Champion Coloring

Zeke got his first coloring book and crayons for Christmas a year ago. That would be 2007. And about the only thing he thought they were good for was eating.

He finally showed some interest in coloring over the summer, so I found the supplies and let him go at it. He was interested, all right. Interested in playing with the crayons, putting them in and out of the box and rolling them all over the floor.

We kept at it, with not much luck besides a few passes at a page while I held the book open. But in the past month or two Zeke has become a champion colorer. He loves it. And he puts effort into it. We keep the coloring book and crayons on the edge of my desk and he gets them down almost every day. He especially likes the single coloring pages printed from the web just for him. Plus they are great to keep in the diaper bag for church and while we were waiting for our steakhouse dinner.

It was almost an overnight change. I was asking myself how I missed this coloring phase beginning. Then I realized this coloring thing has become a bigger part of Zeke's life - he colors in nursery, he colors at story hour, he colors at home - and one day it just must have clicked. It shows he's learning from his experiences, and that is so exciting to watch. I'm constantly amazed that I can see the connections forming in his mind. How he maintains this high rate of learning I don't quite understand.

He hasn't totally changed though - although Zeke has discovered the joys of coloring on the paper, he still loves to play with the crayons. Today after Zeke finished coloring his butterfly at story hour, we had to pick up all the crayons he and his neighbors had used, put them back in the jar, and put on the lid. We were pretty much the first wave of the clean-up crew.

Preserving the Memories

There are moments that we forget, even just transiently, that come back full force when we flip though our photo albums or open a folder of digital pictures. Aaron and I treasure our picture collection and the stories and feelings the photos represent.

This month I began the project of scanning my parents' printed photos into digital form: making them easier to share, organizing them chronologically, and creating a backup. We started with baby Dynna, primarily because she will want baby pictures for a wedding video in the near future. I have scanned and named about 2 years of pictures so far.

Though these pictures, I see tangibly just how Zeke links our two families together. I see Zeke when I look at a young Aaron. And I see Zeke when I look at a a two-year-old Draper as well.

Aaron (3 years old)

Draper (2 years old)

Thanksgiving Then and Now

Last year we got to share soft Thanksgiving foods with our 7 month old. After playing on the floor with his cousin Kaelyn, Zeke ate some mashed potatoes, roll, pumpkin pie, and vanilla ice cream (no apple pie, thank you very much). I was thrilled that he was old enough to enjoy the food of his very first Thanksgiving. The ice cream was definitely his favorite part.

This year, he ate turkey and stuffing and potatoes and all of the other good food like a champ. He ran around outside playing RC cars before dinner and played with his aunt and uncle after dinner. My how times have changed. We'll see how much has really changed when we try the apple pie...

Just Like Mom and Dad

Zeke has recently started doing a whole bunch of things that we do. Trying to be just like us. Like using the computer. And he loves our cell phones with all the cool buttons and noises and colors - and he 'talks' on them too.

There are a bunch of little things too ... things that show that he watches us all the time and is learning just by watching. Like turning lights on and off, opening/closing and locking/unlocking doors, working the knobs on the stove (our least favorite), opening drawers and cupboards, and 'erasing' the calendar because he can't reach the white board.

Dynna and Zeke

For Dynna's birthday, we made a dvd slideshow of pictures of Dynna and Zeke, starting with the first time she held Zeke on his birth day and ending with pictures we took last month. Dynna and Zeke are both so cute, I'd love to post all 50+ pictures! But I also want you to be able to load our blog in a reasonable amount of time, so I picked some of the best ones to share with all of you.

Happy Birthday Dynna!