Joel started 'scooting' on his belly in late January, which quickly became 'army crawling' (very fast army crawling!), which soon became crawling. He also figured out how to pull himself to standing around mid-February. After a few tumbles, he figured out how to get up and down pretty well, and he is still obsessed with pulling up on everything, cruising along the furniture, and looking for trouble. (As this post is being composed, he managed to pull the hardware off of the end table drawer in the hopes of eating it...) We have done some redecorating in the style of baby gates. :)
Looking for Trouble!
Good Morning Mommy
Music time
Learning to stand with help from daddy
One of Joel's true loves is eating. He is eating lots of table foods now in addition to his fruit and vegetable purees. He loves graham crackers, bananas, chicken, cheese, yogurt, grilled cheese sandwiches and those Gerber Puffs (what is it about those things? Babies can't get enough!). He is kind of a bottomless pit when it comes to food, yet he remains tall and slim like his daddy. So unfair...
Pureed green peas...yum!
Meal times = play times of course
Grilled Cheese..."nom nom nom" (he actually says that while he eats these)
Another favorite activity is bath time. Even a terrible mood can be cured by a dip in the tub. He likes to play with his bath toys and splash as much water on mommy as possible.
Keith is in a very busy season. He took his advanced mixed choir to San Francisco for a choir tour in mid-February. Joel and I drove up with my parents to join them. The kids had a great time bonding with one another, and had a memorable musical moment singing in the beautiful Grace Cathedral. Keith does such great work with the students and they sound fantastic. He is really enjoying the group of kids he has this year. They sang beautifully in their spring concert this past week which is all classical music. I loved every minute of it :) Tesoro is also in the middle of rehearsals for "Fiddler on the Roof", which will be performed in late April. Keith is doing the vocal direction for the show.
Keith is also busy as always with his job directing the Women's choir at Chapman University, and leading worship at Mountain View Church. With Easter approaching he is very busy preparing for a small choir to sing at church which should be fun :)
With whatever spare time Keith does find, he is usually learning more about photography, and practicing by photographing Joel (and sometimes me, the cat...his hand, the salt shaker...whatever happens to be around :D ). My favorites are those of Joel though. He has taken some really beautiful shots. Here are a few of my favorite ones that he took of me and Joel at the park last weekend.
Most of my time these days is spent trying to keep up with my little pal Joel. Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays I get to stay at home with him, and the days just fly by. On Tuesdays and Fridays I am enjoying teaching K-3 music at my three wonderful schools. I have really loved my kids this year, and am thankful for the time I get to spend bringing music into children's lives. I am preparing my first graders at Tijeras Creek Elementary for a concert in a few weeks. The concerts are a ton of work, but I enjoy them so much. At the end of the year I will have concerts for the Kindergarteners and 2nd graders at Tijeras Creek and Reilly Elementary Schools, as well as all of the kids I work with at Bathgate Elementary School. I am not counting on having my job back next year, as budget cuts have hit education really hard, but it is a possibility, and I am hoping for the best. We trust that God will provide for our family and that He will make His path for us known in His timing.
In addition to my job with the school district, I am teaching voice lessons on Tuesday afternoons. I have some lovely young ladies that I am working with currently, and it is a joy to help them discover their potential.
We are really looking forward to Spring Break which starts next week. Keith and Joel and I will be taking a couple of days to go down to San Diego and spend some much needed time as a family. This time of year is SO busy, and we are eager to focus on each other for a while. I am hoping we can take a day trip to Carlsbad Flower Fields while we are down there.
Today we spent time at a memorial service for our dear friends whose baby was stillborn early this month. At their request and in honor of baby Arianna Grace I am off to give Joel an extra hug and kiss...if you think of it, take a moment to cherish those you love a little extra tonight.
Thanks for reading :)
