Almost April

Yep.  Almost April.  I'll just skip on past a comment about how long (or rather how seemingly short) it's been since I last posted.  We'll jump right on in to the good stuff.  Such as....

....Kenna and her new contact lenses!  Yay for Kenna!  It will be weird getting used to seeing her without her glasses on.  Another new page to turn in the book of Kenna.  She is growing up so fast.  These little milestones are so enjoyable for me.  Still waiting for her top teeth to come in, but hey, no rush.  Maybe she can sing "All I Want For Christmas Are My Two Front Teeth" two years in a row.  

Another little lady around here who is growing fast is Miss Lexi Lou.  She quickly graduated from her army crawl to a full hand-and-knee crawl.  She's growing so quickly, in fact, that we aren't doing well at keeping up with her new found independence.  She snuck into the kitchen the other night while we were visiting with a neighbor and managed to roll down the entire staircase.  Fortunately, she was just fine.  If there is one thing I am absolutely certain about, it's that there are angels who keep watch over my little flock.  I have seen it many times, and I often find myself offering prayers of gratitude that we are not alone in our parenting endeavors.  Lexi continues to be an absolute joy.  She wins the best baby award for our family!  She is at such a fun age.  Her top teeth are working their way down and her toothy little smile gets me every time.  She's starting to pull herself up to things, so chances are her first steps aren't too far away. 

Ty.  Oh Ty.  Where would the Israelsen family be without Ty?  He's a 2-year-old for sure.  He loves to exert his independence, but still flashes us his handsome little smile and makes us melt.  He is the ultimate copycat of his sisters.  Whatever they do, he is right there next to them doing the exact same thing (as well as his 2-year-old self can imitate).  He has few inhibitions.  Obviously here in this picture, he is uninhibited by markers.  His face is simply a blank canvas, I suppose.

Dear Crayola, thank you.  Thank you for inventing markers that wash easily. 

Of course there is something oddly familiar about that picture......oh yes, I know why.  It reminds me of this:

Kenna when she was 3 1/2.  Must be genetic.  Or just a childhood rite of passage.  I especially love Kenna's hairdo.

Speaking of some great hairdo's, we'll add these ones to our collection:

A perfect princess lunch.

And since we like to get up to all sorts of random adventures around these here parts, we'll end with a good one of Jacob, aka The Bull Whisperer:

  Just another day in paradise.