Most of you know we recently gave our dog Noah to our friends, Jason & Shawnda. We knew we would have to do something before we move and when they started looking for a dog, we decided it was worth it to go ahead and do it early. He really is happy there & he gets to be inside! He loves that and he loves all the kids and he loves all the attention! Buster is still with us and he got to come inside too! He has very limited roaming space, but Dee convinced me he's too old to be in the cold with his arthritis. So, we lost one and gained one...sort of!
"I'll miss you, Buster!"
The last bath...he hates it!
Karis loves to stand and look at the dogs out the window
Buster still doesn't know what he thinks about being inside with Karis. She loves him & gets so excited! But, as you can see, he usually just walks away. I think the shrieking overwhelms him. It's pretty funny watching them sometimes!
Yes, it has been a childcare extravaganza around here! Dana and I have been taking turns keeping all the cousins lately. So they have been around each other a lot and Dana and I are seeing what it's like to have 4 kids very close in age! The kids are Kayden: 2 1/2, Isaiah: 15 mo., Karis: 11 mo., and Kayla: 5 1/2 mo.. So it is a busy day when they are all together, but it's fun! Dana and I have definitely gained a greater appreciation for my mom who does this all the time! It's so wonderful to have a mom close by that serves all of us in SO many ways. I know I won't always have that and it's one of the hardest things about moving. But the kids have a lot of fun together. Mealtimes are definitely the most challenging! And since I am starting to slowly wean Karis off her bottle, she does NOT like it when Kayla gets hers and she doesn't get one! But we're all learning to share and be patient....the moms, I mean!
Kayden's usual state all day long...no pants & eating a snack!
He does NOT like it when any of the babies cry. Here, he is telling Karis in the monitor it's going to be ok.
Kayden loves to "hold" Karis.
I had a little photo shoot with Kayla. It's so much easier when they can't move that much!
Typical moment: Kayden telling me what he wants to do next, Isaiah & Karis whining & Kayla was sleeping, I think
We love being Uncle Dee & Aunt Stacey to our dear friends' kids! We have had the privilege of spending a lot of time with them lately while our friends were away for the weekend. So the Lanier house expanded to 4 children for a few days & we had a blast. Karis loved it! Being the first child, I definitely think she gets bored of looking at me! I have always loved being around and taking care of lots of kids like this. In high school, there were 2 different families of 4 that I kept regularly. It has fueled my desire for a family. And I love seeing my husband with other children. He is so good with them, playing, dancing, doing hair, and keeping them in line! It was definitely a lot of work and I see our need to grow as parents, but that will come! Our friends are such an example to us in their heart for adoption and their willingness to be a part of meeting a need for an orphan even when it's hard. The Lord has used them to increase our passion for adoption and she is a great example to me in parenting. I learn a lot from her. Here are a few snapshots of our extended family!
I know it's been so long since I've updated anything! We are still alive! I'll try to post lots to give some of the details of the life of the Laniers and not all at once. Karis has had lots of friends and cousins over lately. She really has loved it! She loves playing with other kids and it has definitely kept me busy. I am so blessed to have so many friends and family so close to spend time with and keep each others' kids. It really is a privilege and a joy to be a part of their families too!
I am very thankful for Karis to be able to spend so much time with her cousins lately. She and Isaiah are like twins in a lot of ways. She chases him all over the place....he's still faster and now that he can walk, she has to work hard to keep up! But they really do have a lot of fun together! We love you Isaiah!
Like I said, they seem like brother and sister sometimes. Here they are sharing?? a toy.
They really can't stay away from each other. Whenever one is eating, the other one stays right there to eat the crumbs that fall!! :)
This is one of their favorite toys. It's funny to watch Karis smack his hand or for Isaiah to move her hand from what he wants to play with.
The stairs is one their favorite places to sneak off to, so now we use a gate all the time!
Here's Isaiah playing a game. He likes to throw things (ie my flip flops) to the other side of the gate & then try to get them back. Here he got his arm stuck!
Karis follows Isaiah in a lot of things. Watch this! He is really enjoying showing her how to drum! (Karis really was ok in the end...she didn't get hurt!)
