Her First Novel...Well, She's on Her Way at Least!

being a teacher, i'm always on the lookout teachable moments. the other day ely asked how pasta is made so we went to the computer and watched a youtube video about it. we both actually learned alot! (i still can't get her to eat any other shaped pasta! only macaroni. "it just tastes different, mom!") we've looked up horseshoes, chameleons and islands lately. ely has a thirst for knowledge! she loves to learn. when we read a book, it takes us twice as long because i have to stop and explain what "slathered" or "stray" mean. i don't mind; i love that she's so eager to learn. we've started teaching her the sounds of the alphabet lately. she knows all the letters and now knows half of the sounds. i thought it was time to start learning how to write. i turned our hot water closet door into a chalkboard (to my husband's dismay) and that's where we practice. here's what we've been working on:

can you tell what it is? it's her name! the y still needs some work, but i'm pretty proud!

and here's her self portrait. actually i think it's a clown. that's his hat on top! there's nothing she can't do.

A Preview of Preston's Play

if any of you wanted to see a preview of preston's play, here it is! ely is actually studying to be preston's understudy. :)

i've been running lines with preston the last few weeks and apparently he's not the only one who's memorized them! just another reminder that little ears hear everything!

Festival of Books

i have been wanting to go to the festival of books at ucla for years and i finally got the chance this year. we joined the verwys family for a day of books and entertainment. this year's theme was the very hungry caterpillar, one of ely's favs! eric carle (the author) was there doing a book signing and reading, unfortunately we didn't get to do either one! the line for the signing was so long and the reading was too late, but we still enjoyed the festival.

there were alot of booths with some wonderful kids books. i wasn't allowed to buy any. apparently i have too many books, which i disagree with. you can never have too many books! there was a also a kid's stage with different kinds of entertainment.

one of our favorite books is how i became a pirate. it's a wonderful book that we read at least once every week. the illustrator is david shannon and he was at the festival. he read another book that he illustrated and then he and the audience "created" a toy. he took suggestions from the kids in the audience and made an...interesting picture. i couldn't get a good picture of it though.

preston, ely and malachi watching david shannon

david shannon

there was a huge wall that housed where eric carle was signing with the question "what book are you reading?" people wrote in marker what book they are currently reading. ely signed her name and then what book she is reading.

signing her name to the book wall

writing what book she's reading. she chose the bible

"bible" can you see it?

Cuddling and Dancing

my kids love each other! with the exception for the occasional hit, pinch or bite, ely really does love her little brother. and we all know that josiah loves his big sister. now that he's crawling, he follows her around everywhere! ely takes "josiah breaks" when she needs a break. i wish it were that easy for me!

this is ely trying to dance with josiah. he's not cooperating, so she just decides to dance on her own!

cuddly time

Never Again!

ely's hair was getting a little scraggly at the ends. when i can't run a brush through it without hearing her scream and cry "owie! owie!"it's time for a trim! well, i had the genius idea of doing it myself....NEVER AGAIN! it didn't turn out that bad, but just not what i had envisioned. ely, always easy to please, loved the end result. to tell you the truth, she just loved getting the process! here are some pictures of her beautiful curls being cut off! the good news is that hair always grows back!

getting ready for the cut

before

after

look at her beautiful curls!

ely's signature pose

maybe i'm a little too hard on myself, but from now i'm leaving this to the professionals

easter (better late than never!)

this easter saw another first- the nespers went to a sunrise service! ok, in all honestly, we were a little late but for those of you who know us, you know that that is an impressive feat! i don't have any pictures because i was tapped with getting there that early!

after the service we headed to the beach with the verwys and copeland families. it was a beautiful day, perfect for the beach. i love southern california! where else can you go to the beach in april? the kids had a great time! ely, as usual ended up in her underwear for the day.

just hanging out

malachi digging

paul digging a hole...

teamwork

josiah's first time at the beach. i was a little worried about him eating the sand, but martha helped to me to relax and let him learn for himself. he did put the sand in his mouth, but didn't like it and didn't do it after that! he's a quick study!

gavin and paul loving on josiah. gavin was so good with josaih. he has such a sweet spirit and loved making josiah laugh!

ely and hazel

trying to make a pool of ocean

success!!!

she fell in the water and wore her underwear all day. i have to start bringing an extra set of clothes for her.

after the beach, home and naps we headed over to gmama's house for another egg hunt and dinner.

can you see the egg? it took her forever to find it!

finally!

counting the eggs

mama maida made her an easter basket

bless bellflower

this year easter offered us an opportunity to serve our community. our home church along with other churches in bellflower participated in a city wide egg hunt. due to budget cuts, the city had to cancel the egg hunt that had been done in previous years. we were blessed to have the chance to serve members of our community and share the good news at the same time. preston took control of the kids while i served at one of the craft booths. ely and some of her friends enjoyed the egg hunt and the playground afterward.

paul, hazel and ely waiting for the egg hunt to start. it was torture for them to wait! the eggs were just laying on the ground so they had to stand there and stare at the eggs for 10 minutes before the mad dash!

rob restraining malachi. it was really hard for him to understand why he couldn't go. :)

the mad dash

shaun, rob and i at the flower booth

abe enjoying a cupcake after the egg hunt

of course she's on the swings!

ely's other treat- there was a boy at the park with a corn snake and ely wanted to hold it. preston thought this was a great idea! she was a little nervous, but she did a really good job! the boy said that the vet took out the poisonous fangs so it was safe to hold. when preston told me this, i wasn't very reassured!

Coloring Easter Eggs

friday nights preston has rehearsal for a play he's going to be in and the kids and i have to find some way to pass the time. i'm looking for a bit of relief after having the kids all day (and the whole week before). my mom has been wonderful and spent the fridays that she has off with us. so far we've gone to the mall for dinner and playing, had a pizza and movie night and last week we had an egg coloring night. ely, josiah, mama madia and i colored eggs all night! ely had alot of messy fun!

ely's creation. there's a rainbow one, a star one and flower one in there somewhere.

our egg family

from left to right: aunt bapa, ely, preston, angie, josiah, mama maida.

thanks mom for giving us something fun and different to do!

Ely's New Bike

for christmas ely got a scooter from grama kathy and papa w. it was really cute and in her favorite colors: pink and purple. preston and i decided, however, that we would like something a little more gender neutral so that josiah can use it as well. i couldn't find a scooter that i was happy with and then i saw the bikes! it's still hard to find a gender neutral bike, but i did my best. ely loves it! it took her awhile to get going forward. she's used to her trike that doesn't have brakes.

talking about the best way to put it together. why read the directions?

helping daddy put the bike together

she's so proud!

the box is always more fun

we then headed over to gmama's house to test the bike outdoors. grama kathy and pap w were there to cheer her on! we couldn't get her off the bike!

you have to wear a helmet!
ready to ride!

her first time on a big girl bike!