My Eli finished his first year (half year) of preschool.  We are so proud of him!  He made friends, he became a little more confident in himself and he learned things!!  I'm excited to watch him grow more and more each year.  He's so different than Addie, but there's something so special about him.  I adore him to pieces.  Congrats, buddy!  Looking forward to the summer with you!!!

Blessed

Feeling blessed to be surrounded by these people every day of my life. 

Dear Papa...

 Missing Papa today.  He went to be with the Lord three years ago today.  There are so many things I wish he was a part of still.  I wish he knew our little Izzy.  I wish he could throw Eli up in the air.  I wish he could come watch Addie play soccer.  I wish he could be at our holiday get-togethers, stirring up trouble, making everyone laugh at the dinner table... But he's in a much better place, and for that I am thankful.  I would tell him lots of things if he were still here, but what I want to tell him most of all is how great of a job he did raising his son and what an incredible father Brandt has become :)

Dale, your son is an amazing, loving, compassionate man! 

 You would be so proud to see how he's raising these three kiddos in a godly home!

 And thanks for loving Lynn the way you did... setting a great example of what it means to be a husband.  Brandt is a fantastic one and I am so thankful you gave him to me :)

Miss you today, Papa!  We love you :)

Walking!

Well, she's not walking all over the house yet, but she's walking!!  And she's loving it :)  I think she'd prefer crawling, since she goes much faster that way, but she'll walk when we stand her up and tell her to walk.  Ha!  My baby is growing up... time for another!?  ;)

Spring Break and Easter

 I loved Spring Break as a kid, so since we weren't going anywhere warm this year, I wanted to make the week super special and super fun :)  And it was!

 New Bike!

 MN Zoo

 Painting!

 Mall of America!

 My little Easter bunny :)

 Too many goodies!

Best buddies :)

Now back to reality this week, but we are loving being back into a routine!  

Life is good :)

We are blessed :)

 We are in a stage right now where these two are like the best of friends one minute and the worst of enemies the next.  Fighting, yelling, dirty looks, and hitting--- yucka!  But then five minutes later (or after separation in their rooms), they are giggling, playing their own "sneak up on mom" game, or performing a fashion show for Izzy--- the best of friends!  I get that this is typical of siblings... I just enjoy the best of friends moments much better :)

My Iz is the messiest eater in the world!  She loves any and every kind of food, but I swear she gets most of it on her body or in her hair rather than in her mouth.  We do baths every day for this child, which she loves, so I think she probably puts food in her hair on purpose, knowing she'll get a bath if she does it enough!  The other fun fact about the Iz is that she's the one to constantly remind us to pray before meals.  She will fold her hands and make some loud noise to get our attention until we join her in prayer.  She will then remind us to pray multiple times during the course of the meal :)  Loving this girl!

A little comparison...

 Addison @ 1 year...

 Elias @ 1 year...

Isabelle @ 1 year...

As we looked through old pictures the other night, we are amazed at how similar the girls look, comparing Addie at one year and Izzy right now.  It's so crazy!  And our little Eli-- so different :)  

How quickly you forget.  This age is tough a lot of days, but it goes so quickly.  I can hardly remember the day-to-day when Addie or Eli were one years old.  I need to slow down, take in every day to the fullest, and not be anxious for them to grow older. 

Happy Birthday, Isabelle!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a fun couple days of Valentine's Day activities-- from cookie making to Valentine's Bingo to parties at schools.  We were exhausted tonight!!  :) 

Lately

 These ladies LOVE each other!  Izzy gets a kick out of Miss Addie :)

 I love my girlies! 

This was last week when Eli was at preschool.  Fun to have just two around every once in awhile.

Izzy Mae at 11 months.  Now she poses and smiles for me :)

Addie is loving gymnastics!  She's being challenged, which I love to see.  But now she's talking about starting dance again next year.  We'll see what happens.  Kind-of sad that culture today pushes you to pick "the sport" for your kid at such a young age... 

This face reminds me of Eli, minus the mullet hair!

Don't worry-- one of my besties cut Izzy's mullet the other day, so she looks well-groomed now!

Had to include my boy in the photo reel :)  

Eli is doing well.  In preschool two mornings a week now and really liking it.  Yesterday he came home and said he made his first friend, a boy named Garrett.  I cried tears of joy.  He has a friend! 

Our little Iz is 10 months.  Fun stage we're in!  She's eating only "big people food"-- refusing baby food and been off bottles for a couple months now.  Crazy lady.  She's popping her 3rd tooth right about now.  Sleeping 11-12 hours a night and still 2 or 3 naps a day.  Crawling backwards-- like literally in the crawling position, but just going backwards instead of forwards :)  Rolls everywhere and now does the roll and sit up thing.  Pretty cute to see her sitting up in bed in the morning, staring at the door, waiting for someone to remember her.  She adores her big brother and sister.  Always laughing with or at them.  Always willing to give big open-mouth slobbery kisses, which they find hilarious!  Can do "So Big!" with her arms (finally!) and can point to the light.  Wow ;)  Says, "Mama" , "Dada", "Hi" , and Addie thinks she says "Addie" but I have yet to hear that one.  She's still good for a cuddle.  And she adores her daddy.   We love you, Isabelle!  :)

My favorite photo from Christmas Day!  

We are enjoying the holidays and love having Brandt home all week. 

Still battling coughs and colds, but as of today, I think we are on the mend... finally!  

Happy Holidays :)

Merry Christmas from the Sorbels :) 

Izzy Mae -- 9 months old!  Love her big smile and big cheeks :)

Survival mode.  I have a 9 month old, and I am still in survival mode.  She won't take a bottle during the day.  She hates baby food and only wants real food.  She's trying to be a big kid, but she's still a babe.  She's waking twice a night to eat, and we feed her, cause she refuses it during the day.  She's waking at 5am most mornings and taking 3-4 naps a day.  Survival mode.  It's exhausting. 

As for Eli-- playing with the idea of putting him in preschool in January.  Two mornings a week.  It would be great for him to be social.  I don't feel 100% peace about it just yet, but praying...

My Addie is loving life and loving school.  She works hard at school and at home.  Even doing multiplication problems, thanks to Uncle Aaron who teaches her math every time they're together :) 

I've said it before... being a mom is the greatest and toughest job in the world. 

 Our Izzy Mae is 8 months old.

 

 Just love this little face :)

And of course, these two besties... well, some days they are friends ;)