How long has it been??

Hello All,

Sorry for not getting any updates here sooner. Our home PC is on the fritz and for some reason I can't access my blogger account from that computer. And, that would just happen to be the PC that we have all of our photos on. Anyways, here is a quick update to let everyone we are all doing well.

The boys are growing leaps and bounds. Liam is FINALLY getting used to using the potty. He gets SO excited when he pees in the toilet, he has to tell everyone in the house and sometimes has to tell Grandma over the phone. He loves to wear his 'Thomas' big-boy underpants.

Elijah is learning new words everyday. Unfortunately, his first word was "NO", and he still uses it on a regular basis. He understands a lot more than what he can say, and really needs to work on his pronunciation. Socks are pronounced "gocks" and shoes are "ooosh". He does pretty well with single-syllable words like car, dog, truck, bike, and so on. Liam has been helping him with his bigger words and putting sentences together one word at a time.

I will get some pics up here as soon as I can.

Jeff, Karen, Liam, and Elijah.

2008 Beach Trip

June marked the month of the beach trip this year. The weather was perfect, the pool was heated, the hot tub was ... hot, but the ocean was a little on the cold side. That didn't stop us (or the kids) from having a blast all week long.

The Wiggles provide ample entertainment before lunch is served.

"...point your fingers and do the twist!"

A thunderstorm off the coast early in the week made for a few good night pictures. Not really a matter of timing, just a matter of pointing the camera in the right direction and having the aperture open.

A vacation at the Outer Banks wouldn't be complete without a trip to see the Hatteras lighthouse! We didn't venture to climb to the top this year. Mabe in a few years when the boys can carry theselves and at least two bottles of water.

"Lighthouses are so much fun!!"

We had 6 kids to 10 adults. The adults were almost outnumbered. Liam and Elijah had a blast playing with everyone. Here Liam sings backup for Matthew.

"...you've got a friend in me..."

The ocean was cold, but once you were used to it, there was no stopping the fun! Liam had a much better time at the ocean this year compared to last. I think watching Matthew have so much fun in the waves helped Liam have a lot more fun. He and Matthew ran rampant as often as they could.

And everything is all fun and games until someone gets wiped out by a rogue wave.

He was up and running again in about 30 seconds.

You would not believe how hard it is to get six kids under the age of five to sit still long enough to take a picture, much less have more than 50% of them actually looking at the camera. I think the better picture would have been of the parent's trying desperately to get the attention of the kids.

Liam was snacking, Elijah was digging a hole, Hannah was watching Elijah dig the hole, Andrew was a little concerned about all the parent's loud voices required to keep their attention, while Matthew and Ella demonstrated the desired look that only years of photographing, attention-getting parent's, "look at me, sweety", would produce.

We attended the street festival in Manteo. Liam and Matthew were dancing up a sweat - it was hot and muggy, after all.

And finally, a parting shot of Matthew at the beach.

Until next year...

Goat Lady Farm and Visit to Poppy & Grommy's

We visited the Goat Lady Farm a few weeks back. Liam got to see and pet a number of farm animals including cows, chickens, pigs, and of course goats. The pigs were a little ripe so we didn't spend a lot of time there. Liam wanted to go back and see them wallow in the mud and make funny "grunting" noises.

His name was Billy - go figure!

The chickens were very docile and about tummy-high to Liam. He didn't venture too close to the hen house, though.

What does LIVE chicken taste like?

We also went to visit Poppy and Grommy over the weekend. Liam and Elijah got their first rides on the carousel. Elijah didn't care too much for it, but Liam had a blast. I think Liam rode four times while we were there.

Round and round the carousel goes...

Liam and Elijah got another treat - a ride on the TRAIN! Liam had a great time riding the train. There was a playground in the center of the circle that the train ran on. Everytime the train came by he would run up to the edge of the fence and let us know that there was a train going by (as if we didn't already notice).

Until next time... Safe travels!

Long-Overdue Update

Elijah is pulling to a stand and crawling like a champ. He's pretty quick when he does his bear crawl on his hands and feet. He likes to make a mad dash for the dog-food bowl and/or water bowl and gets REALLY upset when he's intercepted. I'll upload a video if I can catch him in the act.

This is one of the first times I realized his ability to pull up and stand. I walked into his room and there he was, looking over the edge of his crib down at Liam, and just had a BIG smile on his face. Needless to say we lowered his crib to the lowest setting that night.


Elijah (just like Liam) has a craving for pasta and the uncontrollable desire to smear it all over and into every accessible orifice. Is it the smell? Is it the touch/sensation? Does marinara sauce have some sort of exfoliating effect to the skin? And, why all over the face, in the hair, in the eyes, in the ears, on the dog (if he's within reach), and finger-painting on his tray?

"My mug shot for Quentin Tarantino's next film"

We celebrated Easter with an Egg Hunt at the church. Liam was more interested in the slides on the playground than hunting for eggs. Elijah was able to snag one for himself and proudly shows it off to everyone.

"Thats Daddy's candy making that rattle noise"

We had a little more luck in getting Liam to look for eggs in the back yard. He seemed to find the well-hidden eggs fairly quickly, but as you can see, had some issues with the blatently obvious ones. His reward for finding the eggs: Chocolate!!

Those are actual self-portraits of Liam, Elijah, and Einstein

Two Swingin' Boys:

We stopped at a park outside Cary when we went to Durham to meet some friends for dinner. Liam and Elijah both love to swing. I see two dare-devils in the making. I just hope they don't nearly cut their pinky off with a Rambo-style "survivor" knife, 40 feet up a tree, while attemting to cut a vine to make a swing across the creek. That's just Daddy's concern.

Christmas 2007 and Liam's 2nd Birthday

Elijah was doing his best impression of Santa, chubby cheeks and all. He is known by many names, one of which is "Spit-Up King" as Liam likes to call him. At 7 months he already has two teeth on the bottom, which of course makes him the "Drool King". We can go through eight or more bibs on a good day.

" Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas!!"

Liam and Elijah posed for a very quick holiday pic in front of the tree. We had to act quick since the Wiggles were playing on the DVD player.

"One... Two... Three... Wake up Jeff!!"

Elijah made Reindeer hats at Daycare. He wasn't very happy wearing his new hat.

It's Randolph the Red-Nosed Elf - santa's right-hand helper.

Unfortunately this was Elijah's only expression for photos. I've seen the "Deer in the Headlights" look, but this one is special. Can anyone say, "Duh"?

"Duuuuhh"

Liam and Elijah had lots of fun playing with one another. Elijah is finally a little tickle-ish and Liam took full advantage of it. Mommy and Daddy hope that this will continue when Elijah is old enough to play with Liam's toys.

"Say Uncle! Say Uncle!!"

Elijah's flexibility is pretty cool, but we are trying to down-play the foot-in-the-mouth trick, no matter how impressive he thinks he is. He has a lot more fun with his feet than Liam did. Socks simply will not stay on his feet.

"Tastes like chicken."

Liam had lots of friends over to celebrate his birthday and his best friend (shall we say, first girlfriend?) Quinn's birthday, who is only one day younger than Liam.

Birthdays - the candles are few, but the cakes are huge.

(for sharing with your friends, of course).

Family Photos and Pre-Thanksgiving

Liam & Karder trying their best to look inconspicuous. These guys had lots of fun playing catch, getting in a few swings of golf, and of course getting soaked while playing in the water fountain.

Liam: "What daddy?" As if to imply his innocence.

Karder: "What the $%&@ you lookin' at, YOU'RE not my daddy!!"

Karder gives a few golfing tips to Liam.

" Keep your legs shoulder-width apart, arms straight with hands locked, bend at the left knee as you pull back, then SWING!"

Liam and Elijah seem to be getting along very well. Elijah loves to watch his older brother.

"You blinked first!"

"You smiled first!!"

We visited Great-Grandma Bergquist's house in Michigan to celebrate an early Thanksgiving. Liam had several visits to the local playground with Grandpa.

"Cheese"

Four Generations

Beach Blast 2007

We spent the week in Nags Head, NC - our annual beach trip with some of our closest friends. We had lots of fun and got to see lots of cool places and do lots of neat stuff. Most of the kids were old enough to enjoy the water. Liam learned many new words, including "ocean", "waves", "pelican", and "seagull". He also learned what seagulls say: "mine..., mine..."

"Water!!"

Liam had lots of fun with his friends. He was shy at first and had a little difficulty with the idea of sharing his toys. But, once he was acclamated to the beach environment, he and the other kids ran the house for the remainder of the week.

Matthew, Ella, and Liam wait patiently for lunch to arrive.

Liam learned a few new words when we visited the Aquarium in Manteo. Here he's getting a close-up view of the "fish" and the "sharks".

Apparently sharks say "Raaarr" much like Lions, Bears, and Alligators.

Elijah had lots of fun at the beach, too! He looks like a football star in the making.

Until next year, here is our parting picture of all the kids.

"Cheese-burger!!"

Elijah is finally at home. His eyes are blue (for now) and it looks like he has a red tint to his hair (poor kid). But, to his credit, he has successfully mastered the four basic functions expected from every child: eat, sleep, poop, and pee. He prefers to be up more at night than during the day, and when he is awake he wants to eat. Sounds like a Powell to me.

Just enjoying the massaging effects of the bouncy seat.

Enjoying the nice cushy comforter. "Hey, this bed is SO much nicer than mine, I think I'll stay here for a while!"

When he sleeps, Elijah makes a lot of squeeky noises. Mom and I have gotten used to it, so when we don't here the squeeks we think something is wrong.

It's nap-thirty.

And, the most torturous thing you can do to a newborn is give them a bath. Elijah is not very happy with this regular schedule of cleaning. Give him a couple months and he will be excited about playing in the water.

Mom tries to comfort our little guy during his traumatic experience.