Kids, Children, and Babies... oh my!

I do not have any kids of my own, nor do I particularly want any anytime soon. However, I have a very big love for children and am blessed to have a nephew and a niece. I also have a few other kids that aren't related by blood that I think of as nephews and nieces as well. But I will focus this blog on the 2 kids that belong to my brother and sister.

First, there is Marcus, the son of my brother. He just turned 4 years old and the kid cracks me up every time I see him. In fact, my husband and I quote him nearly every day. Marcus is a little ball of energy. He could run and play games for hours. Literally. The kid never stops and I'm pretty sure he inherited his hyperactivity from his dad. He is also a talker. Even before he could actually speak words, he would jibber-jabber on for hours. And now, you can't get him to stop asking questions, or telling you exactly what he is doing at every moment of the day. But, my favorite thing about Marcus is his genuine good nature and desire to do the "right" thing and not get into trouble. A trait I'm sure he did not inherit from his dad. :) Marcus is always the kid telling other kids not to do bad things to prevent them from getting in trouble. He's also a bit of a tattle-tale, but hey, at least he knows the difference between right and wrong. He also has such a big heart and really, truly loves all of his friends and family.


Next, there is Eva, the daughter of my sister. Eva will turn 1 year old on Thursday and I can't believe how time has flown. She is my little red-headed beam of light. She's inquisitive, beautiful and one heck of a clapper. She is also a little sassy, but she's a read-head, so what do you expect? :) Unlike with Marcus, I have been able to be around Eva all of her life (Marcus spent his first 2 years in Washington state) and it's been a delight to see her grow. I expect her take her first steps any day now and then she will be in to absolutely everything. Eva has an infectious smile that can always brighten my day. And one of the funniest things she does is laugh at conversations. For example, the whole family was eating together during Sunday dinner. We all get to chatting and inevitably something makes us all laugh. Well, Eva sees this and starts laughing - kinda like what people do when they just walk up to a conversation they weren't involved in and try to interject themselves. It's such a fake little laugh too, it is SO stinking funny!

These kids really light up my life and I am so grateful for them!

I guess I'm also grateful for my sister and sister-in-law for actually popping these kids out so I can enjoy them! ;-) Thanks!