grace led in life: Easter celebrating & connecting more dots!

Easter is such a special time of year. I am always so humbled and in awe of what Jesus did for us. What a gift...what LOVE. There is no greater love, than the love our heavenly Father has for us.

This Easter was even more blessed with being able to have Zeke with us. It was so fun to talk to Zeke about Jesus and how much he loves him...even more than we do

{and folks...we gotta whole lotta love for him!!}

We had a special day starting with going to church for the first time together since Zeke came home!

We have been watching our church's worship services online at home...and Zeke LOVES the music worship time! He gets so excited. So, we knew he would love that in person! He clapped his little hands and bobbed his head the whole time. He also love seeing his Uncle Josh up singing with the worship team! With some of the things we are facing with Zeke currently, we may not being able to go to church full time yet, but what a beautiful, special day it was.

After church, we headed over to the Swedberg's (my sister, bro-in-law, and nieces) home for a yummy dinner and family time.

We did an Easter egg 'gathering' with Zeke and the girls

Ava and Ashlyn were so sweet in gathering eggs with Zeke!

We're so grateful to have family living close by...we had such a fun day!

Zeke received his first Easter basket from us!

He was so interested in what was inside...including that fun grass!!

Really!? Can I play with these things!?

What is this stuff Mama & Dada?

GRASS!!!!!! :)

What a special day...and beyond all the fun stands our Savior...we are forever grateful.

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[Zeke stats these days...]

We had three more doc visits last week, so we got current measurements for Zeke!

Little man Zeke is 30 1/4" tall!
weight: 23.6 lbs
still wearing those size 4 shoes, and still sporting mostly 12 and a few 18 month old clothes!
Zeke is really trying to form words and more sounds now with his new palate...he received alphabet and number flash cards in his Easter basket...so we've been going through those each day! He LOVES to do that! We are amazed at how much he is learning. He watches our mouths as we say things and tries so hard to say it himself! So proud of him! Although he can only really say a few words and some of the letters...it's so fun to see how excited he gets in trying! At this moment, Zeke is in his crib ~~napping~~ chatting...he is practicing saying "nack?" (snack)...for the last 15 minutes ;) hehehe
Zeke still loves exploring outside. He loves the park, but could care less about the playground yet...give him some space to explore, and a stick or two and he is set! We cherish that he loves the little things! So fun to see his amazement and excitement in learning the little things...that will never get old!
Zeke still cannot go very long in a day and he asks to see his mao mao (Taylor the cat) Here is a special Easter pic of Taylor...sorry...just have to! haha!

Zeke is still loving activities with his hands: puzzles, matching games, coloring, finding things hidden in dry beans (sensory play) ... it all falls into the "learing" category...he LOVES to learn while playing! :)
Zeke's understanding of love is growing each day too...warms our hearts. Just a couple of weeks ago, Zeke started coming up to us, hugging our legs and says "awwwww".

at night...when we say our bedtime prayers...we say thank you, God, for Dada, thank you for Mama, and thank you for baby Zeke...this has not only helped in Zeke being able to recognize who we each are (honestly...he is just grasping this more now.) but he gets the biggest smile on his face and looks right into our eyes when we say thank you for baby Zeke...it fills our hearts so much!!! Never fails...every night! So thankful he feels our love and hears us thanking God for him!

Zeke has 8 washcloths in his crib...ha! a washcloth was his blankie in China...he always was losing it at night so we made sure there were plenty to find throughout the night ;)
Zeke has become very aware of his hearing...he is jumping up to sounds and will point to his cheek and say woah! So, now we are learning what sounds go with what things :) Fire trucks outside and the garbage disposal get the most attention and "wow"s at this point... haha!
Zeke gets so excited to take baths...because now they are showers, too! He kept asking what the shower head was for in the bath/shower...so one day I showed him. He LOVED it and immediately wanted to sit under the shower water...he giggles away...too cute! He is a little fish...loves water!
Zeke is still talking (signing) trucks, construction equipment, trains, planes, etc. ALL DAY LONG! Seeing these modes of transportation and equipment in books and also seeing it in person on our walks is out-of-this-world to Zeke:) Because Zeke is just learning to say sounds, we taught him different signs for each truck/vehicle. We go through these signs multiple times a day, due to Zeke wanting to talk about these things multiple times a day ;)
Zeke is eating more "hard" raw and whole foods now with his healed palate. Introducing non-pureed foods has brought to light what different textures foods have! ;) He is liking some and hesitant to others...but still loves to eat!

Zeke is really 'connecting the dots' each day...

He is on high alert, wants to know how everything works, what we are doing, or where we are going...while all of these things are so wonderful in his learning, we recognize that there is a side of it that comes from fear Zeke has. When there is a lot of "new" in a day, whether it's going somewhere new, doing something new, meeting new people...he is having a tough time. It is very important that we give him time to connect these dots in life and become comfortable and feel safe with them.

Zeke is very detailed and will remember everything we talk to him about.

Justin showed Zeke where the clock hands will be when it is nap time...

Now, each day, when we say it is nap time, Zeke points to the clock and waits for us to explain the "hands" again. He then gets a smile and says "nigh, nigh". It's as though looking at the clock and having it be the same each day makes him have a lot more peace.

The little things like this help to bring Zeke predictability, structure, and the chance for him to know what comes next...to not have to fear what is next.

These little things that fill our day bring a huge amount of peace to Zeke.

Connecting dots has become so fun...

It's adorable to see Zeke learn

it's such a blessing to see him find comfort and stability in

these little things each day in this new life.