Easter

Easter weekend we went up to Austin to enjoy the beautiful weather and scenery. It sure is nice up there. It is a lot of work and hectic keeping Colt contained but it is beautiful. The Easter bunny came to our house on Saturday morning so we could make it to church on time on Sunday morning. So considerate that Easter bunny!

The big score. The girls have been playing Rapunzel non stop since we bought the DVD the day it came out. They were so excited about their big Rapunzel dolls and played with them the rest of the trip.

Livy was the only one into the egg hunt. Once Rachel laid eyes on her Rapunzel that was it. She said Livy could get all the eggs and she didn't even want the rest of the stuff in her basket! So Livy happily found all the eggs and shared them with her sister and brother.

We have played egg hunt at home a few times in the past few weeks so Colt knew exactly what the eggs were about and went strait for the one he could see and immediately started eating candy. He had more than his share of jelly beans that day!

Livy and her loot!

The girls loving their Rapunzel dolls. We had to braid their hair and put flowers in it too. But at least it kept the tangles under control!

After church I tried to get a picture of the kids but Livy was upset about something so it didn't work too well. Rachel and Colt thought it was pretty funny though!

Livy being mad. When she was done being mad Colt was done taking pictures.

Sweet little Rae.

Finally all smiles. Happy Easter!

For the week leading up to Easter, each night we did something to learn about Easter. We did the egg activity where there are scriptures and objects in eggs to teach about Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. We read the story from the children's scriptures, we read it in Matthew, talked about it a lot, and did an FHE on it. Anyway, on Sunday night when we were saying our prayers I tried to discuss what they would say they are thankful for on this Easter Sunday. I asked "who is Easter all about?" And of course the answer came "the easter bunny!" Well there goes all that work down the drain! Not a total loss. They know the story well and loved talking about it all week. Their preschool teachers even told me they knew all the answers in class when they talked about it and answered with the word resurrection like it was just a common word to them. That made me happy that they were listening, even if they think the easter bunny is important too! I like that they go to a Christian preschool and talk about these things there. Livy tells me daily, "do you know why Jesus went on the cross? Because he loves us." I am grateful for my Savior and all of the blessings I receive from him. I am thankful for his sacrifice every day. Hope you had a great Easter everyone!

Lucky #7

April 17th was our 7th anniversary! I forgot to get a picture of us on our anniversary date, I'll have to add one of just me and Eric and I get one.! We had a nice dinner without kids and a movie. Seems simple but oh so nice. I can't believe it has been 7 years already. I just wanted to tell Eric I love him and I am so grateful to have him as my husband. I know we drive each other nuts some times but he is perfect for me and I am grateful he accepts me with all of my imperfections and craziness. And he doesn't hold it against me that I can't cook! We have an amazing life with our three little kids and I know I will need him more than ever to make it through number four! Thank you for creating this life with me. I love you!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Last week we went to an Astros game with all the kids. It was their first one and they had a great time. We only stayed about an hour in our seats and then went to the play area for a little while.

They were in awe when they first sat down and loved the national anthem. They got dinner in their seats and had a fun time running down the stairs right up to the field.

Livy got into cheering with Eric. Whatever he did, she did.

Colt loved watching everything going on there but of course wanted to climb on, under, and over anything he could find. So it was nice when he would sit for a minute.

Livy could have stayed longer. She is so observant and loves just looking around and taking everything in. She said she liked sitting there as long as she had something to eat! She wanted a picture with the train in the background so that's what the one below is of. It is hard to see but it is just on top of the yellow wall.

Rachel was not in the mood for pictures this night. That was all I could get her to do if I wanted her in front of the camera. Earlier while she was eating she was smiling and dancing to the music in her seat. Wish I would have gotten a picture of that.

Colt's new "cheese" face. He finally knows what a camera is and he even says cheese when he does this. Funny boy!

The scary face caught on. Now Livy too. Here's the gang at the game.

Down in the kids area there is a huge play gym and a few baseball things for them to try. They raced against this huge wooden runner and got to run the "bases." Livy was a little scared of it. Rachel took a turn batting too. The kids had a fun time and have asked to go back already because they want to show the baseball game to some of their animals.

My Cuties

Erin made them these awesome dresses and matching shirt for Colt a while ago and I finally got them all to wear them the same day. With Eric's help I actually got them to smile too! Thanks Erin! They looked adorable and got many comments at church! Now that Rachel knows you can sew she wants to ask you to make doll clothes with her! Good luck!

31 weeks

Lots of people tell me now a days that I am not going to make it to June 10th. That is the c-section date. Some days I feel like I won't make it either and most days I don't want to make it that far! But the truth is I know I was bigger with Colt and the girls so I think I have a ways to go still.

Don't mind this frightening picture. Next time I will have Eric stand up when he takes the picture. This shooting from below is no good. Even worse than regular looking.

Big Mama. That's all I have to say about that picture.

Troublemaker

That is his name now, troublemaker. He seems to be getting into more and more things lately, just like every little kid I guess, but he is wearing me out!

This morning he colored on the chair with a Sharpie. Thank goodness for the magic eraser. I have no idea how it works but I sure am glad it does!

You can't really see it in the picture but he had a blue mouth here from eating chalk. This was just a few small nibbles but in the days to follow he managed to take large bites out of the pieces of chalk. I don't even know how he did it actually but he had a mouth full of green chalk. Gross.

He loves dumping stuff and was so quick to give me his "cheese" smile. He sure was proud of his mess! Luckily Pebbles liked these puffs and ate most of them up.

Some of his other recent tricks include playing with dog food and water when I am not quick enough in the morning to remove it, climbing out of his crib, throwing huge hissy fits about stuff, screaming until he has a hoarse voice just because he wants something, and my least favorite playing in the toilet. I found him twice in the past week dipping his pointer finger in the toilet and cleaning it off in his mouth. If only everyone would shut the bathroom doors!

But then it comes to prayer time and he is so cute and loves to fold his arms now and it all goes away. It is so cute to see him know what prayer time is and fold his arms without me even saying anything. Some times he starts to jabber with whom ever is saying the prayer too.

I think his, and mine, least favorite thing to do is change his diaper. He cries, screams, arches his back, twists around and does anything he can to get away from me. It is a huge source of stress for me every day. Anyway, as you can see in these pictures we have switched over to cloth diapers to see if it will help with his diaper rash that never seems to go away completely. Maybe that is why he hates diaper changes so much becasue his heiney always hurts. We still use regular diapers some times but now that I bought these things I am trying to use them. He still has a rash but that is expected with diarahea. I am hoping once we get the rash away this time the cloth diapers will keep further ones away.

He was watching a baby Einstein video that had different pictures of things in the house. He was trying to copy the words they would say. When they got to the picture of the table didn't try to say table but he said "get down." I couldn't stop laughing. He's got it, even if he doesn't listen to me, I know he is hearing me!

Playing with Pebbles. He loves to play with her, feed her, and hang out with her and on her. Pebbles is the only one who shares his love of balls and the backyard. They are good buddies. He is a fun little guys but he definately is getting harder for me. And he doesn't stop moving. Love this guy, even if he is a trouble maker.

First Dentist Appointment!

Rachel and Olivia had their first dentist appointment. They were a little anxious about going, naturally, but nothing too bad. They like the office right away with its Dr. Seuss theme everywhere. The staff was great and made them so comfortable and gave them lots of little surprises that made them so excited.

Livy went first and was a champ! She did everything they asked and had a great experience.

Happy with nice clean teeth and a new tooth brush!

When it was Rachel's turn she was more than ready to go! She saw how fun it was for Livy and she couldn't wait her turn!

They both did awesome and when we left they said "That was so fun!" I'm glad they could start off their dental visits that way! I hope it stays like that for them but I don't know anyone who loves the dentist still, well maybe Jamie, but here's to hoping! Since the dentist appointment they have been so good about brushing and trying to floss themselves everyday. You're getting so old you two! You guys did awesome! Thanks for making it a fun easy visit for me too! I love you girls!