Easter in New York

We got to celebrate Easter in New York this year! Eric had to leave that morning after Easter baskets but we were happy to have him there with us for a little! The New York Easter bunny was great to the kids!

Colt couldn't stop eating candy. I think that is all he ate that day and the next. Even Ellie knew what the candy was. She would crawl over to the baskets and pick through until she found chocolate candy and then start chewing on it through the wrapper, which she usually broke through.

Like I have said before, she is happy and easy going! She slid down this crack in the couch and was happy to stay there and have her bottle through the commotion!

Grammy finally rescued her!

Happy Easter 2012

We love these two!

Easter before church, I missed this one as I was taking Eric to the airport.

Hannah's getting so old, almost two full hands! Isn't she so beautiful!

And the cutest pregnant lady around, so excited!

No, Dad was not out working on Easter, he had poison ivy! So he was stuck with gloves on his hands for a few days!

That's a happy face, not a cry. This trip is when she started doing that scrunched nose all the time.

That afternoon we had a nice dinner with Grandma Ede, Aunt Elaine and Uncle George, Joe, Donna, and Jimmy. I haven't seen them in a really long time so it was great to catch up! It was a great Easter day with family. But we missed all of you who weren't there. We are eternally grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ and all that he has sacrificed for each one of us. I hope you had a wonderful Easter too!

Belly

Ellie Belly. Silly rhyme but that is what has stuck as her nick name. That is all that Colt calls her. "Is Ellie Belly awake?" "Ellie Bellies in the dog food!"

I'm not ready for her to turn 1! Less than a month now. Although she keeps me really busy chasing her around I wish I could freeze her at this age. She is so happy and sweet and smart and beautiful and funny and tough. I love hearing her crack up at Colt. He is who she usually laughs for, especially in the car (their car seats are right next to each other). She is copying anything I ask her to do and tries to blow kisses when I tell her to say goodnight. She is babbling more and totally copied me saying thank you the other day like 15 times.

She gets beat up by Colt constantly and that is a huge aggravation to me because I cannot leave the room for a second without him pushing her down or pinching her, etc. But she survives, I just feel bad for her sometimes, but that's why she's so tough! She is starting to fight back now. She gets mad and swings at him or pulls his hair. I can't help but laugh because she is so little still! She loves the pool and the tub. She loves music and likes to swing her arms to dance. She loves books even though she doesn't get them read to her that much.

Apparently this was supposed to be a three person stroller, not just a two person one! She's usually really good on walks, except when she and Colt are messing with each other.

I can't keep this girl away from the shoes! She loves piling them all in the bucket. She loves putting anything into buckets lately. And pushing wagons, eating paper, standing in her high chair, playing in the play house, turning the tub faucet on and off, opening the bottom drawer in the fridge and biting all the apples she can, and playing outside, especially in the Fisher Price car. She also loves dog beds. She loves hanging out in Pebbles cage and on her bed in the living room. Pebbles doesn't even use the bed anymore, just Ellie.

She thinks Pebbles bed is her little nest. She brings her toys and when I have her pajamas out on the couch she grabs them and brings them into the bed too. Pack rat already! She always has her hands full when roaming around the house. Doesn't quite matter what it is, she just likes to hold and chew on stuff!

She loves cords of any kind, play necklaces, and the girls play leashes. And her all time favorite spot is in my bedroom unloading the cabinet with the girls pajamas. She loves throwing them all on the floor, and then runs away with silky pj pants!

She's a pretty good eater. She loves spaghetti, beans, pizza, peas, apples and of course chocolate. She is not loving sitting in her high chair any more and is always trying to climb out.

In her nest.

Rachel and Livy just love you to pieces. They are always telling me how cute you are and how they always wanted a baby sister named Ellie! Colt loves you too, you are his buddy, you two are pretty much together all the time, he just expresses it differently!

I love this picture. That's her now, smiling, laughing and running away from me. So sweet. I love you Ellie! I am so happy you are in our family. You make ma smile every time I see you. You make my heart so happy.

The Pool is Open!

It's been about 90 degrees here lately so there has been a lot of swimming going on for the kids. I still haven't jumped it but they are loving it! Colt has no fear and jumps off of anything, the side, the high rocks on the water fall, and loves when Eric throws him really high and far! The girls are loving swimming all over the pool with their new flippers. They are so confident with them and love to play together. Now there are always baby dolphins in the water instead of puppies! Ellie loves the water and  will really enjoy it this summer when she really gets in there. Right now she is stuck on the sun bench until it gets warm enough for me to jump in.

First watermelon of the season!

Ellie watching from outside the gate, wondering what is going on in there!

Eric loves to com home and swim with the kids. And they love it just as much!

Poppy's Wig

After seeing this picture:

Rachel: Who is this?

Me: You don't know who this is?

Rachel: No.

Me: Come on, you know who this is, we just saw them.

Rachel: Who is it?

Me: It's Grammy and Poppy!

Rachel: Is Poppy wearing a wig?

After a good laugh, I explained about how men lose their hair when they get older, etc.

She continued to say that Grammy's eyes were different too.

Sorry mom and dad! You still look the same to me! Love you!

Celebrate 8!

On April 19th we had our 8th wedding anniversary! I was in New York with the kids and Eric as at home in Texas. Sent me beautiful flowers which were an awesome and sweet surprise! I love you Eric! This year has been one of our bests. I hope it just keeps getting better!

The nice guy that he is, he flew back to New York to come and pick us up. When he got there we got to go out to a delicious dinner at a nice steak house we hadn't been to before. Yum! Then we got to escape to a hotel for the night, alone! Thanks mom and dad for keeping the whole crew for us! It was so nice just to have some time alone and not have to worry about being back or how it was going or best of all, not having to wake up early! Happy Anniversary! Thank you for all you do for me and the kids. You really keep me sane and happy! I love you!

The Artist and Angel Within

I love kids drawings and now I have lots of them! Neither of the girls used to like to draw pictures for me and now Olivia's artistic side has emerged and I am so thrilled! We have pictures taped all over the counter top ledges and it makes me so happy to see them each day! Livy loves to draw now and is very good at having lots of detail in her pictures. Her favorite thing to add is eye lashes, that is how you tell if it is a girl. Thank you Livy for filling our home with your beautiful pictures. They are so sweet, just like you!

My kids seem to rotate through this "easy" cycle. I usually have one who is so good for a few months, not causing many problems, agreeable, easy going, helpful, etc. Then they someone else gets in that mode and they switch out of it to regular kid mode. Rachel and Livy seem to swap back and forth between this role when I struggle with one and the other is a breeze. Luckily it is usually not a struggle with both of them at the same time! Right now Livy is in this good stage. She is thriving now and is just what I need. She helps me, is patient with me, independent, happy all the time, sweet, loving, kind, forgiving, takes the older sister role, and has an unconditional love for her siblings and just wants them to be happy. She is always helping with Ellie and loves to take care of her. She connects with Colt like no one else. She helps me when he is not listening to me and making me crazy with crying and screaming. She knows just how to get through to him and distract him so he can be happy again. She is one step ahead of me that way and I am so amazed with the things she thinks of in those situations. And Rachel is her other half. She does anything for her. She seriously is my little angel right now. I love you Livy, thank you for being my angel these past few months when I have really needed it!

I love that face! She is usually biting her nails, hair or shirt so I love to see a smile with nothing in it!

She is still a jumping bean and jumps all over the place. She is loving swimming and doing great at it. The other day she was with me on the computer and Colt started crying. She asked me "did you want a baby boy?" To which I answered yes. Then she said "You just didn't want a bad one, right?" Haha! She had me cracking up because she is serious when she says these things! I love the way you talk about stuff just how it really is!