Easter Outfits

So how do you capture the hours of preparation getting everyone ready for church in their new Easter clothes? With five minutes before we needed to be in the car heading to church, we attempted to get a picture of the kids. This is what we ended up with...two boys who were squinting because they thought it was too bright (which it wasn't) and a little girl who was trying so hard to sit still. Trying to distract them from being uncooperative, I told them to blow a kiss to daddy standing off to the side. This was my FAVORITE it turns out! On another day with more time I will have to take more pictures. But for now this will do!

Our Easter Egg Hunt

The kids had been anticipating our Easter Egg Hunt this year for weeks. The day before Easter we headed over to some good friends of ours--The Turella's. We had a great spread of food for brunch and got to meet some new people and see their cute kids. My friend Kirsti had bought these really cool hard to find eggs. There were grey ones that looked like gravel, brown ones that looked like dirt, and green ones that looked like grass. All of them were a little textured as well. As our boys were the oldest kids there, we told them not to pick up any of the easy eggs but to leave those for the smaller kids. I was so impressed by how well they listened and how helpful they were to the other kids. They had so much fun finding the "hard eggs" and helping the other kids find eggs. The weather couldn't have been better. With rain all week long, the sun was a nice surprise. Emma loved finding the eggs and when asked if she was done, all she kept saying was, "Not done, find more eggs!" Of course she took several breaks to open the eggs and start eating the candy that was inside. We all had so much fun that we decided to do it again next year.

The Incredible Empty Eggs

It's amazing how the simplest of things can keep a child entertained for hours. The boys have been having so much fun playing easter egg hunt with these plastic eggs over the past couple of days. Today Emma decided that the eggs were her eggs. While both boys were in school today, she took advantage of her time alone with the eggs. She couldn't just have five or six eggs in the cartoon---every space had to be filled with an egg. She carried them around as if they were her security blanket. When Peter got home and wanted to play with the eggs, she held onto them real tight and said, "These My Eggs!" She knows that with two brothers she has to stand her ground. Boy did she make a statement with those eggs today!

Pregnant Lady-25 weeks

Ok, I don't normally like to post myself-especially a pregnant picture-but I have been requested to do so. This pregnancy (aside from the first trimester) has been a relatively easy one and it seems to be flying by. I actually stopped counting how far along I was and had to go to the calendar to count backwards from my due date to see exactly where I am. So here is my very pregnant belly along with the lovely baggy jeans that I love because they are so comfortable.

Visiting Dad at Children's Hospital

Today we spent the better part of the day visiting the hospital where Daddy is working for the next three months. Children's Hospital in Seattle is amazing. It is so open and kid friendly and super clean. How cool that the different parts of the building are the Whale Building, Giraffe Building...etc. We parked in the Whale Parking lot today.

The kids really enjoyed seeing all of the animal statues that were scattered all around the hospital. We saw some colorful giraffes, blue elephants, crazy zebras, trains on the ceilings, and a really cool multicolored whale hanging from the ceiling (see below). At one point Andrew made the comment, "This reminds me of a museum!" I had those same thoughts! I'm sure the kids would say they also loved eating free ice-cream. Who wouldn't love that perk??
We got to see the clinic where Mike is working. Talk about a kids paradise...or would it be a parent's paradise as they sit and wait to be seen. So I guess you walk up to the front desk which is open and inviting and get handed what looks like a restaurant pager you would normally get when you have to wait to be seated. Then you are free to roam around until your coaster flashes. There was a cool fish tank, lots of tables with crayons and paper, fun learning toys, and even a statue of Mickey Mouse. We all enjoyed our little tour of the coolest hospital ever. Now we just need to make sure we are never there on official business if you know what I mean.

Picture LOVE

As I was shopping today, I found these adorable dress up things for Emma. I have been trying so hard to wait until right before the baby is born to surprise her with her own set of dress up things....but I couldn't help myself. I found them at Tuesday Morning and they were so cheap. Of course she wanted to play dress up right away. After lunch Emma and I wandered upstairs and had so much fun playing together. I found yet another opportunity to sneak in a few pictures of her while we were having fun. When it comes to pictures, I guess you could say that I just love them. My love of photography stems from my Dad. When he and my mom were newly married, he built his own dark room and developed his own pictures. Then he proceeded to take our own family pictures. Although I was too young to remember those things, the thing I do remember is our family nights filled with hours of watching good old fashioned slides. My dad always had a camera in tow and took many great pictures of us growing up to which I am now so grateful to have in my possesion. I believe that pictures can sometimes speak louder than words. I also believe that anyone can take great pictures...all you really need is a camera and a desire to capture those precious and unforgettable moments!

Waiting for Dad

With Mike working up in Seattle now, his arrival home is usually unpredictable. So when the phone rang and he said he was on his way home...you can imagine our excitement. He would actually be home before 8:00pm?! Peter and Emma were so excited to watch patiently for daddy's black car to round the corner and drive down our street. This night was dedicated to dad...and boy did the kids have fun. First he read the scriptures with them (something he will miss for the next couple of months), then they all played our made up "Bruce the Shark" game, then it was upstairs for ring around the rosies, pillow fight, and the never ending "Throw me in the air" game. Thank you DAD for making their night the best ever!

What a BRUISER

To think that I actually thought my little girl would breeze by the two's without those terrible bruises is crazy, I know! On Friday as we were waiting for Andrew during his piano lessons, Emma desperately wanted to get out of her car seat and sit in the passenger seat next to me. I usually keep her in her car seat while we are waiting but I thought that maybe just this once it would be ok. Andrew had reclined the seat all the way back before his lessons to rest a bit from a long day at school. It didn't take too long before Emma discovered how much fun it would be to click and unclick the seat belt. With the seat reclined and her laying down, it wasn't a problem. Until....WACK! The seat belt pelted her right in the eye and she received her first trauma to the face. It's funny because everyday she wakes up I think it will look a little better. I should know better....bruises always look worse a couple days out. So here we are in the yucky yellow brown phase. If this wasn't bad enough. On Monday before Family Home Evening, I was sitting at the piano ready to play our opening song and could hear Peter and Emma running towards the stairs and then all I heard was crying. Emma had gotten knocked down and was probably more in shock than hurt. As she ran sobbing to me (I must be pregnant because I didn't bolt up to get her) she stumbled over her feet and hit the molding around the window. ANOTHER BRUISE...yikes. It sure makes you feel like the dumbest mom when you walk around and your child has not one but TWO bruises on her face. This is the life of a 2 year old!