Nephew

 The kids got a new cousin a few weeks back and I took the trip to Tennessee to meet this little guy! He was a good sport considering we spent much of the weekend putting him in all sorts of poses. He and his parents ought to be proud!      

Nope, not happy being in a mailbox!

Not having it on the horse saddle either!

So we may not have a postal worker or cowboy on our hands, but baby was quite agreeable in the tie. Perhaps we have a  little business man in our future! 

Take...

your...

pick!

Our happy egg hunt and other Easter pictures

 I couldn't think of a more inappropriate post title to describe these first few images. Despite how these pictures look, the kids actually had a pretty good time at our pool's Easter celebration. 

 The employees handed out bunny ears to all the kids.

On to the egg hunt!

Photo op with the Easter Bunny

Now on to a few happier looking pictures:)

Sarah wanted to color and decorate a few Easter pictures.

Not surprisingly, Layton opted out of arts and crafts to go play on the playground. 

The Easter baskets are all stuffed! Ready for the kids to totally overlook all the fun knick knacks and just dive into the candy! 

Hope you had a happy Easter!

Five Second Rule

Oops! 5 second rule! I mean .... 5 minute rule. 

(It takes my little hands a bit longer to pick up all these cereal pieces.)

Marketing

                                      Fisher-Price Bounce 'N Spin Zebra

                                 Now for ages 10 months ........... to 7 years!

  

A Not So Cheap Date

Every month or so our church has respite care for children with special needs and their siblings. A few weeks ago we dropped the older two off at church and thought this was a good opportunity to go out on a date with our littlest man. I thought we were going to get away with being cheap and just have him eat a little off of each of our plates. Eli ended up eating all of Chad's spaghetti (which was half of Chad's meal)! I guess next time we're gonna have to give in and order a child's plate for our hungry baby.

On another note, Where did this toddler looking child come from? What happened to baby Eli? This kid looks like he could get up and walk away. They do grow up I guess. Sarah says, "Mom, I want Eli to stay a little cuddly baby forever".

Double Drama

Themes

Looking back at pictures, there seems to be some themes going on with Eli. A while back I posted a bunch of pictures of him sticking out his tongue.  There also seems to be many photos of Eli with silly things on his head. Check it out!

Not too young to wear a baseball cap

Sporting the "Brave" wig

Meow!

Now I'm Santa

This baby's so chill. He'll even wear Sarah's homemade bandaids.

We'd rather you be wearing a prince hat.

This was taken at Thanksgiving, but I'm thinking this hat was not part of the Pilgrims' ensemble.

Now we're looking so serious. This baby's not playing games!

Two "Outdoorsy" Boys

Both my boys love, love, love being outside! I know Layton is just desperate for spring to get here. He loves being outside, but hates the cold weather. He doesn't want to wear a coat and is bare foot most of the time so warmer weather is a must. He constantly goes outside now, but returns in no time when it's super cold. Eli cries every time I open the door and we don't go outside. Let the dogs out ......cry. Open the car door during carpool .....cry. Answer a knock at the door .......cry. 

Layton messes around with some logs at a nearby pond.

Being 9 months old (and therefore not walking), the swing is really the only place I can put Eli when we're in our backyard. Thankfully he loves swinging. He usually insist on holding the swing next to him too. 

"Must not let anyone have this other swing! .........EVER" 

 Here's Layton, who can not only run the entire 3 miles at Lake Lynn, but do it all in Crocs. Speaking of Lake Lynn, Chad will often take the older two there to walk/run around the lake. I'll go too as long as Eli's not home napping. Chad pretty much forces Sarah to go. She likes being outside at times, but taking a 3 mile walk is definitely not her cup of tea. On one particular visit in which I accompanied them, she went about a quarter of a mile (if that) and then started asking me to carry her.

Sarah: "Mom, can you pick me up?"

Me: "No, you're too heavy." 

Sarah: "Mom, I can't walk anymore."

Me: "Well, you've got a long ways to go."

Sarah: "Mom, can you pleeeeeease carry me?"

Me: "Sarah, What do you do when it's just Daddy out here with you?" (knowing Chad never picks her up)

Sarah: "ugh.........WHINE!"

Happy to be sitting!