Family Pictures 2011

We had our annual family pictures done on Saturday! These things always stress me out, but Jana (Jana Candler Photography) is somehow always able to get some great shots!! This was the first year that C made it in the pictures on this side of the womb and, whew, that added a whole new dimension to it! Babies are not the most cooperative when it comes to posing. He was much more interested in eating the leaves and grass and trying to get out of our arms. My arms were actually sore after the shoot from trying to contain him! Oh, not to mention the cardio workout I got jumping up and down like a lunatic behind the camera to get him to look and smile! Oh what we do for pictures:)

Easter

Today we celebrated the resurrection of our Lord!!!

The Easter Bunny did make a stop by our house last night but word on the street is that he almost forgot us - oops!! He left an Easter basket with art supplies for S and a more manly looking camo bucket for C-man with books and stuff to stick in his mouth! They were both thrilled with the bunny's choices for them:)

After a wonderful church service (S sat through some of the music with us which we've done a handful of other times as well and she did a great job! I was very proud of her!) we went over to M's cousin's house for lunch and yet another egg hunt! The food was amazing and it was great to see everyone. It had been since early January at the reunion that we had all been together. I'm so glad that Lara and Elliott were willing to open up their home so that we could have a family Easter!

Egg Hunt Take THREE and FOUR

Monday we had an egg hunt play date. The kids had a great time and were all pretty much pros at the egg hunt thing by this point! Here are my babies and then an attempt at a group shot(there were 3 babies there, including C, who did not make the picture for fear of injury!)!

Then, on Saturday, some sweet friends hosted an Easter brunch and egg hunt. It was fabulous and the weather cooperated perfectly!! C had so much fun in the little cars and trying to climb up the slide while S hunted for eggs and found TONS!! Such a great start to the weekend:)

Love

Oh how I LOVE little moments like these with the kids "playing" together and just loving each other!!

A Morning of Fun

This morning one of S's very good friends came over while her parents were at work. We had a fun-filled morning of breakfast together, made a resurrection magnet puzzle craft (while I attempted to teach the girls that Easter was not really about egg hunts - they looked at me like I had 3 heads HA!!), dyed Easter eggs, painted with water colors, rode bikes/trikes/cars, colored with chalk, played hopscotch, got really dirty and ended everything with a picnic under a shade tree! WHEW!! I think we were all exhausted after so much fun! I put S in her room for her quiet time and when I went to check on her(as there was an unusual quietness in the house!) she was passed out on her bed sawing logs and my child just does NOT do that. We were so glad to spend our morning with such a sweet friend and welcome her back anytime!!

Egg Hunt Take TWO

Today our awesome Sunday School teachers hosted lunch and an egg hunt for our entire class! It was a blast and S loved, loved, loved gettin' her some eggs! She has learned however that eggs w/o anything in them are obviously no fun, so when she opened one and it was empty, she threw it back down. There goes the easy-to-please innocence!:( C-man was a trouper but was pretty much exhausted by the end of it as we went there straight from church and he had not had a nap! Thank goodness for the blade of grass that kept him entertained - I just love this age!!!

We are so blessed by such a wonderful Sunday School class and so enjoyed a beautiful afternoon with them:)

Egg Hunt Take ONE

Today we headed to the senior center in Mauldin for a magic show, Dora and Elmo, an Easter egg hunt and pizza. All of this fun for FREE!!:) We had already had this planned before Gigi decided to come to town but it was oh so much easier to have an extra pair of hands! S was a little slow to get warmed up to the magician, but once she did she could not stop talking about him all afternoon! All of the eggs were stuffed with candy, stickers, little toys or stamps which made them even more exciting once S realized that!:) You would have thought S would have LOVED Dora and Elmo, but the only reason she decided to approach them was b/c Brother was all about them - especially Dora! It was so cute to watch him as he laughed and laughed at Dora playing with his toes. Everyone had a good time and were completely exhausted when we got home which meant awesome naps for us all! A GOOD DAY!

My Child the Tornado

Since the beginning of the year, S has not taken a nap everyday. Some days she will and some days she won't. If she needs a nap, I'll put her to bed. But, if she is not falling apart and doesn't really need one, I'll tell her she can have "Stella time" but that she can't come out of her room until 3pm. Today was a "Stella Time" day. She really does enjoy it for the most part and it forces her to play by herself and use her imagination. But, her room also usually ends up in complete disarray! When I went in to get her this afternoon(some days, like today, she is enjoying her time so much that she doesn't even realize it is 3pm and I feel guilty for making her stay in there any longer.... I know, I should just let her stay until she is ready to come out but I can't!), this is the scene:

• Drawers completely emptied onto the floor.


• Shoes dumped out of the basket.


• Hair bows strewn across her bed.


• Stickers(with the backs still on them thank goodness) EVERYWHERE!


• Colored pencils and torn papers scattered.

And there was S, sitting on her bed right in the middle of it wearing 1 bathing suit, 1 leotard, one belt, 3 pairs of panties and hair bows on her ankles and up her legs!!! HAHAHA!!

All I could do was laugh and laugh and laugh... and then of course grab the camera!

I always want to remember times like these when her innocence and imagination are all she needs to have a great time!

Zoo

We finally made it to the zoo! The weather was absolutely perfect, the kids were great and we had a wonderful time! We were able to swing before they opened b/c in S's opinion, it is not a complete trip to the zoo if we don't! C-man was a trouper and enjoyed watching all the people there and was enthralled by the giraffes. I can't wait to go back again - hopefully very soon!

3.5

Today S turned 3 1/2 years old! I had really planned on having a little family party for her and celebrating, but that didn't quite happen. And, honestly, she'll never know the difference:) I did manage though to pull through with some great new bubbles! She was just as happy. This little girl is full of life and zest for everything fun!! I am so excited to see where God leads her!