Happy Father's Day...

To my Daddy,

My father-in-law,

And the father of my children!

Chalk

So K gave A some sidewalk chalk for her birthday, which was last Friday. (I'll get to a birthday post, but that seemed more complicated, don't ask me how, and so I'll get to that when I'm less tired. Oh wait, I'm never less tired. Heh.) Moving on... We are loving living in a house with an actual yard! So even though it was about 90 degrees out, we had to take advantage of it and go use that new chalk.
 
Little E, who is getting less and less little every day, LOVED being outside. He just sat there and watched the girls, stared at the trees, etc. the whole time we were out there.

Seventeen pounds at four months. I know! He's huge! (And huggable. And kissable. And squishable. And squeezeable.)

So sleepy. So handsome!

 

First they had to line up their chalk.

They drew a little.

Then spent some more time lining the chalk all up again.

And this is the most awesome picture ever. I just happened to be taking it when A spotted a bug near her and jumped up. I love it!

I said, "Smile!" and this is what I got. She's much too cool (she IS 4 1/2, you know!) for all this smiling for the camera stuff.

Still watching that bug.

And then this boy started nodding off in his chair so I rushed him inside to his bed. And the girls were covered from head to foot in pink chalk (Well, A was. And her sister was almost there too.) so into the bath they went.

I feel like there needs to be a point to this post. But I got nothing. Except pictures. I guess the pictures ARE the point. Yeah, we'll go with that.

Happy Mother's Day!

I love my Mom. I wanted to write some eloquent, heartfelt little bit about how much I love her but I've been sitting here staring at the screen for a long time. I guess I have a hard time being too mushy in public. But she's the best. Always has been, even when I might not have appreciated it around the age of 12 or 13 or so. I sure do appreciate it now though. She's always there for me/us. Isn't that what everyone says about their mom on mother's day? Well, it's true. Really true. I'm finding it's a pretty neat thing to go from just calling her Mom, to being able to call her friend too.

Mom, my sister Katie, and I after church this morning.

And also, I love being a mom. I've always wanted to be one (I guess my mom made it look pretty good!), but I really had no idea what it would be like. It's so much harder than I ever imagined it would be, and sometimes I get pretty overwhelmed by the fact that there is no down time for me mentally. Even when I get away for an hour or two, they're still all I think and worry about. But, I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world, even a peaceful night's sleep. And just look at them and their cuteness! Need I say more?

K, E, A and I in front of our new house this afternoon. Right before K tried to sit down on my knee and I almost fell in the dirt.

Happy Mother's Day!

In the Middle

She's been going through a bit of a rough patch lately. We think it's because she's acquired a new brother recently, and she's no longer the baby. Don't get me wrong, she LOVES her brother (a little too much at times!), what she doesn't love is not having my undivided attention any time she wants it.

So she yells. She throws fits. She tells me, "No, I WON'T!" She has frequent melt-downs. She pouts.

It's been a little bit rough for Mommy too. How do you choose between which of your crying babies to attend to first? (Seriously. How do you? It breaks my heart a little every time I have to choose.)

But I think maybe, just maybe, we're starting to slowly come out of it. I'm seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. She's starting to play with her sister again instead of just constantly following me around hanging on my leg and whining. It's made me so happy I could cry the last couple of days, to see those two playing together again. (Or maybe that's just still the baby hormones. Who knows.)

She's such a sweetheart. And she's hilarious. She is definitely the comedian around here. And after missing all that sweetness and comedy for three long months, I'm very happy to welcome it back.

Easter

Easter seems so long ago now. I sat down to start this post a few days after, but I think I fell asleep or something. (What? You don't fall asleep late at night sitting on the couch because you're exhausted but you're trying to savor the few quiet hours in your day and you don't want to waste them by sleeping? It's just me? Huh.) So,  a week and a half later...

Justin's parents came and visited us from Washington over Easter weekend. This was their first time meeting E, and the girls were so very very excited to spend some time with their Papa and Gma. So without further ado, pictures... because that's the best part.

The girls in their Easter finery, right before going into church. I think they're pretty cute. Oh, and their beautifully bright dresses? Gramma took them shopping and they chose those themselves!

They're best friends. And I love it. I hope they stay best friends forever.

K's Sunday school class sang in front of the church. I was a little nervous because last Easter she stood up there and cried. I need not have worried. If you were there, you know what I'm talking about. She sang LOUDLY with everything in her. Oh my goodness. She had told us earlier in the week that she wanted to sing louder than Jesus. I have no idea exactly what she meant by that, but in her mind she achieved her goal. She told me so after. "Mommy, I DID sing louder than Jesus!" Oh, I love her.

After church we went over to my parents' house for Easter dinner and an egg hunt. Oh, but first, we took some pictures. It's not often we are all dressed up at once, ya gotta take that opportunity when you can!

Here's A and her Papa.

I think this might be the first picture of all five of us together. (I also might be wrong. I've been known to have that happen before.) I love it anyway.

With Justin's parents. And no, I wasn't aware that K was wrapping my extremely poofy skirt all the way around her body.

And with my Dad. What we were so concerned about?

Oh, just this child, who was having a mini-tantrum because she did NOT want to take anymore pictures. She's a sweetheart, that one. No really, she is. Most of the time.

E's first Easter! Just hanging out with Grampa.

Papa and Gma with their grandson.

Then back inside for Easter baskets.

A with her princess band-aids. That might seem like a silly present, but the girls LOVES her band-aids and we're always running out because she loves them so much.

After a delicious dinner, we all went outside to watch the girls find some eggs.

Both of the grandmas watching...

Heeeeey there, handsome!

My attempt at getting a picture of the girls with their baskets. An egg fell out of K's and by the time she'd retrieved it, A was off to something else. So this will have to do. (At this point in life, I figure if they're both in the picture, it's good.)

I love her curls!

The three men in my life... my dad, my husband, and my son.

Finding the candy and stickers in their eggs.

And you can tell by the look in her eyes that naptime had come and gone.

And then? We went home, the girls took a late nap while Justin and his dad went back to church. The end. (It was a good Easter. Very very good.)

And so we have a new diaper bag. My wonderful mother-in-law read my post about the diaper bag and when she was visiting this past weekend, took me shopping for a new one. I haven't transferred anything over to it yet, I'm just enjoying staring at it.

Wearing the baby

This little boy loves to be worn. A lot. And I couldn't be happier about it.