A Weekend of Celebrations

We visited New York this past weekend to see Uncle Jonathan graduate from college, and to celebrate the birthdays with Grandma and Grandpa W. and Aunt Katie, Uncle Bill and baby Will. It was a great weekend - even if the weather didn't really cooperate.

Erin was very excited to be at Uncle Jon's graduation. It was a long long affair (as most graduations are). She did a great job sitting and listening (and playing, coloring, singing quietly lol). Jeffrey didn't do so well with the cramped quarters so he and daddy took off and sneaked back in every once in a while. The did manage to get the best view of Uncle Jonathan walking across the stage to get his diploma though. Sadly they didn't have a camera on them. It meant so much to Uncle Jon to know that we were there supporting him. We did get a great chance to see him walking by, getting ready to receive his diploma. After graduation we took a few pictures, something we don't always take time to do in mommy's family.

The next day (after spending the rest of the afternoon moving Jon out of his room) daddy's family came down to visit and celebrate birthdays. Originally we had hoped to meet at a park outside, but it was rainy and cold....so we took over the indoor pool (fall-back plan so everyone was prepared) and had a blast. The kids swam with everyone for close to 2 hours and had an absolute blast. Then we celebrated with some cupcakes and nibbles and of course presents.

Erin is still obsessed with her baby cousin Will. She kept her eyes on him most of the day. Any time he was fussy she'd run over to him and rub the top of his head. She did get a chance to hold him too....both of them more comfortable with it than in February.

We finished the afternoon going out to dinner all together. We headed to a local brew pub and everyone found something good to eat.

Both kids were very excited to spend some quality time with Noni, Grandpa, Oma and Uncle Jon at the hotel. Noni and Oma graciously offered to let the kids sleep with them and give mommy and daddy a few quiet nights to sleep. Uncle Jonathan added his assistance with taking care of the kiddos too. When it came time to say goodbye and start home 2 overtired kiddos were totally in tears. Erin didn't want her booster seat moved back into the Intrepid and Jeffrey didn't understand why Uncle Jonathan wasn't riding with him any more. And although the kids were completely burned out and totally overtired it was a wonderful weekend.

Greetings

Jeffrey has certainly developed into a social butterfly. He has absolutely no fear of adults or strangers at all (which is actually somewhat disconcerting). He has a regular friend at the grocery store (one of the managers I think) that he runs up to every time we see him. He also greets every person he sees. People at the store, neighbors in their yards, friends at church, pretty much everyone. Maybe my 4 summers greeting people at the Disney store got into my genes somehow and turned Jeffrey into a greeter.

So this morning we are heading out for a day at the gym and errands. As we are working on getting into the car I hear Jeffrey begin his usual pattern.

"Hello, What's your name?" "I'm Jeffrey."

I look around to see if there's a neighbor working in the yard or someone jogging on the road. No one catches my eye.

"Who are you talking to bud?"

"I'm not bud, I'm Jeffrey" (another one of his phases, can't call him anything but his name otherwise he gets slightly offended or upset)

"Ahhh. OK. Sorry Jeffrey. Who are you talking to?"

"The clouds." Said very matter of factly. "They're not talking though. Hi clouds. I'm Jeffrey"

So there he was. Standing in the middle of the driveway looking up at the sky having a quite lovely conversation with the clouds. He wasn't in the least bit concerned or disturbed that they weren't responding. I guess he just took it as part of being a cloud.

Ahhh for the days when life was so simple it was important to make sure we greeted the clouds.

Mother's Day and Happy Birthday

We had a wonderful shared Mother's Day and birthday on Sunday. Erin made a special gift for me at school. She kept it hidden in her room for 5 days before giving it to me on Sunday. It came with a card she made herself and had written on the inside (with spelling help) "Mom I Love You". The gift was 2 terra cotta pots painted and stacked inside each other with a spacer so they make a wind chime. It was the sweetest Mother's Day present. Then the kids also picked me out a new Wii game and some nice wine.


Erin was very excited to tell everyone at Church that it was her birthday...and I mean everyone. Once we got home it was all about opening her presents -- lots of books and games, a cool caterpillar house and a new camera. She also got some little "workbooks" which she has already almost completed on her own. She really loves them. Guess I'll have to look for some more.

The afternoon was spent playing Wii with mommy and daddy. We tried her new Playground game, did some Kart racing. It was really nice just to relax and have some fun time just the 4 of us after the super busy weeks we'd been having.

Since it was also Mother's Day I slyly suggested we go to a Japanese steakhouse for dinner (before Erin could ask for Red Robin). Both kids love the food and Erin really loves the show they put on. Jeff still gets a little iffy about the "fire" but was 10 times better this time than when we last went at Christmas. So all day Erin walked around talking about going to dinner at the "fire place with the rice." It was worth it. The food was great, kids well behaved and Erin even got a birthday cake brought out and all the people at our table helped sing her happy birthday.


So all in all we had quite a special day on Sunday. My little girl sure is growing up.

Happy Brithday Erin Wynne

Happy Birthday Sweet Erin.

May 11, 2003

May 11, 2008
Oh what a year we've had. So many firsts. First day at school (preschool). First time as a flower girl. First time swimming on her own (with floaties). First time staying with Noni & Grandpa while Mommy & Daddy went on vacation. First big girl Birthday Party.

Erin has really blossomed this year. She's made some special friends at school and at the plays. She LOVES being at school still. I've watched her get more and more interested in learning her letters, shapes, writing so many words, even beginning to read. She talks all the time about her friends and what they all shared or played at school. She also LOVES being outside, getting in the dirt, making up stories and games with a stick and a rock. I am amazed every day by the things she does or says, or the simple "I Love You Mom".

Movie: Annie (on the Incredibles)
Song: Hard Knock Life (detect a theme?)
Book: Pinkalicious
Toy: Been playing a lot with her Little Pets and having tea parties.
Game: Wii bowling, boxing, baseball. And now Mario Kart Racing.
TV Show: Good Eats (on the Food Network)
Food: Olives and cheese or soup.
Drink: Lemonade
Dinner: Tacos at home (I think she says she doesn't know) or "Rice at the Fire Place" (Japanese steakhouse restaurants).

OK...here's the Montage. Grandma, Noni....get your tissues out (this is also a little long, about 8 minutes).

The Birthday Party

This is the first year I've done a real "kids" birthday party for Erin. Since she has been in school she's been invited to several parties and had a blast at each of them. So when April came around Erin was determined to have "all her school friends" at her Birthday Party.



I rented out the shelter at our local park and we invited all her school friends and then some friends from Annie as well as a few family friends. We went all out and planned some games (a Pinata and Pin the Tail on the Donkey), put together goodie bags, had bubbles and cake and fruit. I planned the time for being right after soccer. That worked and it didn't. We held it in the same park as the soccer fields, but it rained for 2 days before and everything on the fields was really muddy. So Tom had to take Erin and Jeff home to get her cleaned up and changed and fed between the end of soccer and the party. They gave him a bit of a hard time and Erin was slightly late to her own Birthday Party.



The first thing all the kiddos wanted to do was play on the playground. This was a great way for some of the kids and parents to get to know each other. They all had a blast on the playground -- climbing, swinging, sliding. They played there for almost an hour and then Tom got the games set up. Erin has been super excited about her Pinata (or Fiesta as she calls it). We got one shaped like a soccer ball and she helped fill it with candy. This was some powerful pinata. It took each kiddo two rounds of whacking to get it open - some of them throwing some powerful blows. Even Jeffrey got his turn to hit it -something he rarely gets encouraged to do.



After that we played a rousing game of pin the tail on the donkey followed by cake. Erin picked out a chocolate cake with red roses from the grocery store. I asked the lady at the bakery to write "Happy Birthday Erin" on it and when she gave it to me it looked like a 5th grader had done it. So I vamped and added some of Erin's Little Pets to the mix and ended up with a darned cute cake. And the best thing of all...the whole thing got eaten and none had to come back home!!!!!



We finished the party by opening presents and thanking every one with big hugs. Then daddy put on a juggling show much to the delight of the party goers. We all know daddy can certainly be a ham and the kids thought he was just the funniest thing. We've certainly got a special daddy hanging around here.



After that, the party broke out. Erin handed out her party bottles filled with a bouncy ball, some bubbles, a popping toy, candy, stickers and a pencil. She was so very very proud of them, and all the kids thought they were super cool.



So here's the picture overload. I can't believe my baby girl is almost 5. She looked like such a big girl today running and playing with all her friends. I'm getting just a little teary thinking how proud of her I am at becoming such a beautiful young girl.

After Putting Together all Her Goodie Bottles

Playing With Her Friend Abbey At the Playground

Climbing the Wrong Way Up the Big Slide - Only Gets Away With That When Mommy's Taking Pictures

Telling Daddy How Old She Is and How Many Swings At the Pinata She Should Get

Swinging Away

Birthday Girl With Her Doctored Cake

Digging Into Those Presents With A Little Help From Her Friends

Annie

So this past weekend was the production of Annie. Boy was Erin excited about it. She absolutely LOVED being in the show. It was extra cool because in one scene I got to play Erin's mommy so was on stage right with her. It took a little practice for her to behave well with mommy on stage, but we got it down. She was a little girl that Annie meets on the street after running away from the orphanage. Then she got to be in a radio show scene. She had 3 songs that they got to sing....Dumb Dog (her personal favorite), Tomorrow, and Fully Dressed. She was sad at first that she wouldn't get to sing Hard Knock Life, but maybe next time we do Annie.

We had 4 shows over the weekend and by Saturday evening everyone was getting pooped. The two sweeties playing my kids on stage, actually sat down and refused to get up. I eventually prodded them up and they sang loud enough to be heard but not with their usual gusto. As you'll see in the video, Erin's a screamer. She screams all the songs. No one can complain that they can't hear her. It actually makes me snicker to hear it.

I'm so glad that Erin really enjoys the plays. She's starting to make a few friends and certainly LOVES being on stage once the curtain goes up (not a big fan of the rehearsals). So here are a few pictures. It's really hard to get pictures while she's on stage so this is the best I've got. And one from backstage with mommy. She got to wear her pretty green Christmas dress too and was very excited about that.

A Few Pictures From Yesterday

Jeffrey had a great day yesterday. This was the first year he was really aware that it was his birthday... although to him that meant presents and cake. Not sure he really gets the point behind everything.

We went to the gym in the morning where he told all the "teachers" it was his birthday and that he was 3 years old. He picked out his own cake at the grocery store - blue icing with balloons and wanted some fried chicken for lunch. After lunch we had quiet time until daddy got home (that's when I wrapped all his presents).

Tom got home about 3:00. I'd told Jeffrey that he couldn't open his presents until daddy got home. The second Tom walked in the door, he started ripping the paper off. It was hilarious. He had everything opened in less than 5 minutes. Right now the big hit seems to be the Mac Truck (from Cars) that his Noni and Grandpa got him. But everything's gotten some attention.

We went for a walk after opening presents since it was a gorgeous day out. Jeffrey insisted on wearing his Crocs and wiped out on the dirt road. He skinned his knee and scraped his elbow - poor kiddo. Still he had fun. Dinner consisted of Mac & Cheese from a box, hot dogs and broccoli - all at Jeffrey's request. Then he got to dig into his cake. He even got a special phone call from Grandma right when we were singing him Happy Birthday so she got to sing along.

Mommy had rehearsal last night so the kids and daddy went to hang out at a friends house with a bunch of friends. We expected to celebrate Jeffrey's birthday with them. On the way into town Jeffrey fell asleep in the car. I moved him inside where he proceeded to sleep until 11 PM, much to the chagrin of his sister who wanted more cake. She even tried poking and tickling him but he refused to get up. I guess the busy day (and previous weekend) just tuckered him out.

So here are a few pictures of the Birthday Boy from yesterday.

Happy Birthday Jeffrey Anderson

From this......

. . . to this.

I can't believe it's been 3 years. And some days I can't believe it's been ONLY 3 years. How time flies, and how much my little man has grown this past year. He went from a little toddler who babbled and tried to sing songs, couldn't stand story time and tripped over his own toes more often than not to a little man who loves to sing and dance, lives for story time and going to mommy's gym and well...still trips over his own toes a lot, but he can do a darned good somersault.

We don't go to the Dr's until next week so I don't have "stats" for everyone but lets just say tall and tough. I understand now why people think he and Erin are twins because when standing together they really do look it.

He's grown and changed so much. He LOVES reading and story time right now, is a total water baby and is even starting to make some friends at gymnastics and at mommy's gym. He can still be quite a handful especially when he doesn't get his way. But the ability to talk about things has helped with that a ton. So rather than just throw himself down on the ground and scream every time, now it's only 7 our of 10 times he doesn't get what he wants.

Here's a list of his favorite things right now:

Movie: The Incredibles

Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Book: This changes from week to week depending on what we bring back from the library. Generally there's a truck involved.

Toy: Anything with wheels. Even better if it's Lightning McQueen.

Game: Mouse Trap (thanks Noni)

TV Show: Either Little Einsteins or Dora.....or the Food Network.

Food: Bread...can he put away some bread.

Drink: Lemonade

Dinner: Pasta, although he asked for Mac & Cheese and hot dogs and broccoli for dinner tonight.

And here's what some of you have been waiting for....Jeffrey's 3rd Birthday Montage.

Frido the Caterpillar

We have a temporary new addition to the family....Frido the caterpillar. We found Frido (Erin's name for him, I thought Fuzzy was a cute name) on Erin's shirt in the middle of soccer last Saturday. Not sure how he got there. So I pulled it off and held it in my hands so the kids who were sitting nearby on the sideline could see it. I ended up holding onto Frido for the rest of the game (about 30 minutes). Every time kids on the team would switch off they'd run over to take turns holding him. Apparently I'm hired for sideline entertainment for next week too.

Anyway we managed to get Frido home in an empty cup from the car. Tom put some holes in the lid of a Bell jar. Erin and Tom went outside to find a few sticks to put inside with him and Erin picked him some grass. So now Frido is living on the kitchen counter. Both kids love to look at him. He doesn't really do a lot, but it's been fun watching him/her climb around the sticks in the jar. Equally fun watching Erin and Jeffrey get up in the morning and have to come check on Frido. I doubt Frido's going to be spending an eternity with us but it been fun having him around in the meantime.

It's Official

I'm now a Soccer Mom. That's right. Erin had her first day of soccer today. She's been talking about playing soccer for years now. I'm not sure where she got so interested in it or excited by it, but she's been wanting to play soccer for a very long time. Last fall she just missed the age cut-off so this is her first official soccer season. When I told her that she was going to get to play soccer this spring she went screaming and jumping around the house. We got all her gear last week (last Saturday was supposed to be the first day, but it got rained out). She's got the whole set-up. Cleats, shin guards, a water bottle, and a very cool pink soccer ball. They're the orange team so orange shirts and socks finish out the uniform.

All week she's been asking me "When's soccer?" "How many more sleeps?" This morning she was up bright and early super excited about it. She got her soccer shirt first thing when we got there. Clearly I'm going to have to buy longer black shorts. She was the one on the field who looked like she had no shorts on at all. Her number is 11.

They did some practice skills to start. She wasn't sure about these, because she really just wanted to kick her pink soccer ball into the net. Eventually she figured out what the others were doing and decided to take a go at it. Her favorite part was still when she got to kick the ball into the net.

After the skills, they held a scrimmage against the Yellow team. 4 on 4 with all the kids getting a chance to play. Erin ran after the ball as much as she could. She even got a few kicks in on it. Coach let her do a corner kick, and a throw-in too (which she really enjoyed and decided to do underhand instead of overhand). People describe under 6 soccer as herding cats.....and yeah that's pretty much what it is. The kids run and kick the ball whichever way they can. If they do score a goal (no goalies) it's an all out party. These two teams were actually pretty good at the scoring....not so great at the defense. But the best part was that everyone had lots of fun.

Next week they get professional team pictures done. I'll try to scan and upload them once I get them back. She was pretty tired after everything was done, and a little sad that she didn't get to kick the ball into the goal, but is already asking me when she gets to go to soccer again.

Pretty Pretty Growing Flowers

I try every year to take some pictures of the kids with my daffodils. I planted them the fall Jeffrey was born and have taken some pictures of the kids with them every year that they have bloomed. Last fall I added another section of daffodils and tulips. They're coming up beautifully and the kids get so excited every time we go outside to point out the flowers that are blooming or even about to bloom. I love that they get so excited by it. Here are some pictures from the past few years so you can see how everyone has grown and a couple from this year - yes Jeffrey has a boo-boo strip on his chin - he was messing around on the back of the couch a few days ago. One of these days he'll learn.

Spring 2006

Spring 2007

Today

Walking in Memphis (and Tennessee in general)

Noni had a meeting in Memphis last week. She thought it would be super fun if mommy and the kids went along for the road trip. Having only driven through Memphis myself I figured it would be a great chance for the kids to see some stuff - like the Mississippi River or the Smokey Mountains.

We decided to break the drive into 2 days over and 3 days back. In general we made sure we stopped at hotels with indoor swimming pools so the kiddos could get some energy out after being cooped up in the car. We also left time for fun spontaneous things like lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. The first night we stayed outside Knoxville and ate dinner right along the Tennessee River followed by a fun river walk (until the rain started).

Once we arrived in Memphis we had an awesome time. Our hotel was right on Beale street (think "walking with my feet 10 feet off of Beale"). The first night we were there we were taking in the atmosphere. There was blues/rock music coming from every restaurant (as well as beer everywhere but not so bad we felt uncomfortable with the kiddos). We were passing by one restaurant where one of the musicians was taking a smoke break. He was standing outside with a trumpet in his hands. My music buffs got excited about seeing a man with a trumpet and pointed at him. He gave them a smile, put the horn to his lips, and gave them their very own serenade. If I had only had my camera out to take a video. That is something they probably will never again experience.

There are TONS of museums in Memphis. We visited a Children's Museum which the kids loved. Noni and mom took time out for the Civil Rights Museum which is housed in the motel where MLK was shot. It was pretty powerful standing right there less than a week before the 40th Anniversary of his assassination. The kids didn't get much out of that visit, but they were a little young for it. They hung in as long as they could - long enough for mommy and Noni to see it. We had a couple of other Museums on the list that we didn't have time for and will have to go back again sometime to see.

Weather along the trip was pretty wet. We had rain almost every day. The one day that we were spared the rain we decided to take a riverboat ride along the Mississippi. The boat was a big old replica paddle boat. Jeff wasn't too sure at first but when he realized how big it really was he felt fine. Our tour was about 90 minutes long and we got lots of cool info on Memphis history and the river. The river was really high on its banks (about a mile wide where we were). The ride was windy and a little cool, but the sun came out for us near the end. Erin loved taking pictures of the boat and the barges on the river. Jeffrey got so relaxed he was sound asleep by the end of the trip. I was able to get him off the boat, into the car, and back into the hotel before he woke up completely.

That afternoon was the day we also visited the Peabody Hotel. It was just a block up from where we were staying. Every day at 5 PM, 3 ducks come out of the fountain in the hotel, walk a little red carpet and get into an elevator. I guess they've been doing this for years. We got there for one evening, and close to 100 people were in the hotel lobby. Erin squeaked her way up to the front to watch the ducks....which took about 10 seconds and then it was over. Cool to say we did it, but not a ton to see really.

The biggest hit of the trip was the Memphis Zoo. While Noni had her meeting, mommy took the kids to the zoo. It was a cloudy and cool afternoon and the animals were really active. We got to see pandas, elephants, monkeys, a rhino, ostrich...all the zoo basics. The kids favorite part was the "arctic zone" where the polar bears and the sea lions were. We watched the polar bear swim for about 30 minutes. Then checked out the sea lions for another 1/2 hour before catching the sea lion show. The show was very cool - the kids like how the sea lions jumped, but the best part was before the show when one of the sea lions was "talking". Erin barked back at it and it made the noise again. They had this conversation for about a minute, and Erin and Jeff are still talking about it.

We left Memphis on Wednesday morning. We took a route that brought us through southern TN for the trip home. We stopped at Shiloh (the Civil War battlefield) where both kids though the cannons and monuments were pretty cool. The next day we drove through the Smokey Mountains. What a gorgeous drive. Part of it ran along this mountain river that was one of the most beautiful natural things I've ever seen. We drove up to the top of Clingman's Dome (the highest point in TN) but it was pretty socked in with clouds. Not too much to see. Jeffrey thought the foggy-fog was pretty impressive though.

We had such a wonderful time and got to see and experience so many new things. There were even things that we missed that we're just going to have to go back for some day. We are very glad that Noni had this meeting that gave us the opportunity for such a fun trip. Hope you enjoy the little slideshow....there were just too many cool pictures to share.

Potty Talk

Literally -- potty talk. Jeffrey's made some huge strides in his potty usage lately. He goes on his own when we're at home and when we're out and about he'll tell me he need to go potty. But sometimes things in the potty can get a little funny, especially when we're visiting some of the public restrooms in the area.

On our most recent trip to the grocery store, we stopped off after having lunch at Red Robin. The kids had guzzled their lemonades so I knew we were going to have to stop. Anyway it's not the cleanest of bathrooms so I was trying to help Jeffrey move the process along. While trying to juggle Erin's "Froggy" from school, my jacket and purse and help Jeff at the potty I went to "hold it down". He immediately swatted my hand away. "You No Touch that Mommy. It's FRAGILE. You hear me? You no touch. It's Fragile." I almost peed in my own pants I was laughing so hard at him.

While on our recent vacation with Noni we had several LONG days in the car. On our first day we stopped at a rest stop for some travel info, a leg stretch, a drink and a snack...and of course a potty trip. I took Jeffrey in and set him up. He made a few grunts and looked at me.."I no like poopie mommy." I tried to talk him into to trying for just a few minutes but he only got more upset. My last resort was to sing to him....so there I was, squatting on the floor in front of the potty in a public bathroom singing "This Old Man." Who knows what the lady sitting next to us thought. But you know what? It worked. And it worked again a few days later when we had the same issue (only this time at a Chilis and the requested accompaniment was Wheels on the Bus).

And to go along with those long car trips come the inevitable - "Need go potty mommy." - when there's no bathroom in sight. OK Jeffrey can you hold it, I asked. "No mommy." "OK bud, we'll we're gonna find a place to pull over and you can pee in the grass." "NOOOOOOOOO mommy, NOOOOO pee-pee in the grass. Pee-pee in the potty. Pee-pee in the bafoom. I NO pee-pee in the grass." This repeated over and over until I finally found the boy a potty. His sister on the other hand had no issues peeing in the grass. For the rest of the trip anytime I asked if either needed to go potty he'd get all upset and cry "No pee-pee in the grass."

So as you can see, we're making progress and having loads of laughs along the path to self-sufficient potty usage.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter Everyone!!!

I just wanted to share a couple of other pictures of our Easter Day. It was beautiful and sunny (if a bit cool) here so we got some nice pictures. We also got a "family" picture at the church that didn't come out half bad. Erin LOVED her dress, and she picked it out all on her own. Jeffrey wasn't so keen when I first started getting him dressed. He started bolting to his room looking for "his pants". Erin thought she was helping at one point and told him he'd look just like a prince. That only made him run screaming for daddy - "I don't wanna be a prince." But once he got downstairs and saw his Easter basket he completely forgot about his clothes.


Anyway here's a handful of pictures from our Easter Day.

Checking out the goodies in her basket.

Showing off an egg with her daddy.....sadly with closed eyes.

Sitting together on the stairs.

Just lounging around...

Eggs...Eggs...Eggs...

Well Easter has become less about Jesus and more about Eggs. I try not to make it that way, but with 4 egg hunts in one week it's bound to become more about the eggs and candy. We did make it to church on Sunday morning (where they had one more egg hunt) and read an Easter story at Erin's school (where they had another egg hunt).


This was the first year we decided to color our own eggs. Previously we've always just hidden little plastic eggs with jelly beans or other small candies in there. The kids had a blast coloring them. Erin thought it was really fun to scribble on her eggs with the wax crayon before dipping them. Her favorite colors were the teal one and the pinky/purple color. Jeffrey was all about the red. Each of his eggs went into the red dye. When they were dry on Saturday we took and put little "tattoos" on the eggs. Then Sunday morning when we got back from church the "Easter bunny" took and hid them around the deck.



But the egg hunts were the hit of the week. We had our first one last Saturday (see previous post). Then on Thursday the library set up an egg hunt after story time. Both the kiddos were cranky on Thursday and they were only allowed to find 5 eggs each (so everyone would get some). Needless to say there were some tears shed at the library egg hunt.




On Friday Erin's school held an Easter party and egg hunt. I prepared 12 eggs for both Erin and Jeffrey by putting their names on them ( and puppy stickers for Jeffrey's). When we got there all the eggs were spread around the lawn. Inside the kids were singing some Easter songs and even got the meet the Easter Bunny. When they got outside the kids were supposed to find the eggs with their names on them. Erin had the most fun finding Jeffrey's eggs for him. Then she went on to find her own.




We skipped Saturday's massive egg hunt at the high school. It was supposed to rain. But in all honesty mommy was just egg hunted out and daddy was busy brewing. But when we got back from church on Sunday we had one last hunt here at the house. The eggs we had dyed and a few plastic ones were all around outside - especially hiding in cool corners of the new deck. Although it was chilly it was finally sunny for an Easter. The kids had a blast running around and looking for all their special eggs that they had made.






Our last egg activity was taking 6 of our colored eggs and making Deviled Eggs. Erin helped mommy to peel the shells all on her own. Then she mashed the yolks and helped stir in the seasonings/dressing. It was her favorite part of Easter dinner and she ate 3 all on her own.


So although Easter is about so much more than eggs and candy, it seems we somehow made those eggs and candy pretty special. It's pretty easy when you involve your family.

Jeffrey's 10 Favorite Things to Do

I can't believe my little guy is going to be 3 in 2 months. He seems so much older yet still my little "baby" too. Active is certainly the word used to describe his daily activities. If he's awake he's moving.

So here are some of his favorite things to do.

10...Drive his Matchbox cars on his road "carpet", inevitably crashing them into each other.

9...Read stories in his glider in his room.

8...Climb into bed with mommy about 7 AM every weekday. Snuggle for a few minutes and then ask to watch "heroes" (Higglytown Heroes).

7...Sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Row Row Row Your Boat, especially with silly words like Row, Row, Row, Your Boat Gently Down the Stream. Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily. Life is Like a Bowl of Spaghetti.

6...Play Mouse Trap.

5...Work puzzles. He's mastered all of our 24-piece ones and is working on the 48-piece ones on his own too, but still needs a little help with those.

4...Get his own sticker from the drawer after going poop in the potty. That's right we're mostly potty trained here - WOOOOO.

3...Go to Bodo's Bagels with mommy after his gymnastics classes.

2...Play on Erin's computer.

1...Go to mommy's gym. This is generally the high-point of his day. He LOVES mommy's gym because he gets to play with kids his own age and mommy loves it because she gets a little break each day.

Out of the Mouth.....

Sometimes 4 year olds just say the funniest things....

At dinner our friend, Jacob, had stopped by. Erin, Jeffrey and I were finishing our meal. Jeffrey was being rather belligerent about eating. I made him eat a bite of mashed potatoes (how horrible of me, I know). He decided he was just going to start throwing a fit. The following scene ensued.

Jeffrey screaming.

Erin: "He doesn't like them mom!"

Mom: "Yes I know honey, but he needs to eat 1 bite AND I'm the mom."

Jeffrey: Screaming louder. "I'm Cold" (This is his current phrase when he's mad or grumpy or tired. I'm cold.)

Mr. Jacob: starts giggling at this phrase from Jeffrey. Mommy joins him.

Erin: Completely straight faced. "It's not funny Jacob."

Mommy and Jacob: Nearly fall out of their chairs with uncontrollable laughter.

Mr. Jacob: You're right Erin. It's not.


It may have been one of the most hilarious and precious moments ever. She so calmly and clearly told Mr. Jacob - a daddy in his own right - that Jeffrey's being cold was simply not funny. I'm still laughing about it. And I'm sure I'll still be laughing tomorrow.

Egg Hunt

Our county recreation department held their annual egg hunt this weekend. It's over at the park around the corner from the house so we made a point to go. This year they spread all the eggs over 2 full sized soccer fields. Erin and Jeffrey both had a great time wandering around a picking up their eggs. Both ended up with overflowing baskets. We also had a little time to play at the playground before the egg hunt got started. So here are a few pictures I wanted to share. The photographer from the local paper was taking pictures and asked if she could use one of Erin. So I'll need to make it a point to grab a copy of the paper this week and see if she made it in.

Erin's 10 Favorite things to do

Just thought it might be fun to post some of the more "mundane" or everyday things the kids have been up to recently. So here we have....Erin's 10 Favorite Things to Do.

10...Play on her V-Smile TV game. Right now Nemo and Ratatouille are her favorites.

9...Dress and un-dress her dolls which she has named Hailey and June.

8...Read books while she's supposed to be resting.

7...Go to school. I'm so glad she still loves it. And most important she's learning so much it's amazing.

6...Make up silly imagination games. Sometimes she's a dog, sometimes a pirate, sometimes an Incredible (mostly Violet).

5...Make bread with daddy. They've been making lots and lots of fresh bread recently. Erin likes to measure and knead.

4...Play on her computer daddy got her for Christmas.

3...Sing "Dumb Dog" from Annie. We must sing that close to 10 times a day at least. Erin knows all the words and which parts are "her parts" and which ones Annie sings. Generally mommy is Annie and Erin is everyone else.

2...Go to jumping class at mommy's gym. She gets to jump in a big moon-bounce type thing.

1....Wii bowling. She love it. Asks to bowl every day. And the scary thing...she's good. Almost reached Pro status already.

Grandparent's Day at School

Erin's school had a Grandparents Day at school yesterday. Each child was able to invited their grandparents to come to school with them. Since Grandma and Grandpa W. live too far away they weren't able to be there. Erin's Noni was able to take the morning off work and drive down though. Mommy kept it a big secret from Erin so that when Noni arrived at her school she would be surprised. I wasn't there to see it, but I hear there was quite a bit of excitement.

The kids put on a little program for their grandparents. They all gathered in the sanctuary of the church where the preschool is. The kids sang a bunch of songs including, "You are My Sunshine," "Little Bunny Foo Foo," and "Skinamarink." They also recited the Pledge of Allegiance (something I didn't know they were even working on). Then they had a little "tea" for their grandmas and grandpas. There was fruit and cheese and crackers and lemonade for the kids with coffee for Noni.

After the program was over several kids left with the grandparents. Erin wanted to stay and show Noni all around. They sat together for story time (Green Eggs and Ham) and Noni got to meet some of Erin's friends. Erin even showed Noni how she plays and runs around the playground.

When school was over Jeffrey and I met Noni and Erin for lunch at a local Chinese restaurant. It was so special to Erin that Noni was able to come down and visit her school. Maybe next time we'll have enough notice and Grandma W. will be able to schedule a trip for next year's Grandparent's Day at school.