Easter Weekend

Admiring the beautiful colored eggs.

Trying to warm the eggs so they will hatch.

Time to decorate our tree with Easter eggs!

(I can't get over Ellie's small dimple, it's absolutely adorable!)

Hmmm....what's in this one....

Empty again!

Ta-Da!

Umbrella Tragedy

" Never, under any circumstance, open up an umbrella indoors. "

Isn't that what we are supposed to teach our children?

Not: "hand your children an umbrella to play with when they beg to go outside and ride their bikes in the pouring rain, all for the sake of pictures before you know they will, inevitably, break the cheap thing which will end all questions of going outside since, said umbrella, is now broken."

I'm smarter than you think girls.

Hey, one less hazard in the home that was once used to chase/scare the dog with. Win-win.

4 Kisses

Dear Ellie Lu Bear,

Do you mind that I can't stop staring at you lately? I have your face well memorized by now. Not in the--finally after 19 months I can recognize your face in a crowd--memorize. But a--I know I can make you give me a certain look if I do this or that--memorize. A kind of familiarity that assures me you are mine and I am yours. Every speck of color in your eye I have memorized (green, blue, brown). Your nose shape. Your hairline. Your soft pink cheeks. Every bit of you is beautiful to me. I know you will only allow a certain number of kisses before I get pushed away. I'm okay with that number now.

I know all Mom's probably go in & out of trying to make up one-on-one time with their 2nd born. I am no exception. A few weeks ago it was Crystal Light. I would sneak a little bit into your water sippy cup, give you a wink which was met with your smile. Your smart big sister figured it out at some point and the trick was over.

The other day while your Sister was sleeping, I brought you into the shower with me. While my other girlie would have lasted a whole 3 minutes before she'd cry and cry and beg to get out due to water in the eyes, you loved it. We played, we cleaned. We hugged. Maybe that could be our "thing" now, until we are discovered. Shower Hour. Bring your sweet cheeks and smiley wet face :)

I Love you Ellie. You are becoming so much of what I didn't know I needed my whole life.

You are you and a Beautiful You, you are.

My Lovely Heart is Melted, once again.

The other day I had just asked the girls to sit for lunch and we were chit chatting about nothing in particular while I made up each of their lunch plates. I wasn't paying attention to our conversation a great deal, I was mainly focused on cutting up food and getting my own lunch made too. I handed each girl their plate and told Audrey (who appreciates hearing the plan of action at any given time) that I would be sitting down to eat with them in just a minute, as I went back to getting my own lunch made. I heard Audrey whisper so I glanced over and she was turned towards the wall whispering then gave me a really big smile.

Here's how our conversation went:

"What did you just say?"

"(whispering)I said~my Mom is the best"

"(big smile, half laughing) What did you just say??"

".....I said, you're the best Momma."

"Sweetheart, that's so nice of you!! ..But what made you say that??"

"Because you're just so Lovely!"

My goodness. Did she really just call me "Lovely"? First time I have ever heard her use that word. Oh man, I think I'm going to wrap that little conversation up, tie it with a big red bow and keep it in my heart.

Forever!

It takes a Lovely little Girlie to melt her Momma's heart so darn easily.

Wearing our boredom on our sleeves, feet, faces...

This is what happens when you have...

a. Been sick & housebound

b. Had a Mommy who has been sick & housebound

c. Find contentment in silly everyday things

d. All of the above

You find a "scrap" paper of a heart-cut out and insist on "wearing" it.

After not taking a nap, you walk out of your room "wearing" two plastic tupperwear on your feet, shuffleing around...When asked what you were doing you say:

"I just wanted to make you laugh Momma!"

And you did :) You know me, the most surprising sights make me laugh the most! :)

Like gigantic vests that swallow you whole!

Or pushing the chair on the ground while laughing hysterically. Momma asks you what you are doing and you explain how your shirt is pulling the chair around..not you.

**Apparently when we are bored around the house a common activity is to Wear things?! Funny!**

In the Chicken Coop

You'll notice that I'm not actually in the chicken coop on the last video. After running around after two of them who had gotten out & "shooing" them back, I was content to keep the door secure. Audrey-pie on the other hand didn't want to leave!! So I let her run around in with the chickens until it was time to go scramble our findings! :)

Chicken Scratch

First we check the Bunny Rabbits for food & water!

Awhile back we were asked by our neighbor friend to please look after their animals while they would be away. We were Thrilled!!! What a fun adventure it was each day to go check on the bunnies & chickens, giving appropriate food, water, chicken scratch & collecting any eggs multiple times a day. Aaron & I have talked about how fun it would be to have a few chickens and raise our own eggs, and this just made me realize how much fun the girls would have doing their "chicken chores"! We only took care of them for a weekend, but we enjoyed it a lot. Each morning Audrey would rush to get dressed so we could walk down there to check on the animals. We collected about 3 eggs a day!

Found one!

Good-bye Chickens!