Easter Break

This year for Easter, we went up to visit with Nana and Papa. Their house just happens to be about equidistant for all of us, so we lovingly refer to it as “The Halfway House.” It was so much fun because all of my siblings were able to come, and so all of the cousins could play together. We really fill their house to capacity now, and there will be two more baby girls in July! They were all so cute, and Hunter and Emma loved having the little ones come looking for them to play.

The day before Easter was the final performance of “Savior of the World,” a play that my Dad has been rehearsing for months. He played the apostle Phillip and surprised all of us with his long hair and mustache when we arrived at the house. He had an awesome beard in the play too, and it was hard to find him on stage because he looked so different. I couldn’t even find him until my grandma pointed him out to me. I guess mothers have that radar. The play was so nice; with beautiful sets, costumes, and music. It was really impressive to see how well a bunch of amateurs can do when they all come together and work at it. Of course, we all think that Papa stole the show in spite of his strong, silent character. “He ate?!” was one of my favorite lines he had. The pictures I took are in the gallery, but they just didn’t turn out all that well, so you’ll need to use your imagination a little.

Sunday was Easter and the kids all had an egg hunt in the house. Everyone had a blast looking for eggs, and there were plenty for all of the kids! This is the first year that I have done the whole Easter Outfit thing. The girls all had special dresses that I bought off of Ebay, and then made hair bows to match. Hunter has his very first real suit which was also an Ebay find. I have done a lot of online shopping lately because going to the stores is just so exhausting. Again, there are photos in the gallery!

Monday was my birthday, and it has been a long time since I have had the whole family to celebrate with. In fact, maybe ten years!? Nana made Rouladen, a German stuffed beef dish that I never prepare myself, but just love. And for dessert we had an Apple Cherry Cobbler A-la-mode that was fantastic! I got some very thoughtful gifts, cards, and a sweet message on my machine. It was a great day, thanks to everyone!

The rest of the visit was spent enjoying each other’s company and just hanging out. Although, before I left I did take some pictures of Matt and Ashley for their wedding announcements. The beauty of this digital camera is that I could take a ton of pictures without worrying about the price of the film or developing. So, I really took advantage of it and took 198 photos! Lucky for you all, I only posted 36 of my favorites in the gallery!

Rob flew home on Tuesday so he could get back for work. So the kids and I drove the 8 hours home on our own on Friday. Thank goodness for DVD players! The kids watched 3 movies on the way home. I was so tired when I got home that I gave Rob a big hug and kiss, helped unload the car and put the kids to bed, and then put myself to bed too. I guess I’m not a drive all day kind of girl. It’s good to be home, and back in the groove: School, activities, scouts, classes, playdates, laundry, dishes… You know all of that fun stuff.

Slideshow Test

I thought I would try out this slideshow thing. It’s really cool! This is Hannah and Sabrina playing on the playground at the school after the jog a thon ended. Hannah loves to play there whenever she can. Sabrina will too, I’m sure, once she masters climbing up the slide. I have a feeling she’ll be taking her first steps any day now, so it won’t be long!

My Baby Turns 1 Today

Today is Sabrina’s first birthday! She is such a cutie pie. We love our “Brina!!” Hunter already showered her with confetti before he left for school, and Emma made decorations in her bedroom. The real fun won’t really start until they get home from school and we finish the cake. Daddy has specific instructions to get home early! So the kids and I were planning on making a cake in the shape of a number 1, but I think I waited too long to take it out of the pan, and it wouldn’t come out in one piece. So instead we did a Confetti Cake! The kids all helped put on M&Ms and different kinds of sprinkles to make a fantastically decorated birthday cake.

Sabrina had a lot of fun opening presents and eating cake. Special thanks to Nana, Papa, and Aunt Erica for calling her on the phone. Also a big THANK YOU from Sabrina for the Baby Einstein DVD from Aunt Erica, Owen & Davis; and the cute spring outfit from Aunt Jeanette & Uncle Dan!

What? Develop Photos?

I have a whole bunch of film that needs to be developed just sitting in my fridge. There must be 20 rolls. I still used the film camera a lot before I got my new digital one because the pictures were such a nice quality. Now I hardly ever use it, but still have this backlog to get through. I finally took in four rolls to Sam’s Club and got them done. (This first one is with Sabrina and Adrienne, not Hannah)

Two were the disposable cameras I gave to Hunter and Emma when Sabrina was born! They took pictures in the hospital when they would come to visit. I did this same thing when Hannah was born and loved the pictures they took. They would get things like the flowers and the dry erase board the nurse would write on, and the morphine machine. All things that help really bring back the details of the experience and see it from their point of view.

The third roll was from when Matt came home from his mission. This is the last time all of the cousins from my side were together too. The fourth one had pictures from Christmas that Hunter took with the “Cars” camera Emma gave him. I thought I’d post a few of them. I will also post some in the February Folder. Good times!

The Ultimate in Bedtime Manipulation

We have a real problem with getting Sabrina to sleep at night lately. She has been staying up later and later regardless of the loss of a nap or anything. She will sit with us for hours and not want to go to sleep. We tried a couple of weeks ago to put her down awake and let her cry it out. She cried for about 15 minutes and then Hunter came out and told us that she had thrown up! We thought, “she’s sick, that’s the problem.” But then a few days later we tried again, and same thing. I have tried skipping food at dinner and just having formula, maybe her tummy was too full. Nope. I tried only giving her bland foods all day long, maybe she has a food allergy. Nope. We tried turning the lights off, maybe she’s over stimulated. Nope. She has done it at least half a dozen times now. When she does it we have no choice but to clean her and her sheets up and hold her until she will sleep again.

Last night we put her down after she had fallen asleep in Rob’s arms. She slept fine for about half an hour and then we heard her cry. We waited to see if she would go back to sleep on her own, and after only a minute, I heard that dreaded gagging sound. She did it again! The weirdest thing about it is that it never happens during the day for naps, only at night. Any ideas or experience with this issue? I’d love to hear any theories.

Sabrina’s First “Word”

So Sabrina now has a favorite word. It’s one that goes beyond the mamama, dadadada, kind of thing. In fact, she doesn’t really use mama and dada to identify us unless she’s really upset, just to make sounds. So I think it’s fair to say that this is her first word. She first started to say it a few days ago, and is pretty consistent now. Every time we say a prayer and come to the end, she belts out a big, “AA-MUH.” And of course we all know that means “Amen!” So if first words have any bearing on future personality we have a real angel in our family!