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!

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!

Why do I want to wear these?

About two weeks ago, I decided it was time for Hannah to be potty trained. She seems aware of when things are happening and has this obsession with all things princess. So this should be pretty straighforward right, she’ll want to wear the big girl princess underwear. I took her to Target and let her pick out several packages of underwear. We came home and the first day went pretty well.

Over the last two weeks things have gone downhill fast. I had to switch to pull-ups because our house is completely carpeted and I don’t want it to smell like a barn. But with Sabrina underfoot, and the kids school, homework, and even just my everyday responsibilities, I kept forgetting to put her on the potty, and the pull-up was just the same as a diaper to her. If I remember to make her sit on the potty every half hour or so, she is bound to have some successes, but that is just not possible for me to keep up. I even bought M&M’s and told Hunter and Emma to announce when they were going potty, and have Hannah see them go in and come out, and then come to me to get their M&M reward. They loved the idea, but with Hannah, no go. She still doesn’t really care. So, I think I’ll give it up and try again when she’s more interested. What do you think? Does anyone have the magic technique?

Hannah Turns Two!

Hannah turned two years old yesterday! She is such a pretty little girl, and she had a lot of fun. Although, she hasn’t really caught on to what a birthday means, she will now say “two” or “ten” and hold up two fingers when you ask how old she is. I made her a princess cake. I just couldn’t resist because I made a Cinderella for Emma last year and it wasn’t that much work for the wow factor it gives. Hannah loved her “si-sess” cake even though it had a real weird dense consistency because of our funky oven. I think birthday cakes are more about looks than taste anyways! Hunter an Emma each picked out a toy they thought Hannah would like. Emma picked a mini doll house and Hunter picked a driving toy. She was really excited about both gifts. There was also a purple tutu from Sabrina and a mini build-a-bear monkey with a sparkly pink fairy outfit. That was perfect for her because it comes with a little pillow you put inside the monkey to bring it to life. It even has stickers and a birth certificate. (Anyone who needs a fun Christmas gift idea, this is it. I found it at Target and there are also several little outfits to choose from.) Thanks Nana and Papa for the pretty Thanksgiving themed dress! Thanks Auntie Erica, Uncle Jed and cousins for the teddy bear puzzle and fun matching game card! Thanks Aunt Jeanette and Uncle Dan for the two board books!

We all love our little Hannah for her sunny personality and her loving nature. If anyone ever says “ouch” or “oh no”, she always asks, “you ok?” And if you answer yes, she says, “Good!”

Fly or Hop?

Getting Hannah to go to bed without complaint was getting more tricky. A few weeks ago, she started to really test us and went into a fit at the mention of bedtime. We have found the perfect solution – for now. Just before bed she has a bottle of milk, and as soon as she is done we ask her, “Do you want to fly or hop to bed?” It was something I tried out of desperation one night hoping the distraction would cheer her up. It worked! For a while she always wanted to hop to bed, and now she always wants to fly. It’s really cute too because she puts her hands over her head and does a “sshhh” sound like Superman. I wonder how long it will last, hopefully if we change up the choices once in a while she won’t get bored with it. Maybe somersaults or skipping next…