Happy Easter!

(Feel free to pretend it's several weeks ago and I'm totally on top of things)


Here are my cute kids all dressed up for Easter! Why yes, I did make their ties/dress & accessories! Katy has really pretty fabric flower in her hair, and a matching purse. Sorry boys, it's not that I love her more. It's just a lot more fun to make girl things! Be glad I made you ties!

I've been seeing tie onesies all over crafting blogs, and I was excited to give it a shot. I made it a bit too big, so it looks like it's tucked into his pants. Oh well, it just means I can make his next one the exact same size and have it be right!

We usually celebrate the secular aspect of Easter on Saturday, but this year it didn't work for us since Dan had an early voice lesson and the boys had basketball games. I'm sure their Primary teachers were thrilled to have them hopped up on candy Sunday morning!

Tolerating Tummy Time

Please forgive the abundance of pictures. I love babies, especially when they're mine. :-)

Nathan has recently developed the upper body/neck strength to not mind tummy time for a few minutes at a time. It's cute!
Look how strong I am!
Whoa, check out those trains!
Look at that one over there!
And that one, it's a different color!
Whoa, this is fascinating!
And...now I'm tired.

Later that evening, pretty much the exact same thing happened.
Totally digging these trains again!

Mom, do you have to take pictures of me all the time? I'm busy here!
Wait, I'm not sure I like this so much...
Nope, I'm definitely done!

We shoulda gotten one a long time ago!

I have a real love/hate relationship with Black Friday. I love getting good deals. It's probably an addiction. But the early morning, the crowds...yuck! It tends to be a pretty miserable experience. And yet every year I go.

Last Thanksgiving there were some stores doing things even EARLIER than the usual 5 am. Walmart had some midnight sales, and Toys R Us had some starting 10 pm the night before (aka Thanksgiving). I carefully made my lists, planning on going to Toys R Us around 10 and getting to Walmart around midnight. It was not to be. I wish I had written down the specifics 6 months ago, but suffice it to say it took FOUR HOURS between arriving at Toys R Us and driving away with the goods. Four. Hours. I got there a little after 10, but didn't get IN the store until around midnight I believe. Then I had to, you know, do some shopping, followed by standing in line for an hour and a half. Ew. Ew. Ew. I will not be doing THAT again. I saw on Facebook that a friend of mine saw the line outside her Toys R Us, turned around and went home, and ended up getting the same deals online. Doh!

Okay, big tangent there. Anyhow, one of the beloved items that I got at Toys R Us was a big trampoline! Dan & I both grew up with one, and the kids love jumping on the one and Grandma & Grandpa's house, so we've been wanting one for a while. The good Black Friday price was the opportunity we'd been waiting for! Merry Christmas, kids!

Only then it took us a few months to put it together. The typical soggy Northwest weather, plus me being pregnant and tired all the time, plus not knowing how hard it would be, made it hard to get started. We finally got it up a little while after the little parasite was out of me.

I wish we had bought one sooner, or at least put it up sooner. The kids LOVE it! I am frequently amazed by how nicely all 3 big kids play together on it! They spend much more time outside, and much more time playing together without fighting. It is wonderful!

So here is some evidence that this is true! They love it, and they play nicely! Awesome!