Easter 2012

Easter morning was a bit chaotic!  I had to sing on worship team, so my friend Velvet picked me up at 7:30 a.m. so we could practice with our other friends Melissa and Hannah for our "How Deep the Father's Love" quartet before 'official' worship practice.  Daddy was stuck with getting all three kids ready for church on his own.  BIG task and he deserves the Medal of Honor for such a feat.  I still think it's hard after all these years, and he's not used to doing it on his own.  So well done, O Brave and Mighty One.  :)  I didn't have any special 'new' outfits for the kids, just some of my favorites that they already had.

After church, we stood in the front yard for some pics with the kids.  I'm not sure why I chose to put us on the muddy ground where we had a leaky sprinkler head and the grass hasn't started growing.  I think I just really wanted to make these special and classy.

I love how Jaxey's tie is about 6 inches shorter after church than before.  You know a boy's been hard at play when his tie looks like this!

After good and long naps, we went to Grandma and Pa-Pa's house for Easter dinner and Easter egg hunting.  Here are the kids running around with 'C' as I'll affectionately call him for a while.  Uncle Travis has become a foster parent, so we've enjoyed getting to know C.  He's got such a sweet little spirit, and the kids have a blast with him.  

(Quite a few of these photos were taken by Uncle Trav's roommate Matt who has a great, fancy-pants camera).  

I was telling Jason just how much I loved finding Easter eggs when I was a kid, so he stayed outside and hid four eggs just for me.  I had Emerson help me, and that little toot found the first one!  I admit I'm not very good at finding eggs, so Jason had to play the hot/cold game for me to find the other three.

It ended up being a wonderful, laid-back day of celebrating our Risen Savior and celebrating family, too!

Jaxeyboy turned 3

My little man.  Where oh where has the time gone?  You looked like this just yesterday, it seems...

You turned three a little more than a week ago, and it seems to me like you've entered the world of 'big boy' way too soon.  Every now and then I catch a glimpse of toddler-ness and do my best to hang on to it, but those moments are happening less frequently now.

I adore your blue eyes and blonde hair (I remember telling Daddy years and years ago that I would give anything to have a blonde-haired, blue-eyed little boy).  I love your smile that lights up a room, your sweet and sensitive spirit, and your bear hugs and kisses that you give so freely.  Please don't ever stop wanting to snuggle and sing with your Momma at bedtime, okay?

We had a little family party for the birthday boy, and I told him it was going to be a monster truck party.  Technically, the only thing monster truck-related was the monster truck highlights DVD I had playing in the background.  I borrowed my friend Cristin's "Cars" tablecloth, and his cupcakes had checkered flags on them, so it kind of ended up being a "Cars" birthday.  I thought I would totally get away with it, but about a week later we were sitting at lunch and he all of a sudden exclaimed, "MOMMY!  I didn't have a monster truck birthday party!"  And the look on his face was one of mixed disgust and indignation.  I quickly reminded him of the monster truck DVD, and I think that satisfied him.  What that tells me is that I'm at the end of my no-big-deal birthday party decorations.  He's old enough to care about a theme, so I'm gonna have to step up my game next year.

Here are pictures of the birthday boy's par-tay:

Wearing his birthday hat and ribbon from preschool... and looking really old.  *sniff*

He got very serious while we were singing to him.  I think he was mentally preparing to blow out the candles and needed to focus.

Emerson has the men-folk enthralled in her storytelling.

Hayden and Pa-Pa are twinkies.

He loves his new putter!

Daddy has some SERIOUS golf tan lines going on.  The first burn of the spring is always a doozie.

Hayden found a willing swing buddy in Gi-Gi.

Even birthday boys need an attitude adjustment every now and then.

March Picture Post

I'm slowly sorting through Jax's birthday & Easter pictures, but then I realized I haven't posted my favorite snapshots from March.  So the birthday update will have to wait a few days.  This momma can't keep up with it all at the pace I used to!

I love this girl... she's always ON and always in character.

The three amigos doing some pack-n-play time.  

She loves her piano (used as a chair, of course) and grabs her favorite books.

It's funny how quickly they can go from this...

To this.

At some point during almost every single day, Jaxeyboy is wearing these goggles and that hat.  Thank you again, Katie!

A fun Sunday afternoon at Haikey Creek Park.

Just a-swingin.'

And this one, like his daughter, is also always ON.  So thankful that my kiddos have an animated daddy!

Gettin' silly after dinner.

These next two express just how she feels about her molars coming in.

Best friends.

Randomness & some birthday pics

A few nights ago, Daddy heard commotion upstairs about 10 minutes after bedtime.  He yelled up to Emerson to see what was going on, and she informed him that she was helping Jax get a booger out of his nose.  I think they were both in one of the bathrooms, and she was totally taking charge to help him dig for gold.  Classic.

Jax turns three on Friday!  That boy has been cracking me up lately.  His new favorite phrase?  "Pickle-hoppin."  Used as an adjective.  Don't ask me what or why... we just go with it.

Hayden is just as mean as ever.  She loves to scream at her siblings, usually for no reason.  Her left molar has almost completely broken through, and the right one is at that horrible swollen phase.  My favorite times with her are on preschool days when we get one-on-one time to read books and play together.  

Emerson has been as sweet as pie lately.  I'm loving her sweet attitude and helpfulness.  Let's hope it sticks around for a while!  Tonight we were playing in the back yard after dinner, and she was using sidewalk chalk on the patio.  No lie, she started writing her name upside down so that I could see it from my vantage point.  My jaw dropped.  That is hard to do!

Happy belated birthday to my sweet husband!  Turned the big 34 on Monday, and we had family over on Sunday night.

Instead of cake, Jason asked for one of his very favorite desserts.  It's a chocolate pudding/cake/cool whip/heath bar concoction that is out of this world.

Preschool Easter parties tomorrow, worship practice for me tomorrow night, Jax's birthday on Friday night, hopefully going to a sunrise service (after sunrise, though, with little ones in tow) on Saturday, more worship practice on Saturday for Easter, Easter dinner at the in-laws' on Sunday p.m..... whew!  I'm tired already just thinking about it.