Easter Weekend

We had a great Easter weekend celebrating with family.  And what a reason to celebrate; that Jesus did not stay dead after he was crucified on the cross, but he has risen!  The foundation of our faith and the reason for our joy.  Our church puts together a devotional book during the time of Lent.  This year we went through the book of Mark, and each day's devotional was written by a different church member.  These are always such a blessing to me, to read through the story leading up to Easter, and to learn from the insights of fellow believers.  

Gigi telling the Easter story with Resurrection Eggs

Cousins ready to go on an Easter Egg Hunt

Lyle told me he thought Peter Cottontail was going to hide the eggs for the egg hunt!

They LOVED it this year!

Lyle

Zoe

Eric..  A little windblown. :)

Gigi and Aria taking in the action

Easter Baskets

Lyle has a major sweet tooth, so we went more in the direction of little goodies for their baskets:  new pajamas, swimsuits, chalk, books, etc.  

Ready for church!

Family picture success!

He is lovin some Paw Patrol lately

Books!  Bulldozers, Loaders, Firetrucks, etc.  This boy's love language! 

Singing "Little Peter Cottontail"

Telling Great Grandma all about it!

Wonderful to spend Easter with family.  Now if only we could have had ALL our family there! :) SIBLINGS....move closer!

We're Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo

On Friday, Lyle got to go to the zoo with his Grammy (who had the day off of school) and Papa.  I was pretty jealous (because I LOVE the zoo), but was glad they could go and have fun!

Here is some of their adventure!

Trying to get the ducks to say, "Cheese!"

Singing "Easter Bunny! Easter Bunny!"  This kid.

Hippo!  I don't think I've ever been able to see them underwater!

When we asked Lyle what his favorite animal at the zoo was, he said "the not-real lions."  Apparently the statues were the best part!  LOL

The "real" lions

Grammy and Lyle!  Papa is looking a little tired in the background! :)

And...he's out!

Lyle had such a blast at the zoo!  Thanks Grammy and Papa!

Spring Break Reunion

A couple of weekends ago we had the rare occurence to have all of my brothers and sisters together for a weekend.  This typically only happens at Christmas (or maybe for a quick weekend in the summer if we are lucky!)  My sister Kristen and her husband Philip had twins born 8 weeks premature in June, and have been on house quarantine since they got out of the NICU.  They did not want the babies to be exposed to any additional germs they could avoid.  

So finally spring came, and they were ready to break those babies out of the house!  So to Kansas they came!  Mike had a client he needed to visit, so he was able to make the trip too (but we so so missed his wife Stephanie! SO MISSED her.)

Everyone else is within a few hours of home, so we all got to be together for a couple days.  It was awesome!

Uncle Jeff!

Weston eating like a boss. 

 I had not seen the twins since they were in the NICU and it was so much fun to spend time with them.  Such happy babies!

Playing at the park with Sarah

Uncle Mike!

Weston

Zoe and Lyle helping with the candles on Carrie's birthday cake

Gigi, Grandaddy, and all their grandkids!

Gigi and Aria

Sweet Summer Joy! 

The babes.  They play together so well right now!  lol

Aria and Summer in matching bows (chilling on the quilt I made Weston! ;)

The first time all the kids have been together!

Weekends like these make my heart happy!  

What's Up Wednesday

Just some randoms for your Wednesday!!!  

What we are eating this week:

Monday:  Dinner with church friends!  I took my favorite (and easy easy) strawberry spinach salad.  (And by easy I mean buy bagged spinach, cut up strawberries, put almonds, or sugared pecans on top, and finish it with raspberry vinaigrette dressing)

Tuesday:  Breakfast!  We had eggs, sausage, strawberries, and cinnamon raisin toast.

Wednesday:  BBQ wings and potatoes

Thursday:  Bierocks (from the freezer)

Friday: To be determined!


What I'm Reading:

I've been reading "The Best Yes."  It's been really good so far.  I just have an awful time getting through non-fiction books.  Even if I love them.

I am also reading "12 Huge Mistakes Parents Can Avoid" with a few girls in a bible study.  It's been good so far.


What I'm Dreading: Putting away our laundry.  I really don't mind doing laundry or folding it.  But the putting-it-away part always gets me!

What I'm Working On:  Picking fabric and a pattern to make Aria's quilt.  I think I've got it all picked out, but wanting to get it "Zach approved" before ordering.

What We've Been Up To: Celebrated St. Patrick's Day with some green.  Lyle and I also whipped up some Lucky Shamrock Mix and took it to daycare and work.  Lyle kept saying how excited the "kids" would be to eat it!  HAH!  It was a great treat for him to help with.

Recipe

What I'm Excited About:  Seeing my family this weekend!  I think we are going to have all the siblings home...including my sister and the twinsies!  I have not seen them since July when they were so itsy-bitsy in the NICU.  And Aria will finally get to meet her last Auntie and Uncle!

What I'm Watching:  Oh goodness I don't know if I should admit all the shows we record!  But there are so many good ones!  Right now we're watching The Voice.

What I'm Listening To:  The Lullaby station on Pandora.  Aria likes to sleep to it while we're at work.  It's surprisingly good!

What Am I Annoyed By: Allergies.  Booooooo.

What I'm Reminiscing About: Our Hawaii trip.  I'm ready for a vacation! 

What I'm Looking Forward To: More warm weather! Warm temperatures and sunshine make me happy!

What I'm Thankful For: My husband.  I've started going to a class at the wellness center a couple nights a week, and he watches the kids.  It's been nice to have a few kid-free moments.

What I'm Hoping For: We are supposed to get rain tonight, and I would love a good spring thunderstorm!  But please keep our electricity on.  And no tornadoes.

What I Wore Today: Normal work attire! And glasses because of these darn allergies and a sleepless night due to my sweet kiddos taking turns being up.  Anyone else feel like they are scheming and say, "Hey Lyle!  I just finished eating and mom just laid down....your turn!"

What Else is New?

Lyle is great at portraits....Mom and Dad.  HAHA

Aria Grace: Three Months

Well, sweet girl, I would say that we have rounded a corner, and life is great!  You have always been an incredibly sweet baby but between your tummy (which made you very fussy), being sick (understandably not yourself), and going back to work (you just wanted Mom and let everyone know it!) there were times it was a little rough.  But the last couple of weeks have been awesome!  

Happy Valentine's Day!

Weight: 14 lbs 6 oz (93rd percentile)

Height: 24 1/4 inches (85th percentile)

(Side note....At 3 months, Lyle weighed 16lbs 12 oz and was 25 1/2 in.  What a chunk! LOL)

Wearing size 6 month clothes.

Sleep-  We've gone a little backwards in this department.  Lately you've been getting up around 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. to eat.  Typically you are up with me while I get ready in the morning, then fall asleep in your carseat on the way to work.  Usually you will take a good little nap in your car seat until 9 or 10.  Then you take cat-naps in your bouncy seat or swing the rest of the day.  Last month the only way you would fall asleep was putting you in my wrap and walking you around.  Now I snuggle you with a blanket, give you your pacifier, and you will go right to sleep!  It is wonderful.  And makes work a million times easier!

A quick snooze outside on a beautiful day

Eating-  Still breastfeeding and doing great!  Eating about every three hours.  There's been a couple of days Gigi has come to babysit you and you took a bottle pretty well.  

Likes-  You LOVE your brother.  He can always get a smile out of you, and if he is near you listen to his voice and watch whatever he does.  You take your pacifier well, like to be snuggled with blankets, and don't mind your carseat.  You still love your swing, but also love to play and kick around on a blanket on the floor.  Your bouncy seat and play mat have animals that hang down and you have the absolute best conversations with them!  

Dislikes- Now that we are no longer sick, you are a pretty happy baby most of the time.  For a while there you turned into quite the mama's-girl, and no one else would quite do.  There are times at work, if I am busy with a patient and someone else has you, you put up a bit of a fuss.  But you are getting much better and quicker at calming back down.

Fun Firsts- You have started smiling this month and it the BEST!  If someone smiles at you, the biggest grin comes on your face.  And it is so contagious!  You needed your first round of antibiotics after big brother shared his cold, but you did awesome with your medicine.

Lovin on Auntie Koko

Lyle Update: His latest thing to say in a sweet high pitched voice..."Awwww...she's so cuuute." LOL. I love it.  

Conversations with Great Grandma Glenda

Each new development and milestone is so much fun.  Looking forward to what this next month will bring!

Friday Favorites

We are over the moon excited over here with the news of a new niece or nephew coming in August!  My sister-in-law was asking me about must-haves for a new baby.  I started compiling a list for her (mostly the big things first) but I thought it would be fun to do a few different versions of my favorite baby things.

These are my must-haves for your diaper bag...

 

1.  Huggies Clutch 'n Clean-  I love this wipes case!  You can easily reload it with more wipes, and they stay wet unlike my last case.  Plus it's cute!

2.  Bath and Body Works PocketBac Hand Sanitizer and Holder.  So nice to have after diaper changes, especially because there's not always a safe place to leave the baby (especially in public bathrooms) while you wash your hands.

3.  Arm and Hammer Diaper Bags- These are great for stinky diapers or wet clothes.

4.  Vera Bradley Pacifier Pod- No more losing pacifiers in the bottom of your bag!  Hooray!

5.  Aden and Anais Swaddle Blanket- These are my favorite blankets in the entire world.  They are so so soft!  I always keep one in the diaper bag...great for snuggling, covering up while nursing, or an extra layer if it's chilly.

6.  Aden and Anais Classic Burpy Bib- I recently discovered these and they are as soft as the blankets!  They also have little snaps so you can use it as a bib.  Genius!

7.  Nursing Cover- This website always has codes for a free cover, you just have to pay shipping.  A cover makes times when you have to nurse in public so much easier!

Nothing fancy, just a few things that make life easier!

Happy Friday Friends!!!