Easter: Part 5

This is it!  I swear.  Last one.  Here are the  kids dressed in their Easter garb, all ready for church.  Doing a girl's hair is still a mystery to me, especially since my girl has curly hair and that is so very foreign to me.  This day I experimented with it--making it all curly with gel.  The jury's still out as to whether or not I like it like this.  I think she's better with bangs.  And the new Sunday sandals the Easter bunny brought her?  She refused to wear.  She chose, instead, to wear too small shoes.  And Josh is not a fan of Will's pink shirt, though I constantly remind him it's not pink, it's orange.  Somehow he doesn't believe me.

And I really couldn't choose the best picture of these two and really that's because there isn't one.  They are all sub-par.  But every single one makes me smile because they are so representative of my two crazy kids, whom I adore whole-heartedly (spell check says heartedly isn't a word, but I'm ignoring it).  So, I decided to throw 'em all in, water gun and all (see, I told you he liked it).

Here she's saying, "My shoes too tight!"  But I had no sympathy for her.

I think this one's my favorite.  Yours?

Easter: Part 4

Lest you think I'm done posting about Easter, you'd be sadly disappointed.  This is Easter morn.  The kids (by kids, I mean Will, because Lucy is as of yet oblivious to all holidays and festivities, though not candy) were jazzed for Easter.  I think Will thought the Easter bunny delivered far more goods than the Easter bunny really does, but, luckily, the dollar store water gun did not disappoint.  He loved that.  And the candy, of course.

The kids came down all clad in their Christmas jammies, ready for a fun-filled adventure on this fine spring day.  And since Josh had to bust it to church early for meetings (argh), I barely made it in time for church and there may have been some weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth to get us there, but we made it.

You try taking a good picture of my kids together.  I dare you.

Lucy loves hats.  She puts them on at every opportunity.

Her new book had a dog in it, so here she is happily shouting dooooog!  (Kinda reminds me of this post of Will baaing--see end of post).

Easter: Part 3

In hopes of finding a fun outdoor Easter egg hunt, we inadvertently crashed a random church's Easter party.  I thought it was the town party, but no, it was the party of some small-out-of-the-way-church-congregation-who-held-us-captive-for-a-good-few-hours.  The kids had fun, though, and won lots of loot.  The prizes just kept coming.  I was expecting a twenty-minute outdoor Easter egg hunt but there was games and coloring and other odds and ends indoors.  I was a tad worried that we might not get out the door unless we donated some blood, but all's well that ends well, right?  We escaped, the kids won lots of junk and we all had enough candy to last a lifetime.  Success!  

Now, behold the Easter egg hunt pictures.  Perhaps the cutest little girl hunting for Easter eggs you ever idd see?  The basket's bigger than she is!  Too stinkin' cute.

Easter: Part 2

And what would Easter be without dying colorful Easter eggs?  And what would any occasion be without me somehow creating something disastrous in the kitchen?  Indeed, in an effort to not over boil the eggs, I under boiled them.  The result?  Very gooey hard boiled eggs (more like soft boiled eggs).  I had to boil a few more in hopes to actually get hard boiled eggs, so we could enjoy some deviled eggs come Easter (except, no surprise there, I over salted the deviled eggs.  Don't you want to come to my house to eat sometime????)

I think the only who participated in this process was Will.  I kept holding him off until such a such a time that I think the excitement mounted.  He was beyond excited to decorate him some eggs.  He had to wear his bunny hat and soccer shirt, of course.  Lucy, as evidenced below, was far more interested in coats and shoes--her obsession of late.  At least she stayed clean!

And just once--once!--I want to take a picture wherein the background of my house shows cleanliness instead of messiness.  I swear, there are times (though they may be few and far between) where my house is clean!

Easter: Part 1

Let the Easter celebrating begin.  Will's school had an Easter egg hunt and Lucy and I got to attend.  Lucy couldn't move past the pastor's door, since the pastor had brought his brand new puppy with him that day (Will's school is in a church, though it is in no way affiliated with said church).  She just stood in front of the door pointing and saying, "Dah-dah" over and over (dog, dog, interpreted).  Will had so much fun I could hardly get him on film.  I dare say the highlight was, of course, the candy.  Candy, candy, candy.  Isn't that what Easter is all about???

"Yes, mom.  I will take this picture only if you permit me to afterward sit on the floor and eat every precious morsel of candy, candy, candy!"

A Little bit of Lucy

Are you missing you some Lucy lately?  Well, never fear--Lucy's here!  This girl.  She's bundles of fun.  She loves shoes, jackets and hats and is always putting them on.  She even likes to put on Will's underwear from time to time.  She's feeding herself from a bowl now (hooray) and is getting new words every day, though her first and favorite word is still "dog".  She loves her some dogs and wants to scope 'em out all the time (from a distance).  She loves books and would let you read to her forever (especially animal books).  She follows Will everywhere and adores his attention, though never hesitates to push him out of her way, if needed.  She is sweet and cuddly and still a bit of a mama's girl, though she does fine going to nursery and the gym childcare (sometimes there are a few tears at first).  Lucy, we just can't get enough of you!

 Here she is all clad in her fleece, shoes and Will's underwear--all put on by herself.

 Eating yogurt, looking like "Santa Claus" as we tell her.

 Standing at the back door, searching for the neighbor's dog.  This is her favorite spot.

 And is she not adorable in this hat that my sis-in-law Michelle gave her.  How cute could she be?

Too small hat, Will's coat and shoes!

The Birthday Boy

Happy B-day, Will (only three plus months late).  Since Will was studying penguins in preschool, he wanted a penguin-themed b-day party.  And that is what he got:  penguin party galore (if you mean by penguin party that I made a penguin banner and let him watch a penguin movie and then had a few friends over for cookie cake and ice cream, then yes it was a penguin party.  Good thing he's five and has very low expectations). 

He had a great day complete with presents, Dada helping out at school and sharing rice krispie treats with the class (that were stone hard, I might add.  Only I can ruin rice krispie treats.  I swear, it's a talent).  Then out to Wendy's for chicken nuggets for lunch, penguin movie and pizzeria for dinner.  Then friends came for cookie cake and ice cream.  The hit of the day?  The Hess ambulance helicopter I got on a whim a mere two days before his birthday (thanks Amazon Prime.  Gotta love you).  He asked how I knew that was exactly what he wanted even though he never told me.  I told him that, of course I knew what he wanted--he was my favorite five-year-old, after all (I could never tell him it was dumb luck).  Happy Birthday to my favorite William.  We love you!  See below for a William update at age five.

At five Will:

• is the most inquisitive child I've ever met.  Why is his favorite word.  Why we have sky?  Why aren't basketball hoops attached to the sky?  Why is wind faster than airplanes?  Why everyone like Maria better than the guy (from Sound of Music--we were listening to the soundtrack)?
• loves show tunes--especially Newsies, Annie and Annie Get Your Gun.  He knows all the words to every Newsies song.  He's obsessed.
• can be the most helpful kid in the world.  He will unload groceries, put them in the basement if needed, bring up the garbage can unasked, organize his toys weekly, clean toilets and fold laundry.  But heaven forbid I ask him to brush his teeth and comb his hair--these simple, daily tasks he abhors and WWIII ensues trying to get him to do them.
• loves school and has progressed leaps and bounds socially, though he can still be shy in certain, new situations.
• adores his dada more than anything on earth.  He loves to do anything with him:  weed the garden, clean the garage, fix things.  If Dada has his tools out, so does Will.  Anything and anywhere Dada goes, Will will be there.  He especially loves having a "Dada's Favorite" every Sunday afternoon which consists of Will and Dada lying on the couch watching race car driving (and Dada may or may not fall asleep most times).
• wants to be a driver when he grows up, so he can, "drive Dada to work and sit next to him every day."
• second Dada, adores Lucy.  He is the best big brother.  Every morning, when she wakes up, he jumps in her crib, brings her books and toys and plays with her for at least 15-20 minutes.  Then he gets her out of the crib and they come in my room and wish me good morning.  It makes my heart so happy the way he loves her.  Plus, he takes good care of her, putting her in time-out when she gets in trouble, bringing her her nigh-nigh, getting her snacks etc., etc. 
• is constantly riding his bike.  It's his favorite thing to do, hands down. The kid could ride for hours.  We've been taking longer bike rides/walks/runs (I have to run to keep up with him!) and he can go far.  He loves it and he loves to count the fire hydrants while doing it.
• is just getting into chapter books lately, which is fun.  We've read Charlotte's Web, Ramona the Pest, Nicholas and now we're reading The Mouse and the Motorcycle.  I never knew what fun it could be to read with my kids.  It's probably one of my favorite things.
• is smart, fun, funny, helpful, really the best thing in the world.  He does have moments of fitful tears and tantrums that aren't my favorite, but for the most part he's such a good, good kid and I love being his mom.  Love you, Will!