Painting Easter Eggs

Without any help, Allie and Collin decided to do an art project while I was asleep! The pair decided to paint easter eggs. Allie and her creative self came up with the idea, and Collin was just too excited to do it with her. I woke up to laughter and cute conversation between the two. I caught them at the dinner table setting up shop, with Allie showing Collin how to paint the eggs that they drained earlier. They are on to egg number #3 or #4 as I post this blog. I love it when I catch the two of them having a great time doing something together. Allie is very good at giving directions and instructing Collin how best to paint the eggs, changing into a short-sleeve shirt so he doesn't get paint on his sleeves, etc. She is a great teacher!

Maddie picks her nose...

Not really...but she did keep that little finger there for a minute or two. Collin, who doesn't like anything that resembles nose-picking, got her finger out.

Easter Egg Tree

With Easter just around the corner, the easter eggs are out of their box once again! Only this time, they are not being displayed in an egg carton. A few years ago, my friend Carolynn Baldwin and I put together these Easter eggs containing symbols of Christ's death and resurrection. Then at Easter time, the kids get to open the eggs and read the scripture reference that goes with the symbol found inside. It's been quite fun since they only get to do it around this time. This year, I have been hunting for the perfect egg tree to hang them on, and couldn't find one I really like, so I assembled our own. I went for yellow silk forsythia (my bush out back is not quite blooming yet - that would have been neat to see it bloom in the vase though), but silk flowers are reusable and easy to keep alive. :) I wanted to do the tree since I was planning on doing the "12 days of Easter"; we are a little late this year, so we'll have to open 3 or 4 eggs each day and then open #12 on Sunday.

Please do not turn me green!

On St. Patty's Day every year for the last five years, the leprechauns have left green treats for the kids. They also make a mess out of everything and then make their "escape" thru the vents. The kids always get a kick out of this yearly tradition since they know I like the house clean and clutter-free. This year, Allie made a sign that said "PLEASE DO NOT TURN ME GREEN" and put it on the fridge last night. They went to bed extra early so the leprechauns can come. Of course, they also woke up extra early.
They woke me up at 6 a.m. telling me to take a look at the kitchen -- "It's green dots everywhere! The fridge has green dots, the oven and the dishwasher all have green dots! Oooh trouble!" Even the tile floor was not spared. It was dotted too. Collin's fire boots were also green. They did find green treats in a drawer, in Collin's boots, the oven, and the dishwasher. They were very relieved that the milk was not green -- they thought it was kinda gross when it happened last year. :) The kitchen is now clean, thanks to Allie and Collin who happily scrubbed them off before school today (I think my cleaning OCD rubbed off on them :)) -- except for the fridge, which I think I am going to keep polka-dotted for the day!

Maddie's Favorite Stuff

Maddie has new favorite things to do. She loves her bumbo, loves to play on her playmat, and loves being in the exer-saucer. She has new tricks up her sleeve - managing to move from one side of her playmat to under the cradle, hanging her feet out the side of her cradle, and sleeping on her side with her head way up in the corner of her cradle. We don't know how that can possibly be comfortable, but no matter what position you place her in, we always find her with her face almost smushed up against her bumper. She is liberal with her smiles nowadays, but has only laughed twice because of Collin's antics. He must be extra funny to her. She laughed when he pretended to burp his ABC's and when he took her fists and slapped himself with them. However, she doesn't know what to do with tickles still! She is now 3.5 months old and we love having this cuddly little person at home.

New Ears

After 3 weeks of waiting and being extra-well-behaved, Allie finally got her ears pierced yesterday. We went to Claire's to get them done. She called Grandma Lorraine for some advice beforehand and called her right after. She was a little nervous, but she did just fine through it all. She said it felt like a little pinch (yeah, right!). Of course, she was one that didn't flinch when she got 4 vaccinations at the same time a few years ago; she also got poked 6 times by a blood-drawing needle a few months ago (ouch!)and didn't complain. She is so excited to have cute earrings on, and to share the fashionable news with her 2nd grade friends. Boy, don't they grow up too fast?

Relief Society Birthday

I finally got our Relief Society birthday video (amateur production :)) done on Monday, so here it is for your viewing pleasure. This will be shown at our birthday party on Saturday, as part of our Past, Present, Future theme. The video highlights our graduating laurels - playing off the idea that the young women are the future of our Relief Society. We are also giving out birthday cards for favors (see above), along with a muffin wrapped in cute cellophane. I love that it only took 10 minutes to put together favors for 130 sisters!

(OK, YouTube only takes videos up to 10 minutes in length, so I had to shorten the video! There are a few quirks in this version, like Pres. Monson's comment that got cut off midsentence,but they are not present in the original 15 minute video. I messed it up when I shortened it, and didn't feel like fixing it back up again :)).

Happy Birthday Pop!!!

Here is our shout-out to Pop (Jack) who is celebrating his 55th birthday today. We love you!

A Day Out with Dad

At the Marriott Center - BYU vs Air Force

Collin had a fun day out with Kevin yesterday while the girls and I stayed home. I had lots of laundry and worked on trying to get Premiere Elements on my computer, which I need to edit this Relief Society video I'm working on. First they went to get Kevin a haircut -- usually Collin gets one at the same time too, but he wasn't due for one just yet. Then they ran a couple of errands for me, which Kevin is happy to do for me on the weekends - a trip to the BYU Creamery and Walmart. I so appreciate it since I don't enjoy going to Walmart as much as he does! :) Then they went to the BYU Men's Basketball in the evening - BYU vs Air Force. BYU won handily 76-57. They had such a good time!

She loves the Bumbo!

Maddie is now three months old. How time flies! She drools a lot now (possibly teething!), also sleeps mostly thru the night. Last night, she slept from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. She likes sitting in her green Bumbo seat - she even fell asleep in it yesterday while I worked on the Valley's Best website. She smiles a lot, she gives us half a laugh when tickled. She also likes to suck her fingers (knuckles, really). Here are photos of her at three months.

She fell asleep sitting in it. So precious!

This was her yesterday watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

This was Maddie trying out the bumbo for the first time two weeks ago in Arizona. Look at those little toes!