Easter 2011 - Part 2

We had a great day celebrating our risen Savior on Easter Sunday! We had a wonderful church service and then headed to my parents' house for lunch and an Easter egg hunt. The day was beautiful so the eggs were hidden outside. The kids had a blast searching for eggs...especially trying to find the special ones that had money hidden inside!

Henry found the most eggs I think.

Miss Sassy-Pants

Comparing baskets

I really don't think that these two could be any cuter together! They are so fun to watch!
In the evening we went to YoYo and Papa's house for another hunt and more to eat! The kids loved their Easter baskets from YoYo, especially the huge stuffed bunnies that they got!

My stinkin' adorable girlsStill hasn't outgrown the finger sucking

Easter 2011 - Part 1

This year the kids and I made Easter Story Cookies. Abigail and Henry are at the perfect age for something like this and they really understood what we were doing. Here's what we did and what it represented.
First we read John 19:1-3. After Jesus was arrested, He was beaten and mocked. We beat peanuts with a mallet to show how Jesus was beaten.
Then we read John 19:28-30. When Jesus was on the cross He got thirsty, but they only gave Him vinegar to drink. The kids smelled the vinegar and we poured it in a bowl.
Next we read John 10:10-11. Eggs represent life. Jesus gave His life so that we could live—forever! The kids poured in the eggs.

Next we read Luke 23:27. Jesus’ followers walked with Him as He carried the cross. Many of them cried because they were so sad. The salt tastes like tears. I guess I missed a picture of this but we put in a pinch of salt.
Next we read Psalm 34:8. The sweetest part of the story is that Jesus loves us! The kids poured in sugar.
Then we beat the mixture (without the nuts in it).
Notice how white the mixture is. We read Isaiah 1:18. Jesus is pure because He never sinned. When He forgives our sins, He makes us pure.
We folded in the nuts then read Matthew 27:57-60. We put teaspoons of the mixture on a cookie sheet. Each mound represented the rocky tomb where Jesus was laid.
Lastly we read Matthew 25:65-66. We put the cookie sheet in the oven and turned the oven OFF and “seal” the door with a piece of tape.

The next morning the kids checked the oven. They pulled off the tape to check the cookies. They cracked them open and they were hollow, empty, just like Jesus' tomb! I missed a picture of this because they checked them before I was awake. So bummed I missed a picture, but glad they were excited to check them out.

It was neat to hear them tell other people about the cookies and what everything represented. I love being able to do these kinds of projects with the kids since they are at such a perfect age.

Florida 2011

We had another awesome Spring Break trip to New Smyrna Beach, Florida this year! We took off on Thursday around 1:00 and drove straight through until we arrived the next day a little before noon. The kids really did well in the van! Abigail and Henry are incredible travelers. They keep busy, get along (for the most part) and sleep great in the car. Johanna did okay - wasn't awesome, wasn't terrible. She had a terrible cough on the way down so sleeping was a struggle for her. The drive is long, but we really don't mind it that much and it's really nice to have our own car down there!Johanna, happy at the start, all cozy in her carseat with her pillow pet and Minnie blanket.
Abigail chose to bring about a hundred stuffed animals along! The backseat was FULL of them!
In the middle of the night we looked back and Abigail and Henry were both sleeping with blankets over their heads. Henry told us the next morning that he was cold. :)

The following TONS of pictures are in a random order from the week. We had so much fun with YoYo and Papa, Ali and Ryan, Brett, Luna and Maya (from Boston!), Grandma Rita and Kelly and Mila (from Chicago!) during the week!
Grandma Rita made these dresses for the girls...dang are they cute!
The face we get when we ask Johanna to give us her "pretty smile." Looks genuine, doesn't it?
Mila Quinn snuggling with Uncle Colin. It was so much fun to spend a few days with her!

Swinging at the park a few minutes from our condo. The kids have always loved that park!

Super-Johanna! She LOVES the water! The higher she'd be thrown, the more she'd like it!
Henry was in the water from morning until dinner time. He even skipped dinner THREE times because he just wanted to go to bed because he was too tired!
Seriously? I could eat her up.

Another picture of Abby, Johanna and Mila in the dresses that Grandma Rita made.
Abby, Uncle Brett and Maya. So much fun to get to spend some time with them!
Johanna on the beach. She didn't want to walk on the sand, but loved it once I forced her.
Daddy's girl...she loved having dad around 24/7 all week!
I think we have a picture like this of Abby from every year she's been to Florida!

Daddy's other girl.
Aunt Kelly and Mila. It was Mila's first time in the ocean...she loved it!
Abby dancing on her name in the sand...another pic we take each year.
Henry on his name.
Henry, Johanna and me in the pool.
Grandma Rita and Mila by the pool.

Maya swimming with Luna. She loved the water!


Johanna has NO fear! We love the puddle-jumper life jacket that we bought her this year!
I love this boy. So much.
Another swing at the park...lots of laughs that night! And we saw a few dolphins swimming!
When did she get this grown up? Seriously?

Henry jumping in the pool, over Colin, for probably the 500th time that week.
3:00 ice cream break. Shortly followed by 4:00 Gin & Tonic breaks.

Bathing beauty.

We can't wait for next year.

Our Drama Queen

Abigail has been drama since she was born. It definitely makes things interesting! I came across these pictures that I took in early March and just had to post them. This was a day where she was angry at us about something and decided to run away. She packed up her bag with the essentials: pajamas, one change of clothing, a million stuffed animals, 3 cookies and some peanut butter crackers. She didn't get far, it was really cold and I think she realized that the cookies and PB crackers wouldn't last too long. She's attempted a move a couple of other times but I haven't taken anymore pictures. :)

Henry Loses His First Tooth!

Yeah! Henry lost his first tooth on March 18th. It was really, really loose and I just wanted to pull it out but his anxiety about blood and it hurting prevented me from doing anything for awhile. Finally it was just getting ridiculous and I just did it. It did bleed a bit but not for long. Once he got used to how it felt without with tooth in his mouth and the bleeding stopped he was all happy about it. We do the Tooth Fairy at our house so Henry was excited to put the tooth in a bag with a note and put it under his pillow.

Look at that hole in his mouth! And there are two other super wiggly teeth too!

I wrote the note, but it was dictated by Henry.

He wasn't sure he liked the idea of giving up the tooth so he asked to keep it.

Here's his note back from the Tooth Fairy. "Dear Henry, Thank you for the tooth! I really need it for my collection. I love you too! Love, The Tooth Fairy." He was super excited about the dollar he got and was totally okay not getting to keep the tooth.