easter fun

The Easter Fun all started with an egg hunt at Little Hearts.  I totally missed the memo about bringing a dozen filled eggs, so after drop-off, I had to run to Target and buy supplies to fill eggs and write names on each egg for the kids in Brookie's class. Parents were invited to come back and watch the hunt that afternoon, which I did.

They even invited the residents of Watercrest (the Memory Care facility behind Little Hearts) to come and watch the kids hunt for eggs.  I absolutely love that her school makes a monthly visit to see the residents because I imagine it gets really lonely for them.  (You can see them at the top of this picture.)

Colby had fun playing with his buddy Lawson, whose brother is in Brooke's class.  We've spent a lot of time with them at the park after school this year, which has been pretty great. Their mom, Kelly, is super easy going and a lot of fun.

On Good Friday, we met Kinley, Aubrey, Auntie Mel Mel, and Grandma at the nail salon to use our gift certificates from Mother's Day, haha.  I don't know why it was so hard to coordinate a time to get together, but since Kinley had the day off school, it worked out perfectly. 

Brooke was so excited to get a pedicure with me, and I loved sitting next to her and seeing her sweet face as the nail techs talked to her.  She gets shy at times, but she seemed pretty confident in telling them that she wanted bunnies painted on her toes. 

I opted to go for matching hot pink nails with my girl.  It was a special treat, and something we rarely do because it's so expensive!  I used the whole $100 GC for Brooke and I to get manicures and pedicures! I did gel on my nails, but still, so expensive!!

We loved our girl outing, and everyone's nails looked great.

Meanwhile, Colby had a man-date with Papa, haha.  Papa even had to change a poopy diaper, so he won mega points as babysitter. When we showed up, Colby was out vacuuming leaves for Papa to earn some money and he was eager to show me his two dollars.

The next day, we headed to the Walnut Ridge Egg Hunt.  I took the kids last year and had a blast, and Brooke has been asking about this event for months.  All the activities are free, and the grande finale is a gigantic egg hunt in the grassy field.

Colby even experienced his first fire truck!  Brooke was too nervous to go inside, even after the fire fighter offered to let me climb inside as well, haha.

Their favorite event was probably the bunny pen, even though our time inside was limited.

Brooke also did the giant inflatable obstacle course, and found a school friend inside the bounce house.  Colby was content to wander with Daddy :)

Kevin and I decided to divide and conquer for the egg hunt so we could each keep track of a kid. They were both totally into it, and Colby was huffing and puffing as he tried to quickly put eggs into his basket.  It was seriously hilarious.  Kevin said he could barely keep up with Brooke, and her basket was completely full within 5 minutes.

It was another great year at Walnut Ridge, and I'm sure we'll be back again next year to take another picture by that cute bunny. 

matching

I just couldn't help myself when I saw these cute and colorful Easter outfits!  I found the dress online as I was perusing the Gap Kids website, then quickly realized that they had both coordinating shorts and shirts for the Colbster.  Not knowing how they would fit, I ordered the plaid shorts, a plaid shirt, and this aqua shirt.  Once they arrived and I tried everything on Colby, the shorts were the clear winner.  So stinkin' adorable!!

Since Easter fell on Conference Weekend this year, I planned on having them wear their clothes the Sunday before. Then, one day, I had the crazy idea to try and take their pictures at the nature park we were already going to. I knew better because we were getting a late start and the lighting wouldn't be very good, but they were up for it, so we gave it a shot.  I was able to get a few cute pictures, but as I figured, the lighting was too far overhead and I was getting weird shadows.

So, we finished our nature walk, then headed home for lunch and Colby's nap.  The rest of the week was supposed to be super windy, so after nap, I decided to go back to the park to try again, haha.  I knew the early evening lighting would be perfect, and I had high hopes of getting some cute shots.  

I'm also trying to figure out my new-ish camera, and there has definitely been a learning curve!

One of my favorite pictures of my two little people.  I just love the way the sun is kissing their sweet faces.

potty training

Out of nowhere, Colby expressed interested in the potty, so we pulled the tiny potty from his closet.  He has been sitting on it before bath, but only briefly, before stating "I don't have any."  I wasn't ready to potty train, so I didn't really push it.  One morning, after waking up dry (which happens a lot), I told Colby that we could go use his little potty.  I was curious more than anything about whether or not he would get it.  He sat down, then tried to stand right up again.  I told him to wait just a minute, then tried to distract him with a story.  Within a few seconds, he started peeing, which surprised both of us!  I started cheering and making a big deal out of it, and he was just so stinkin' proud of himself.  My Mama heart was bursting to see him so proud!  I then took a video to send to Kevin, and the hand motion is my favorite thing ever.

He didn't want to try anymore that day, which was fine by me.  He was excited about it again once we ordered his Paw Patrol undies, but again, not much progress has been made.  He carried the 7 pairs of undies around for 2 days, showing anyone that came to our house, haha.  I let him try them on once, but explained that he has to work on potty training before he can wear his big boy undies.

This was his first look at himself when he tried them on.  So funny, and adorable!  I'm not going to push it now, but at least I have the potty and the undies for when we're both ready.

love fest

This picture just makes my heart so happy!  We were headed to school for her first-ever Valentine's Day Party.  She had her basket full of treats, and was anxious to see what valentines she would receive.  I made a printable  (You are a GEM of a friend!) that we then attached to her ring pops. I debated about whether or not to just type her name, but then I figured it would mean more to her if she wrote her name by herself.  Wow, I'm glad she did, but that was a long process.  She said she was tired about a thousand times and she only has 10 classmates, haha!  She carried her basket in like she owned the place, and was equally excited about the heart clothes I bought for her. 

The next day (V-Day), I made a trail of hearts from the bottom of the stairs over to their Valentine surprise.  Brooke REALLY wanted to open the gifts, but I made her wait until Colby woke up.  I did let her read the love note from me, though :) Oh, and Kevin brought both of us flowers the night before, which made us both feel special.  Poor Colby said, "Where my flower?"  Kevin didn't know that his little dude wanted a flower as well, haha.

When Colby woke up, Brooke was over-eager to be his guide to the gifts.

They received a Spin-Art set, some refill supplies since I knew the paint wouldn't last long, and some raspberry gummies. They both loved it, and I did as well.  We made probably 10 designs the first day, and had fun figuring out how to do different effects.  I quickly learned that Colby has no idea how to squeeze a tube of paint gently, haha. 

You better believe that I took a few pictures of my two cuties in their V-day attire.  Brooke really waned to wear her same outfit from the day before, but the shirt had stains.  But I did let her be a repeat-pant offender. I really adore these two, and I love to see how their relationship is building each and every day.

I had to make this line-up of Colby's pictures because his facial expressions crack me up.  He does the hand-on-the hip all by himself, but the range of expressions is comical when I try to elicit a real smile. And I want to always remember how excited he was about that shirt.  He was with me when I bought it, so he asked me for weeks about wearing his dinosaur shirt. I was happy to finally let him have it, and I have a feeling that he will wear it a lot in the coming months.

the big cut

Although I was sad to cut Brooke's beautiful long hair, it was definitely time!  We were having lots of "tangle problems", and with the spring and summer approaching, I figured it would be easier to manage a little shorter. Brooke was excited about it, mostly because I told her that she could keep a small ponytail of her hair, haha, just like the small lock we have from her very first haircut.

Miss Andreia gave her the big cut, and took almost 6 inches off!  It was a little sad, but I love the way it turned out.  Brooke wondered why it didn't curl like her baby lock, and I told her that it was because she didn't have any baby curls left. Andrea is always so great with her, and made her feel at ease as she finished the cut.

My little girl is looking older every day, and in a few shorts month, she will be FIVE!!

new beginnings 2018

I love the 2018 Mutual Theme, Peace in Christ, which is taken from Doctrine and Covenants 19:23.  The church has so many incredible resources to incorporate the theme, and the music is amazing this year.  I really feel like this theme is so perfect for the youth of today since they are bombarded on a constant basis by the world.  I have read a lot about how we are trying to raise a "sin-resistant generation", and I think by looking for the peace that only the Savior can bring, we will arm these youth with the power to be sin-resistant. My second counselor and I put the evening together, and I'm happy with the way it turned out.  I tried not to micro-manage because I think I'm kind of particular about how I like things done, but I'm still working on that as well.  

We ordered these beautiful olive branch necklaces for the girls as a reminder of peace. 

I tell them all the time, but I truly love these girls.  I learn from their testimonies and am constantly impressed with the way they carry themselves and the example they set for the people at school, and for one another.  Such beautiful girls, inside and out!  I work with some amazing women as well.  Although this calling requires a lot of my time and attention, I truly enjoy it and find that it has helped my testimony grow and has helped me through a lot of challenges.

kimmie and claire's visit

We were all excited for Kimmie and Claire to visit us, but Brooke definitely takes the cake for most excited!  For weeks before their visit, Brooke would tell me that she wanted to help put Claire to bed, and that she wanted Claire to sleep in her room.  I am happy to report that her enthusiasm for Claire didn't die down over the net 8 days :)  Kimmie was really patient and let both Brooke and Colby help with all sorts of Claire tasks, like bath time.  

 

Claire experienced the swings for the first time, and we felt pretty special to be there when she did :)  She is such a doll!

Every morning, Brooke would go straight to the guest room to see if she could see/hold Claire.  She was good about staying out if she didn't hear any noise, but I think it made her day to see Claire first thing in the morning. 

We didn't do a ton of activities while they were here, but did have several park outings and just enjoyed playing with Claire.  I was so grateful to have more time to talk with Kimberly since we are both so busy these days.  We really had lots of opportunities to just talk about everything, which was so nice.  Sisters are the best, and I just wish I lived closer to mine.  I also loved seeing her interact with my kids and for my kids to get to know her better as well.

Kimmie bought the kids matching pajamas, which meant that we had a little photo shoot one morning.

This is my favorite picture because it shows how much Brooke adores Claire.

I was happy to know that I didn't completely lose my baby skills, haha.  Kimberly had fallen asleep on the couch, and Claire was getting fussy, so I took her to the dining room so she could see her reflection in the mirror.  I then started singing to her, and before I knew it, she was OUT.  Love that sweet baby face.

When Sunday rolled around, you better believe we took Sunday pictures.  And we somehow all color coordinated, so the pictures were meant to be, haha.

The last two days of their stay were a little frustrating for Brooke because we told her that she couldn't touch Claire due to her cough and runny nose.  We didn't want Claire to get sick, especially since they were leaving for Hawaii a week after they left my house.  It was REALLY hard on Brooke, and she would make comments to me like, "It's just really hard not to touch her." Or,  "It's really not that fun when I can't play with Claire."  Kimmie felt bad, and finally caved the last morning.  She gave Brooke the task of getting Claire into her clothes, and Brooke was thrilled.

We love that sweet girl, and are so glad that Kimmie would come and visit us.  Family really is the best, and I want to make a better effort at calling her each week so that we can stay up-to-date on the ins and outs of our daily mom life :)