Easter

We had a wonderful Easter this year. We missed the gorgeous weather we had the day before, but the rain didn't dampen our fun. We got the kids all dressed for church at 8:30 and went to Grammy and Grandpa's for brunch after. While we were waiting for more guests to arrive (Bonnie, Al and Lucas) we went on a hunt to find what the Easter Bunny left. The kids ended up with two big huge bags full of eggs, thankfully mostly filled with crackers and a few pieces of candy. Then after brunch we went back home to take naps. While the kids were napping the Easter Bunny came to our house and left clues for the kids so they could find their Easter Baskets. Silly bunny left them in the dryer this year. Ashley got so excited when she figured out each clue and went running to where the next one was hiding. Isaiah was so cute, he just followed her around like "ok, sister what's next!?"

Egg Hunt

The kids daycare had an Easter Egg hunt on Friday. Since I was off I got to take them. It ended up being a sunny, warm, gorgeous day that was perfect for the event. The kids had fun finding the eggs and having a snack outside with their friends.

Aunt Becki

Aunt Becki came to visit us on her way out to Pendleton for Easter. We got to spend the whole morning with her. It had been since Christmas since we saw her so the kids were so excited. She also brought her dog "Lady" who Ashley fell in love with.

Ashley really did have fun at the park, she just wasn't very excited about taking this picture.

Old Friends

Jess and I go all the way back to grade school in Chicago. Her Dad moved out here shortly after we did in 1990 and Jessica and her husband shortly after that. Chloe was just a baby when they moved and now is so grown up. Ashley and Josie are a month apart and hadn't met, so it was fun to see them get along so well. Even though we're only 2 hours away we haven't seen each other in so long, so we decided to meet for dinner while I was down in Eugene for Danielle's shower. It was so great to see her and catch up.

Danielle's Baby Shower

My mom, Ashley and I drove down to Eugene where Danielle's best friend threw her a baby shower. The shower was really fun and it was great to visit with Danielle's friends and family who I haven't seen for a while. Ashley had fun playing with Katrina's little girl Tori who is Isaiah's age and watching D open all her gifts.

3 1/2

Ashley cakes, you are the sweetest little girl I know. You take such good care of your brother are very proud of him. When people stop us in the store to tell you how cute you are you tell them "this is my brother, Isaiah" with such pride. You are such a little mommy to him too and he shines in your presence. You still adore your babies and take care of them like mommy takes care of you and Isaiah. Lately you've started to read outload making up the story as you remember us telling you. You recognize almost all of the letters in the alphabet and like to rhyme different words. You absorb everything we tell you repeating it later. We're amazed at the things you tell us because you pick things up from everywhere and everyone. It's fun for Papa and I to figure out where you learned these things. When Isaiah is patient you read to him facing the book so he can see the pages. Your appetite is getting better and you're trying new things. You still eat really slow like your Grandpa Timm, so we've shown you on the clock how much time you have left until we clear your plate. You negotiate how much you're going to eat separating your food into portions you're comfortable with and we push you to add a little more. When you wake up in the morning or from nap you come out of your room and sit on the steps until we see you. Sometimes you really scare mommy, especially in the morning when I haven't had my coffee! You wake me up in the middle of the night to go potty, but I don't mind because I love to wake up to your sweet voice. You're bed time routine is very important to you. After getting ready and reading books you get all "organized". We fluff your pillow, straighten the blanket you sleep on, make sure your other blanket is rolled up just right and on your left side next to your two bears, then your angel is on your right and you snuggle with your snugglie. Then spell your name with the letters on the wall and blow out the light. You make the same comment every night how you can't see your butterfly hanging above your bed and we blow you a kiss and lights out. You also make sure Brody is not in the room and the door is shut. One time when Grandpa Timm put you to bed he left it open and you got very upset. He obviously didn't know the routine, but quickly learned! One more really sweet thing is you wave to the cars that stop to let us cross the street. It warms my heart to see the smiles on their faces.

Making sure her babies are well rested.

I guess it was cold and sunny in the house when she decided to color this picture!

15 months

Ashley was a little older than Isaiah in this picture by a few months, but since it's almost the same picture I had to post it.


I really don't know where time goes. This little guy is growing up so fast. He is full of personality and laughs and giggles with ease. His tickle spot is under his chin and Papa tortures him knowing this! He loves it though. He's a mama's boy and wants to be held when I come home. He's so good about playing on his own too, so I don't mind since I know he'll be too big to carry around in a short amount of time. He still gets very excited about books and claps his hands when he knows story time is next in his bed time routine. He'll go sit down in his room with a few while I'm getting Ashley ready in the morning. He listens really well to what we tell him and understands so much, his teachers are even impressed by this. He nods his head yes and no and does his baby signs to communicate with us because his vocabulary is still very minimal. We mostly understand what he's saying because he points. So far it's hot, car, As ee for Ashley, B for Brody, Mama, and Pa for Papa. He's a really good sleeper and sleeps through the night going to bed at 7pm and waking up at 7am. He takes a 2 hour nap in the afternoon both at school and home. He likes his blankets to snuggle with at night and usually ends up using them as a pillow. To let us know he's awake, besides crying, he'll shake his bed with all his might and laughs when we open the door to get him up. He loves his new independence now that he's walking and pretends that he's right there with all the big kids. He looks up to his big sister and wants to play and do whatever she is doing. The only time he really gets upset is when he's tired and hungry, same as his Mama!



Discovering his shadow and trying to figure it all out.




Evidently a little tired after a busy morning!



Taking good care of the baby just like his sister!

Check out his hair, now that was a good nap!

He was determined to figure out how to pull the wagon. The handle kept pulling him back down every time he got a hold of it and tried to stand up. Finally he got frusterated and just sat there and played with it.

Kids Fest

This was such a fun day. We took the kids on their first train ride to the expo center for Kids Fest. They had a blast riding the train, it was so cute and a lot easier than waiting in traffic and having to pay for parking. We packed a lunch and made day of it. We also got Isaiah a helmet so we can ride bikes this summer.

Birthdays

On Brian's Birthday, April 9th, we went over to Grammy and Grandpa's to celebrate all of our birthday's. They made us dinner and brought out my favortie mint choc chip ice cream cake and gift cards to spend as we wish! It was so fun to all get together and celebrate. It was such a nice day too, we got to play in the back yard.

Kaiser

We made this sign for Papa on the first day of his new job at Kaiser. As soon as he walked through the door we jumped out to say "Congratulations" when he got home. Ashley was so excited about this she's wanted to do it a few more times after. Brian started his new job March 28th and loves it. He's in surgery almost every day, his favorite part, and now that we are both working over on the east side we've found a house that we will be moving into the beginning of May! We feel so blessed with this opportunity for Brian to work at Kaiser, we can now focus on settling down! The kids will be going to a daycare on the east side and we look forward to exploring all the fun stuff there is to do.