Easter Baskets

The Easter Bunny found his way to our house. Gracie got a new game for her LeapPad, Brooklyn got a new game for her DS, and Ella got some blocks. The gals were so excited to find their baskets and have loved their new games.

This picture cracks me up because this is so Ella- EVERYTHING goes into her mouth. She loved Elmo's eyes.

I sure do love these gals!

Easter Egg Hunt #2,3 & 4

The week of Easter ended up being Spring Break so on Wednesday, we went to Sean's grandparents for Easter festivities. And as usual they spoiled us and the gals rotten. The gals got to dye eggs and have a fantastic egg hunt! I am sad I missed getting a picture of it, but they also got to ride the tractor with Sean's grandpa- I think Brooklyn spent more time of it than doing anything else. We sure love them and appreciate all they do for our little family!

Gracie put on Sean's jacket, hat, and sunglasses and was pretending to be Sean- she sure is a hoot lately!

On Saturday, after my sweet cousins and aunt took the gals to Baby Animal Days and I didn't have to go- (THANK YOU!) and we got some work done in the yard, we headed to Sean's parents to do Easter there. Sean's mom had cut out bunnies out of wood and let the kids paint them and then they had their 3rd egg hunt and we had a yummy dinner. We sure are blessed to have such wonderful families.

On Sunday, my aunt Paula invited us down for lunch. We showed up just in time for the egg hunt she had set up for her adult children- thanks for letting the gals have their 4th egg hunt! We had a yummy dinner with them and love them so much!

The crew after the egg hunt- Ella was so taken with Marlee's boyfriend that she wouldn't look at the camera!

All of the egg hunts sure were fun, but we also tried really hard to talk about over and over again why we really celebrate Easter. If you haven't been to LDS.org and watched the videos the church has put out, you really need to. As I watched some of them last night, on Easter, my testimony of the Atonement and Resurrection sure was strengthened. I couldn't help but think of how blessed we really are that our Savior volunteered to suffer the way he did and ultimately die for each and every one of us so that we could live again. The words, "He is not here, for He has risen" sure have important meaning to me and I am very grateful that He has risen. And so grateful for this week were I take time to really think about and ponder those events that led to His death and resurrection.

Easter Egg Hunt #1

The gals had their first Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday. Grandpa Sue and Pops are heading to see Brett and Chels and won't be home for Easter, so they had the kiddos celebrate with them on Saturday. Ella slept through the whole thing and was pretty devastated when she woke up and had missed the whole thing! ;) Gotta love the classic put the egg in front of your face when someone is trying to take your picture pose! To top the day off, Pops and Brooklyn were seeing who could do the best splits. Brooklyn was declared the winner, but I have got to say I was quiet impressed with how far my dad could go. We finally made him stop so he didn't ruin his trip with a pulled hamstring!!

(Blurry picture, but you get the point)

Ella 9/10 Months

*Reminder about my blog going private- if you want an invite, leave me your email address*

Somebody please slow down time!! My baby is already 10 months- 10 months!!! Ella is such an added joy in our family! She is such a sweet baby. All she has to do is look at you and flash you one of her adorable smiles and your heart is instantly melted. I just love her so much. She has turned into a daddy's girl the past few months. If he is home and not in her sight she is not a happy girl. On Valentine's day, she made Sean's day by saying "daddy" for the first time. She also says, "mama, Ella, and what's that?" She is crawling all over the place and trying to keep up with her sisters- she loves them so much. She has gotten really good at pulling herself up and standing. She has her 2 bottom teeth coming in. She loves to eat Cheerio's and yogurt bites and pretty much anything else she can get in her mouth. She loves to dance and will start dancing "bouncing" whenever a song comes on. She has the cutest little laugh- I could listen to it all day. She loves to throw her arms in the air and have us say, "So big!" She also loves to clap when we say, "YAY!" This age is so amazing to see the development. And I just feel so blessed to be her mama.

Ella's 9 month stats

19 lbs. (49%)

27.75 in. (51%)

February...come and gone

*Just a reminder under this post is a post about me going private on my blog- if you are interested leave me your email address*

Well here it is the 28th and I haven't gotten a post done. We have had a great February!! Ella turned 9 months!! 9 months!! I can't believe it- how come these past 9 months have gone by so dang fast?

Brooklyn participated in her school's reflection contest. The theme was "I Wish" she decided that she wanted to do photography for her project and took a picture of Pop's horse, Fancy. Her title, "I wish I had a horse." There were hundreds of entries and a fun night- Texas Road House catered the night. I am so proud of her that she is willing to try these things out.

We had a really fun Valentine's as well. Sean usually works Tuesday nights, but was able to take it off. Thanks to Papa Murphey's for your wonderful heart shaped pizza that fed us. We also played pin the cupid on the heart and topped the night off by watching the movie "Treasure Buddies." (Sadly I didn't take one picture of it.) The gals got in their Valentine's best and looked so cute. Brooklyn had a Valentine's Tea at her school- she woke me up that morning by tapping me on my shoulder- which I hate I might add. And continued on to say, "Mom, mom, mom- since I will be dancing with boys today, can I wear make-up to school?" Of course the answer was, "NO!" She ended up wearing a lovely coral lip gloss. She was so thrilled because the boys pulled their chairs out for them and she was able to dance with a boy the whole time while some girls had to dance with other girls. And to top things off, she told me, "Peydon told me he was going to buy me a rose, but he didn't have enough money." She is 7 almost 8- what I am going to do with her- Heaven help us during her teenage years!!

Brooklyn also had her 2nd Grade program. It was titled- "I have a Dream." She recited part of Marten Luther King Junior's speech and had the whole thing memorized. "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed- we hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal. I have a dream today." It was such a great program and we were so proud of her.

I came across this picture that I forgot to post in December- this is the first time that Gracie wrote her name all by herself. She now loves to write her name all over as well as anything else she feels like spelling. This age is fun to see how she is learning and growing.

 Trying to get a serious picture out of Brooklyn these days is a rare feat!!

 

 

Going Private

I have always wanted my blog to be an open blog, but I have gotten one too many random, spam comments that are just plain rude. So, I have decided that I am going to make my blog private. If you would like an invite leave me your email address (I will put the comment moderation on so your address doesn't show.) One of my friends that has a private blog sends an email out when she updates- I think that I will try that and see how it goes. I wish there weren't rude people in the world!