Easter (Pictures By Gwen)

We celebrated our family Easter egg hunt extravaganza on Saturday morning this year. Daddy stayed up late to meet the Easter Elephant and help him hide the eggs all over the house for the girls to find in the morning. The Easter Elephant is the Easter Bunny's big helper. Since the Easter Bunny is busy Sunday morning, the Easter Elephant comes late Friday night to make sure that everything is all ready for those of us who do Easter egg hunts on Saturday. At least that's the story that Gwen and I made up to explain why we'd be hunting eggs a day early. Really we do it because I like to keep the churchy Easter stuff separate from the springy Easter stuff because it's already really hard for a 4 and 2 year old to understand the Easter story. Throw in a bunny that hides candy in eggs and everything gets really mixed up.

Gwen woke up Saturday morning and was so excited to find Easter eggs. She got Emily up and they both made it downstairs before Jonathan and I were awake enough to realize what was going on. They found their Easter baskets and loved the fun little toys that they got. Gwen and Emily have been practicing for Easter for a couple weeks now. They take turns "hiding" Easter eggs and finding them. It goes like this. When it's Gwen's turn to hide the eggs she puts them all in one place and then drags Emily to them and shows her where they're hidden. When it's Emily's turn to hide the eggs she puts them in the same place that Gwen had "hidden" them and then excitedly points them out to Gwen. I've been trying to show them how to really hide the eggs and tried to play "Hot and Cold" to help them find them. They didn't get it. So Easter morning was fun. The girls found all the very obvious eggs then Jonathan and I had to point out all the other eggs to them. We were done with everything in about 15 minutes. After that we got dressed and went to the gym then went to Lagoon (for the 4th time already this year) and spent a few hours with my sister Linda and her family.

On Sunday we went to my mom's house and all my sisters and their families came over for dinner and another Easter egg hunt for the kids. At one point in the evening, Gwen stole my camera and took 110 pictures. I went through them and chose my favorites for this blog post. There were about 50 of Noah - her favorite cousin.
I'm not sure if she took this one or had Noah take it. I bet Noah did it because she's not so good at the self portrait thing.

Noah's goofy smile. He's at that awkward stage where he can't give you a real smile if you ask.

Daddy.

Silly Noah.

Emily loves to play in Grandpa's big back yard. Sigh. Wish we had one.

I like this picture. Don't really know what it is or why she took it though.

Here's her self portrait.

Uncle Joel. She took about a dozen of Aunt Megan's bum. I think Megan would kill me if I posted those.

Grandma's new bird, Patches. Gwen's the only grandkid brave enough to let him ride on her shoulder.

Grandma.

Emily and Grandma.

It was a really fun night. Except for the part when I couldn't find my camera because when it ran out of memory Gwen tossed it in the next door neighbor's flowers. We did find it though and it was great fun to see all the pictures that she took. I had to leave early to go work a bonus shift so I didn't get to see how the night ended.

This Is The Place

On April 21st we went to This Is The Place State Park with some friends from our ward. There are only 2 four-year-olds in our ward, but there are so many 2 year-olds that they had to divide the nursery in half this year. Since it's still Gwen's spring break, the three of us (Gwen, Emily and me) went and had a fun morning out together while Daddy had a much needed break. The best part of the day for Gwen was getting to bottle-feed the lambs. If you can't have a baby sister named Rapunzel at least you can give a bottle to a baby sheep that you call Rapunzel.

They have a bunch of baby animals right now at the park. The kids got to write down names for the baby animals. Gwen wanted to name all the girl animals Rapunzel. There were tubs full of baby chicks that we could hold or even buy - 6 for $3! Sometimes I'm glad that Gwen can't read yet. Gwen and Emily's favorite part was riding the ponies, which they did three times in a row.

Gwen finally got up enough courage to hold a baby rabbit all by herself. Emily went around saying "awwww, toot" which means "awwww, cute" to all the babies.

They had fun playing in a kid size barn and house. Even though it was sunny, it was really cold outside.

They showed all their church friends how to do "bum-bumps" down the stairs.

They got all the kids to roll down the hills and even got goose poop on their clothes. Gwen fell out of the train that goes around the park and almost got run over. She stood up just as we hit a bump and out she went and landed on her back right by the tires. She jumped right up and started running after us screaming "Mommy!" I had Emily next to me but leaped out of that train without even thinking. Luckily, Emily stayed put and Gwen was just fine. It was actually terrifying for her and for me. We didn't go on the train again after that.

Emily tried to ride these baby lambs. Then she tried to carry the lambs. Then she gave up on the lambs and tried to fall into the little stream that runs through the petting area.

The lambs were so "toot".

Emily's favorite pony was named "Honey". She named all her ponies at home Honey when we got back.

We spent hours holding each chick for a minute then putting it back. Gwen never got brave enough to hold a chick. She did pet them though.

Now With Pictures

Our little Minnie Mouse. Gwen is teaching Emily the art of dress-up. It's serious business at our house.

Gwen at her dance concert. 6 weeks of practice for a 2 minute song. Frankly, I'm surprised that they learned that much.

This is at Hogle Zoo, one of our favorite escape places. We went yesterday and it was busy. I guess it was spring break for everyone and they all decided to come to the zoo. I let my kids play on these stairs which earned some rude comments from other moms for some reason. It's in this area next to the ape house and it's not like it's behind a fence or anything. I guess they felt it was too dirty or too "dangerous" to be playing on mildly sloping metal stairs that led down to a door that employees use. Grrr. Go away and let me enjoy our zoo the way we want to.

We renewed our membership and got a free pass to ride the rides.

Emily is a spider.

Gwen is stuck in the spider web.

Emily.

Emily the turtle.

Gwen the turtle.

Mason's birthday party was today. It was Mario Bros. themed. My kids love watching the old Mario cartoons with their daddy. My sister Linda always does such a great job with her kids' cakes. You couldn't buy one that looked this cute.

Emily using my phone to take pictures. Not really. She just thinks she is. She does call random people from my phone list all the time though.

Happy Birthday to Mason.

We got Mason a balloon animal making kit. I thought it was just perfect for my best buddy. I think I scored the "favorite Aunt" card again. We couldn't get him to put it down even though we were all headed to Lagoon for Sam's birthday party.

I figured out how to make a doggy. Andrew is holding it upside down or else it'd be easier to tell what it is.

Here's what you've missed

So, April's almost halfway through already, eh? Wow, where'd March go? Here's some of the fun things going on in our lives this month: Gwen's dance class. When Gwen was just barely three, we signed her up for dance classes through the local community education program. They're fairly cheap classes and I felt it would be good for Gwen to get some structured lessons at that time in her life. During the classes she'd be good for the first half then lose interest and begin distracting the other children. At the end of the six weeks of class there was a performance in the auditorium where we got to see all the kids do their special dances. Gwen promptly ran behind the curtains then grabbed all the other kids and got them to play in the curtains with her. It was a disaster, but it was funny. We didn't sign her up for classes again after that. Then a few weeks ago we were driving past my old high school where her dancing classes were at and she started sobbing. I finally got her to talk about why she was crying and she said that she missed her dance class. I really had no idea that she even remembered dance class. I felt so bad for her that we signed her up for the classes again, and let me tell you, what a difference a year and a half makes. This time around, she dances and pays attention for the entire hour. She practices at home and really looks forward to going to class. During the performance she worked really hard to do all the steps and didn't just goof off. The hardest part was keeping Emily in her seat as she wanted to run up on stage and do the dance too. Lagoon. So begins our summer of absolute joy and fun at Lagoon. It opened last weekend and we went on Saturday. It was a perfect day to be there - 70's and overcast and not many people around. For the last two years my parents have given me and all my sisters and all our kids season passes to Lagoon. Last year, after losing my job, it was one of the only things that kept me from losing my mind. I needed a place to take the kids for free and escape the horror of having no job or income and trying to figure out what to do. I can't tell you how lucky I was to have a place like Lagoon where I could go and be with my family and have the distraction and fun that I desperately needed at that time. As we walked through the gates last week I felt some of all those emotions of last summer return, but I felt like a part of me was home. Lagoon will always be linked with those terrible days as being my sanctuary and now it's a special place for me. I am looking forward to spending as much of my time as I can there this summer. I'm betting even sleep will lose out to a fun day at Lagoon. Home Improvement. We got back more from taxes this year than I was expecting. We're going to put that money into our home and fix some things that have needed fixing since we moved in almost 6 years ago. We have the crummiest windows ever. They let in so much cold in the winter and heat in the summer. They let in all sorts of creepy crawlies and most of the screens are broken. Our bedroom window cracked the entire length for no known reason a couple weeks ago - only the inside pane - so it's not like a bird hit it or anything. We decided to replace our windows. It's been an interesting learning experience for me. I've never taken on anything like this before. I did some online research and found some companies I liked and set up times for them to come out and do a "Free In Home Estimate". We also asked people on Facebook who they would recommend and then contacted those people. By the way - the latter is definately the way to go. After sitting through 5 "Free In Home Estimates" we learned that all window companies tell you exactly the same things and then bash the other companies who in turn bash them for exactly the same reasons. Up front I had told all the companies that I didn't want any high pressure sales tactics and that I had multiple companies I was comparing for bids. Four of the five companies still tried to get me to buy their windows "right now and we'll give you an additional _____ off your price." Then I'd reply that they could give us that deal when and if we accepted their bid if they really wanted our business, but that I didn't appreciate their high pressure tactics. I'd explain that it was a big decision involving spending a large chunk of money and I would need to hear all the bids before deciding. They'd expain that the "such-and-such" bonus deal was only good for today because of blah blah blah. I'd just smile and tell them that was fine but then I felt that they were purposely marking up their windows if they had the means to offer them at a lower price today and then they'd be more money if I waited until tomorrow. Then they'd "hmmm" and "hawww" and look at each other. I'd thank them for their time and they'd leave. In the end we went with the one company that didn't do that to us. The guy we went with said "here's our price. We really hope you pick us. They're not the best windows on the market, but they're worlds better than what you have and they'll fit all you needs." Not only were his windows half as expensive as all the other companies, he goes to our church so I don't think he'd lie to us. Shoud have just gone with him and avoided all the other hoopla. So, why all the sudden interest in home inprovement? We REALLY want to sell our home and buy a bigger house. We have long since outgrown our little townhouse. You know it's bad when you buy birthday and Christmas presents with size in mind. We really can't fit another single item in our home. Some days I feel like all the clutter and toys are crashing in on me. It's not like we have a lot of stuff either - just very little room. 900 square feet and no garage or anything for storage is pretty darn small for a family of 4 and a dog. I'm making more money at my new job, so we've managed to save up some money for a down payment and can afford slightly higher mortgage payments. We just want to make sure that we get the most out of our townhouse as we can with this buyers market. Why do we want to get a bigger home? We want to add to our family. I don't know if it's the fact that my older sister is "adoption pregnant" or that my little baby, Emily, can now put together sentences and is almost as old as Gwen was when she was born, but I'm getting baby hungry again. Gwen must be sensing something as well because out of the blue the other day when we were driving to preschool we had the following conversation: Gwen: "Do you remember when you had a baby growing in your tummy?" Me: "Yes, I do. I had two babies grow in my tummy. One was you and one was Emily." Gwen : "I want another little baby sister." Me: "That's nice. What would her name be?" Gwen: "It would be beautiful. . . . Rapunzel." Me: "Rapunzel? Honey, that's not really a name that's used anymore." Gwen:"Well, I think it's beautiful. She would have two names. Rapunzel Tangled." Me: trying not to laugh "You'll have to wait until you have a baby and then you can name her that." Gwen: "It's my turn to have a baby grow in my tummy. You and Daddy already had your turns." Me: thinking Is 4 too young to have the Birds and the Bees talk? "You have to get bigger and bigger and then go to college, then meet your prince and get married in the temple. Then you can have a baby grow in your tummy. That's how it works." Gwen: starts to cry "But I want a baby now." Me: "Sorry those are Heavenly Father's rules." Well, with some of Mommy's own rules tossed in there. Trying to distract her now "What if Mommy's next baby is a boy baby? What could we name him?" Gwen: Sobs even louder "I don't want a boy baby! We would give him back or find someone else to have him. I want a girl baby." Me: "But think about how much fun your boy cousins are. Wouldn't you love a little brother who's as fun as Noah?" Gwen: "No!" Me: "We could name him Rapunzel." Gwen: finally starts giggling.

Kid-isms

Random things my kids have said and done recently that I find amusing:

Gwen: "When I'm old, and five, and in Kindergarten, then I'm going to marry Noah in the temple."
When you ask Emily if she wants something she yells "OKAY". A few months ago she used to go "uh -huh" with the huh part very high pitched. Every once in a while she'll say "e-yaw" instead of "okay" and it sounds very Swedish.
Jonathan made fish tacos from scratch the other night. We've never had fish as far as I can remember with the kids before and it smelled very fishy while he was cooking it. Gwen stated: "I hate fish so much that it's making throw up." At dinner we put it in front of her and she began to eat it with gusto explaining that "it tastes just like chicken. . . but I still hate ALL other fish."
If you ask Emily if she's two and hold up two fingers she'll yell "No!" at you and then grab your fingers.
The other day Emily ate a worm, grass, licked the car, and ate a dog biscuit. She wouldn't even touch dinner that night. I guess she was full.
Gwen loves school and all her little friends there. She has two teachers: Ms. Kay and Ms. Heather whom Gwen calls "Ms. Feather" and will argue with me about that really being her name.
A few weeks ago we went and saw the Disney movie, Tangled, about Rapunzel. Gwen explained to me that Rapunzel's last name is Tangled because that's what the movie's called. She was also terrified of getting her hair cut because she thought it would turn brown and lose all of it's magical powers.

Emily is 2

Emily turned 2 on February 20th. She did it with attitude, much like she does everything these days. Emily is more "2" than Gwen ever was. She's been "2" since she had that first temper tantrum at 8 months old as she crawled around on the floor following me around to make sure that I didn't miss any of it.

Her birthday was on a Sunday and all of my family was out of town for the President's Day extended weekend holiday. We just had a little family party at home. I had been at work the night before so I was tuckered out and came home and slept in the morning until church at 11:00. I went to help out with the girls during Sacrament meeting because they can be a handful. A few weeks ago I went and splurged on some quiet toys only to be used at church. It's really helped to keep them occupied and quiet at church. After sacrament meeting, we tried to drop her off at nursery - a usually delightfully easy process, which includes her dancing down the hall to the classroom, blowing us kisses, and shoving us out the doorway. It was quite different this time, she made it to the doorway and noticed that I was leaving and had a fit. Not a little fit that would quiet down either. Jonathan drove me home so that I could nap until they got home from church, and when he got back to the church the nursery leader was standing there holding a tantruming Emily. She got bored at Sunday school with Jonathan and must have realized that I wasn't coming back. By the time the nursery was having singing time she was ready to join them.

The rest of her birthday evening went really well. We watched movies and played. We had ice cream and pie - which she didn't like. Then as we were watching The Amazing Race and getting the girls settled for bed, my worked called begging me to come in and help them as they had 2 nurses not show up for work. I had to zoom off to the rescue.

Tomorrow is finally Emily's birthday party with her cousins. I've been looking forward to it all month, as it was supposed to be two weeks ago. Unfortunately, I forgot that I was scheduled to work tomorrow night so the activities might be cut a little short. It's been terribly busy at work these days. That's really a good thing because a few months ago it was hard to get enough shifts to get my hours covered. I'm sure it will get like that again in the coming months. Late winter and early spring are busy times for hospitals, what with all the flu and colds going around. I've been working 5 shifts a week lately and it's starting to take a toll on the kiddos. I'm really looking forward to summer when things slow down a little and I can spend more time with my lovies.

Princess Teeth

Today was another first for our family - first cavities for one of the kiddos. Last month when we all went to our routine check-up our family dentist told us that Gwen had a big cavity in her molar. It was big, too because even I could see it when she opened her mouth. She has a hard time at the dentist because of the loud noises so they didn't spend a lot of time checking the rest of her teeth. We tried to have them fill the cavity a week later and after 45 minutes it was apparent that Gwen was not going to be cooperative - she wouldn't even open her mouth. They recommended a pediatric dentist. Last week we went to one near our house and they were great. They did a full set of x-rays and found two more huge cavities in another molar on the other side. Since it had been such a trial to get her to even open up her mouth at the other dentist we decided that some sedation would be appropriate for her.

This morning we got to the dentist at 9:00. Gwen was whining about being hungry since she couldn't have breakfast, just in case the sedation made her vomit. They gave her demerol/phenergan/and choral hydrate to make her sleepy, which cost me $95 out of pocket. I had to hold her like a baby and force it into her mouth with a syringe. After that, she went into their play room and 20 minutes later, literally stumbled out and bumped into a wall giggling. I scooped her into my lap and had her play there. A few minutes later, she started singing "Old McDonald" at the top of her lungs. It was funny to see her whacked out on drugs. They had me carry her into the back and wrapped her in a big soft blanket and gave her some nitrous oxide which had her in dream land in a few minutes. She barely moved the entire time they fixed her cavities and it was super quick. After they where done, they took the gas off and she woke up and asked to go get a toy from the store like I had promised her.

She sat in the cart at the store and was still a bit loopy as she chose a little toy for herself and a Dora the Explorer book for Emily since she gets her cast put on tomorrow. She was super excited to show her daddy and Emily her new "silver princess teeth". She slept from the moment we got home at lunch time until I woke her up at 5:00 for dinner. The best part is that she thought the dentist was really fun and not scary at all. Guess the $95 was worth it.