{Easter Bunny}

My mom enjoys dressing up like the Easter Bunny every year to deliver the kids' Easter Baskets. It has turned into a fun tradition now that the kids are not afraid of this massive bunny. This was Katie's first time seeing the bunny costume and she did amazingly well...no tears.

{Outstanding Behavior!!}

Ethan was recognized in a school assembly this week for his "outstanding behavior". I could not be more proud! Kindergarten has been an amazing experience so far. It's so fun to see Ethan grow and excel in school.

This is a new recognition program for his school, so Ethan was totally shocked when he was called up to the stage in front of his entire school. Jason, myself and the girls were all watching from the back of the auditorium. Once up on stage, he looked out and saw us and was even more excited. It was so hard keeping it a secret the week prior because I was so happy, but it was well worth it to see his expression. Sadly, none of the assembly pictures turned out because it was too dark.

Ethan will also get to eat a pizza lunch with his principal next week. He's not sure what to make of that yet. He may be a little confused because I told him, previous to starting Kindergarten, that certain behavior (thumbs down) was not allowed at school and if it was done, he'd get sent to the Principal's office.

Way to go Buddy!! We are so proud of you!!

{Kissing Kate}

Katie can now give kisses upon request. It's so adorable! Wet and slobbery, but adorable. She also has her two new front bottom teeth. The first one came on Valentine's Day and the second one the day after. She is developing such a cute and fun personality. She brightens my day.

{8 months}

I wanted to practice some different settings with my camera today and Kate was the perfect prop....isn't she cute?

I have some very talented family members and friends...so if you're reading this, give me some pointers...don't be shy. I still have a lot of practicing to do.

{Kate's world just got a little bigger}

This morning is the first time Kate has successfully pulled herself to a standing position all by herself.

Kate LOVES this little doll that Lauren has. It just so happens to be Lauren's FAVORITE doll as well. She gets so excited when Lauren forgets about the doll and leaves it on the floor. Kate squeals with delight, which usually notifies Lauren and she quickly takes it back. This morning Lauren left the doll on the couch and Kate was determined to get it. She pulled herself up and stood for a very long time. It was very cute to see as Katie was so happy with herself and excited to have the doll in her hands. Lauren was so excited for Katie to be standing up that she let her play and chew on the doll. What a great big sis!

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentines Day!

I have never been a big fan of Valentine's Day. I think it's silly to have just one day set aside to show your love to your sweetheart. We should always be doing sweet and romantic things and not wait for a Hallmark prompting. With that said, now that I have kids, I seem to enjoy ALL holiday celebrations a little more because my kids get so excited....and it's a great excuse to bake treats. Valentine's Day is one of the low-key holidays in our house. We usually just celebrate with cards and a treat. But this morning my kids did something extra. It was so sweet and so kind. They decided to unload the dishwasher for me. I LOVED it! They told me to go sit down and they'd do everything. It was so cute to watch them work together to get this chore done. I really do have sweet kids.

And, I can't go without mentioning my biggest sweetheart.....Jason gave me a sweet card and yummy chocolates this morning before he left for work. He is very sweet and thoughtful.....that's who my kids get it from.

Shoe Day

My mom has a tradition of buying our kids shoes. She started when Ethan was just a baby and has carried on, eventhough it is getting pretty pricey the more kids I have. It is a HUGE blessing for us and the kids LOVE going shopping with Granny. She called us last week and invited us to go shoe shopping again. Sure enough the kids were growing out of their shoes. They were very excited for the opportunity to get new shoes. (I wonder how many times I am going to type "shoes" in this post?) Lauren has been wearing her Crocs all winter WITH NO SOCKS. She cries when her feet get wet, so you can imagine all the tears she's spent. But, she refuses to wear socks (can't blame her) and refuses to wear anything else on her feet, but those silly Crocs. She even has a great pair of rain boots Granny bought her, but for some reason she is married to the Crocs. So I am so incredibly glad she has new shoes to be excited to wear now. Still no socks...but at least her feet are staying dry. I didn't even care what the shoes looked like. I let her pick, and we ended up getting the ones she put on and never wanted to take off. They are black and gold...not really my style, but that's not important. Ethan, of coarse, was on the quest for a shoe that made him run "super fast". He was REALLY wanting a pair of shoes that lace up so he can practice his tying. I was totally against this idea. I can't even imagine adding a frustrated 5 year old trying to tie his shoes into the equation of me getting three kids out the door and arriving somewhere on time. It was just too much for me to try and wrap my mind around. I know I have to teach him how to tie eventually, but not right now. I think summer will be a good time....maybe. Right now he is practicing on his swim trunks and is doing pretty good. He throws a fit if it's not perfect (see my hesitation?). The store only had one pair of tennis shoes, that did not tie, in his size. Thankfully, he liked them!

Ethan picking out some "fast" shoes.

These are the winners for Ethan. Thank you, guy who invented velcro.

This is Lauren getting a pep talk from Dad about needing shoes that won't get her feet wet. She'd go barefoot if we let her. This is her "whew-huuu" dance.

Kate enjoyed watching the kids run around and try new shoes out. She even got a new pair of Robeez.

Thanks Granny!!