Easter 2012

We spent Friday night and Saturday up in Midway for Easter weekend. We went swimming Friday night, and spent the next day just hanging out and playing games at the house on Saturday. It was chillllly!
 

 

The boys had so much fun dying eggs

We let Pippi in on the action too. We gave her a hard-boiled egg and let her hold it smash it on her high chair tray to her heart's content.

The boys were so excited to hunt for their baskets.
Oliver's was in Penelope's closet and Hud's was up on a shelf in the back hallway. 

Penelope got a new Pat The Bunny book, a ruffle blanket, lace leggings, books, a girly jack-in-the-box, baby food and her Easter headband.

Here are the boys modeling their new swim goggles they got in their baskets. They are never short of poses!

A little nervous of her little lambie popping up at her!

We tried taking several normal family pictures, and this silly one is by far the best one not to mention
my favorite! I'm so glad these kids have the personalities they do!

My cousin Andy with Pip Tart. The whole Rawlings fam had dinner with us. We always have THE BEST food when we eat with them. Our menu was TDF!

Teato and Penelope

Me and my Sweetness

I made this delish fresh lemonade cake for dessert, as well as a new lemon/dill Yukon gold potato recipe that I loved. Both were very Springy and fresh!
That's all for Easter...
now on to some other April highlights:

Hudson's cute little girly friend Lily C. moved in March about an hour away from us, and they had been missing each other, so we invited her over for a sleepover. We had a pizza party and rented a movie for that night, and then everyone was waaay too wound up to go to bed. The boys ended up falling asleep after we separated all of them, but poor Lily didn't end up falling asleep until about 11 pm that night. All three of them are such good little friends!

And lastly, here are some pictures of this little doll. 

MUAH!

March 2012

Nothing too thrilling, just trying to catch up still! Only 3 months behind now...not too shabby!
Me and my sweet girl.

It's so rare that I look halfway presentable that I had to capture the moment with her! These jammies are hand-me-downs from Gretel and I have to say for some reason they are my very favorite pair! Thanks, Gretie!

Hudson on the other hand, is always ready for a close-up no matter what!

We have started a tradition of family movie or game night on Saturday nights (perfect for when I get home from work on Saturdays and too pooped to do anything else!) and we invited Mimi and Pop-C to join the fun one night. Pop-C won Candyland (one of his only wins in history) and Hudson still won't forgive him. Every time we mention game night, he immediately says "But let's not invite Pop-C!"
Oh to have losing a round of Candyland be your biggest stress in life!

One night we rented Puss in Boots, and here is Oliver pretending to be Puss with his hat tilted to the side and his robe (a.k.a. "toilet belt") sash as his sword.

For St. Patty's Day, Oliver took these cute little treats to school for his classmates. He was thrilled! A leprechaun came to our house and left a rainbow of M&M's by the birdcage we tried to trap him in. He left a trail of gold chocolate coins behind, and also turned the water in the toilets green!!!

Here's Penelope doing what she does best: Makeup. She spends forever each day going through my makeup bag pretending to put everything on/or sucking on the brushes. It's one of the only things that keeps her entertained. She's not too thrilled with toys, which is so different from the boys!

I spotted Hudson "nursing" his baby on the couch one day. It was in all seriousness, too!

Then he wanted to pose...

Oh My!

 Hudson got an award presented to him for his "outstanding creativity". He was so proud and excited!

 This is where you would find Penelope most of the day, every day. She is so perfectly content sitting on the counter in her Bumbo, just observing all that's going on around her. She is such an easy baby to entertain, I can hardly believe it! 

Here are Sloane and Beckett with the boys during a movie night. We had so much fun, and sooo many treats! Popcorn, chocolate chip cookies, Starburst, Skittles, licorice, sour worms...YUM!!

 We went on a walk one evening when it warmed up a bit. It's one of my favorite things to do, and we have a great little loop we like to go around.

Oh how I love those cheeks, and that spot under her chin! 

 What a delicious, sweet, yumster!
Or to quote Betsy that I work with: "What a beautiful creature!"

February and Valentine's Day!

I had to get a picture of Penelope in this dress before she grew out of it. It was mine when I was little! So vintage of her! It is missing a little buckle on the shoulder, and I searched high and low for a new one, but to no avail...I was so bummed!

 For Valentine's Day this year, we sent out cards to our family members (and ahem...special little girlfriends)
That said: "I Mustache You A Question: Will You Be My Valentine?

 The boys got such a kick out of it!!

 Steve made all of us pancakes that morning--he's such a fun dad!

 Here is Hud with his Beloved. "Lily C." He hand-delivered her special valentine to her after school. He took her the card and a pink heart sugar cookie that I monogrammed with a fancy "L".  He is so love-struck with her!

 She came over to our house that evening with an even bigger surprise for him! Her valentine read: "Hudson, I have a major "CRUSH" on you! "HUGS and KISSES", Lily C."
She brought the Crush soda, a jar of Hershey's hugs and kisses, a stuffed animal, and a balloon. Oh my word! Is this really what kids are like in kindergarten?!

 The kids got valentines from Steve and I at dinner that night, and Oliver was so thrilled with his new Scooby Doo DVD he can hardly stand it!

 Hud was excited about his new rocket boosters!

Here's Oliver, at his girlfriend Miranda's house. He was delivering her cookie to her after school.

I took him over there, and she wasn't there. I told him to just come back and wait in the car until she got there, but he said he'd just wait inside. Then her mom came outside and told me he was just in there sitting on the couch (like a teenager waiting for his date!) waiting for her patiently. Hysterical! This boy is not shy at all!! Her mom emailed me this picture, and she took video of him too.

 Here's little Scrumdiddlyumptious her festive V-day outfit. She was so sick that day--this was taken a few days later when she was feeling better. I haven't seen a child that miserable in a long time. She had a nasty cough and a runny nose that poured out that lasted for 3 solid weeks. Poor thing!

 What a sweet treat! 

 She is at the best age right now! She is so pleasant and fun, and she isn't mobile yet, so she's content to sit on a blanket, play with toys and watch all of the action around her.

 This is Hudson's favorite thing to do right now. He scales the door jams every chance he can get. Sometimes he does "no hands"

 Sometimes it's no feet!

 We lifted Oliver up--it's as high as he wanted to go and he was beyond thrilled!

 Teato came over for a sleepover one night, and the kids were so excited to see him when they woke up in the morning. He so fun with them--they love chasing with him, and he even gets Pippi in on the action. 

 And finally, Penelope brushed her gums for the first time! That's one of my all-time favorite phases with babies--brushing those squeaky little gums. I look forward to it with each kid. Am I crazy or what?