Hippity Hop Hop, Easter's on it's way!

Yesterday I did a bunch of Easter shopping and it was madness out there. It made me a bit cranky, I must say. Luckily Mitch was home with the kids, so I didn't have to drag them with me to fight the crowds in the Easter ailes. To snap me right out of any cranky mood that I had lingering in me through dinner, we colored eggs. The kids were so excited and it snapped me right into smiles and giggles. Usually we color the eggs the night before Easter, but since Mitch will be working, we decided to do it last night instead. This threw me for a loop, because I keep thinking that today is Easter instead of tomorrow. I woke up to the sad realization that I still have to give up ice cream for one more day. It was a tough realization for my tastebuds and I have to be careful not to go near the freezer. This Lent was a rough one. I am so excited for tomorrow... I can have a bowl of ice cream for breakfast, and after Church we will come home and watch the kids hunt for eggs. Then, off to Mom's house for dinner. It will be a good day.
Here are some egg coloring pictures

Jaxton turned 4!

I can't believe that Jaxton is 4 years old already.  Where does the time go????  He's so big now! Luckily his birthday landed on a Sunday and so we got to have his party on his actual birthday.  I was glad because he was so extremely excited to be 4 and have a party!  I think that this is the most excited that I have ever seen him get.  He couldn't sleep the night before and he couldn't concentrate or stop talking while we were in Church.  To top it off, it was Palm Sunday, so it was a longer Mass than usual.  We ended up in the lobby because he couldn't stop asking if Church was over so that we could have his party.
We took him to the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum and it was perfect for the kiddos.  There were different rooms with different activities... a market, a house, a consturction site, a farm, a waterplay area, etc.  Everything was miniature size so the kids could play.  Upstairs there were more scientific-based things to do and outside there was an emergency helicopter that they could get into and pretend like they were paramedics. They had so much fun!  After that, it was back to the house for pizza, cake, and presents.

 Jaxton got a special visitor for his birthday... his brother, Jared.

 Playing peek-a-boo with Sissy

 Jaxton and his cousin, Joey, being helicopter pilots

 This is just a little toy house that was upstairs.  Downstairs was a lifesize playhouse for kids.  I couldn't get any pictures because there were always too many kids in there to get a good shot.

 building with Daddy

All tuckered out and sleeping with his leap pad



A pinch and a Squeeze

Oh my goodness... I just want to pinch her, and give a good hug and squeeze!  She's so round and cuddly!

I love her little button nose.  It just adds to the chubbiness in the bathtub 

Funny Faces and Secrets

I have been needing a new camera for so long now and for my birthday Mitch got me one!  I am so happy!  So, I was just playing around and testing it out, and I was able to snap some pictures of the kids making funny faces together and telling each other "secrets".  They don't really say anything to each other, they just move their mouths to make it look like they're talking, and sometimes they might add in a slight whispering sound.  It is so cute.  Kayla picked this up a few days ago when I whispered in her ear that I loved her.

words, words... oh how we love words!

As some of you know, Kayla is having a really hard time learning to talk.  We have seen a hearing specialist, which is required before we are able to get her into a speech therapist, and the results for her right ear were inconclusive.  She failed all tests on her right ear, but that's because they think that there might be fluid in her ear.  We have to go back and re-do the testing once the fluid clears up... if fluid is actually the problem.  We'll see.
Anyway, every day is a struggle with her speech.  She usually whines and cries when she wants something and we have to tell her to use her words.  At that point we have to say whatever word she's looking for first, and then she tries to repeat it.  99% of the time this is a very frustrating event for anyone involved.  She so badly wants to talk and gets so frustrated that she just can't get the sounds out right.  We so badly want to help her but just don't know how.
Well this morning, instead of whining and crying for something to drink she just looked at me and said "drink".  I was in a little bit of shock, I must say.  Of course, it didn't come out sounding exactly like the word "drink" but it was close enough that we both knew it was "drink".  I made such a big deal about how proud I was and she got so excited!  That is the first time that she just came out with a request on her own without tears and without prompting for words.  It was amazing!
To make the morning even more exciting, when she was done with her french toast, instead of pointing and whining for more, she just looked at Mitch and said "more".  I observed this from the reflection in the bathroom mirror and I had to stop putting on my make-up to smile.  He was busy making coffee and wasn't really catching on, and I heard her keep saying "more".  He must have been in la-la land because I finally said to him, "listen to Kayla.  She's asking for more".  Then it was his turn to be in a little bit of shock.
A few minutes later, I was in the kitchen and she gave me her cup and said "more".  She wanted more milk.  I got her some and gave it to her and she said "thanks".  It was such an amazing morning! 
Maybe this is a turning point...

Spring or Winter? I'm Not Entirely Sure

So on Friday it was a beautiful day!  The sun was shining, the air was clear, and we wore short sleeves and summer dresses.  Being that it's Lent and it was Friday, there was no meat for us.  We went to a fish fry at our Church and had some yummy fish and chips with coleslaw and salad... and who couldn't forget the clam chowder and rolls.   We enjoyed some of that, too.  Mom, James, and Grandpa John met us there to join in the fun.  Afterwards, we had fun playing on the playground and then headed home to make s'mores.  It could not have been a better day.
Now, on to today.  It's Sunday and I woke up to snow so heavy and thick that it broke one of our tree branches.  What the heck?  Isn't it supposed to be Spring?  It was warm and raining when I went to bed last night, and I'm really curious at what point it got so freezing that we got snow dumped on us like it's December.  I don't get it.  So.... we made the best of it.  We all had naps and then woke up and played in the snow, followed by hot chocolate with marshmallows and nachos for dinner.
But you tell me... is it Spring or Winter?  I can't tell anymore.

Here are some pictures of Friday's events:

 Jaxton and Uncle Mark

 Grandpa James and Kayla, sharing a drink and good conversation

 Peek-a-Boo!

 Kayla and Great Grandpa John

 Daddy and Kayla

And here are some pictures of another day of snow:

Kayla doesn't quite know what to think.  She kept getting stuck while she tried to walk.

 In the very beginning of playtime Jaxton hit Kayla in the face with a snowball.  After that, anytime anyone bent down to touch the snow, Kayla would hide her face because she had it in her head that we were gonna hit her with snow.  I swear she spent more time doing this than actually playing.

 Here she is hiding again.  She cracks me up!