A special visit

When our doorbell rang early this morning....this is what we found...

Where did that sneaky bunny go??

Here are my little bunnies reading their note from Mr. E.B. and Joseph, of course, is ooohing over the jb's

Look at those sweet little feet:)

Sophia is so very excited for the Easter Bunny....and she told me tonight when going to bed...."YAY...Jesus will be RISEN tomorrow!"  I love how important her faith already is to her!

J ready to plant those beans!!

Look what we found while digging for just the perfect spot?  (Oh...and of course we have to have the helmet on too....It is J's new favorite thing.....thanks to Mr. K.....our neighbor who obviously was looking out for J's best interests after seeing him fly down our driveway on his trike with no helmet on...are we bad parents or what?????)  Thank you thank you Mr. K!!!!!

Here are the beans in their spot!

Didn't get many pictures of Miss S.....she was mad that I made her put a jacket on...it was a bit chilly and geez...aren't we trying to get over strep??

Ok...so we shall wait for the Mystery.
"In the same way the Lord God will make grow what is right." Isaiah 61:11

Eggstra Special...

It was a special day at our house yesterday.....time to finally color Easter eggs!  Sophia's last day of school before Easter Break was Wednesday...so we were excited to do some decorating on her day off.  

Yiayia came to help.....an extra set of hands is always a good idea anytime you have a 3-year old working with food coloring:)  She brought some fun colors and we got just a tiny bit creative with some new techniques:)  I thought it would be fun to put the kids initials on the eggs....of course it was a little more difficult than I anticipated...but they turned out cute:)  Sophia also wanted to try the rubber band trick (see green egg below) and the toothbrush trick...hmmmm....I think we'll just stick to the basics next year:) Oh and can you see all the cracks on the blue egg?... I think someone may not have been stirring very delicately!

Of course J had more fun inside the Easter bag that Yiayia gave him!  He's too funny!

Here is Miss S ready to decorate...

So serious....J needed a few reminders to move the egg around GENTLY!

Love how intent he is...

Such a pretty color from the Princess

Moving on to red...

Here are Yiayia and Sophia trying out the toothbrush trick...but not too successfully.

Mr. SW was napping (or trying to nap) while we decorated.  But we did get a few pics of him later with his FIRST Easter bunny from Yiayia.  Look at that smile....ooohh I just want to squeeze him ALL of the time.  He is getting to be such a BIG boy.....and he is just incredibly sweet!!!!  Yep...he is wearing 6 monthers now...(he'll be 3 months on May 1st:)

Our day ended on a sour note, however.  Sophia hadn't felt 100% all day.... and I assumed it was allergies...but when she finally got up the nerve to admit she had a sore throat....I immediately worried it was strep (it was in her classroom last week) and we went straight for the doctor (exactly why she never tells me when she is sick b/c she HATES doctors and HATES the medicine even more). Funny though...she told me she hoped it was strep b/c if it wasn't she knew I would make her take allergy medicine which apparently she hates even more!!!!!

But of course when we came home it took a fierce battle to get her to down that strep antibiotic.  Whew! This girl is STRONG-WILLED.  But on a good note...she is starting to feel better today.  J was not feeling well today, but his strep test came back negative...keeping fingers crossed that we are all healthy in time for MR E.B's visit tomorrow:)

Miss April

April is her month!!!  I love waiting for these purple flowers to bloom in our yard every  year.....they remind me of her.  They don't last long...but they are beautiful!!! I remember them blooming right before she was born almost SEVEN years ago!  Her big day is still two weeks away...but she is already counting the days.  

She has grown up so much this year.....She has been the best big sister to Joseph and her new baby brother.  They both adore her...Who wouldn't?  She is still very headstrong and determined...but she also has lots of heart....she is a sensitive little one, and her heart is sensitive for others too.

She is such a good student.....so conscientious...and gives it her all.  My heart broke today when she came home from school and told me she didn't pass her math facts test...and come to find out...we were practicing the WRONG problems...totally mommy's fault this time.    I felt so guilty.....  I really try to stay on top of it all...and give equal attention to all three...but oh my... I have to admit... it is a hard job being a mommy!!!

I know God gave her to me to make me a better person!!! This little girl gave up her MOST favorite thing for Lent (Ice Cream).....and I admit.... I wasn't even able to do it.  She has wanted it soooo many times....but has never given  in to the temptation.  I told her she can have ice cream for breakfast on Easter morning... I can't believe her determination:)  Pretty perfect that the theme for her party this year will be an ice cream one!! She deserves it!!

And can't forget this little guy... he just goes with the flow.  Such a SWEET heart!   Sometimes we have big plans to have a memory game contest or go outside and make some "shoots" (what he calls baskets) and then Sam cries or gets fussy and I have to give my attention to him.  Little J never whines or complains about it.  He is so happy go lucky...not sure how I got so lucky to have him!!!

He wanted me to take a picture of the "pattern" he made at lunch the other day....after we had made a pink and green bunny banner pattern for our mantle.   Here is his pattern...pear, cheese puff, pear, cheese puff....Good work Joe!

One more feeding for the night (hopefully) and this tired mommy is turning in for the night until tomorrow:)

Into the groove

Sam was TWO months old this week and we are finally getting into the groove.  There is just something about that two month mark....you start to get a little more sleep...and a little more of your sanity back:)

Sam had his 2 month doctor's visit today....but before I get to his incredible stats....here is a little bit about this sweet little boy who has already completely stolen our hearts.

Dear Sweet Sam

You certainly kept us on our toes for these first few months....you cried often, you slept even less, you gave us many diaper surprises.....

But you also started smiling great big smiles. You showed us those sweet little dimples. You began having some serious conversations with us....consisting of many "goos" and "ahhs". These happy little sounds have been music to our ears.  You have loved kisses from day one, and even "tell" us when you want more.    You love your big sister and big brother tremendously, and we already love you more than you will ever know...

This guy is no little fellow....He is one BIG boy with an even BIGGER heart!!!!

Here are today's stats:

Height:  24 1/4 inches   90%
Weight:  14 POUNDS 3.2 ounces!!!!!!!!!! 95%
Head Circumference:  16 3/8   90%

Kind of ironic that I also decided (before his appointment today) that he may be getting a bit too big for the cradle...and made the big move to let him sleep in his REAL crib all the way upstairs for his nap today.  Still debating whether I will be able to put him ALL THE WAY UPSTAIRS over night.  Our baby is already getting sooo big.  Oh how time flies...and all too quickly!!!!

Around the House

Here is how we spend much of our time these days...

Sam likes to lay on his butterfly mat and take it all in.  He even lets Willie give him kisses on his hand!  He is growing sooooo fast...and will probably be eating us out of house and home before long!! Can't wait for his doctor's appt this week!

Joseph reads books with me and even read to Sam today!!! He loves looking at old cards and of course playing cars!!!

Making a silly face!

Miss Sophia was playing photographer with MY camera!  But I love that I finally have a picture with Sam (even if you can see the HUGE imperfection on my chin!! Ha, ha!!)  I guess I don't really feel like I have to be all that glamourous when much of my day consists of cleaning up potty seats, wiping bottoms and washing spit up off of my shoulders.  BUT don't get me wrong.... I wouldn't trade any of it!!!!

And though I don't have a picture of Sophia today...she was the real star!  A special letter arrived in our mailbox this evening....and this is what it read:

Dear Mr. and Mrs. S,

I am pleased to inform you that your daughter, Sophia, has been chosen by her teacher for the Christ's Light Recognition Award.  Her teachers state, "Sophia is constantly showing level "D" (that is good:) behavior at school.  She does this by always trying her very best in all that she does, by being kind to everyone, and by always participating at Mass."

We are all very proud of Sophia's willingness to spread the light of Christ throughout our school.  Thank you for helping to instill this love of neighbor and the light of Jesus in your daughter.

Christ's Peace,
Michael C


We are so stinking proud of this little girl!! She never fails to amaze or impress us!  How did we get so lucky????

Goal!

We had BEAUTIFUL weather for the first soccer game of the spring season!  Sophia played so well and even scored a goal!!!! The pigtails must have brought good luck!!!  She has been begging me all week to put her hair in pigtails....but every school morning I'm always running too late to do more than one braid!!! So....we finally did it today and she was SOOOO HAPPY!

This last picture is blurry because I took it with my phone and had the girls staring right into the sun...not very smart...but still so cute!

Sneaky

It's April Fool's Day today...it is also the first day of Sophia's Birthday Month...always a momentous event in our house!!!!  I decided I needed to be a bit sneaky for April Fool's Day!

I saw a few of these ideas somewhere in blogging world and thought they were too cute to pass up.  The first one, I decided, was perfect for my fruit despising Sophia.  It involved this...

The joke behind it is this....

Basically you take the bottom off of the fruit can, rinse the can thoroughly, place a "non-fruit" surprise inside....and a note at top.  THEN the instructions said to hot glue the bottom lid back in place.  But the hubby advised me to use super glue instead....(quicker apparently).  However...the hubby does not realize how impatient I am and how "unskilled" I am with super glue.  Oops.... I accidentally took the whole lid off of the tube instead of using the nozzle applicator.  Result:  The excess glue on my hands caused parts of the label to peel and stick to my hands and fingers.  Let's just say I can still feel super glue on my fingers today.... Needless to say, I packed the can anyway. I was so excited to see how Sophia would respond when she found cheese puffs inside instead of the dreaded fruit.  The only problem:  I was afraid she might not even open the can and just throw it in the trash.  So we had to give her the whole "Your teacher has reported to us that you are not eating your fruit" talk.  We told her she HAD to make an effort to TRY her fruit so the teachers in the lunchroom would not continue to call us.  She literally cried when we told her this.... and I felt really bad that she believed me....but I didn't spoil it.

And the verdict?  Yes....she actually DID open the fruit cup and was pretty surprised to find no fruit inside.  She did not eat many cheese puffs though....she was still a bit leary I guess!

Another funny April Fools....  Fill these pouches with frosted cheerios...and maybe the kiddos will think they can grow donuts in their own back yard!

Here is Miss Birthday Month...  Talk about SNEAKY....how does SEVEN years sneak up on you so quickly???

Or what about this little guy?  TWO Months old today... It really snuck up on me.  Poor guy...we made the switch to Nutramigin a few weeks back....and after a day or so of adjustment he seemed to be much happier....but the past few days, he seems to have reverted back to lots of tummy issues.  His little nose is sooo congested.. and he has been pretty spitty, and as for messy diapers....I completely lost count today!!!  Hoping that maybe it is just a little cold that will pass....cause we were soooo thrilled with the Nutramigin results at the beginning!

You certainly can't tell that he doesn't feel great in these pictures, can you?  LOVE LOVE those smiles:)

And well....this one...sneaky is his middle name!  Just look at that grin!!  I love him to death!!!

Happy April!