The Crying Bag

At times Olivia can be a little...dramatic.  If we don't understand what she says, tell her "no" to something she wants, if Paul breathes in her direction, or the day of the week ends in "day"... All these little things and many more can set her off.  She turns into a big puddle of tears and cannot be consoled. 

For her 2nd birthday Grandma Dawn got her a princess sleeping bag of her very own.  We set it up in a corner of the toy room and whenever Olivia is feeling a little overwhelmed by her world and surroundings we direct her to the "Crying Bag".  She happily obliges and wails her way over to her comfort zone.  Paul's not allowed to bother Olivia in this safe zone.  She spends a few minutes crying, composing herself, and returns to us the happy, adorable little girl that she is.  Most who watch the dramatic scene have a hard time controlling our laughter.  It's just so cute how she collapses face first into her special place.  Just what a little girl needs...

Zombie Babies

We don't watch much TV at our house, but I'm not too proud to admit that every once in a while, you just need a little quiet for a few minutes.  This is what happens to my kids when I turn on a cartoon on the laptop.  All power struggles, pestering, running, shouting, and all other types of wild play come to a halt.  It's cartoon time and that makes for zombie babies.

Mariner's Game

The Mariner's offered a peanut free section for an early season game and we jumped on board!!  Paul can handle being around peanuts, but a lot of kids with peanut allergies can't even be near peanuts.  We went to support the cause and enjoy a great baseball game on the most beautiful day of the year too!  We had a great group of friends join us, 36 tickets in all, and everybody had a blast!!  Lots of kids (including some grown up kids too) running around having fun.  Treats, pitching balls in the bullpen, pictures with the Mariner's moose, and dancing in the bleachers!!!  A big thanks to all our friends and family that came out to join in the fun!!  And thanks to the Mariner's for offering a peanut free section!!

 Olivia.

 Paul.

 Lauren.

 Uncle Andy and Cousin Henry.

 Uncle Mike and Matt.

 Connor and Keith (row below).

 Emmy and Olivia.

 Amanda!

 Uncle Mike with some last minute pitching instruction.

That's us on the big screen!!  Our large group support earned us a moment on the big screen.

34 weeks!

6 weeks left until the final member of our family makes his/her appearance!!  Feeling OK, but very ready to close the chapter on pregnancy.  I can't wait to meet Paul and Olivia's new brother or sister and get some baby cuddling!!  We've scheduled the c-section for May 22, so unless this baby has different plans, that will be when we finally get to meet #5.  We can't wait!

And I can't say enough about how wonderful these 3 favorite people of mine have been.  They've been patient, understanding, and loving... It's been a little rocky, but we're surviving together and we can't wait to meet our new baby!!

Easter!

Easter weekend was full of sunshine, grandparents, egg hunts, yard work, and treats!!  Grandpa Mark and Grandma Dawn came to visit and celebrate the weekend with us and Grandpa Les and Grandma Kathy joined in some of the festivities too. 

We started the festivities with the Indianola Egg Hunt.  Lots of people  and kiddos crowded onto the streets of Indianola anxiously awaiting an exciting hunt.  Luckily, the smart organizers split the hunt into 3 groups.  Our hunt was for kids 0-3 years old and took place at the playground behind the clubhouse. It was fast and fun.  Paul got pushed down by an aggressive little egg hunter and the same little girl swiped an egg right out from Olivia's grasp.  Our kids were cool though and didn't care too much.  We opened lots of treats and stickers and played on the slide.  All in all a successful hunt.  After the hunt, we headed to the beach for a little sun and fun. 

Matt put Les and Mark to work on yard clean up.  While I didn't get any pictures of this, trust me, it happened and it was amazing.  Our yard looks fantastic! Way to go men.

We decorated eggs the fun and easy way with lots of Easter stickers!  The kids really liked it and I didn't get any dye water spilled all over my house. Win win!!

Sunday morning the Easter bunny visited our house and hid all those eggs filled with treats!!  The kids made fast work of finding them and had a great time.

Little hunters!

The Bounty!!

Sunday evening Grandpa Les and Grandma Kathy had us over for a delicious Easter dinner.  We were blessed with even more sunshine and warm weather and had another great egg hunt.  What a great weekend spent with family and the sunshine!!