Easter - better late than never, right? :)

Easter this year started pretty early - we were in Oklahoma City before Tink's birthday and Grandma decided that we should have an egg hunt so that she wouldn't miss it. It was a little windy, but that didn't seem to phase anyone! Because the little ones can't have most of the candy that was in the eggs, theirs were filled with money (why didn't anyone have this idea when I was little?) Tink scored almost $10!

We made a trip to my parents' house Easter weekend and had a wonderful time. The drive is quite a beating (especially on a 3 hour feeding schedule), but it was completely worth it. J got to meet my Granny and Grandad and Tink had TWO more egg hunts and dyed eggs for the first time. We got home to find a surprise from the Easter Bunny - as you can see, my children are completely mistreated when it comes to holidays :)

The egg hunt lineup

Found one!

A little help from Daddy

Tink's Oklahoma buddy (Tink's Daddy and C's Mommy grew up together!)

J and his Great Grandad

Great Granny

Hunting eggs at Granny's

Who needs eggs when Grandad has suckers in his pocket?

Can't go home without a trip to Murphy's!

Easter baskets from Nana and Papa

Dying eggs (pardon my death grip)

Deciding what color to use next

One more hunt at Nana's

Easter outfits

Why is it IMPOSSIBLE to get them both to look at you?

Baskets from the Easter Bunny!

Two Months

J's two month birthday was the day before Tink's birthday and it's been just a little crazy around here. I haven't forgotten about him and promise to keep up with his monthly updates, so here goes:

We went to the doctor last week and he weighed a little over 11 lbs! He's really smiling and starting to track people and objects. He also found his hands and feet, and is trying to bat at things in front of him. He's doing really well holding his head up and can lift his shoulders when he's on his tummy. He's rolling over on his side, so I'm waiting for him to go all the way over any day now - we'll see . . . He's sleeping 7-8 hours at night, which means he'll move to his own room very soon! He LOVES his sister, and smiles at her constantly. I know they'll be giggling in no time :) This month he had his first bottle, first ride in the Baby Bjorn, tried out quite a few new toys, and took two trips to Oklahoma. Here are a few pics from the month:

first bottle

one hand out and one sock off . . .

I could do this all day

smiling at Mommy

rocking with Papa

hanging out with Daddy

two month pics

trying to get his toes

Two Years Old

I still can't believe that Tink is two! As her personality blooms and she continues to grow, I have a hard time imaging my life without her. I wanted to make sure to record a few things about this stage in her life - it seems like she's changing so quickly, and i know these memories will fade, even though they're so vivid right now I can't imagine forgetting :)

Se loves books, some of which she can "read" on her own. One of her favorites, The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear, was one of my favorites when I was little - I love hearing her little voice recite the story.

She's also started singing, which of course, her Daddy and I love. Her "versions" are interesting, and usually involve repeating a few lines over and over, but she's not too bad for a two year old (she knows just about as many words to the songs as her Daddy does!) Some of her favorites are Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, Pat-a-Cake, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Old MacDonald, which she calls "Moo, Moo Here".

She is great to try new foods and isn't a picky eater, but has definite favorites. Some of those include yogurt, cheese, berries, cereal, pancakes, pasta, pizza, chicken, and rice. Her favorite places to eat are Chuck E. Cheese's (shocker), McDonald's, and, believe it or not, Pei Wei.

She loves all things Sesame Street, especially Elmo and Abby, and has recently discovered princesses (lucky for me, we just decided to decorate her "big girl" room in a princess theme).

She loves to watch TV and movies (I know, fantastic parenting). Her usual favorites are Sesame Street and Jack's Big Music Show, but she recently started showing interest in Disney movies. She was not happy about Cruella DeVille, which I had quite the time explaining.

She has a crazy fear of bugs that usually involves, screaming, running, and hiding while she waits for Daddy to "dit it" - should be lots of fun fun this summer.

She got a doll at the hospital when J was born that she named "Baby Boy" (the same thing she calls her brother if you ask what his name is). She loves taking care of Baby Boy, and spends hours taking him for rides in the stroller, giving him a bath, changing his diaper, and feeding him yogurt. Baby Boy never wears clothes. I have tried, and I have failed. For this very reason, you will never see Baby Boy outside of our house. Naked babies do not get to go. Period.

She loves to help me cook, and often pushes a chair up to the counter and asks to make pizza dough (apparently her favorite thing to cook).

She is very intent on everything being in it's place. This is good if you want her to pick up toys, bad if you're in a hurry to leave or ready for her to go to bed.

She has quite the vocabulary, and frequently entertains us with her "Tink-isms". More than once, I had to turn away and contain myself before correcting her. Here are just a few favorites:
"seagull" - cereal
"yo dirt" - yogurt
"drapes" - grapes
"samich" - sandwich
"nana potty" - manicotti/lasagna
"DDD" - movie/DVD
"her dat" - I heard that/Did you hear that?
"tooz me" - excuse me
"no wan it" - I don't want it/I don't want to
"Oh! Dare are!" - Oh! There you are/There it is
"Oh, my doodness" - Oh my goodness!
"oop-ee" - oopsy

Here are a few recent pictures life with Tink :)

Catching up on her reading (in my closet)

Helping Mommy cook

Movin' on up from the high chair to a booster chair

Playing with Abby

first pink toenails (for Easter)

birthday picture

two years old???

"Two" Birthday

Saying that Tink was excited about her birthday is an understatement. She started talking about it after her friend's party in January, and still hasn't stopped. We spent the day together on Friday and had her party on Saturday. We went all out with an Abby Cadabby theme, and tons of friends and family joined us to celebrate! She loved every minute (except the pinata), and is still talking about her "two" party.

birthday morning surprise

pancakes at Snooty Pig

helping make her cake

ready to party

Mommy blowing out the candles because they're "hot, don't touch!"

her favorite part of the day

pinata (lots of fun until it broke open!)

Ooooh!

Happy birthday, Tink!

Sesame Street Live

For Tink's birthday, her Daddy and I took her to see Sesame Street Live. I was really excited about her first show and couldn't wait to see what she would think of it. She wasn't sure at first, but was dancing and clapping after just a few minutes. Every time a character left the stage, she would ask, "Where Ernie go?" She also wanted to get up from her stage to "go see them" like at Chuck E. Cheese's :) One of R's close friends from high school was there with her little girl, and they got to sit with us for the second half of the show. The girls had a great time together! We had a wonderful evening, and hope that this is only the beginning of her experience with live performances!

Look, Daddy!

doing the hula

a Mexican fiesta


Elmo's World!

Abby Cadabby

closing her eyes to "imagine"

Mardi Gras

family photo with Elmo