I LOVE traditions! When I say LOVE, I mean obsess about, plan, prepare, re-plan and so on. I even spend time "reflecting" after we celebrate to see what we can do to make the next tradition even better. So this year, I did all the regular stuff for Easter and added something. We of course know the real reason for Easter and we try to encourage our kids to focus on that by trying to not have too much "bunnyness" going on. We don't dye eggs (more for the messiness factor, but I am now going to state it is on principle), or get our pictures made with the Easter Bunny (because Andrew would run screaming from the mall as he did during the great Santa Clause Debacle of 2009, but again, I am going to say it is principle). Our Easter baskets contain the kids favorite healthy snacks instead of candy (for my benefit so I don;t have to peel them off the ceiling on Easter night at bedtime, but you guessed it, I'm calling it principle). Annabelle has been asking a lot of questions... I swear this kid won't be believing in the tooth fairy by the time she looses her first tooth! Why does the Easter Bunny come at night? Why does he bring treats? How can he be at "Olivia's Mall" and "Our Mall" at the same time? Is the Easter Bunny a boy or a girl? Does she (Annabelle chooses to think it's a girl) have sharp teeth? Does she wear clothes? Is she real or just a person dressed up as the Easter Bunny? So instead of just blowing the whole scam, I answered her questions and added one more, "It's not about the Easter Bunny" piece to our Easter celebration. A letter from Miss E.B. herself!
The kids FREAKED when they saw this! They obviously forgot Santa leaves us an eerily similar letter every Christmas!
EB also left a basket full of goodies for Daddy since he tends to steal from his children. Sad, Really.
We had Nutri-Grain bars, fruit leather, fruit snacks, jelly beans and Swedish Fish Eggs (two exceptions to our "candy free" Easter). Later at the Easter Egg hunt at Aunt Brenda's, they got Teddy Grahams and Goldfish.
Benjamin's Easter basket had a book, pookie and "my first Easter" outfit.
Andrew's basket also had a few trains
Annabelle got Tangled- which we have been watching non stop since Sunday morning. Good thing it's a cute movie!
Daddy's Easter basket had some new shorts and Magic Shell...It doesn't take much!
Here are the Robin Egg trails from Annabelle's room, Andrew's room and our room (since Benjamin is still bunking with us)
Andrew lovin his Easter surprises!
"Mom, are you seriously taking a picture of me with Crazy Hair?" EWWW!!!
Benjamin enjoying Easter too... Like the Mickey next to him? Choking hazard I know, but Andrew cannot stand for Benjamin to be alone in his cribs during nap time. I promptly remove this toy every day when he's not looking!
My two oldest cuties ready for church. Andrew really is more excited about his hat than he is letting on!
Dear Blogspot,
I will no longer use my blog as a place to go to look at my "blog roll" for other people's updates. From now on, I will post about our family before stalking reading about other families. I will not allow your time stamps under blog headings to mock me. I will not let another holiday go by while the previous holiday is still posted as the most "recent" post. Except for Easter, as I do not have the pictures down loaded yet.
Sincerely,
Molly
Of course this post was quick in coming as to be sure to give each child equal time:) Annabelly is also 5-YIKES!!! So here is a glimpse of our baby girl at 5:
Favorite Color: Pink
Favorite Restauraunt: Someburros
Favorite Activity: Riding my bike, or hugging my "sniffy pillow" (just realized in the pic our house looks like a candidate for the show "Hoarders", but be sure to watch the video where the house looks much nicer)
Favorite Part of School: Playground (gasp- I know)
Favorite Friend: Andrew
Favorite Movie: Anything Barbie or remotely involving princesses
Favorite Thing to do with Daddy: Go places with him
Favorite Thing to do with Mommy: Shopping (AHHH!! Am I in trouble or what?!)
Favorite Clothes: Dresses
Favorite Shoes: Fancy Flip Flops
What do you want to be when you grow up: A Painter
Favorite Book: Beautiful Brown Eyes, Angelina Ballerina
What do you want to learn when you are five? Read, write and add numbers
AHH!! That last part melts my heart (good luck to her kindergarten teacher- no pressure).
Annabelle-
We cannot believe our tiny baby girl is five. It seems like only yesterday we brought home a four month old, 9 pound, itchy mess. And here you are, a beautiful, smart, hilarous girl. You asked Jesus into your heart this year and you have become so tender and curious about all things having to do with God. You love to shop with me, convincing me every mommy needs a little shopper! You love to try new things, you just ate Kale and loved it. You are getting more and more confident about who you are- we are so proud of that. You have been such a responsible young lady since Benjamin came home, always offering to help when we look like we need a hand. You are quick to defend the "under dog" and we are so glad God has laid that on your heart. We are so excited to see what the next year will hold for you sweet Baby Princess. We love you!
Andrew turns five today- WHAT!!!!???? Where has the time gone? Blink of an eye my friends, blink of an eye! So here is a little bit about Andrew at five years old:
Favorite Color: Blue
Favorite Food: Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich
Favorite Restuaraunt: McDonalds (I know, blame the parenting as the reason he thinks this is a restauraunt.)
This is his actual birthday dinner!
Favorite Activity: Ride My Bike
Favorite Part of School: Circle Time
Favorite Friend: Annabelle (sigh, I know)
Favorite Movie: Toy Story (any of the 3)
Favorite Thing to do with Daddy: Play outside with my friends
Favorite Thing to do with Mommy: Go to McDonalds (I swear we only do this once every two weeks)
Favorite Clothes: Basketball Shorts
Favorite Shoes: Crocs Tennis Shoes
These are a must for any mommy trying to avoid velcro and tie shoes!
What do you want to be when you grow up: A Police Officer
Favorite Book: Mercer Mayer (I think he means anything written by Mercer Mayer)
What do you want to learn when you are five: ride my bike with no training wheels
Andrew-
We are so proud of you! You have made it to five with your adventurous spirit and no broken bones! Although you did just get your first bike, so we will see. You love to giggle and make jokes. You are a big guy with an even bigger heart. You love your trains, your bike and imaginative play. You have also just started to enjoy singing, which melts my heart every time. You are very sensitive, sometimes overly so which sometimes leads to "emotionally charged episodes" (see fits). You are very protective and loving when it comes to anyone he loves, especially his brother and sister (beware all bullies and possible suiters). You still love to snuggle on the couch with your silky and occasionally you suck your thumb. We love that there are tiny bits of little Andrew left in this big package. You are wicked smart and we keep praying you will continue to use that power for good, not evil! We love you so much Bubby and cannot believe you are five! Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!
In case you didn't know...
We went to Disneyland over Christmas and had an AMAZING time thanks to UB! He bought us ticket for Christmas... ALL OF US!! Mimi, the A Babies, Bill an I and himself! Thanks UB for the best Christmas present!!! Here are a few pics of our trip:
Looks a little blurry right? This was taken as we got off of Space Mountain. Annabelle was not a fan!
Even face painting is more magical at Disneyland!
See what I mean?!
Our last vacation as a family of four!!
The girls: From the top
Annie, Mimi, me, Autumn, Annabelle, April and Amy
The matching scarves... Hopefully Autumn will be living with us soon as she attends GCU:) Bunk beds are waiting Autumn!
Andrew and Annabelle waiting for the Tiana Show. Notice the rain boots? These were not a fashion statement. It was forecasted to rain the entire day! So we all wore rain boots. It did not rain the whole day thankfully, but due to the forecast, the rides were empty. And it did rain later and we were grateful for the rain boots!
The kids with Tiana! It was so cute! Annabelle ran right up to her! Andrew on the other hand, side stepped close to her without making eye contact. I think he may have a little crush!
Andrew and his favorite cowboy! Oh, and our cousin April of course!
This was the "Ferris Wheel of Death" as it was coined by my brother. It's a regular ferris wheel, but the gondolas are on rails and swing wildly with the motion of the ferris wheel. Annabelle had to hold UB's hand.
Yeah me... I didn't miss it this time!! Well, I almost missed it but was reminded by a friend from college on Facebook. That counts as remembering right??!!
My Andrew:
Right now, you are sleeping in your room with all of your disney "friends" tucked in with you. You are 3 feet 9 inches tall and 47 pounds. You are amazingly strong and a daredevil (as long as it doesn't involve large crowds). You are kind of turning into a diva- your sister has taught you well! You are sweet and kind. I love it that you are the kid who tucks an aging dog into it's doggy bed with your favorite silky. You love trains and playing outside. You love to borrow Elliot's bike. You are quickly becoming a kid who calls me mom, not a baby who calls me mamma (sniff sniff). I am so glad I have someone to hold my hand on scary rides at Disneyland. You are leaning how to make decisions for yourself and are quite outspoken at times. You are too busy to take the time to wipe your nose on a tissue, you use whatever is closest (your shirt, a pillow, the couch). You love animals and your sister and are fiercely protective of both. You look at the world with amazement- the picture at the top of this post is so you!!! You are beyond excited to have a little brother and have taken great pride in helping us find a name for him. Your favorite is "Will-ea-am". You have handed down your beloved baseball cap, it is in his crib waiting for him. I am so glad I have you in my like Bubby- I don't know what I would do without you sweet son!
Love,
Mom
