It Is Spring!

So spring is definitely upon us....

This past Sunday we attended an outdoor Sunday service at The Springs, a church started by one of Steve's best childhood friends, Joel Halpin, who is Pastor of the church. They had the fun idea of having Easter eggs dropped from a helicopter!

The Easter bunny first drops in for a hello before the big egg drop.
Joel and the bunny get the crowd excited about the festivities.

It turns out the helicopter frightened little E.

Just part of the 5,000 eggs that were dropped from the helicopter.

My sweet friend Rachel invited us to the Arboretum on Monday to share a nice morning with friends and fun chasing the kids around and to enjoy the beautiful spring flowers.


Hayden had NO interest in having his photo taken at the Arboretum. I had anticipation of getting some great photos in his Easter attire but he just wasn't having it and technical difficulties with my camera didn't allow for any great photo ops that day but it was a fun time none the less!

Sweet friends holding hands - Maddie, Hayden, Mia, Owen, and Ally.

Beautiful Mia.
Evan grabs a banana during lunch and enjoys listening to Kindermusik at the Arbo.
Precious Noah thoroughly enjoys his lunchtime applesauce!

Cute little Will.
Ally is a GREAT "prop setter" for their Mommy, Julianne.

Then there was Wednesday night at home.....



This was little E sporting his cute little boy overalls in the front yard just running up and down the sidewalk having a blast. It is nice to be outside again after the cold weather.

A Beautiful Snow

Daddy, Hayden, and Lizzie begin making a snowman.


Who knew that Girl Scout thin mint cookies could double as Frosty's eyes?



Lizzie and Brinkley equally are in awe of the snow.

Monday Night Snow

So we opted out of getting the boys up Monday night but Steve was up with them early and he grabbed some pictures of them delighting in the snow.
Steve and I were able to enjoy watching the snow fall for a while late Monday night. Steve ventured out for a moment (in his short sleeved shirt - crazy man!) not to play but to scrape the snow off the satellite. He was not going to let a little snow get in between him and his DirecTV!


This was Evan's first time to venture into the snow. He thought the snow slide was quite fun!

Hayden explains to his little brother the art of a snowball.

Hayden was so disappointed when I picked him up from school for him to discover the snow had melted. I told him the sun had melted it and I was a little sad to see it go too. He told me he was going to get a hot air balloon and go up into the clouds (where he envisions that God resides) and tell God to take the sun away. Of course that led to a whole other conversation about why we need the sun that God provides but I did find his solution of the melted snow a bit entertaining.

The Adventures of "Mr. Mischief" Continue...

Does my little menacing look not just spell trouble?
I'm a handful and love every second of it.


His latest tricks..

He has learned to open the child proof plastic latches on all cabinet doors with quite precision. This morning I wondered how he can gotten into the cabinet in the butler's pantry. I figured I had just not closed it. Within the hour, the same mystery occurred as I was getting ready in the bathroom as I see him pulling my makeup caddy from under the sink. Again, I am thinking I just didn't close it. I then follow him to the kitchen and watch him walk up to the cabinet, pull the door out just far enough to stick his little "paw" in there and push down on the latch to release the door and thus the treasures inside!

He can climb into our bath tub.

He learned how to open interior doors in our house. They are the easy french style pull down levers. Before I knew he could do this, I was around the corner in the playroom putting up some toys and saw him walk into Hayden's open room. I assumed he was fine for a moment as the bathroom door was closed and Hayden's room was safe to play in for a few minutes while I arranged some toys. Within literally just a couple of minutes, I walk into Hayden's room to find he has opened the bathroom door, climbed the stool to get into the sink, and then proceeded to turn the sink on as he stood in the middle of it with a toothbrush that he had confiscated from the counter!!!

I think we are going to have to cage him ....


Poor Hayden gets bored watching Mom trying to catch some of the antics on camera.

Hayden's First Soccer Game

Hayden had his very first soccer game this past Saturday. It was a precious and hilarious site seeing those little boys run around that field. Aunt La La and her contagious laugh kept me going the whole time too. The expressions, the excitement, the look of my little boy in a soccer uniform was too cute for words. I didn't realize until I saw the coach's wife holding a sign with an arrow pointing towards the goal that was the biggest challenge for the 4 year age group. We just praised them, cheered them on, and tried to rally them in the right direction. No score is kept at this age. Steve even had to corral a few back onto the field when they decided for no particular reason to just wander off in the middle of the game. They had a blast. I can't wait for next week. Hayden even scored a goal!

Hayden waits for his turn to play on the field from the sidelines.
Hayden gets to do his first ball throw in from the sidelines. Notice he is number 12. (It is not coincidence that is the number of Colt McCoy, the quarterback of the Texas Longhorns.)

Hayden gets a little halftime encouragement from Dad.

Go Raptors! Hayden is doing some little funny stomping thing - just having a ball!
Hayden watching his teammates.
A couple of weeks ago at his first practice.

Our Busy Valentine's Day!

I would have updated sooner. The week got by me and the past couple of days have been kind of nuts. Steve spent the night in the ER with a kidney stone night before last and Evan decided to get his very first ear infection. It has been fun! However, they both seem to be on the road to recovery so we have hopes for a good weekend. Hayden is looking forward to his very first soccer game!

I apologize because I know this is gross but Steve wanted to show off his little kidney stone. This teeny tiny little pebble caused him all the pain and a night in the ER spending his time hooked up to morphine watching Ocean's 13 on TV. I will applaud Steve because after spending the entire night awake, he comes home at 8 am and heads off to work saying, "I feel better now. There is no point in staying home." I personally would have milked that kidney stone for all it was worth - ha!


Little E and I started the morning with a visit to Grammy's work to deliver her a Valentine, some flowers, and a kiss while Hayden was at preschool. (I wish I had gotten a pic!)


Hayden enjoys a game of musical chairs at his preschool Valentine party.

Hayden and I share some water and a cookie at his school party.


I took the boys to Aunt Melissa's 3rd grade class to participate in their Valentine party and to deliver her Valentine and valentine cards I made for her students featuring her dog, Pepper. (see below for the card). My mother in law was up there helping Melissa with her party and got to enjoy them as well. We had great fun parading them around the school.

The Valentine I made for Aunt Melissa's 3rd grade class featuring her dog, Pepper.

I ended the day with a visit to see my friend's precious new baby boy.Welcome to the world, Andrew Jason! Congratulations to our long time friends from highschool, Jason and Jennifer Fegraeus!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

www.celestialcreationsbycolleen.com

My Cute Little Valentine "Sock Monkeys"!

I took the boys to our neighborhood pond for some duck watching and hopes to get some pictures of my little men in their Valentine sock monkey t-shirts. I ended up finding their shirts online this year through cafepress.com after a rather discouraging hunt at all major retailers. "I love dirt" was not the appropriate sentiment for my little Valentines. When are they gonna learn we women like to dress our boys in things other than just army prints and dinosaurs? Okay, enough of my rant..


Hayden likes to hug Evan a lot more these days.





Evan thinks he is talking to the ducks in their "language". It was actually quite hilarious. He was trying to mimic the quacking.



Evan is enjoying a little pick a boo on his bro. Hayden finds it entertaining.