Alex's Birthday

Alex turned 4 a couple of weeks ago.  I say this every time a kid has a birthday, but I can't believe how fast the years are flying!  Here are four awesome things about my little guy: 1. He's hilarious.  2. He's a wonderful cuddler.  3. He loves to help me.  4. He is very affectionate.

On his birthday we made cookies together.

That evening we ate cookies and let him open his family gifts.  He was very excited about "my dollars" from his Aunt Sarah and my Nana.  He's been talking about his dollars constantly.  (We'll be having a date to spend them soon.)

Annie gave him bubbles.  This was pretty hilarious because when we took the kids shopping for each other, he chose bubbles to give to Annie and was really distraught that I wasn't buying him any.  Little did he know that Annie had already selected bubbles for him.

I love the hugs he gave everybody when he said thank you.

After he opened his presents, we sat back and watched them play with his new building set.

A couple of days later we had his party.  He wanted a train cake, so this is what I came up with.  This was my FIRST attempt to use a decorative frosting tip.  Other than the drippy '4', I thought it came out just fine.  Simple is my specialty.

His friend helped him blow out the candles.  Ha ha!

Mmmm...cake.

Other than cake and presents, he just played with his friends for the party.

 Happy Birthday Alex!  We're so glad you're part of our family!

Random Pictures

I'm playing catch up yet again.  :)

One morning I realized that Abby's crib needed to be lower.

All better.  She didn't think so, though; she looks like she wants out of jail.

About twenty times a day I look at my sweet little darling and think I need a picture of her.

Jim told Logan that he could earn $20 if he leveled this pile of dirt for us.  It's been slow going, but has provided the kids with all sorts of fun.

When the house gets quiet, I know that Alex is either no longer in the house, reading, or asleep.  He is my noisiest child by far.  It sure is nice when I find him like this.

Two days in a row was even better.

Again, I just needed a picture of my little sweetie.

And again...

Once everything melted outside, I couldn't wait to shave the dog.  We let his fur grow all winter because he's so little, but keep it short the rest of the year.  He's a ball of matted fur by the end of winter.  So here is before:

Afterwards, he looked like a different dog and seemed to have shrunk several sizes.

It's next to impossible to get a picture of Abby with her eyes open, in focus, and a smile.  I'll take two out of three.

Mother Son Date

Logan and I had a fun date last Saturday.  We were invited to his friend's baptism an hour away, so we combined that with some errands and extra fun.  It turned out well because we'd been wanting an excuse to visit Half Price Books down there.  After the baptism and going to lunch, we spent a long time in the bookstore.  Fun fun.  We came away with a nice load, too.

Pre-Birthdays

Alex and Annie have their birthdays coming up within the next nine days.  We spent last weekend with Jim's family, so we had an early family party with them.

Audrey put some creativity into a shared cake.  They each had special candles and chose sprinkles for their half.

We sang 'Happy Birthday' twice so they could blow out their candles separately.  Ha ha!

Their grandparents and aunt gave them some fun presents.  

Monthly Catch Up

I'm constantly promising myself to get back to my old 'regular' habits with blogging, but it doesn't seem to happen.  Ah well...perhaps someday.  Here's the catch up again.  :)

Annie created this outfit one day and felt very beautiful.  She wanted to know if she could wear it to church. 

March rolled around and we were STILL buried in two feet of snow.

Abby is the cutest little sweetheart.

Alex loves water, and so he loves to help me with the dishes.  He very meticulously rinsed the dishes with a washcloth this day, and it took a LONG time.

Jim and I were amused to see the kids hanging out one evening with the encyclopedias.  

Mom and Dad's bed is always a fun place to hang out.

March 10th was a day to remember this year.  The snow started MELTING!  The kids ran outside barefoot and danced around celebrating.  Annie was ridiculously excited about it.  She was saying, "It's hot outside!  It's like summer!  We can finally take down our Christmas lights!  (Yeah, it's been too cold to do that.)  Can we have a picnic outside?"  They did, indeed, have a picnic on the porch that day...barefoot...and without coats.

We had our very own pond for a few days while most of it melted.

Last week, Annie received her costumes for her dance recital; she is loving dance and we're excited for her recital in May.

We've also had several fun outings lately, so look for those posts on our other blog:
In Search of Truth and Wisdom

Kids Say

We were low on milk so Annie seriously suggested, "I think a robber has been coming when we're asleep and drinking our milk."
The conversation continued in a serious manner between the kids until Alex added, "I woke up and the robbers was going to fight me!  So I hopped upstairs and I hopped into bed!"

Alex, "I hear Dad at work!"  Me, "What's he doing?"  Alex, "He's talking to himself."  (FYI: Jim does NOT work at home.)

Alex, "I have wittle kisses for Abby while she still a baby."

Logan out of the blue, "Mom!  My wrist is a saddle joint!"  Me, "Where'd you learn that?"  Logan, "Out of a book!"  Of course...

Alex, "Is it 2 o'clock?"  Me, "Not yet.  What happens at 2 o'clock?"  Alex, "My birthday!'  Sadly, his birthday was still two weeks away, but his party really will be at 2 o'clock.

Alex randomly as he sunk to the floor, "I'm melting!  I'm melting!"

Alex, "I like this kind of house.  Yeah, because I like to walk everywhere in this house."

Alex in a public restroom, "Don't worry!  The pee didn't get on my pants, just the floor."  Then with a reassuring nod, "Somebody will clean it up."

While Alex was opening birthday presents Logan hopefully asked, "Does he have to share all his presents Mom?"

Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

Last Sunday night we had some new snow and a strong wind.  So when Jim tried to leave for work the next morning he high centered on a snow drift.  We tried to dig and push the car out, but to no avail.  The wind and snow were still strong, so we decided to try again when the weather calmed.

 A couple of hours later I looked out the window to see that the new snow had piled in a drift around his car. 

When it finally stopped, we headed out to start digging.

It turns out my pictures didn't really show how deep it was, but I tried.  We were dealing with over a foot all around, and even higher in some places.

Literally minutes after we started digging, our neighbor arrived to plow us out!  Jim dug while he cleared the rest of our driveway, and then our neighbor helped us push the car out.  We were so grateful!

The next day we had the warmest temperatures we've seen in months.  It was 45 degrees outside!  I actually went outside barefoot (on the dry porch and driveway) and in short sleeves and wasn't cold.  The kids spent hours outside that day.  Alex built his very first snowman.

I love how each snowman got bigger with each kid.

Because the snow was melting so fast (we had a small lake on part of our driveway) the kids were completely SOAKED when they finally came inside.  I'd love to say that the snow completely melted that day or the next (which was also quite warm) but two nice days were no match for months of accumulation.

Meanwhile, Abby was content to play inside.  I mentioned previously that she's finally crawling; she learned how to pull herself up the same day she crawled.  (Annie did the same thing.)

Valentine's Day

 We had a low key, but fun Valentine's Day this year.

Here's my pretty baby valentine.

 During the morning, Annie and Logan read.  (I guess that's not so surprising.)

For lunch I made them something special.  I'm sharing all three pictures because I think the progression on Logan's face is funny.  He didn't want to leave his books to take the picture or to eat lunch, and he was letting me know it.

I said, "Logan, you need to smile or you'll be in trouble."  So we got a pretend smile, and Annie's evil eyes.

So I teased him and he finally gave me a real smile. 

That afternoon we made no-bake cookies (which I've decided really should be named oatmeal fudge) and had a rather exciting moment.  At the exact moment the mixture began to boil (and needed to be watched) our washing machine started pumping water all over the laundry room (which triples as our mud room and pantry).  The hose that goes into the drain had somehow come free!  We had a rather frenzied moment, and then a good laugh about it afterward (after saving the cookies and mopping up the water).  Later that evening we went to dinner and a game night with friends.  All in all, we had a rather good day.