First Visitors of 2011

We had such a fun visit with my dad and Sue while they were here with us. The evening they arrived Kaylee's Kindergarten class had an Author's Tea scheduled, which they were able to attend. Kaylee and her partner had written their very own book and took turns reading it to a room full of people. Kaylee did a great job reading and was really proud to show us all of her hard work! One of our evenings was spent playing combat peanuts, which brought out lots of laughter. Fun times and man is my dad LOUD...

My dad and Sue timed their trip to align with Grandparent's Day for the girls at school. The girls' classes had each prepared a special skit for their grandparents. Kianna dressed up as a sheep and was pretty cute I hear. Kaylee and Kianna were both super excited to have their actual grandparent's in town for the special occasion. They got to show their grandparent's their classrooms, have them meet their teachers and do a craft together. The girls only had a half-day of school and then Grandma Sue and Grandpa Wayne took us all out to eat at McDonald's, which was also a big hit with the kids. Thanks for coming to visit and for making the kids feel so special!!!

Easter 2011

Our family had a fantastic time celebrating Easter this week. Our preparation for the Easter holiday began on Wednesday when our family participated in the prayer walk at church. The prayer walk included nine stations that basically took you through the week leading up to Christ's death and resurrection. One of the most memorable stations for our family was the one talking about how Jesus washed his disciples feet. The kids were then able to "practice" serving us. Kianna passed around the hand sanitizer, Kaylee poured us each a cup of water, and Trace passed out crackers. It was a neat experience.

The festivities continued with an Easter egg hunt at our church on Saturday morning and then the egg hunt of all egg hunts on Saturday night. Our family was invited out to the Shane's ~150 acre farm, along with 10-15 other families. The Shane's have three children: a preschooler, a kindergartner, and a fourth grader. The family organized a separate Easter egg hunt for each age group. The Preschoolers had the usual egg hunt with eggs scattered all over a football-sized field. The excitement really culminated with the kindergarten and fourth grade Easter egg hunts. The kids were divided into groups and each given a hand-held GPS device with coordinates leading them to their first egg. Each group had ten color-coded eggs to find. Each egg found had the coordinates leading to the next egg. The only difference between the Kindergarten and fourth grade egg hunts was in the distance they covered. The younger kid's egg hunt covered a half-mile to mile area, whereas the fourth grader's egg hunt covered a two mile area. I went with Kaylee's group and had a BLAST! We found eggs inside a barn on top of some bales of hay, inside an unused chicken coop, and at the base of an uprooted tree. The last clue led to empty Easter baskets, which the kids could then take back to the main barn and fill with prizes of their choosing. It was such a fun night. We're hoping they do it again next year, because we all loved it!

Sunday morning, we attended a great church service. Thanks Grandma Becki and Grandpa Bob for the kids' outfits. They looked cute! After church, we were invited over to The Riordan's house for our Easter meal. We spent the afternoon with them and had a nice, relaxing time with good food and our friends. The kids had another Easter egg hunt there and exciting new Easter buckets waiting for them. I think the kids each ended up with four Easter baskets by the time we were done celebrating Easter, not to mention a truck load of candy. We ended up staying away from candy for the kids' Easter baskets we gave them. Instead of candy, Kaylee got her first full bible with her name engraved on the front. She is super excited about it and enjoys looking up the stories she is learning about in school and church. She is quite the little reader these days. Kianna got the children's version of the book, "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe". She is addicted to the Narnia movies, so we thought it was the right gift for her. Trace got his first baseball glove, along with a few more balls. Really can a boy ever have enough balls? Trace's answer would be a definite no! We are so blessed to have such great friends and even more blessed to have a savior who gave his own life for each of us so that we can spend eternity with him in heaven one day. Thank you Jesus!!!

New Playground

We promised the kids that after we sold our house in Iowa that we would get them a playground for the backyard. Wouldn't you know the first day of Spring, that Kaylee was scolding us because we hadn't fulfilled our promise yet. Never mind the snow on the ground, that girl doesn't forget a thing! Once the weather started cooperating we decided to surprise them with their new playground. Kaylee loves the monkey bars, Kianna loves the rope ladder, and Trace loves the slide. The girls like to pretend it is a pirate ship. They are all thrilled with it!!!

Trace is 27 months old

I know 27 months is kind of an odd age to write about, but some significant things have happened lately, so why not? So what are these significant things you ask? First, Trace made it through his first movie theater experience, which in a family of movie lovers is a big deal! He watched "Megamind" at The Centre. Of course, it took lots of popcorn, M&Ms, and cuddling but the fact is he made it through an entire movie. Yea, what a milestone! Second, Trace made it through an entire basketball game WITHOUT biting the people in front of him. Some of you may remember hearing that last fall we took him to a volleyball game where he bit the lady in front of him and could NOT sit still, so we had to leave early. This is no longer the case. He enjoyed the basketball game and of course the popcorn and candy that came with the experience. Third, Trace no longer needs to travel with his pack-n-play. We discovered this over Spring Break, when we had him sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor for the first time and he stayed in it. Yea!!! Fourth, Trace is now sleeping in a big boy bed! We knew he was ready when he climbed INTO his crib all by himself when he was tired. We decided to make it easier for him. He is doing a great job of staying in his bed and not getting out of bed to play with his toys. What a BIG boy we have!!! Actually Trace thinks that Daddy broke his bed, since one of the sides is missing. It is pretty cute seeing things from a 2 year olds perspective. Our silly guy likes to sleep sideways in his bed so that he can suck his thumb and hang onto the wrinkled sheets at the same time. He does this even though it makes straightening his legs difficult. Crazy kid! Fifth, we were able to put the highchair away for one of the first times in 6 years!!! Trace is now sitting in a booster seat and thinks he is hot stuff. What milestones we are reaching these days!

In addition to these milestones, Trace is also progressing in other areas. Trace is full of words and will say about anything you ask him too. He can now say his own name, "Tace". He has now given Kaylee her own name, "Kayee" instead of calling her "Nana". Trace also has begun saying his own prayers at meals, "Jesus, tank you for food. Amen".

Trace still is obsessed with balls and is actually quite good at throwing and catching them. He has also been working on hitting balls off of a tee-ball stand, golfing, and playing soccer. I think our little guy will be a pretty good athlete some day. In addition to balls, Trace really like reading books. He enjoys turning the pages and looking at the pictures. Sometimes I have overheard him "reading" the story to himself. It is so sweet to hear!

Trace is learning to sing some songs and is quite the little dancer. Part of our bedtime routine involves singing each child a song of their choice. Lately, I have been stuck in a rut of singing Trace "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" nearly every night. Well, a couple nights ago, I decided to change it up a bit and sing "Jesus Loves Me". I was surprised to discover that Trace knew the words and was singing with me, "Jesus", "me", and "strong" at the appropriate times. I was so blessed to discover that Trace had learned this song while at CBS (Community Bible Study). How precious it is to hear our little 2 year old singing songs about Jesus Our Risen Savior!!! It is so amazing to see what kids learn at such young ages.

Trace appears to be showing more interest in potty training or maybe he just enjoys taking off his clothes? I have found him upstairs with his pants off on several occasions only to discover that he has a poopy diaper. Apparently, he is starting to realize the yucky feeling that brings, which is a good sign. Unfortunately, the latest report upon picking Trace up from MOPS the other day was "Trace couldn't keep his pants on. He kept pulling them down all morning." Not exactly what a mom wants to hear about their little boy, but hopefully that means potty training is moving in the right direction...We love our little guy and relish in all the joy and silliness he brings to our family!!!

Girls "Folding" Laundry...

So after three days of walking past a basket of laundry in need of being folded, I decided to ask the girls to fold it and see what would happen. This is what I found...

Our March Madness

Life has been a bit crazy for our family over the past month as we have been doing some major renovations to our house. On the docket was the complete gutting of our master bathroom, creating a guest room and office out of our living room, and lots and lots of painting. We are happy to announce the completion of these projects and do the big reveal...

Master Bathroom:

Before: We made this empty space part of our new bathroom.

After: This is the new view of our bathroom from our bedroom.
Before: Old vanity
After: New vanity
Before: Old shower
After: New shower

Living Room:

Before: Combined living room and office

After: We added a wall and created an actual office.
After: On the other side of the wall is our new guest room. We have a nice bed waiting for all of you visitors now...
Dining Room:

Before:

After: A good friend of ours, Peggy, came and helped us paint the dining room yesterday. It was a tedious job with lots of trim, but well worth the effort. Thanks Peggy for your help and Nellie for watching the girls for us.

Spring Break 2011

This year we decided to drive back to Iowa for Spring Break and stay with our friends, The Issa's. Thank you Anthony and Julie for your wonderful hospitality! We had a great time visiting with our friends and family while we were back "home". My dad and Sue even timed their return from Arizona so that we could see them, so that was extra special. Grandma Becki made her Easter Bunny cake and created an Easter egg hunt for the kids. Aunt Stacie hosted a get together with lots of good food. We also spent a morning with my mom and Grandma. It was a fun trip. Who knew that Iowa would one day become our "vacation" spot...