More Cousin Fun

One of the other highlights of our Eldredge Cousins' visit was our trip to the Naperville Riverwalk and park. It is so nice to have bigger cousins around to help with my little kids. Here's Megan and Eli:

Jeremy and Amanda with Ali and Logan:

We fed the ducks while trying to avoid the geese, who were hissing and being mean as usual. Our favorite part of the trip was when Jason tried to clear a path through the menacing geese by kicking in their general direction, but instead "accidentally" kicking one right in the head.

Dolly Store

We were so lucky to have cousins come to visit for Spring Break. It was wonderful to have them come, especially because these are cousins my kids didn't remember, but now they will. The Saturday they were here all the girls went downtown to the American Girl store. This was Ali's first trip to "The Dolly Store," and you could tell how much she loved every minute of being with the big girls. Even the drive was fun:

Luckily for me, Ali didn't seem to realize all the things in the store were for sale. She just thought it was all fun stuff for her to play with!

Both she and Baby Ali had fun trying out all the things.

All the girl cousins that came. So cute.

It was a good day out with my girl.

Happy Easter!

I know Easter is long over, but here is my Easter post. I continue to be amazed at the things Ali and Logan remember from a long time ago, and again was surprised when Logan said a few days before Easter, "The Easter Bunny will hide our baskets in your room while we sleep, right?" How did he remember from a year ago where he found his basket? Anyway, the Bunny did not disappoint, and the baskets hidden in Mom and Dad's room were a hit. Eli's dinosaur even prompted a "Roar!" from our 18-month-old boy who still doesn't talk:

And of course the egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa's was a much anticipated and enjoyed tradition:

Eli spent most of the day with his mouth crammed full of candy. He kept finding eggs people left around and would quickly shove all it's contents into his mouth.

Logan's favorite eggs were these ones with the smileys:

And really, this face says it all!

But the part I loved most about Easter this year is that my kids really seemed to get the real meaning of the holiday this year. If you were to ask them why we celebrate Easter they would excitedly tell you, "Because of Jesus! Because He died for us so we can repent and because He loves us!" They would further tell you that He died on a cross, was placed in a tomb, that the angel opened it when He got a new body because He wasn't dead anymore, but that His body still had the holes in His hands and feet. I enjoyed going over the story all week with them, and loved that they were remembering and understanding. Because as much as I love all the Bunny fun, I really do know that my Savior atoned for my sins and died for me so that I can repent and become perfect like Him, and that because He rose from the tomb on the third day I will some day be able to do the same. And I'm glad my kids know that too.

Water Table

Eli has been so happy that he gets to play with the water table and sand box this Spring, instead of just watching like last Fall. And he really gets into it; notice the water droplets all over his face?

The Bus

My kids love going to school, but for Logan I think that the best part is still the bus ride there.

They almost always sit together (they only don't when there's not a seat empty), usually near the back, and usually on the passenger side of the bus. Logan sits by the window and Ali sits on the isle. 

Mean Mom

Do you ever feel like a mean parent? About a month ago I decided that Eli was getting too attached to his pacifier, that it was time to get rid of it. So, like I did with Ali and Logan, I cut the sucker off of the pacifier and gave it to him, telling him that it was broken. When I did it with Ali, she didn't seem to care at all. Logan seemed confused and slept with the "broken" pacifier in his hand for about a week before he decided it wasn't worth keeping anymore. Eli looked at me and laughed, as though he was saying, "Funny joke, Mom!" But when I put him in bed with it and started leaving the room, he got a really mad look on his face and started to cry. It was like he knew I was the one that broke it, something the other two didn't seem to guess.

Really, he did very well without the pacifier, only crying for a few seconds when we put him to bed, not waking up any earlier or during the night. But he missed it. If we said the word "pacifier" he would look around hopefully and then we could see his face fall when it wasn't there. He would see the broken one, run to it excitedly, and then literally slump in disappointment when he remembered it was broken. I felt mean. I'm glad he seems to have forgotten about it now.

"I'm ready to go to the temple!"

Time Out

Eli has experienced his first time outs. You may remember he is a climber, and I am trying to teach him that climbing on the table is not OK. So one afternoon he had about 25 time outs trying to get that message into his little head. He was not a fan of the time outs.

But the thing that cracked me up was that Ali and Logan were upset about me giving him time outs too. They kept saying, "Mommy, stop it! He's just a baby! He's too little for time outs!" But I told them that, no, he wasn't too little. He can understand what I am saying, so he should be able to obey. I'm happy to report that the next day there was almost no climbing on the table, and no time outs needed.

More Birthday Fun

I know the birthday is long over, but I had to add these pictures of the party at Grandma and Grandpa's house. As always, we love party hats and noise makers!

And we LOVE celebrating with cousins Ethan and Emily. We were also happy to have their friend Paige there to help celebrate, and both of my big kids were quite smitten with her.

We love having family around!

Bottomless Pit

This is a typical dinner for Eli. The boy has a bottomless pit for a stomach! He regularly eats as much or more than me at a meal!

Bulls Boys

Jason's love for the Bulls started early, and I think our boys will be able to say the same.

Ali Goose

I love all the silly things this girl does!