Easter

Easter was super fun this year. Lately, every holiday has been my favorite, until the next one comes along! This years Easter started out with a party at the kids school. Memere got them a bunch of new, cute clothes so we dressed them up for egg hunting with their friends. 

Sadie is really excited about her newly discovered tongue!!

 

We went to Andy's class first.  They made funny little chick hats (which Andy wore proudly the whole time) and sang "Little Bunny Foo-Foo".  Then it was time to hunt.

Last year Andy was literally tripping over the eggs, oblivious that he was supposed to be gathering them. Then, when he finally did pick them up, he would sit there and open the one he had, instead of finding more. This year he was much more efficient, and had much more fun.

Julie couldn't wait to get over to her class.  She was so patient for her brother's time and didn't even show him where the eggs were, just waited for it to be her turn.  When her hunt began, she found a bunch right away.  We told her she probably had enough, so she helped her classmates find the rest.  Even her teachers commented on what a great friend she was.

On Easter Sunday, we got up and went to church.  I made the kids pose for a few pictures before the got to do what they really wanted to do.....

(I still melt when I see how much they adore each other. I have the sweetest kids)

This!! We got a trampoline this week and it has been a huge hit, for the kids and us!

My big boy is getting too big!  All three kids were angels in church.  Sadie slept while Julie and Andy sat with friends and colored and sang.  They make me so proud!

After church, lunch, and a great nap, the Easter Bunny made his delivery.  He was so nice to wait until Daddy got home from work.

Sadie loved her taggie blankie.

Andy got a cool hat!

And Julie found eggs in record time!

Veda sat back to enjoy the show!  I could just eat her up!  She and Auntie Bess came over a little early, it was so wonderful to have a little quality time with them!

I love this picture so much!  Both Sadie's face and Stephen's face are classic!  I have no idea what Pop-pop is saying, but it has both of their attention!

I also love this photo!  Me Bestie loving on her sweet boy! Life doesn't get any better!

More adorableness with Lauren doing "Itsy Bitsy Spider"  She is so smart!! I know I shouldn't be surprised, she is my Niece. :)

I love all the love!  Lauren getting a little snuggle from Memere!

"Look at the egg I found Auntie!!"  I took about 10 pictures of her with this egg, and she was so excited to show it to me, the egg was hiding her face in all but this one!

Here is a great one of Bess! Veda held onto that egg for a long time! And you can see the more of the party in the back ground, fun times.

"Don't forget your lunch, Everett!"  These boys make me smile so much.  They are turning into great friends!

This is priceless.  All the cousins together, on the same blanket, happy.

Well, at least for a second.  The sequence of pictures before and after these shots are hysterical, and may have to be a separate post.

Lauren really got the whole picture taking thing down!

I guess it is safe to say, a happy Easter was had by the Hunters!  Thank you to everyone who came and helped up break in the new house with love, egg hunting, pizza eating, frosting smearing, trampoline jumping and lots and lots of laughter.  We are one lucky bunch.

Just want to add, I have typed this whole blog mostly one handed because I have a Sadie on my lap.  She got her first tooth last night!! And her second one is right next to it, ready to poke through!!

T-Ball!!!!

For the last two weeks, she has been practicing! And the first t-ball game is finally here!!

She was so excited, all week asking how many days til Tuesday!!

Once we got there she went off with her team, the Bull Pups and warmed up.  Her coach is a super nice man who does nothing but encourage the kids. All positive words on the field.

She still can't really decide if she wants to bat left handed or right. But she hit the ball, so we will go with it.

Look at that huge smile on her face!

"Mom, are you seriously taking my picture right now??"

Then she turned her back to me. Little goof.  She shouldn't be looking at Mommy while on 3rd base anyway!

This is not exactly what I would call "ready position" but she ran for the ball every hit, didn't matter if it was anywhere near her!

She did a great job and more importantly she had a great time.  She has friends on the team and is loving every second, what more could we ask for!?

Three and a Half!

Its true! This silly, sweet, wonderful little boy is 3 and a HALF years old!  He is so affectionate.  He will walk up out of the blue, give you a hug and say "I love you!"

He is so good to his sisters, and of course the love him too.

He is all of a sudden interested in numbers and letters. He can count to about 30 before he gets confused.  He will tell you a wild story and then say, "For real!"

 

We love you our Andyman! And the big man you have become!

4 Months!

Sadie is 4 months old today!

And it's Saint Patrick's Day, so that means this big girl wore green today!

Sadie has really "woken up" this month.  She has always been alert for her age, but now she is engaged, will "talk" to you while looking you in the eye, grabs at her toys and shoves them into her mouth.  She likes to be part of the action.  During dinner time, she likes to sit on our laps or in the high chair.  She does not like being left out!

And that leads to her also doing a lot of this.....

Three nights ago she was playing on her tummy and she rolled right over onto her back! It startled her, her eyes were huge!  I put her back on her stomach and she immediately rolled over again, this time with a huge smile on her face.  We are in so much trouble!!

Last night at dinner, she was sitting in the walker and Julie and Andy took turns giving her rides.  This picture it is hard to tell, but she had her mouth open and she was laughing! Not giggles like we had heard before, but laughs!!!!

Yup, she is our big girl (that is what Julie has called her all along, maybe because it takes one to know one?) and she plays hard.  But she also knows how to kick back and relax.

Love you Sadiekins!!

Routine

After about 4 1/2 months off, today was the day I went back to work.  I wanted John to take a picture with me and the three kids before I left this morning. I had to wake Sadie up and then round up the big kids who were already outside playing in their jammies.

I am not sure if Julie was pouting (or looking less than enthusiastic about taking a picture) because I was going back to work or if I made her stop playing and looking at the cows.

The drive to work was a bit emotional, but once I got there, I was greeted by sweet, wonderful work friends who had cleaned my desk and got me these.  The chick is in case I needed to carry something baby-like around for a bit.

The day flew by and Sadie was a good girl for Memere and Daddy (and of course Julie and Andy were too, but they always are).  Everyone greeted me at the door when I got home, we had a quick dinner (started by Memere before she left (thanks Mom!!)) and then played til bed time.  Now everyone is sleeping peacefully and I am off to join them!!

Here is to getting back into the routine!

Wind

The other day it was super windy...so what do you do with a windy day??

Don't worry, this little owl got her exercise too.

Aquarium

I got my camera back (insert happy dance here!!) and there were some awesome shots of our fun trip to the aquarium! So here they are.

We had to take 2 cars because the van was in the shop.  When John asked the kids if they wanted to go with us or Grammy, they didn't hesitate.....GRAMMY!!!  So John and I had a nice quiet drive.  Kinda doubt Grammy and Pop Pop did.  We got up there a bit before noon and had lunch. The kids were bouncing off the walls to get to the fish!!

We went to the jelly fish first.  They are so beautiful.  I fully expected Sadie to be asleep the second I put her in the Ergo. But, she LOVED the jelly fish.  She kicked, cooed and bobbed her head, trying to get herself closer to them.  She was fully engaged the whole time we were watching them.

Can't blame her, they are beautiful.

The kids were mesmerized by the ocean.

We watched the puffins swim.  They were funny because they interacted with you.

Hello turtle!!

Sadie eventually gave in to the power of the Ergo....but not for long!

Touch tank!  Andy was a bit apprehensive.

Until Pop Pop came along.  He is never apprehensive when Pop Pop was around.  It was great having him there because he knew all the creatures, what they ate, where they lived.  We didn't have to read anything!!  It was a like a personal tour with none of the boring stuff.

The best place to watch penguins eat is on some shoulders.

Like I said.....

Ewwww! Look at that eel in there!  The one animal I really don't like!  I think I have watched Little Mermaid one too many times.

Look at this Grammy!!!!!!

Julie asked a question during the penguin feeding. I missed it because I was off feeding our own little baby bird, but she asked why the penguins were black and white.  Apparently, when they need warmth they show their backs, the black soaks up the sun. When they are too warm, they flip and show their tummies, which reflect the sun.

This little question asker is ready for some kindergarten!

Grammy and Pop Pop kept a safe distance from the water play area.  They are so smart! 

Julie took this picture of the diver feeding the fish.

It was neat watching the fish swarm him and eat all the squid he was offering.  Andy was so confused about the sound he was making when he spoke, I don't think Andy realized that the diver was the person talking.

Julie couldn't decide what to touch next!

Sadie was bright eyed again in no time, looking around at all the fish and here, watching the bat rays. I don't think Julie was too into them. Andy also refused to stick his hand in there....

The last time we went to the aquarium we stayed an hour and a half.  This time we stayed close to 4 hours!!  We closed the place down. If they had not been closing, I think we would have stayed longer.

We had so much fun and are super excited that Grammy and Pop Pop got season passes....which means we will absolutely be going back again soon.

Well, I actually already went back, to retrieve my beloved camera.  But don't tell the kids! I would be in so much trouble!

Sadie enjoyed herself just as much.

We also brought along these two!  Everett seemed to like all the fishies and was so brave touching the sea stars!! 

Have to admit though, best part of the second trip (followed closely by getting my camera back) was catching up with my bestie all the way too and from.  You don't get quality time like when you are stuck in a car. Reminds me of when we used to drive to summer camp....but now with sweet babies in the back seat.