Happy Easter!

Our Easter festivities continued with our church's annual Easter egg hunt the day before Easter. Unfortunately, Ian woke up on the wrong side of the bed that morning (or was just being a typical 2-year-old). Almost everything at the Easter egg hunt seemed wrong to Ian.

The bouncy-structures that are usually a big hit were scary ..

But the lollipop tree was okay.

And fishing was okay, too.

When it came time for the Easter egg hunt, Ian started crying as everyone else was cheering. He didn't want to look for ANY eggs. Maybe the combination of the cheering and the loud music playing was overwhelming?? Some sweet older girls shared their candy with Ian after the hunt was over.

The animals were okay, too, as long as Ian was on Daddy's lap. Needless to say, we ate a quick hot dog lunch and then headed home. Unfortunately, the 10-minute nap in the car was all our tired, grouchy one got for the day.

But, the power nap seemed to revive him, and he was thrilled about dyeing Easter eggs. He loved watching the colors fizz in the vinegar.

Ian was intent upon doing the whole process himself, from placing the eggs into the dye ...

... to taking them out ...

... to placing them back in the egg carton. He flew through the 12 eggs Momma had hard boiled, and then we got out 1 dozen more (raw) eggs to dye. Ian loved every moment!

It was fun to put on a new outfit on Easter morning!

Thanks for helping Ian look sharp, Grammy and Papa!

Ian thought it was SO fun to find his Easter egg basket, complete with a Thomas search-and-find book, another new book, some Cars cars (a great garage sale find), and some candy.

What a happy camper!

Ian was excited to try out his first marshmallow peep even before breakfast!

We enjoyed a yummy Easter breakfast, an uplifting service with great music, and taking some family pictures at church.  Kim received a few jokes about hiding her "Easter egg" in a MUCH too obvious spot. :) (Thanks for the cute Easter dress to borrow, Jenn!)

It was fun to see friends Caleb B. and Christopher at church as well.

After we got home, it was time for our at-home Easter egg hunt. Ian didn't need much help finding the eggs we hid in the front and back yards.

Here's one!

The mailbox egg was especially fun to find,

as was the egg at the top of the slide that, of course, had to slide down before getting picked up!

It was awfully fun to open the eggs and find M&Ms and jelly beans inside, too.

We enjoyed a family dinner of ham, potatoes, green beans, rolls, and (best of all) fresh strawberry pie for dessert! Yum!! Thanks, Jesus, for giving us such a wonderful reason to celebrate ... abundant life here on earth and (best of all) the promise of eternal life with you in heaven!

Ian also received a great Easter package in the mail from Grandpa and Grandma, complete with fruit snacks, stickers, paper, some small toys, money for candy, and these foam puzzles.

They have been a big hit with Ian!! Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa! :)

First Easter egg hunt (of this year) and strawberries!

 A local grocery store (HEB) had an Easter egg hunt on Saturday. Ian found ways to entertain himself while waiting for the hunt to begin.

 One aisle was reserved just for kids aged 1-2. (Yay for having a May birthday!) There were about 200 eggs "hidden" for all 8 kids searching.

 Ian quickly decided to switch to using a grocery bag for collecting the eggs.

 Some eggs were hidden between the items on the shelves, too!

 A highlight was getting to meet HEB's mascot, H.E. Buddy, after the hunt.

 Ian found an egg with a smiley face on it ... which turned out to mean that he was the winner of a large soccer-themed Easter basket. So fun!

 It was fun to come home and empty the contents of all of the eggs!

 On Sunday after church, our family went strawberry picking. Ian was even better this year at only picking the ripe, juicy ones.

 He was so excited to help fill up two buckets of strawberries ...

... and, of course, sample some along the way!













We enjoyed making waffles when we got home and putting strawberries on top. We've been eating strawberries these last few days, too, and then we froze the rest. We plan to use some of them to make strawberry pie for Easter. YUM!

In other news, our baby continues to grow! Our last OB appointment was uneventful. Our next appointment will be in two weeks, and then we're already to weekly appointments. Crazy how quickly this pregnancy has gone!! Kim is still feeling good, though is very tired by the end of the day! She's starting to have puffy feet at the end of the day, too ... another good reminder to STOP the "nesting" for a while to just relax with Matt! We're so looking forward to meeting our new little one in just a few weeks!

Spring break and getting ready for baby

 Sorry that it's been so long since we've updated our blog! Life has gotten a little busy lately. :) During the first few days of spring break, Matt went to an administrators' conference in Las Vegas, NV. Ian and Kim enjoyed some time together but were really excited to have Daddy return! :)

 

We tried to do one (small) special thing every day that Daddy was gone. One night, Kim made homemade bath paint (using baby body wash, corn starch, and food coloring) for Ian. He thought it was GREAT to be able to paint the walls!

Once Matt got home, we continued our spring break fun! We went to the Houston Livestock Show one day. One of Ian's favorite parts was going through the "farm." (It's a really cute exhibit where kids have to actively participate in farming tasks like gathering eggs and crops, milking a cow, and driving a tractor. After these tasks are completed, kids "sell" the goods are in a "market" and get a "dollar" to purchase a special snack.)

 Ian got a basket at the beginning of the exhibit,

 fed the "chickens," gathered an "egg,"

 chose a "tomato,"

 milked the "cow,"

 and "drove" a tractor.

 Ian chose to exchange his "dollar" for a Rice Krispie treat. Yum!

 Then, we headed to the petting zoo, where Ian enjoyed petting and brushing the goats, lambs, deer,

 and llamas.

 We also got to watch a tractor race and pig races,

 watch baby chicks in the process of hatching,

 and see newborn baby animals! We'll definitely plan to go back next year, considering what a fun time we had this year!

We were very excited to find out that Texas FINALLY got on track with the rest of the nation and started selling Shamrock Shakes around St. Patrick's Day. (In other years, when Kim called various McDonald's to ask if they were selling the shakes, the people asking the phone would say, "Do we sell WHAT?") Needless to say, we got a few shakes this year to celebrate!

 Ian thought they were pretty great, too!

We also got some projects done around the house -- taxes, making some invitations for upcoming events, scrapbooking, yardwork, etc. We had time to watch some movies, take some naps, and play some games, too. What a perfect spring break!

Since spring break, Kim has been having some major nesting urges. With all of the baby talk, Ian loves to pretend to be a baby himself! He decided to make a box we got in the mail into a "crib."

 Ian has also been helpful getting some things done for the baby.

 This past weekend, he helped to wash and rinse some baby toys we took out of the attic.

After all that work, it was definitely time to take a break! Ian enjoyed his first time in the pool this season since it has been unseasonably warm here!

 His favorite part was jumping into and out of the pool!














 What else is going on with Ian? Aside from being obsessed with babies we see and talking about/pretending to be a baby, Ian loves ...

doing everything with Daddy from yard work to shaving,

 doing ANYTHING involving water

(like painting with a flyswatter),

saying the names of letters and number he sees (he can recognize all capital letters, about 1/4 of his lower case letters, and all numbers 1-10), hearing stories (especially about characters that are "good listeners" and "bad listeners"), playing with trains, playing outside, and being read to. He still doesn't nap except if we're in the car right after lunch.  And he's getting very excited about turning three soon!

What's going on with the baby?

He or she is definitely growing bigger by the day, as evidenced by Kim's growing belly (which at 32/33 weeks may be comparable to what she looked like at 35 weeks with Ian.) Kim doesn't have ANY foot/leg swelling (yay! Last pregnancy, the swelling started in earnest by around week 28.) Sleeping comfortably is getting to be tougher, and (probably because of this) Kim's energy isn't close to what it usually is. Nevertheless, we're so thankful that everything is going smoothly so far, and we pray for a healthy delivery in just a few short weeks. We can't wait to meet this little one very soon! :)

Happy March!

 Some good friends from the Houston area, Jeremy and Emily, moved to Nederland (on the east side of the state) a few months ago. They invited us to spend this past weekend with them. We enjoyed touring their new, beautiful home, catching up on what's happening in each other's lives, and letting the kids play together. Plus, Emily made us AMAZING food the whole weekend! Yum! :)

Ian was thrilled to be able to try out Annie's third birthday present -- a Barbie Jeep. He didn't quite get the hang of steering and mainly did doughnuts around their cul-de-sac, but he thought it was AWESOME!

 The neighbor girl was even brave enough to come for a ride with Ian!

 Ian was obsessed with "baby Ella," who at the age of 16-17 months isn't so much of a baby anymore. :) Ever since Ian has learned of the baby growing in Momma's tummy, he is fascinated by "babies" of all ages. He loved trying to hold and take care of Ella, and she was certainly a good sport.

 Annie, Ella, and Ian enjoyed watching Cars 2 together in their PJs.

 After church and a yummy lunch, Ian wanted to help push baby Ella in her Cozy Coupe.

 Then, we took a walk down to the neighborhood "lake."

 What a fun weekend! Thanks for your hospitality, Jeremy and Emily! :)

 'Tis the season for garage saling and "bag sales" in Houston! We've hit the jackpot these last few weekends. Here are some 4T/5T winter clothes that Ian will hopefully be able to wear this winter and some baby toys and clothes for our little nephews (due in June).

 Some maternity clothes for sister-in-law Sarah ...

 ... and some more maternity clothes and baby clothes for sister Amy and twin nephews! (The clothes in the two above pictures cost a total of $25!!! Yippee!)

 Some baby things (diapers, one of those cool baby food holder/spoon combos, car mirror, ball popper) and some fun new toys and puzzles for Ian!

 Daddy took Ian for his first-ever fishing "trip." (A kind co-worker of Matt, Marilyn, invited them to come over to her pond while Kim was tutoring one evening.) Ian was SO excited when he found out he could go fishing!

 Ian screamed, "I caught a fish!!" after catching his first one.

 He then caught five more!

 Thanks, Marilyn, for the fun time!

 

The next night for dinner, Ian and Daddy cooked up the perch, though Ian wasn't keen on trying it. (It tasted amazing!)

Here's Ian standing upside-down while telling about his fishing adventures. :)

Phoenix videos

To go along with the gazillion pictures in the last post, here are some videos of our time together with family ... Enjoy!

Uncle Jason teaches Ian about making music ... and the pool filter. :)

Aunt Amy teaches Ian about love. :)

 

Here's Ian trying some of the fun equipment at Uncle Andrew's PT clinic.

Uncle Andrew and Uncle Jason were trying to give Ian a little motivation to go "poopy in the potty." It didn't work ... but it was pretty funny!