At least he has one

I've been feeling guilty lately, no change there. But THIS time I happen to feel guilty about wanting to be done with having kids (like there isn't a LOT of other things to feel guilty about), but not for the usual reasons. This time it was because Eric only has one little boy. He is such a man's man. A real adventurer. A lover of the outdoors. Everything you think of when you think "man" and that man deserves to have hords of little boys to teach how to be good men.
Anyways, I was feeling guilty, but then I saw these pictures from the father and sons camp out. Eric is the BEST dad in the world, and Ethan needs that focused love and attention. Ethan just looks SOOOOOO happy, and that made me happy. Eric may have only one boy, but that little boy adores him, and Eric adores him back. How can I feel guilty about that?

Eric is such a good sport. Lots of the boys wanted to fish and Eric was there to load up the poles and help them reel them in.
Ethan with one of his fish.
Ethan, Caleb and a bunch of the younger boys had a Lord of the Flies gang roaming around the camp site. I think this is why we have moms and dads. Moms have organized camp outs with timely meals, bed times, and refereed play. Dads have camp outs with meals that nobody knew would take 3 hours to prepare, bedtime when everyone is finally quiet, and roaming boys having stick fights (although Eric did think to put a light on Ethan's head so at least he could see where he was running with his gigantic stick).
They were just going to sleep in the back of the Pathfinder, but Caleb and Chad the Dad offered to share their tent. Ethan was so happy and insisted on sleeping right next to his best pal.

Little Boy Faces, or "ZINGO," or "random pictures from Mom and Julia's Visit", or "Longest Blog Title Ever"

What is it about a little boy, a camera, and an inability to make a normal face? Here was a great photo of my mom and Livi, and Ethan had to make a face somewhere between Jared and James. Oh well, I guess it shows his personality.
I love the look on Livi's face, like she is puzzled about Julia being on the ground also.
Ella loved to have Julia here to make coffee cake for her. More adults around to do her bidding when she flashes those inncent looks our way. It looks like Ella is taking after Julia with her ability to pose for the camera, and not look cheesy (ie unlike every picture of me).
"ZINGO," oh the dreaded phrase. Ella LOVES this game SOOOOO much. Grandma Sharon was so happy to play this game with Ella at the beginning of the trip, but about 428 games into it, she started trying to pawn the games off onto to Julia. Grandma has no one to blame but herself. She is the one that got the game for Ethan for his birthday.

Happy Birthday to Me

29. The year all women want to stay (or at least lie and say they are). Ah Man, kind of depressing. Hopefully not all down hill from here. I guess most of the women I admire are older than the mythical 29. If I can gain the knowledge of my mother, the ability to love of my mother-in-law, the ability to enjoy so many things like my grandma Jessie, and the practicality of my grandma Donna, I will have so much to look forward to.

Last Sane Parents on Earth

Seriously. I am so proud of Ethan, he did a great job this year, but what am I suppose to think when people bring gifts and balloons to their kids KINDERGARTEN graduation. What are they going to do for Junior High: a car? High School: a house? College: a small country? Perspective people. Sorry about the rant, Ethan's graduation was so cute. They sang lots of songs, had a dvd presentation with pictures from the year, and sweet words from his teacher Mrs. Blehm. I wish We could always have Mrs. Blehm as a teacher, but I guess we have to share. Ella is dying to have her for Kindergarten, so for her sake I hope we are still here.

My little risk taker

Ethan has always been a little timid, and I've worried (what, me worry?) about what to do. Lately he has become much more adventurous, and there was much rejoicing. It is finally warm enough for him to use his skates he got for Christmas, so he and Eric went out to practice. I'm so lucky to have Eric, he is such a good dad.

A B CRAZY at the zoo

Thank goodness my Mom and Julia were in town when Ethan had his ABC hunt at the zoo. Mom watched the girls at home while Julia and I "led" a group of Ethan's classmates. I am so glad Julia was there, because four 6 year olds are more than a handful.
One of the four rules the class had was to only walk on the path. Springtime normally is my favorite, with all the baby animals. The geese had tons of goslings and it made walking on those paths difficult (not to mention messy, with all the droppings, gross yes, but I AM around a 6 year old boy all the time so I notice those things).
Some of you may not have heard, but last year, when I was pregnant, I was bitten by the pig at the zoo. My family still makes fun of me, and it IS pretty ridiculous when you think about it. Who gets bit by the pig at the petting part of the zoo? So anyways, I wanted a picture of me with the demon pig.
Running all over the zoo, finding things that started with the letters of the alphabet, hanging out with Mom and Aunt Julia, those things are cool, but nothing beats playing with his best friend, Caleb. As soon as we found our letters Ethan ran over to the playground and found Caleb. I'm so glad he has a nice friend.

Shock and Awe

Livi is sitting now, and she seems as shocked as anyone! I was trying to get a good shot of her sitting, but she kept trying grab the camera. I wonder the world would look like if you thought everything should go in your mouth.

Mother's Day Surprise

I guess I can publish this now, seeing as it's been a week since Mother's Day. Eric and I have come accross a problem most people have: what to get our mothers for Mother's Day. Do you get the box of chocolates and ruin her diet, do you get the flowers that wilt in week, or maybe a card made by the impersonal greeting card company? I like gifts to have meaning behind them, so I agonize every year. Most years it is a book, or flowers, which our gracious mothers have seemed to like, but this year I wanted to be different. Maybe I succedded a little too well.
We recently had a ceramics store open in town (I hope it lasts the recession) and the kids have loved painting things. We decided to let the kids pick out, and paint items all by themselves. They picked out a mug with a heart for Grandma Sharon to drink her hot chocolate in, and a bud vase for Grandma Joan to put her pretty roses in. Ethan undertook the mug, and Ella painted the vase. It was so hard to let them just go, to not help Ethan keep the heart in the line of the heart, or to tell Ella where to place the polka dots, but it was worth it. The kids were proud, I benefited from just letting them do their own things, and the Grandmas liked their presents.

Carter Can

We love having the Bagleys as friends. Ethan is a 4 months younger than Caleb, Ella is 2 months younger than Maddi, and Livi is only one month older than Carter (I guess Melissa and I need to consult each other on any family plans we make in the future to keep the balance!). It makes playing together very easy and fun!







This was the first time we had put the babies down next to each other, and if this is any indication of the future, we have a boy chaser on our hands. Livi scooted up close to him, held his hand for a while, tried to pat his face, and eventually went for his binkie (naturally). Cater seemed smitten as well, but we definitely have the instigator.

Just Like Kyle

Livi has started putting her binkie back in her mouth by herself. This is a fabulous day for us as parents, with less gettting up in the night, or frantic checking in car seats for binkies we can't see from the front seat. Weirdly enough she prefers to put it in upside down, which I cannot understand, but as I am informed is like her Uncle Kyle. I guess genetics do play a part in personalities!

Twins

I can't believe how much Olivia is starting to look
like Ethan. When she was first born I thought she was her own little blend, but now as she gets older she is starting to look more and more like her big brother. The picture in pink is Livi, the one in blue is Ethan, and below is the two together.

Apples and Oranges, or Adventures in Swimming

It is amazing to me how two children can have the same parents, the same upbringing and still be so different. Ethan and Ella are so awesome in their own ways, but here is one difference I don't really get. Ethan is my cautious, more reserved child. Ella is my thrill seeker. While at the hotel the kids got to go swimming (a rarity when you live in Scottsbluff) and Eric was playing with them in the water. Here are videos showing what they wanted Eric to do.

If you can't tell, Ella wanted to go as high as possible, and Ethan didn't want to go up at all. Eric persuaded him by telling him he wouldn't let go at all. I guess after I left Ethan warmed up to the situation and was actually jumping off the side of the pool by himself. It just takes him a little bit more time to realize the fun possibilities, where as Ella can see them immediately.

Rejoicing at the Children's Museum

Spending all day at the Children's Museum was sooo fun for the kids, and sooo fun for us because they were WORN OUT!!!! We were also able to go on a trolley ride along the Platte River after playing and hear about how Denver was founded and see some older areas. The history lover in me rejoiced, and the kids were so tired they sat quietly and seemed super respectful to the guide, so the mom in me rejoiced. Fun all around!

Planting in the garden. Grandma Sharon rejoices.

Eric rejoiced at seeing both kids fishing and catching fish (shhh, don't tell him they're fake).

Ella recently learned how to write "To Mom From Ella," and she loves to write it when ever she can. She made three paintings and her special "To Mom From Ella" signature was on every painting.

Every station had a little kids area so even Livi had something to do.

Taking recycled items and ordering Dad around to attach them where you want them to go. Ethan made a super spaceship with guns, and Ella made a train.


Dress up is always a favorite of the kids. They had royal-esc costumes and we got to dance to music and wave "ribon dancer" type thingys around.

Ethan was so excited to dress up at the tunnel area. He found a costume he loved and pranced around in it. He came over to us and was showing off this awesome costume, when I mentioned what a cute worm he was. Ethan's face fell, and I got this picture before he ripped the costume off. I don't know what he thought it was a costume of, but I guess worms are just too gross.

Luckily opposums are not too gross and both kids dressed up and loved these costumes. They ran all through the tunnels and were not happy when they had to finally go.

Room for 5

I never realized all the challenges that arise from having 5 members in your family, as opposed to the PC family of 4. Eric works for the State of Nebraska so he gets Arbor Day off (Nebraska is home of Arbor Day), so we decided to go down to Denver to the Children's Museum. I didn't feel like driving 3 hours down, playing, and then driving 3 hours back, so I looked into getting a hotel room for the night. Little did I know that hotels have an occupancy limit of 4 for most rooms. The kids are still too little to have a room to themselves, so it took until the day before we went to find a place we could all fit (it had to be a suite). Because life is full of fun little suprises the cribs were either taken or broken so we had to rig a place for Livi to sleep, and the kids thought it was so funny they had to keep going over and checking on her. We had to ban them from going over and peeking because it would disturb her everytime the blanket on top moved and let light in. Poor baby, surrounded by end tables and walls, lying on the floor. No wonder she woke up at 2 am and wouldn't calm down until Eric put her in the bed to sleep. Can't fault a baby for knowing the floor is not the most comfortable bed in the room.

Peepadoodoo

Ethan's class also had eggs/chicks this spring (Living in a farming community has it's advantages). Ethan would come home and talk about "Peepadoodoo" his favorite of the chicks. He drew pictures of this uniquely colored chick with the yellow body and brown stripes. I couldn't wait to take pictures of this cute chick with the unique coloring and unique name. I, stupidly, thought that the name came from the fact that chicks go "peep," although I guess in a way that IS where the name gets its origins, just a different type of peep. I asked Ethan how he came up with the name "Peepadoodoo" and he replied it is because "chicks go peepee and poopoo a lot." Great. I guess living in a farming community has its disadvantages also!

Girly Girl

I've already mentioned how girly Ella is, and today we got to celebrate that. Ella REALLY needed a haircut, but was scared I would make her cut her "princess" hair short. I assured her she could keep it long, but still she was resistant to going to get a trim. I decided to play off her love of all things girly and offered her a trip to the nail salon to get her nails painted if she would get her hair trimmed willingly. Of course she accepted and was SOOOO excited. We got our hair trimmed, and headed to the nail salon, but unbeknownst to us every nail salon in town was booked today. Fortunately Ella is flexible, so we got lunch at Subway together, played ski-ball at the arcade, picked out new fingernail polish, and went home and did our own nails. I loved having a Mommy/Ella day, and I think she had fun too (but sometimes it's hard to tell)!

Eating at Subway (her choice) for lunch.

At the arcade we also double teamed the car game. Ella steered and I worked the pedals.

Showing off our pretty nails. Ella picked out our colors. She has sparkly, pink nails (naturally) and I now have sparkly BLUE nails. She looks unhappy because it took 8 pictures to get one where I didn't look like I had 4 chins, and she thought we had taken enough photos (I still couldn't put one of her smiling and me looking like I weighed 1000 lbs, sorry Ella).

Steamroller Liv

Livi is getting so good at rolling around, it has made me realize how not baby proof my house has become. I guess we are going to have to keep the toys in the playroom (yeah!!!) and I'll have to keep the house picked up (booo!!!!).

Reading Rainbow

Ella is the best big sister in the world. She loves to help take care of Livi. One of her favorite things to do it read to her. Unfortunately Olivia has decided to take part in the readings now, and it is a little frustrating for Ella.

Ella reading to a tiny, compliant, still baby Livi.

Ella reading to a giant, excited, "helpful" baby Livi.

I Love Knitting

Many of you know I recently took up knitting. What you may not know is why. Almost 4 years ago I received the cutest knitted hat in the world from Eric's Aunt Susan as a baby gift for Ella. It is made to look like a watermelon, and you can see it on Ella in the first picture, and Olivia in the snow picture. I have never received as many compliments on an article of baby clothing as I have with this hat. Everyone loves it and constantly asks where I got it. I get to brag that Eric's talented aunt made it, and no they can't get one like it. It made me realize you can make adorable things, that are one of a kind. So, thank you to Susan for inspiring to make my own cute baby things, and for the most adorable hat ever, that everyone loves!

Ella in Aunt Susan's wonderful hat.

Olivia in Aunt Susan's wonderful hat.

The hat I made for Livi while I was in the hospital. It is supposed to look like an upside down flower. Not as good as Susan's, but I still had fun making it!

Easter Eggstravaganza

Yes, cheesy title. There was about 400 adds with that title in the paper this weekend, so I thought I would be #401. The kids had a blast with class parties, the Easter Bunny, church, and having the Bagleys over for dinner. Ella woke up the next morning and asked if it would be Easter again next Sunday. She was very sad to find out that Easter is like Halloween, Christmas, and birthdays, only once a year. Luckily, her birthday is close enough she has something to distract her from the disappointment.
The following video is of the scavenger hunt. It is long and grainy, so probably for Grandmas and Grandpas (Plus, my house was not the cleanest, so the less of you that see my mess, the better I feel).

Showing off their spoils.
Enjoying their spoils.

Livi eating their spoils.

All cleaned up. Ella and Ethan got to help pick out their Easter clothes, and boy did they have fun. Ella is the girliest girl I have ever met. She wanted a pink dress, gloves, a purse, bracelets, tights, and new shoes (Thanks to Grandma Sharon for making her dreams come true!). Ethan really wanted this shirt, and REALLY wanted this tie, no matter how hard I tried to talk him out of the combination. As a side note: It was an awful day in Primary (I'm the new Primary Pianist, yes, my third calling), all the kids had Reece's Peanut Butter Cups for breakfast and where little balls of terror, including my kids.