Happy Second Birthday Carter!

The girls made Carter cupcakes for his birthday - breaking from their hard labor for a little swing time - before joining him for a dinner of pizza, ice cream, and cupcakes.  As you can imagine, Nick's commute home with them was particularly special.  

Jesus, You Are the Light of the Rainbow

One of Norah's bedtime prayers: 

Happy Easter!

Central's Easter service had the cutest little acolyte in the world.  Norah was so excited for her duties that she called several people the night before to tell them what she would be doing during the service.  Then she watched the video of lighting the candle all afternoon.  There's no way to describe her sweet reverence.  After worship, we went to the Goose where the kids wore Easter dresses and snow boots to find their Easter baskets.  There were a lot of highlights to the Easter baskets, but the biggest was their brand new fishing poles.  

Lily Delivery Girl

In our ongoing effort to keep our children apart, Etta helped me pick up and deliver all of the Easter lilies for tomorrow.  She felt so big unloading them and prepping them for tomorrow's service.  It didn't hurt that a group was at the church preparing the Easter cross, and they lavished her with attention.  

Divide and Conquer

After a week of being together non-stop, our girls needed some time apart, so Nick took Norah and Julia to a movie (which didn't go very well with a one-year-old), and I took Etta to the Children's Museum.  Unfortunately, I didn't remember that it was the Easter egg hunt at the museum, so it was madness.  Etta didn't care.  She gathered supplies from each of the various crafts and combined them into a masterpiece she titled "Everything."  One of the volunteers was clearly uncomfortable that she was using media other than paint at the paint station, but, again, Etta didn't care.  The morning was capped off by meeting Tink

Snow Day!

There's not much nicer than a snow day...unless it's during Holy Week!  There's not a bigger bummer than a snow day during spring break!  Either way, we all got a day cuddled at home together!

Casa Bonita

In honor of Jessa's trip to Denver, we took her to the worst food we could find: Casa Bonita.  To prepare her, we even watched the South Park episode ahead of time.  While the food may have left a little to be desired, we had a ton of fun.  Since Casa Bonita is a moment worth sharing, we had a whole troop of people join us too.  

ER/Chuck E. Cheese Visit

The girls celebrated Nick's latest kidney stone by going to Chuck E. Cheese, and then Julia had her first sleepover at the Goose (along with her sisters).  It was a huge help for Nana and Popos to take the girls, so I could be with Nick in the ER and then take care of him when he came home.  This kidney stone was about a million times worse than his first one, but he still suffered with it for 12 hours at home before he let me take him to the ER.  Here's hoping we're done with these!

Mommy's Little Helper

I am thrilled to say that Norah is as type A as I am, so whenever Julia messes up their drawer of plates, cups, etc., Norah takes to reorganizing it.  Usually her monologue while doing so goes something like this: "Argh!  Why are babies so much work?!?  I just cleaned up this drawer, and now I have to do it again!"  I can't tell you how nice it is to have a kindred spirit in this house (and not have to organize that drawer myself).

"Hi!"

Julia is as tempted by cell phones as are the other girls, but she calls phones "hi."  Whenever she sees one, she starts compulsively saying "hi," and then whines if we don't immediately give it to her.  A couple of times, I have caved and given her the phone.  She drools and chews on it which didn't seem so bad until now I can barely hear the person I'm talking to.

Trouble at Tumbling

Etta and her friend Jensen caused a bit of a ruckus at tumbling today and got in trouble for not paying attention.  They weren't too worried about it, though, because they were having fun. 

Singing Cherubs

The girls' choir sang during church this morning.  Since I was filling the pulpit at another church, Nick taped the girls, so I could see it when I got home.  After watching the video, I asked Etta if she liked singing in front of the church and having everyone watch her, and she replied: "Yes, but my am no Adele."  Oh, heavens.

Braids and Parfaits

It's been too long since the girls got hair cuts, but we remedied that today.  Etta's hair was shortened by one inch, and Norah's by five inches.  They both left with braids that they loved, but not as much as they loved the pudding and berry parfaits we made for dessert.  

Budding Artist

Norah had her first art show tonight (i.e. preschool fundraiser).  She had two pieces in the silent auction, several for sale at a set price, and she contributed to several of her class' mural projects. Since Nick couldn't attend the art show, Norah took photos of her pieces to share with him.  While he wasn't there in person, he was there in spirit.  It turns out his daughters have his same competitive spirit when it comes to silent auctions.  Once Norah learned that all she had to do was write her name and a number if someone outbid her, she was very eager to keep bidding.  Fortunately, we got some sweet art, and the preschool got a few extra dollars.  

Etta brought her wallet, so she could buy some of Norah's art at the auction.  She chose to buy Norah's hand prints (for three dollars!).  Norah was so grateful she gave Etta a huge hug.  

Kim, Bridger, and Carter purchased three of Norah's pieces, including her self-portrait in which she colored her hair with yellow and brown markers since "my hair is getting darker." 

After a bidding war with one of the administrators from the preschool, we won "Duck" (media: crayon, feathers and glue).  Now we just have to find a place for it in our home.  

Etta showing off the art Popos "stole" from her.  She really wanted "My Happy Day," but Popos bid $40 which is a little rich for Etta's blood. 

A Great Step for... Julia

Our sweet baby took her first step this morning.  Every morning for the last several weeks, the first thing Teresita says when she comes in the door is, "Why aren't you walking?!?" Well, today Julia listened.  Not long after Teresita arrived and started encouraging her to walk, she took a tentative step toward me.  Then, she did it again.  Norah was so excited that she called a bunch of people on the way to preschool to tell them about it.

Little Fish

Tumbling Time