Our Easter in Virginia

Holidays are definitely more fun with kids! Lincoln and Ella each got their own basket, from the Easter bunny of course... and Chris and I had a hug stomach ache from eating all their candy. Ha ha ha! Unfortunately my phone didn't charge the night before so I couldn't take any pictures of the kids getting their baskets and I didn't get a family picture of us before church, but here are some pictures of us after church once we woke up from our Sunday nap.

...and these pictures are just as a reference to Chris in his handsom church clothes since he already changed when we took these Easter pics.

Click here to see the rest of our Easter pictures!

Check out our Easter last year with Lincoln and his cousins Zackery & Olivia!

6 More Years...

...until I turn the big THREE-OH!  ha ha ha

    My friends have been teasing me because for some reason I'm panicking about turning 24! I know I sound ridiculous about this, but having kids really makes me feel like I'm ten years older already. I feel like I'm living the life of most thirty-four years olds! It just hit me that I'm not getting any younger...  (to all my friends in your 30's, I don't think you're old, so please don't get offended my panic attack! ha ha)
    My birthday fell on a week day and my husband was busy at work, I was busy with the kids, and I was perfectly content with my birthday quietly passing by. But my wonderful husband always finds a way to make me feel special. He surprised me by coming home a little early from work and taking us out for dinner. I ended up having a great birthday with my little family.

Lincoln's 18 months!

Lincoln's 18 month Well Baby Visit

weight - 24 lbs. 3 oz. (50%)

height - 35 inches tall (97%)

My little Linc-ster is a year and a half on the 4th! He looks so grown up now. All of his baby chub is completely gone, and he's more active than you can imagine! I'm proud to say that he is officially sleeping through the night!!! YAY! (but I still have another baby that's keeping me up). Every night after dinner we have scripture study and prayer together and he is so reverent, most of the time. He starts out with his arms folded and usually ends with his version of "Amen." Then it's clean up time, he sings along with me and helps put things away. After that it's bath time which he LOVES! The second I say bath time he shouts (more like sings), "Bath time! Bath time!" and walks up the stairs. (yes he walks up the stairs, he refuses to crawl up them. Ha ha). Bath time for me is a work out. I've got Lincoln and Ella in there and I'm always leaning into the tub making sure Lincoln doesn't eat the soap, or hit Ella with a toy, or that he isn't choking on the water he keeps drinking because he loves to lay out on his stomach. After bath time they each get a nice rub down with lotion and their jammies on. Then some singing time which Lincoln also loves. I give him a big hug and kiss and lay him down in his crib. He always curls up on top of his pillow like a little dog. As I'm walking out the door I always blow him a kiss and he blows me a kiss back. He is so sweet.  Lincoln is always giving me and Daddy and Ella kisses. He absolutely loves Ella. He's always bringing her toys to play with and he doesn't just place it next to her, he makes sure that she gets it in her hand and if she drops it he'll pick it up for her again. Every time he wakes up in the morning he says "Ella?" and he gets so excited to see her. When Ella is taking a nap and he hears her wake up, he looks at me with big eyes and says "Ella!" and runs up the stairs to get her. He climbs into the pack and play with her and he jumps right out of it like nothing. He is such a boy! Lincoln climbs onto any and everything! I usually have some music on through out the day and one time I caught him on top of the table dancing! Ha ha ha. Which reminds me, he LOVES music and loves to dance! He'll start rocking side to side and front to back, nodding his head to any beat. He'll even start dancing to the rhythm of the dishwasher. He loves playing outside. The other day he saw a butterfly for the first time, it flew right in front of him. He froze and his jaw dropped when he saw it. He got so excited, I wish I could have captured that moment on camara. He was also so amazed to see the flowers blossoming. Lincoln also loves dogs. If he sees one or hears one he'll start barking too. He is a very social kid, he's always going up to other children and wanting to play. He usually just goes up to them, points at something and nods his head while he repeatedly says, "Yeah, yeah." 

Lincoln's four k-9 teeth just came in. He's almost got a full set of baby teeth. Right now he's wearing size 18-24 mo clothing, size 6 shoes, and size 5 diapers. He still has a ton brown hair. Lincoln has these gorgeous, rich, brown eyes. I love stairing into them. He's got beautiful plump lips and a great smile with a gap between his teeth! He is such a handsom little guy.

Lincoln is so funny. Everyday he surprises me with something new. For all the stress he adds to my life, me he brings me 10 times more joy. I feel so blessed to have my little Linc-a-dink.

 

Celebrating Dr. Seuss' Birthday!

Dr. Seuss is very much loved in our home!

Here are some of my favorite quotes by him:

(in no particular order)

"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams."

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."

"Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.

"A person's a person, no matter how small."

"Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So... get on your way."

"You are you. Now, isn't that pleasant?"

"I'm afraid sometimes you'll play lonely games too, games you can't win because you'll play against you"

Here are some fun Dr. Seuss crafts you can do with your kiddos.

Ella's Half Year Mark!

Ella's 6 month Well Baby Check-up

weight - 14 lbs. 6 oz. (25%)

height - 26 inches long (50%)



I can't believe my pretty little girl is already 6 months old! She is the sweetest, happiest, calmest little girl ever! She is all smiles all the time! Ella has suck a big beautiful toothless smile and gorgeous big brown eyes. I love seeing how alert she is too. She's always reaching for things and always munching on her feet. She absolutely loves her brother...and he loves her SO much! She is so strong. She's been rolling over for a while and she can sit up all her own now! She's even scooting all over the place and just starting to rock on her knees!  She is such a talker...a loud one! She makes sure she can be heard by everyone. Every time I'm talking to stares at my mouth so intensely and mimics my mouth by moving hers. She makes so many weird sounds. Chris says she sounds like a little dinosaur. When she wants something or isn't happy with something she grunts really loud. In the car we all rotate making the "Indian" sound where you move your hand on and off your mouth, but she does it with her fist. ha ha.  Ella loves bath time with he brother, she loves playing with her feet, and she loves eating paper. I really don't know what it is with the paper, she could be surrounded by toys but she'll somehow manage to find some piece of paper and eat it! Which is odd considering she hates eating her actual food. She wasn't a fan of rice cereal so we didn't push it, we went right into bananas (which she likes to munch on), avocados, and sweet potatoes. She also loves it when she's worn in the sling by me or her daddy! She is just always so content. Oh and she's super ticklish! I love her laugh!!

"Baby girl" is still nursing like a champ! Her first tooth cut through on March 1st (I'm a little nervous about any biting). She wears size 3-6 month clothes, size 3 diapers, and shoes...well, she's mostly in socks right now. Chris wants to be the one to buy her her first pair of earrings so we might take her some time in the next few months to get them pierced.

Here are some of her cute moments caught on camera!

Scripture study with daddy

Ella and Eliza hanging out at the roller rink

My pretty girl after church

hanging out at McDonald's while her brother plays

This is how she plays with her activity mat

She started out upright in her chair and this is how I found her

Hanging out with daddy

Her brother put the hat on her!

 

Ella brings so much joy to our family!