More cousins...

Back in February, my cousin Abby added a new member to the family, Nathaneal Ethan. We went to see Abby and her family and their new house last weekend. Katy is always completely thrilled to play with the big brother Gabe, and David is now big enough to get in on the action. Abby and Stan also recently added 4 chickens to their clan, and Katy had a blast feeding them by hand.

All of this is to say that I have some pictures to show you.

Random updates

Blogging: Brian and I both do "side work" from home in the evenings/weekends. Lately there's been a LOT of it. Sometimes we are both clacking away on our laptops next to each other on the couch. I'm thankful for the extra work and money as we prepare to move, but it's making me somewhat sad. And I haven't been able to blog as much as I'd like.

Potty: Two steps forward, one step back. In some ways, we're making a lot of progress on the potty. We had an (inadvertant) dry outing earlier this week (totally forgot to put a diaper on her before we left), but we continue to have many accidents as home. At least she is sometimes telling me she has to go and then going to sit on it. Other times she stands up and proudly announces, "I hadda assident!"

Moving: Two weeks until closing. All is in order as far as moving forward with the sale. We think we might have even found summer renters (though they haven't signed on the dotted line just yet). I'm thinking about paint colors and trying to figure out if there's any possible way we can get new living room furniture for the new place.

(Almost) Toddler: Still no stepping yet, except while holding hands. But he decided to go ahead and throw fits like a toddler, if it's all the same to you. (see video below where I wouldn't let him have the camera) He eats more than Katy, I'm not even kidding. The other day, we got McDonald's for lunch and he ate an ENTIRE fruit and yogurt parfait and 3/4 of a cheeseburger. That's more than Katy has ever eaten from McDonald's.

Spring: Ok, it's 70, sunny, and it's late-April - do you think it's safe to put away the down parka now?

Facebook: I finally joined, and that stuff is crazy. I haven't even had time yet to go look at everyone's profiles and say hi, but it is so so great to be "in touch" with all these people with whom I haven't spoken in so long! And then also the people I see everyday - how funny! Do you guys link to your blog from your Facebook page?

Preschooler: Katy is one month away from turning 3, and she has really blossomed in the past month. She's just so mature compared to before. Not that she doesn't still have plenty of irritating behaviors, but I just can't believe how interesting it is to watch her grow. Here she is singing on her favorites, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.

Low Key Easter

For the past several years, Easter in our family has gotten somewhat brushed over. Two of the last three years I've had babies relatively close to Easter, so I think that was part of it. But this year we had no plans, and just spent a quiet weekend with the 4 of us. But of course, it's difficult for the 4 of us to keep quiet for long.

Making cookies earlier this week for an Easter party (don't be impressed, I bought the pre-made dough sheets)

This was not the first dress I intended for Katy to wear. I had picked a hand-me-down from her cousins that the 3 girls had worn to our wedding, but Katy said it was too tight. (It was not.) But not a battle worth fighting, and this dress is cute as well.

Oh my stars. Babies in vests. And you should see the plaid shorts that are supposed to go with it.

Serious pose. David has been having a hard time lately. He wants mommy to hold him. all. the. time. He got pretty upset in the nursery at church this week.

THAT'S more like it. We didn't want to put Katy in her class at church because she had not yet been 24 hours without a fever. So she came into "big church" with us. I was really impressed with how well she did - she was enthralled by the music, and then she diligently played with Dora stickers during the sermon. She made a few comments here and there, but not loudly enough to be bothersome (I hope).

The loot. This was a group effort. The bunny-ducks and sidewalk chalk were from Grandpa and Grandma Sue, I won the Barney DVD on PS Mom Reviews (thanks, Sarah!), the candy was leftover from David's birthday cake, and the board book we gave to Katy in her first Easter basket. We bought the new sippies and bibs, the umbrella, and the goggles. Huge hits.

Coloring eggs

Playing at the park (future math genius?)

Katy locates a hidden egg. I don't know if she got the holidays confused or if it was the basket, but she insisted on wearing her Red Riding Hood costume during the egg hunt.

Waaaay too many jelly beans...

I hope yours was enoyable as well! I also got to meet up with one of my closest friends who was visiting her family for Easter, which was awesome. And we got a nail in the van tire, so there was that. And we're in serious denial that we're less than 3 weeks away from closing on our new house. You would think we would have started packing by now. But you'd be wrong!