easter 2015

we had such a nice easter

 the kids went out for an easter egg hunt in the backyard first thing

in the rain (which felt fitting being from washington)

 henry totally got the concept of putting eggs in his basket

it was so cute

 good jump, hazel!

 it felt really special to have our first easter egg hunt in our backyard

 afterward the kids went and found their easter baskets

 henry loved chewing this little ball apart

just like i knew he would ;)

 before henry needed a nap

and while michael made us omelets, i took a few pictures of the kids in their bunny ears

 we spent the day watching conference, doing puzzles, eating way too much candy

and playing with new toys from their easter baskets

and then after conference was over we had a nice easter dinner

 as soon as olive realized i'd put whipped cream (which she usually likes) on the jello

she was not happy...

i thought it was a really nice easter

we ended the day by watching some videos about the Savior

and i saw noah writing down his testimony in a new notepad

so i'd say that's a win

happy easter!

eleanor is three!

saturday was eleanor's third birthday

 her main request was that her birthday was pink

so we were happy to oblige with pink balloons, plates, napkins,

the pink dress i made her and a special birthday crown

 she couldn't wait to open her presents so it happened pretty early

 who can say no to that face?

 for breakfast we had waffles with whipped cream and strawberries and honeydew melon

eleanor didn't eat any of it

because she just wanted her cake

 she opened the rest of her presents after breakfast

 i knew this pretend birthday cake would be a hit

she and olive pretend birthdays all the time

 trying out her new bike

wearing her new purse and necklaces and princess shoes

 we watched general conference and in between sessions went to a big easter egg hunt in meridian

 eleanor was pretty happy with her candies

 we ate mcdonalds while we watched the second session of conference

and afterward we finally sang to eleanor so she could eat her cake

 she made us re-light her candles and sing to her again and again

we ended her day with a trip to the library

and then watched a movie she picked out from the library

while michael watched the priesthood session of conference

and the kids (and adults) ate way too much candy

.....

eleanor is such a fun girl

she has kind of an old soul

but also a very spunky side

she shares and is very caring for such a young girl

she asks me if i'm ok, tells me to be careful and tells me "i lub you, too" all the time

she loves to help, is very concered over her baby brother

she loves her dad so much 

 it makes her really sad that he goes to work every day and leaves her

as soon as she hears the garage door open she runs to greet him

she and hazel are still very close

she loves to be read to by hazel and lets hazel take care of her

she is a great cleaner and love to get her own diapers and wipes when she needs them

i'm sure she could be potty trained but we haven't done it yet

soon, i'm sure

she loves dairy

you would never guess she had a milk protein allergy until she was one

she loves ice cream, whipped cream, sour cream, milk, and cheese so much

she's also a big fan of granola bars

and oatmeal out of my bowl

she has started causing a bit of mischief lately

but she's so sweet otherwise so we usually let it slide

we love our ella bella

this last week

a little after church snack (fast sunday) of fingers dipped in peanut butter

 monday while noah, hazel, and olive were at school

i took advantage of the 75 degree weather and the fact

 that henry and eleanor weren't ready for naps anyway

and took them on a bike ride to the park

 i realized how little i have ever done just for fun with just these two

noah and hazel got so much time with me doing fun stuff

i need to do more with these two, too

 they loved our outing and the attention

 when olive gets home off the bus

we wait outside for noah and hazel

and we draw letters in the dirt and guess what the other wrote

(a game she made up)

i thought she was so cute guessing :)

 and cute in general

 we had a family home evening lesson about the atonement

outside in the backyard

tuesday i realized these are my favorite jeans

they're black, high waisted and fit perfectly

in fact, i may never wear anything other than high waisted jeans again

they are the best!

also on tuesday michael went to the temple early in the morning

and i went in the evening

we made a goal to go once a month no matter what

so far we've done it! even if ti made for a long day of not seeing each other

i'm glad we're sticking to our goal

 wednesday

eleanor picked the best outfit

 and i enjoyed watching the girls at ballet

 thursday

henry slept with his blanket on his head

which is funny because olive, hazel and michael do it, too

 thursday evening we went to target while noah was at scouts

and suddenly eleanor was eating some cadbury mini eggs....

she swears they were already open.....

it forced us to buy and try the dark chocolate ones..stinker

 and when it was time to leave she hid in the soda cooler...

 a little bit naughty lately, huh?

 some cuddles that evening

 today was busy

i made eleanor's birthday cake, sewed the girls some nightgowns

and ran 8 miles during naptime

so i could leave our weekend free

 the girls were cute in their nightgowns

they all prefer nightgowns

and the fabric is from my mom

so not bad for free plus a few hours of time, right?

tomorrow is eleanor's birthday and we're all so excited!!