Easter

We were able to take a trip to Utah for a week to visit my family and see my adorable brand new niece at the  end of April.  It was very likely going to be the last trip we could take where Nathan could fly for free so we took advantage of only having to pay for 2 tickets for all 4 of us while we still could.  I forgot to bring my camera with me on the trip, but did manage to take some pictures on Crissy's camera, as well as a few on my Dad's.  Once I get those pictures I will post more about that trip.  We were there on Easter and I was able to get a few pictures from our Easter morning festivities from my Dad's camera, so we will start with these.

On Sunday morning Nathan woke up to find a trail of m&m's left by the Easter bunny that lead from the bottom of the stairs to his Easter basket sitting on the fireplace.  It took a while for him to get to his basket because he enjoyed eating the trail a little too much.  Maybe the Easter bunny should have done a better job of spreading out the m&ms a bit more.  Perhaps he will do a better job next year.  Here is Nathan at the beginning of the trail already sitting and eating.

When Nathan FINALLY reached his basket he found a few plastic eggs filled with coins for his bank and a few with candy.  It also contained an elmo doll (the first thing that Nathan noticed), a quiet book for church, and some squeezable baby food (apparently the Easter bunny knew that this is the only way we can get Nathan to eat vegetables.  He loves these things so much that they have become a "treat" for him to eat if he finishes all of his dinner.)  There was also a new Easter outfit for him to wear to church.

 Kaylee also had a basket with tights, headbands, flower clips, and a "new" Easter dress.

Here are the happy children in their Easter outfits. 

Later that night Crissy and her family came over and all the boys hunted for Easter eggs in the basement. (Pictures to come later)

I want to make sure that we put a big emphasis on the real reason for Easter as the kids get older, but for now I think having Nathan just realize that there is something different and special about this day is maybe the most he can grasp at his age.

When we arrived home after our fabulous trip we were greeted with an Easter surprise.  We found this note on the door:

 And so Nathan got to go on an Easter egg hunt of his very own in our front yard, compliments of Brenna and her mommy.

It was a wonderful surprise!!

Family Pictures

 We got our family pictures done in early April.  Here are all the pictures that were taken along with all the fancy enhancements that they add to try to entice you to buy more, which I'm not gonna lie can be a little difficult to refuse....until you see the price!

Minivan Momma!

I have done horrible at blogging lately, so I am going to do my best to get caught up, so bare with me because these posts will be a bit dated.

A few weeks after Kaylee was born Curtis and I decided it was time to invest in a family car.  At the time we had my '96 2 door ford explorer which I have had since I was 16, and a car that we bought in 2007 for Curtis to commute to work in.  There was literally no way that we could have fit both kids in the Explorer, because the power seats no longer worked and so we could not get the seats far enough forward to fit Kaylee's car seat in.  I suppose one option would have been to leave the car seat in and have to climb into the back seat while holding Kaylee and try to hover over her seat while strapping her in rear facing. Not an option that I was willing to accept.  We could have used the commuter car as the family car, causing Curtis to take the gas guzzling explorer to work every day, but even that wasn't too feasible because the infant car seat is so huge that the front passenger seat has to be scooted all the way forward and the seat can't be reclined at all.  Again, not the most convenient thing in the world.  So, after considering all these options and saving up for a few years in preparation, we headed off to the dealership.  After looking at pretty much every single van in our price range online and on the lots, and after muuuuuuuuch negotiation, we finally found the perfect van for us!  But first, we had to say goodbye to my high school sweetheart, my explorer.  

(I love Nathan smiling in the window there)

And hello to our new swagger wagon! (haha)  Its a 2008 Kia Sedona EX with really low miles.  Nathan already LOVES it, mostly because of the power doors.  When it is time to get in the car he runs to the garage and says "button!" until I push the button to open the doors.  Once I get him and Kaylee in the car he screams "button" again until I close the doors. He then points to the sunroof and says "open" until I open it.  He then points to the radio and says "on!"  He also has a routine when we get out of the car, basically the same things but in the opposite order.  He just loooooooves this car.

Because he now can actually see out of the window he is starting to learn his way around the city.  He for sure knows his way to his friend Brenna's house, and gets very upset if we head that direction but then turn to go somewhere else.  Going to Church always causes a bit of a tantrum these days because we pass right by Brenna's street on the way.  It cracks me up that he is so aware of his surroundings and can tell from the backseat where we are going!