Coloring Easter Eggs

So, I tried baking the eggs instead of boiling them for the first time today (thank you Pinterest). It worked out pretty well, even though we a had a few casualties.  We just cooked them on 325 for about 30  minutes and voila! They were done.  After they were done we got to decorating. Of course this was a last-minute decision so we only had 10 eggs to dye today. We'll have to get more for this week! Kylie tried to make hers multi-colored, but Jackson just stuck with the classic stick-it-in-the-cup-and-wait routine. Works for me! I think we'll try Kool-Aid next time for vibrant eggs that smell yummy!

Ode to the Lion

I don't know why I've never written about Lion before.  Lion has now become a member of our family. Lion was originally owned by Kylie, but one day Jackson just decided he really liked it, so she gave it to him.  Well, it's been a match made in Heaven ever since.  This kid is so attached to this lion.  I keep thinking I need a backup in case anything ever happened to him, but at this point, he would quickly recognize the imposter.  He has his Lion close by pretty much every minute of the day, except when he goes to school. Lion is his best buddy and his comfort when he's hurt or sad.  When Jackson is falling asleep at night, his sweet little hands just pet lion over and over until he falls asleep. It is too precious.  Lion has been well-loved and you can tell, but that's what I love about him.  On the rare occasion I can get him away for an hour or two I try to wash him, but let's just say Lion typically doesn't have that oh so clean smell:)  So, we love you Lion and are so happy you are in our family!!

Spring Break 2012 Day Three

Off to Cabela's!!!Who doesn't love Cabela's?  Grandpa Roy even came with us on this adventure.  Kylie and Grandma Mary used to go to Cabela's quite a bit, but she hadn't been there in a long time.  Despite the cool animals and the huge fish tank, it seems like Jackson's favorite part was the big staircase - sheesh.
I think this store is so stinkin' cool.  All those neat animals in their true form.  Awesome.  And, the fish tank is quite a sight to see as well. Carter really liked this part!

 It's annoying that this is sideways - grrrrr.

When we went upstairs, the kids had fun playing in all the tents and shooting the laser guns.  Then, it was time for a bite to eat.  So, hot dogs for the kiddos and it was off to see more of the store.  Kylie even got a "Sic 'Em Bears" picture!

Spring Break 2012 Day Two

Rodeo... here we come!

I was a little worried on the way there because it was sprinkling, but we were going to the Rodeo rain or shine!

Carter stayed home while Kylie, Jackson and I spent some fun time together.  We started at the big barn for petting tons of cute (and not so cute) animals.  There was even a camel in there.  Those are some really interesting animals!

Kylie always enjoys feeding the animals and doesn't seem skiddish about it all.  Jackson on the other hand, prefers to throw the food at them so not to actually touch them!  At one point, a little goat was chewing on my shoelace and he did not like that one bit.  I thought it was really funny:) Some of those animals were little stinkers and would almost knock kids down trying to get their food.  One of them went after the backpack I was wearing!

After the petting zoo, we went out to ride some rides.  Jackson got to ride his first roller coaster.  I could tell he was a bit leary of the roller coaster, but I'm really glad he didn't chicken out.  Kylie sat in front of us, then Jackson and I were right behind her.  He was whimpering a little bit at first, but then he got the hang of it and was all smiles! So fun!  Oh man, I want to go back to Disneyworld.  He would so dig that place (well, who doesn't).

The other highlight of the rodeo was the tractors on display.  We could have gone just to check out the tractors and he would have been totally fine with that.  He is so into tractors right now.  In fact, we're thinking he might get a little ride-on tractor for his birthday in May. Ha!

The only bad part about the day was going out the wrong exit and then having to walk all the way through the Rodeo to get back to the right exit. Ugh.  I have no sense of direction.  No good.

I am so glad we went and hope to make it an annual tradition with the kiddos!

Spring Break 2012 Day One

This was the first year since college that I actually had Spring Break off, and I am so happy I got to spend it with my sweet kiddos.  It is so rare that I get to spend uninterrupted time with them during the weekdays, so this was precious time for sweet memories.
We got to go to the Austin Zoo, the Rodeo, Cabela's, Jumpoline Park, and just hang out.  It was so fun!

Since I took quite a few pictures I'm going to do separate entries for each one of our fun excursions:)

The first day we went to the Austin Zoo.  It's not a huge zoo, which I actually like with the little ones.  It's not big for us to walk around and see everything before everyone gets tuckered out.  Of course Carter man had it easy riding in the stroller! His first zoo trip.  I have to say the Lions are the coolest animals there.  Amazing creatures!  They have a neat little train ride that Jackson was super excited about riding on.  But, the funny thing about that is he was asking "are we done?" about every two minutes! We took our lunch, so we stopped and ate a bite at the picnic tables while the peacocks and roosters roamed about the tables (kinda funny). We finished the day off with sno cones and a trip to the little gift shop:)

Carter is 7 Months!

Carter James just turned 7 months old and I am amazed at how quickly these 7 months have flown by.  It has not been an easy road with this little guy but I find myself getting more attached to him every day.  I just love him so much!  He really is a happy guy, very friendly.  He loves to be held by anyone willing to carry him around.  He's done great at church in the nursery which is a huge blessing considering it took me about 6 months before I would leave him in there, ha!  He's weighing in now at about 20 lbs. which definitely puts him at the upper end of the growth percentage charts.  He's got some super chubby legs! He is eating lots of new things these days.  He has liked almost all of the things I've tried with the exception of a few.  No teeth yet!  I can't believe he doesn't have a single tooth yet. I'm so ready for him to start working on those puffs or Mum Mums, but he doesn't have any teeth!  He's sitting up pretty well, but he'll certainly tip over after a while.
The biggest hurdle we've overcome this month is his night-time sleeping.  He's finally in his bed (halleluhah!) and not being swaddled.  He's actually slept until about 5 a.m. a few times which is stellar.  Naptimes are still not going all that great.  He has a hard time getting sleep during the day.  Even when he's tired, he really fights his naps and then might sleep for 30 minutes.  But, I won't complain, since he's not waking up multiple times at night.

I am so happy God gave us this sweet little boy! We are very blessed to have him!

Birthday cake from Grandma Debbie!

Birthday Celebration at the American Girl Store

I lost another toofes... soooo cute!

I sorta skipped right past Kylie Marie's 7th Birthday and I certainly don't want to miss this entry. I can't believe my precious baby girl is 7 years old.  The time has flown by so quickly and I find myself watching her turn into a young lady overnight. I am so happy and excited that she is growing and flourishing like crazy, but I have to admit it's scary to me that it's going by so quickly.  She is incredibly independent and social.  She certainly has her share of silly mood-swings just like any girl, and can be a complete drama queen, but it's actually quite endearing.  She's a great big sister to both her brothers, despite the times she likes to push Jackson's buttons.  She really knows how to get under her skin and she thinks it's hilarious - Mom and Dad, not so much.  She loves to carry Carter around and play with him.  She can get the best laughs out of him, I mean, big ole belly laughs. 
She is such a smarty pants and has really excelled at school in reading, writing and math.  She has so many friends and she likes the boys, too...yikes!  She is taking piano again with a fantastic teacher and I love hearing her play.  I can totally see her playing some amazing songs some day.  She is still doing dance, which the verdict is still out on whether or not she has that dancer's grace in her (hmmmmm).  She's enjoying her horseback riding lessons too! Jackson thinks he wants to ride too, but he's a scaredy cat, so that's not happening any time soon:)
I am so proud of my Kylie and I see the incredible creature God has trusted me with and am so humbled by the responsibility to be her mother.