Easter Beauties

This Easter we spent a nice relaxing day at home with Grandpa. With all of the craziness of packing and getting ready to move, the Easter Bunny almost forgot about hiding eggs and getting K's basket together. Thankfully the Bunny remembered in the wee hours of the morning before anyone else woke up and was able to get everything all set. After K found her eggs and ripped through her gifts, Grandpa came over for a relaxed dinner of Bistro Chicken, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, salad, bread and raspberry brownies. It was really nice to spend so much time with him and to have a day where we didn't have to worry about packing. Here are a few pictures of the girls in their Easter outfits:

Hunting for Easter Eggs

Smiling for the camera

Sweet sisters in their matching yellow outfits

Our smiley little girl

Grandpa and E checking each other out.

Grandpa and K modeling the latest in Easter eyewear.

Friday Family Fun Night 3

This past Friday we had our third Friday Family Fun Night. Our first FFFN consisted of eating pizza in our bed while watching a movie of K's choice: Toy Story 2 (I wish I had taken some pictures of it. Oh well.) Our second was camping in the living room (seen here.) For our third FFFN we let her pick the restaurant of her choice for dinner (Red Robin) and then set up the ball pit. It used to be set up in her playroom but as we've accumulated more and more toys I took it down since it takes up quite a bit of space and she wasn't playing in it much. She saw it folded up in her closet that afternoon and wanted me to set it up for her. I didn't have the chance to during the day but thought it would make for a fun FFFN for her and us.

All smiles while playing her MobiGo in the ball pit.

We were having ball wars with her throwing the balls out and us throwing them back in at her.

She also really liked standing on the ottoman and pitching balls into the top hole.

Trying to capture one of E's beautiful smiles in a photo. I have some better ones on my phone that I have to download.

Looking very serious. I would be serious too if I had to dodge balls being thrown by my big sister ;)

Mommy and E pooped out after an entertaining Friday Family Fun Night.

Our 2nd Friday Family Fun Night

As I type this, K and A are camping.. Never mind that they have indoor plumbing and there are no spiders in the showers, or that the stars are being projected by Edward the Turtle. That's right, the tent is set up downstairs in our living room and I haven't seen K that excited about something in a long time.

To start off our second FFFN (Friday Family Fun Night) we had hot dogs cooked on a Foreman grill instead of an open fire and S'mores made in the microwave instead of flaming on a stick. No matter, they still tasted great, especially since the only big marshmallows we had were the strawberry flavored ones and they were quite tasty with the chocolate. Then K and I went up to her room to pack her backpack full of all the things she would need for camping. Aside from her toothbrush, a pair of jammies and a Buzz Lightyear flashlight, the rest of the bag was packed with stuffed animals. Our kiddo has priorities, man! While we were doing that, A was setting up the tent. When I came up with this idea I had no idea how huge this thing is and that it would take up almost our entire living room. From the moment he got it standing, K has been in it jumping around like a crazy child hyped up on too many S'mores. Because of A's back issues I didn't want him sleeping on the ground so we carried our super comfy futon mattress down and a huge number of pillows. With our trusty Coleman lantern, sub-zero sleeping bag and Daddy's guitar, they were all set to start their camp out. I'm actually quite bummed not to be sleeping down there with them but I didn't want Little E or I to keep them awake with multiple nighttime feedings. At least we were able to pray together via Skype. Ahh, camping at its finest! Now if only I had bought some Tang...

They found the perfect site to pitch the tent.

Super excited to be jumping around in the tent.

Dancing to Daddy's campfire songs.

All snuggled up in the sleeping bag.

Too fast!

I can't believe how fast kids grow up. On the 22nd Little E turned one month and on the 23rd K turned 3 1/2! I am constantly amazed at how incredible these girls are.

K absolutely loves to sing and dance. I'm shocked at how many songs she knows (mostly thanks to Daddy) and how she can actually sing along with the pitch and rhythm. Plus, she cracks me up with how she will dance to any music she hears, whether it's the song from E's bouncy seat to a jingle on a commercial. I really want to get her into some dance lessons because I think she would absolutely love it.

E is really starting to look at things and follow with her eyes. She is incredibly strong and can easily lift her head and turn it from side to side. She will also smile now when we play this little kissing game with her. It's SO cute!

K absolutely loves her little sister. She asks to hold her on her lap all the time and loves to snuggle with her in her bed. Yesterday we decided to instate "Friday Fun Night" (yeah, we're copying off our friends). For our first FFN all four of us snuggled up in our bed and watched Toy Story 3 while eating pizza. Next Friday we're going to set up the tent in our living room and "camp out". The Friday after that I want to set up a big obstacle course. Hopefully we'll be able to come up with some fun ideas each Friday.

Here are some pictures I've taken the past few days:

This was taken when E turned one month. Mom wants me to take one on the quilt each month to see how much she
grows. As you can see, she's a little over three squares now.

There is this photographer named Adele Enersen who took all of these fun photos of her infant daughter imagining what
she might be dreaming of. This is my attempt at a photo like that. It was supposed to be E counting sheep but of course
the moment I set her down she woke up so it didn't quite work out the way I wanted but I still like it.

I couldn't decide which one I liked best so I included all four. It warms my heart so much to see how K loves E.

K's Three-Year Photos

For those of you who know us personally (which is probably everyone reading this post), you'll know that K turned three back in August. In the past years we've taken K to JCPenney to get photos taken of her right around each birthday. Last year we took her photos in November and this year, yeah, it was this past Sunday. Almost a half year late but at least we got them done and by waiting this long, we were able to get a few of her with Little Sis (I'll just pretend that's why I was so late in setting up the appointment and it's not that I just kept putting it off for some unknown reason.) Anyway, below are the photos we ordered. If you are an immediate family member, chances are you'll be getting one so act surprised when you do ;)

I love this one :)

We have pictures of her from years 1 and 2 holding her respective age numbers.

We'll have to get a new frame for this one but it's the one picture that Daddy
specifically wanted so how could we pass it up?

Originally I wasn't sure about this one because you really can't see K's face
but it's just so sweet and shows how much she loves her little sis.

We both really like this one although I wish it wasn't quite so dark. I'm going to ask Mom to scan
it and lighten it up in Photoshop.

The JAKE Family Photo (Yeah, I should have taken off my glasses. Oh well.)

This one and the one below are two poses that I asked the photographer to take. We tried doing this
top picture at home and it was very nerve-wracking holding a wiggly baby on your forearms and
making sure she didn't decided to roll right off. It helped that I could hold her on A's arms and then
run out of the picture at the last second.

This one is a bit weird with my thumb showing through the heart as well but again, hopefully Mom
can scan this one in and Photoshop my thumb out or something.

Our photo session started at 1:00 and K normally naps at 2:00 so we were pushing our luck having it done so late but it was the earliest time slot they had on Sunday and she did surprisingly well. It gets easier as she gets older. I think we'll do one more set when she's four (or maybe 4 and a half ;) and then when she's five that will start school pictures so I'll probably stop going to a studio. I'm sure she will be in E's pictures though (so long as she wants to be) so I'm going to have to find a lot more wall space and frames!

Welcome Home, Little E!

And now we wait...

Three more days. Three more days until the three of us are four. Three more days until our little K becomes our big K and is no longer our only child. Three more days...

I've been trying to fill the time until Little Sis comes with craft projects, shopping, and lots and LOTS of doctors appointments. K and I made these cute snowflake sun-catchers that were really easy to do and not too messy. They definitely took more prep work than the actual craft but they look pretty hanging in the window and K seemed to like picking up handfuls of the cut little pieces of tissue paper and smashing them down on the contact paper.

She put pieces of double sided tape on the back and stuck them to the window wherever she wanted.

Next I made these little matching T-shirts for the girls. The shirts are from Wal-Mart (can you believe Target and Kohl's don't sell plain 5T long-sleeve t-shirts?) I bought Ultra-Hold Heat and Bond from Jo-Ann Fabrics and used some fabric quarters I bought long ago that I was going to use to make bunting out of but never did. I traced the letters in reverse on the paper of the Heat and Bond from stencils I had from my teaching days and ironed them to the six pre-washed and ironed colors that K picked out. I've never done an applique before and this was so easy and fun! I'm concerned about the letters fraying when I wash them which is why I got the Ultra-Hold versus just regular hold but so long as I get a few good pictures of the girls in them before I have to wash the shirts then I'll be a happy Mommy.

Wow, looking at these two shirts now in the picture, the little one looks so tiny compared to K's.

Lastly, we made a cute Welcome Home card for Little Sis that I'll post a picture of once the babe is born, IN THREE DAYS!!! So weird and crazy and cool and scary all at the same time.