The End of A Fun Day

As a parent you always know it has been a fun, busy day when your child passes out on the couch at 6:30p. Such a sweet girl.

Easter Egg Hunt

We had a little bit different Easter Egg Hunt this year, because of company and naps we ended up doing an evening hunt. The Easter Bunny stopped back by to hide a few eggs for the kids while they were taking a bath. While we still have way too much candy, the Easter Bunny did mix in a few dollar bills and change in some eggs instead of candy, it was a big hit. I was not sure how Nolan was going to do with the hunt, but with a little help from Caity he did great, probably better than Rylee did. Rylee was way to excited to see what was in each egg, then she was to go get more eggs. She also wanted to eat candy along the way, instead of just getting as many eggs as she could. After we gathered all of the eggs we put all the candy in a big bowl together and then went and put the money they collected in their piggy banks, I think this was both of their favorite parts.

Easter Baskets

The kids were so excited, to get their Easter Baskets. We woke up and their baskets were downstairs waiting for them, so they quickly headed downstairs together. Rylee was so sweet because she was more excited to help Nolan see what was in his basket than she was to see what she got. Eventually she did go look at her basket, and both kids loved their presents. Both kids got new swim suits, sun glasses, a stuffed animal, a shirt, and a toy. Nolan's toy was a bubble lawn mower, and Rylee's toy was a new Leapster Game. Nolan thought his Buzz Lightyear Sunglasses were really fun for about one minute and then he would laugh and take them off, but we will keep working with him. Rylee got a new pair of Tinkerbell glasses because her other ones went missing after our last road trip to Las Vegas. Nolan's swim suit was a pair of boy's board shorts and a rash gaurd, and Rylee's was of course a Tinkerbell one with a cute cover up to go along with it. To finish off each basket was a chocolate bunny that Rylee was the most excited about.

Rylee's Basket

Nolan's Basket

Rylee's New Game

Nolan's Sunglasses

Rylee showing Nolan his candy bunny

Rylee's bunny

Nolan's Bubble Mower

Rylee's presents

Nolan's Presents

Grandma Kathi Came To Visit

We were so lucky to have a special visit from Grandma Kathi this weekend. She got in town late Wednesday evening and spent four fun filled days with the kids and they all had a blast. We did not do anything in particular, but we had lots of fun watching Mickey Mouse, building blocks, putting puzzles together, and just playing. It was sad for the kids to see her go, but we are hoping to see her and Grandpa Rick when we go to Houston this Summer.

(The thumbs up by Rylee is to show me that she took

her thumb out of her mouth for the picture.)

15 Months Old

When did this cute little baby become a toddler, it seems like it happened over night to me. One day he was a cute snuggly baby, and now he is a cute climbing, walking toddler. Nolan is 15 months old today and he brings us so much joy everyday. He is the sweetest boy and nothing makes us smile and laugh like Nolan's cute giggle. He wants to do everything his sister can do and a lot of the time with a little assistance he can do it, and then by the next day he will be doing it by himself. Recently he has started to identify his nose, tongue, and sometimes his eye. He waves bye-bye, blows great kisses, points to things he wants, signs "more,"and is starting to formulate a few words. My favorite thing he does is when we drive past Matt's office he points out the window and says, "Dada!" We are so lucky to have Nolan as a part of our family.

Tonight at My-Gym he had a great time playing basketball and climbing the ladder, yup up the ladder and down the slide head first!

climbing the ladder

A Special Package From Uncle Gary

Normally I know when we are getting packages, but yesterday when we were on our way out I saw a box on the porch and I had no idea what it could be. When I picked up the box I saw it had Rylee's name on it and it was from her buddy Uncle Gary. We were headed to the store, but as soon as we got home that night we showed her the package and let her open it up. Inside the package was a bunch of pancake making items. Rylee and Uncle Gary were "breakfast buddies" while we were staying at there house over Christmas, so he got her a bunch of things to practice making breakfast so she will be an expert when we are together this Summer. In the package was a really nice letter to Rylee, some bisquick, pancake shapers (cookie cutters with handles), and a pancake pen. Once we opened the package and saw what was inside we decided we needed pancakes for dinner last night, so Daddy and Rylee cooked them for us. The pancake shapers were called "Outer Space Pancakes," so we had the Sun, the Moon, and Saturn shaped pancakes.

Rylee was so excited to get a package just for her. Today she talked to Uncle Gary and thanked him for her package and they talked about seeing each other in two months.

Getting Ready To Open

So excited for her letter

Pancake Pen

Bisquick

Searching for more treasures, Nolan is curious too

Pancake Shapers

Even the packaging was a present to these kids

Excited

Pancakes cooking

Almost Done

Eating Pancakes and telling Grandma about them

Las Vegas

This past weekend Nolan and I went to Las Vegas for another soccer tournament, and Nolan was such a good boy. We did not do much besides go from the hotel to the fields and back to the hotel, but that did not seem to bother him he was just happy to be with everyone. Of course he was spoiled rotten by all the mom's and my players, but how can someone resist this little boy begging you to pick him up or to give him a treat?
The first day we were there he wore one of his new Sumemr shirts, and yes it is pink and yes I love it! He looked so great in it, and not once did anyone mistake him for a little girl. When we went to our first game he was a very clean little boy, but as you can see he very much loved the dirt and playing in it. The only problem was he also loved to eat the dirt, so we had to keep a very close eye on him. After the game we had to take him for a bath because he was filthy, but he had had a good time.

Cute picture, but I cut his little head off

Running Down the Hallway

Playing in the dirt

Washing the dirt off

Coloring and Being Adorable

I cannot get enough of this boy lately, he is so sweet and cute. Everyday is a new adventure and today he found Rylee's coloring crayons. Sometimes while Rylee is asleep I let Nolan play with her toys, the ones she does not like to share, so today I let him color a little bit when he found the crayons - please don't tell on me! He was so proud of himself and did a pretty good job keeping the coloring on the paper. One thing that did catch my attention was he was coloring left handed. I know it is too early to really tell what hand will be his predominant hand, but he does use his left hand for silverware too.
One of Nolan's newest "things" is to lay on his tummy to do things. I have found him laying on his tummy and playing with toys, pushing the buttons on his radio, watching Mickey Mouse and now coloring. It makes him looks so grown up and cute.

Bath Time

Lately bath time has been getting more and more exciting around our house. Rylee has taught Nolan how to splash and they do it together, and Nolan has taught himself how to dump water out of the tub with the bath cups, one cup in each hand. The two of them also blow bubbles in the bath water together by sticking their entire face in the water. This evening the kids both took really long, late naps, so we used the bath to help get out some of their excess energy. They had a blast playing in the tub together, and they splashed and splashed so much it looked like someone had taken a shower without closing the curtain. It is so fun to see the two of them interact and to watch Nolan mimic everything his big sister is doing.

The Zoo

After haircuts and lunch we ran a few errands and then went to the zoo. We needed to stay away from the house for a little bit, because we had a few realtors showing it to clients. The kids were so excited to be outside, you would have thought we were at Disneyland! Nolan of course did not want to be in the stroller, so luckily the zoo was not too crowded so he could wander with Rylee. Rylee was so sweet to take care of him and hold his hand so he was safe. She also made sure he got to see every animal and she would tell him what animal we were seeing. It was a great day at the zoo, because all of the animals were out and walking around, the weather was fantastic, and the kids were so good. We ended the day on the Carousel. Rylee loves it, she even asked me afterwards if she could go on the "Cinderella one next time, not the animal one?" Nolan however loved to sit on his rhino, but the minute the Carousel started to move he was done. We had a really fun day, and we are ready to have another one tomorrow!

Ready to go see the animals

Best Friends

Looking at the elephants

Nolan on the carousel

Rylee ready for the ride to start

Haircuts

Rylee and her best friend Maddi did a little girls day at the hair salon today. They met up and had their hair washed, cut, styled, and they got their nails done. The girls had a great time playing and getting their hair done the same way. Rylee really likes getting her hair cut, however today was the first day that she got her hair washed at the salon and she did not enjoy it. But, once it was done she told me it was not so bad!
After Rylee got her hair cut I checked to see if they could squeeze Nolan in and they could. His hair was getting a little shaggy again, so I figured since I was already there we would get him all cleaned up. It is a nice clean cut and it makes him look even older and shows how thin his little face is getting.

Choosing her nail polish

Getting her nails painted

Just finished getting her hair washed

Ready to get her hair cut

Nolan getting his hair cut

Trying to hold still

Looking So Cute & Old

Nolan is so active lately and it is so much fun, but the sad part of it is that he is starting to thin out. In my opinion he is still completely adorable, but as he thins he starts to look more and more like a toddler and not like my baby anymore. He is into everything and loves to make messes faster than I can clean them up. He has learned how to come down the stairs, without falling :)! This week he has started to identify his body parts. He knows his nose, tongue, and he is trying to learn eyes and ears. Today while we were driving we drove past Matt's office and he pointed out the window and yelled, "Dada!" He always points to the pictures in our house and says his version of "Rye-Rye" while she is at school, as though he is asking where is my sister? The best part of Nolan though is that he is still the happiest, sweetest boy in the world.

Disney On Ice

About a month ago we saw Disney On Ice was coming to town and it was starring Tinkerbell and Friends, so we decided to get tickets for Rylee and me. We wanted to make the night really special, so Daddy got us front row tickets.
We started the evening with getting dressed and ready to go. She wanted to go dressed as Tinkerbell, so we did. We dropped Nolan off at the babysitter, and all Rylee could talk about was how excited she was to get to "our show!" We got there early to walk around and check out all the booths, and of course we ended up with a few souvenirs. Rylee got a Minnie Mouse stuffed animal and Nolan got a light up toy, picked out by his big sister. After browsing we headed down to our seats, and they were amazing. We were literally a yard from the ice, with nothing between us and the ice! Rylee was so excited and kept asking me when the show was going to start, and then the announcer started announcing countdown. Every time he would say something like, "5 minutes until the show starts," Rylee would get more and more excited.
Well, the excitement quickly turned to pure terror in a matter of a second. Side Note, when we were at Disney World Rylee was terrified of most of the characters, but we had talked about it with her and thought she was going to be okay at the show. Well, we were wrong. The minute Mickey skated out she started crying that she wanted to go home. It was really sad to see, and I was worried we really might have to leave. I took her off to the side and we called Daddy, and we decided we would try to sit a little higher up. I talked to the usher and she said we could go anywhere we wanted, so Rylee picked out a seat 5 rows up and suddenly everything was better.
From the moment we moved until the end she was fixed on the ice. By the end she loved it and wanted to see more.
The show really was great. We got to see the characters from Cars, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, and Tinkerbell and Friends. The skaters were fantastic, and I was really impressed with how well they skated. In the end I would definitely take her again, we would just skip out on the front row and do the next section back, silly little girl.

Rylee with her new Minnie Mouse

In our seats before the show starts

(my flash did not go off so the picture is grainy)

Standing in front of the ice

Rylee and Mommy getting ready for the show to start

Out comes Mickey Mouse

The meltdown that prompted us moving up a few rows