ordinary days

Cousin Daniel had his 2nd birthday party last weekend.

I still can't believe how quickly time flies - oh, and how quick Daniel is, because I couldn't even get a good picture of him sitting still.

But...I did get a good one of Granddad, GG Rita, and Eli (they were all sitting still) :)

Eli has such a good sense of humor - and he thinks his siblings are just about the funniest things EVER!  I'm not sure what Colin was saying, but obviously it was HILARIOUS!

Those are Colin's glasses - that I bought off Amazon.  

Colin really badly needs some reading glasses of +1 (but finding reading glasses in kids size at that prescription is nearly impossible).  They are a little too big for his face, but he still likes them.  I'm hoping they will get us through the rest of the school year until we can get some good glasses for him over the summer.

I found some Batman pajamas for Eli (yes, he's not quite 5 months and wearing 12 month clothes!) and Colin decided he wanted to wear his Spiderman pajamas.

Then my sweet little Maggie decided she wanted a picture of Batman and Butterfly Girl.

Yes, I'm sure there's a superhero somewhere that's called Butterfly Girl.

Oh, and we started Eli on some oatmeal cereal the other night.

Brian and I actually didn't feed him at all, our little helpers did all the work.

Not sure how much food actually made it in his mouth - but he really enjoyed it and the kids just loved helping out.

I love this picture of him...

He's growing up so fast.  I'm just trying to soak up all the last "firsts" as much as I can.

Some days are so hard getting stuck in a rut and just getting all of the chores done - it's easy to forget what is important.  

These ordinary days are important...

Lately...

So I'm horribly behind on putting pictures on and updating this blog.

Time just seems to slip away from me lately, and if I do have a free moment, I'd like to sit on the couch with Brian and relax and not be behind the computer screen.

Anyway,

I think I've got some pictures coming your way...

Maggie went to yet ANOTHER swimming party a few weeks back.

These are all her really good friends from school - unfortunately, Maggie is the only one going to St. Therese next year, so she will have to make some new really good friends from school!

Colin is back up and running with spring soccer.

His first game was scheduled for this past weekend, but it was a rainy mess, so it got canceled.

Our weather lately has been crazy - literally snowing one minute, 80 degrees the next day, rain and thunderstorms, back to sunny.  It's terrible on allergies, but spring will settle in soon, I hope!

Colin got his pictures back from school.

He looks so handsome and grown up.  It's a really great picture, too!

My employer, Children's Mercy, partnered with our local professional soccer team.  The Sporting KC stadium is now called Children's Mercy Park!  A couple weekends ago we had the opportunity to go visit the stadium, go in the locker rooms, out on the field level, tour all the special clubs, see a bunch of characters, etc.  The kids had a blast, even though it was a super cold day!

Maggie and her princesses...

Colin got to hold a gun, he thought that was awesome!

Sitting in the chairs that the teams sit in while on the field...

Eli was asleep, but I"m sure he thought it was cool, too!

The locker rooms were pretty neat...

More Star Wars peeps, this time, Colin got to hold a light saber...

And of course, Anna and Elsa.

It was a great afternoon.

So glad I work for such a family-friendly organization!

Branson

We went on a quick little trip to Branson, MO the other weekend - Brian bought a Groupon a while back.  It was a ton of fun, and the kids really enjoyed themselves.  

The hotel we stayed at had a waterpark with it, but not IN it.  So we had to walk outside, in our cold, wet swimsuits back to the room.  The kids were pretty good about it all and didn't complain much.  We were just glad that the weekend in February that we picked had temperatures in the 50s and 60s. 

We ate some pizza, had a good buffet, swam a lot, went to church, did some mini-golfing, and hardly slept at all (thanks to Eli!)

Can you believe how big Eli is getting?!

Poor Maggie will probably never be big enough to carry him!

The boys watching Colin and Maggie do some golfing

Colin and I waiting on Maggie using the restroom

Eli got ahold of my phone and took some selfies! :)

I rode in the backseat with Eli, trying to provide some entertainment for him on the 3.5 hour drive.

Luckily he slept some...

I put Colin's headphones on him...

And I found a bow that I thought he needed to wear!

Thanks for a great weekend, Branson!

Birthday parties and warmer weather

Colin and Maggie got to go to a birthday party last weekend at our local pizza place...and Sluggerrr was there!  It was a Royals themed party and the kids had so much fun.  They even got Cracker Jacks and some Big League Chew gum in their party favors.  So cute!

Colin thought Sluggerrr was pretty hilarious - he turned and hit Colin in the head with his tail.

According to Maggie, Slugerrr smelled weird.  When asked what he smelled like, she said "barbeque and ear wax".  Hmmmmmm.  Maybe he just really needed to take a shower :)

Oh, and she was NOT a fan of him messing up her hair.  Just in case you couldn't tell by her facial expressions...

The weather has been getting warmer (yipeee!), so we've been getting out and taking some walks lately.  I LOVE this!

We found some of Colin's old sunglasses and they fit Eli's big ol' head pretty well.  

Do you see Colin in the background - what a ham!

Love this kid and his squishy cheeks!

His next favorite activity is in this johnny jumper...

He smiles and squeals all the time in there, which of course makes Moose nervous, so he is always close by to protect Eli if necessary! :)

And Brian grabbed some awesome pics of Eli the other night after dinner.  I just love how he smiles with his whole face right now - eyes, cheeks, mouth - everything!

Not sure why the lighting is funny on this one, but I love how he is cupping my face with his hands!

Now off to our family weekend getaway trip to Branson, MO.  

Thanks, Groupon!

More pics of the chunky monkey Eli

We took Eli in for his 4 month checkup this past weekend.  

He weighs 18 pounds (oh my!) and has successfully overcome his first cold/cough/fever sickness.  Brian and I haven't gotten good sleep in SOOOO long, but we're certain it will come our way (hopefully, soon!)

I pulled these super cute pics of Eli off my phone for your enjoyment :)

Playing on the stairs

(don't worry, he isn't rolling from his back yet!)

The best pic I could get of Eli on his 4 month birthday - time is flying by!

The kids just LOVE that Eli is able to be with us at the dinner table at night.

He dropped his late afternoon/evening nap and is spending more time with the family - so fun!

We are also excited that we've had a few nicer days sprinkled in this winter - the kids also LOVE taking Eli for walks - it is a bit of a production getting out of the house, but we always have a lot of fun once we get going...

Eli seems to ALWAYS have his feet in his mouth lately - so even with his chubby rolls, he's got great flexibility! :)