Happy Easter!!

We usually go to the Easter service at our church on Good Friday, but this year we decided to wait and go on Saturday afternoon, since we drove back from Tennessee on Friday morning.  The forecast unfortunately foretold of rain all day long on Easter, so we had an egg hunt for the littles on Saturday morning and afterwards we read the Easter story together.

On Easter morning, Big Sister and Little Bud opened their baskets and we spent some time as a family dying eggs, working on Easter crafts and talking about the meaning of Easter.  We enjoyed Easter lunch with John's family.  It was nice to catch up with everyone, and both kids always enjoy visiting with family! 

Toddler Resurrection Eggs

This was a great way to emphasize to Big Sister the meaning behind Easter

(objects that correspond with each letter/word were inside each egg)

 

 

Easter Cross Craft

simply make the shape of a cross with painters tape

paint, let dry and then remove the tape to reveal the cross

Big Sister is always up for any craft that involves painting!

The big reveal!

(Big Sister refuses to look at the camera these days; oh well.)

Spring Break

This past week was spring break for the school system that Aunt Jamie works for, and since we don't get to see her as often as we like (now that she's a busy school teacher), we marked her spring break on our calendar months ago, planning to spend the week with Papa, Grams and Jamie at the River House (which Big Sister says is her favorite place!).

While we were at the River House, some of my mom's family came for a visit.  Big Sister was excited to play with her 2 cousins, and it was nice for us to be able to catch up with everyone.  

Papa, Grams and Jamie were brave enough to offer to watch both littles for us, so that John and I could go to Asheville for a few days.  I was a bit nervous to leave Little Bud, since he's never spent the night away from us, and he's been going through a separation anxiety faze, but both kids did so well!  Many thanks to Papa, Grams and Jamie for taking such good care of both kids; they had a blast!

After we got back from Asheville, we spent some time hanging around the fireplace at the cabin (it was FREEZING outside most of the week), but once it warmed up a bit, we took a trip to a local park and drove up to Blue Ridge, Georgia to do a bit of shopping.  All in all, it was a great week!  Thanks family!!

Grams and Jamie at the park!

lunch time in Blue Ridge

After we drove home, Little Bud got to try out his 

birthday helmet and go on his first bike ride!

12 months!

Little Bud officially turned a year old on February 27th.  The past year has flown by!  He is such a sweet boy, and my heart melts every time he smiles at me.  His little personality continues to develop, and he's starting to understand and use a bit of sign language.  He spends most of his free time driving his cars, trucks and planes from one end of the house to the other.  He has certain little noises that he makes to get noticed or tell you he's in need of something.  Big Sister is definitely his favorite person (although he does like to snuggle with me a few times a day and he gets SO excited when John comes home from work).  He'll give Big Sister a kiss any time, but he's stingy with his kisses when it comes to anyone else.  At nap time and bed time, he cries a bit as soon as we start to walk down the hall to his room; he can sense that sleep time is coming!  He still sucks his thumb when he's tired.  He usually sleep from 7:30 or 8:00 pm until around 7:00 am, but he almost always wakes up between 5:00 and 6:00 am, and John has to go help him lay back down, so he'll go back to sleep.  He takes 2 naps a day, one around 9:30 and the other about 1:30.  Overall he's a super happy baby boy, and we're enjoying watching him grow!

Here are the stats from his 12 month doctor's appointment:

45 1/2 cm (head circumference)
28 1/2 in (length - 10th percentile)
17 lbs (weight - 3rd percentile)

He's obviously still at the low end of the growth chart, but the doctor was overall pleased with his growth and development.  He's growing well on his own chart, and he's hitting all the development milestones.

Hair Cut for Little Bud!

Little Bud has been much in need of a hair cut for the last few months.  Big Sister didn't get her first hair cut until she was almost 2, so I hated to get his cut before he was even a year old.  I finally had to face the facts though; the boy's hair was getting too crazy!  He kept ending up with food in the tips of his hair every meal, because it would fall into his face while he was eating.  So, Little Bud joined us for our hair cut appointment a few days ago, and he's now proudly sporting his new "do".  He definitely looks more grown up, which does of course make me a little sad.  But, I can see his eyes now, so I guess that's a good trade off.

enjoying a well earned snack after his hair cut!