Happy Baby!!!

I just captured this pic of my baby girl in between laundry, picking up around here, paying bills, and balancing the checkbook! How sweet of her to let me get a few things done around here!!!

Love you, Taylen Jae!! You are such a sweetie!!!! We'll count this as your FIRST official SMILE! Woo-Hoo!!!

Happy Wednesday, Y'all!!! Make it a great one!!!

What a PERFECT....

day with my three munchkins!! With all that is going on with the house, we (the three kids and I) had to be out of the house so about 10 realtors could come take a tour...Here's a little run-down of our day together...

We hit the local grocery story (HyVee) for a little breakfast and grocery shopping. The kids were fantastic! Tylee drove the "police car", Trey sat up in the seat and reminded me what we needed, and Taylen snoozed away in her carrier. They each got to put items up on the checkout belt...which is always the best part of the grocery store visit for them. The poor checkout lady has to scan at our pace and the poor people behind me have to wait a little longer than expected, but it's important to them that they get to help out, so I'm all for it. The way I look at it, the people behind me can switch lines if we aren't moving fast enough for them. Why ruin a grocery store trip just to save a few minutes for the people behind me that I don't even know?!?! Isn't that what the express lanes are for?!?!

After the grocery store trip, we ran by ProLube for a quick oil change, where I opted for the premium oil change...the one I only have to have every 6,000 miles instead of 3,000. I figured it would be just one less thing to have to worry about for a while...the kids, once again, were great. They have these foot massage machines in the waiting area, so that kept them busy for the entire time...and Taylen continued her morning snooze! (Here's a quick thank you to the sweet lady who was waiting as well. She was kind enough to allow them to talk her ear off...)

After the oil change, we pit-stopped at home, where Trey proceeded to put the groceries away while I fed Taylen. He totally offered to do it, all on his own, and did a great job...anything he couldn't reach, he set on the counter. I was super impressed and super proud of him for helping out while my hands were full. While Trey put the groceries away, Tylee kept me company and we had the most interesting conversation about this past weekend's Easter activities...so cute to hear her putting all those thoughts in her head into words. I LOVE having discussions with little kids! They have the BEST outlook on life and have a great way of bringing their own cute little sense of humor into whatever it is we talk about...

At this point, I decided that I'd take the kids to Jumpin' Jim's, which is a little bounce house business that the kids absolutely love. The weather has been so cruddy here lately that I thought it would be a great way to burn off some energy and let them know how much I appreciated them being so cooperative all morning long.

We headed over and, to my surprise, it wasn't open. Apparently, Jumpin' Jim's isn't open on Mondays, Tuesdays, or Wednesday. These are little things I'm learning while I'm on maternity leave...usually I'm at work and don't get to do those fun things during the weekdays. The kids were bummed to say the least...Tylee even wanted me to get out of the car and try to open the doors. She obviously needed more proof than the "closed" sign on the door and the fact that it was pitch black inside. But, despite their disappointment, they didn't throw a fit at all....just a "Shucks, we'll have to come back later...." Music to my ears....

We decided to head home and have a slumber "nap" party instead....featuring Tangled, Tylee's new DVD, and popcorn. It was VERY relaxing to say the least...and a super cute movie, by the way!!

Daddy arrived home from school and working out shortly after the movie....and we hit HyVee again for kid's night...featuring Dizzy the Clown, who the kids hadn't seen in a while. The kids love to get all painted up....

Tylee opted for the tiger face....So.Cute.

After we got home, we had a little family Silly String fight in the (neighbor's) yard....don't worry, we cleaned it all up!!! LOL....

Trey after Tylee and I got him while he wasn't looking! Fun.Times.

After our fun evening, I met a friend at the YMCA for a fun Zumba class and a little weight lifting. What a great way to end a great day!!! I have to say it was fairly productive and very fun at the same time....we need days like this more often!!! 

Trey & Tylee...I know this whole having to keep the house clean and picked up isn't much fun, but you two are doing a great job of helping out and keeping things from getting "junky" as you say!! We are proud of you both and can't wait until things settle down again, your toys are all unpacked, and you get back to "playing" like you love to do. LOVE you both, TONS!

Happy Easter!!!

What a FABULOUS day...Our 1st Easter together as a family of FIVE!! I know I've been all about the family of five thing lately, but I truly cannot believe Jason and I now have three children. Our family is now complete and we enjoyed celebrating Easter 2011 with Jason's family over in Bloomfield, Iowa, where his sister, Lori, lives. There is about 12 years difference between her kids and ours, but Trey and Tylee still LOVE spending time with their cousins when they get the chance. Damen and Caden both are in high school and are super busy, but when we do get a chance to get together, our kids get pumped, and I mean PUMPED! Trey and Ty love hanging out with them, following them around, and doing whatever they do. They just don't get enough of those moments, so they took full advantage today!!!

Marcia and Lori cooked up a yummy dinner, including everyone's favorites. (My cooking isn't even in the same ballpark as those two, so I don't think there's ever been a time that I've brought something to our family dinners...at least nothing I've made from scratch....but, then again, I've never claimed to be a good cook!!)

After dinner, the kids headed out for an Easter egg hunt....SO.MUCH. FUN.

We wrapped up the evening with a lot of playing, visiting, and even some snoozing for those that needed a nap.

As usual, I waaaaaay over did it with the whole picture thing. But, I just had a heck of time narrowing it down to a few favorites!! Go figure, huh?!?!

Our family pic as we headed off to Bloomfield...it was definitely SUNNY! Yay!!

My two bucket heads ready to hit the yard for the big Easter egg hunt!!!

Trey and Ty with Aunt Lori....

Ty showing off what she found...it was a pink one!

Looking for more eggs! Jason and I totally think this picture and the one before it are straight out of Alice in Wonderland...so cute!!!

Trey J....Getting so big...I can't believe he'll be five in less than a month!!!

Daddy and Taylen watching everyone hunt a few eggs!!! Did I mention that the weather was BEAUTIFUL?!?!

Taylen with Mommy & Daddy on her first Easter.....

Trey scoping it all out and making sure he found them all...even though we later discovered we were two eggs short. The lawn man will have a nice surprise sometime soon!!!

Ty picking up the orange one...looking sooooo cute in her Fancy Nancy dress!! A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!!

Ty still looking so stinkin' cute!!!!

Trey J too!!! So handsome!!!

One more from Miss Ty....You are one beautiful girl, and definitely a princess!!!

Had to capture this shot of her....checking out Trey and watching him finish grabbing the rest of the eggs!

I'd say they scored big time!! Thanks Grandma Marcia for filling all those eggs and making the hunt possible!!

Ty emptying her eggs....and eating every other piece of candy she found!! Good thing we ate dinner before the hunt!!!

Ty and Aunt Lori being silly with the bunny masks....

And, Miss Taylen with her FIRST smile!!! Awwww....pretty baby! Happy Easter, Cutie!!!

Gnawing on that hand...tastes soooo good!!!

Thanks, Lori & Doug, for having us over to celebrate Easter with you guys!! It truly was a perfect day...It was nice seeing grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, and cousins...the kids loved everything and we enjoyed spending time with family!!!

To all of those we didn't get to see...thanks for sending cards, goodies, Easter messages, and phone calls to the kiddos. They truly are blessed to have such a wonderful and caring family. We may not have been able to spend the day with you in person, but we were definitely thinking about each and EVERYONE of you!!! Happy, Happy Easter and know we are sending Lots of Love and Hugs!!!

That Easter Bunny's lap must be.....

mighty comfy!!! On Friday afternoon, while we were up in Des Moines, we stopped by Valley West Mall to visit the Easter Bunny!! The line was kind of long, but it was definitely worth the wait. The kiddos were excited to see him and were very cooperative for this year's picture!! I would have bet money that Tylee was going to back out as soon as the time came to actually sit on his lap or that she would have cried for the pic, but to my surprise, she was all game to take a pic with him, her big bro, and little sis....so cute!!! Taylen's first Easter Bunny trip can be considered a SUCCESS!! Happy 1st Easter, Baby Girl!!!

2011's picture with the Easter Bunny...Two SMILEYS and a SNOOZE!!!

Pictures with the Easter Bunny have become a tradition...here's a little look at all of our Kodak moments with the Easter Bunny himself.....

Trey with the bunny back in 2007...his first Easter!!

Trey was OBSESSED with the Bunny's teeth!!

Tylee's first Easter....back in 2009....Sadly, this was a few days before Trey broke his leg!!

(Okay, okay, I know what you are thinking...."Where is the Easter Bunny pic from 2008??" Well, for the life of me, I CANNOT find that picture ANYWHERE!! I thought I had all the Easter Bunny pics together, but apparently I am not as organized as I thought!!! So, until I can find that pic...you'll just have to use your imagination!!! Sorry, Trey J...it would have been your second Easter....)

Now, on to the next....

Easter Bunny visit in 2010...Tylee was too scared (hence the reason I'm in the photo!!) Mommy will do anything to get a photo with Mr. Easter Bunny...lol!!! Also, please notice Tylee's arm...poor girl broke her arm the day before and didn't have her cast on yet.Thank goodness we didn't have any Good Friday repeats this year!!!

That's it for the Easter Bunny photos....you all know where to find us for Easter 2012...

So, THANKS, Mr. Easter Bunny, for being a trooper and letting us pose with you year after year!!! We always have fun and appreciate you stopping by our house last night to drop off some goodies for the kids and hide a few jelly bean-filled plastic eggs....I'm not sure who enjoyed themselves more: Trey & Tylee hunting them or me and Jason watching them run around looking for all your secret spots!!!

Speaking of looking for secret hiding spots...I ran across these pics of Trey hunting Easter eggs at Grampy's back in 2008 (Yes, that's the year of the "lost" Easter Bunny pic...ugh! We were on the road that year, so maybe I left it down in StL. Who knows?!?!) There was actually snow that Easter, so I definitely don't have any right to complain about this year's weather.You can totally tell Trey knew what he was doing!!!

Grampy holding back the plant....Go get it Buddy!!

Counting his loot....

Excited and ready to open them up and see what he found!!!

Hope everyone has a fabulous Easter Sunday!!! Safe travels if you are hitting the road. Looks like the weather might decide to cooperate after all...we are headed to Bloomfield to visit Jason's side of the family, have another Easter egg hunt, and eat up a little Easter dinner.

What a perfect way to celebrate this holiday!!!!

A little peek...

at Miss Taylen and how big she's getting!! I can't believe she will be six weeks tomorrow....

Hanging out in her bouncer (Which was Trey's, then Tylee's, and now is Taylen's...looking like it's going to survive all three kids!!! Thanks, Aunt Calie!!)

Looking over at her big Sis....

Definitely getting bigger....

Blowing bubbles....

We LOVE fitting a little....

I-Cubs action into our schedules and Friday night we enjoyed out FIRST major outing as a family of FIVE!!!

The weather definitely wasn't ideal, but we loaded up and headed over to Principal Park to watch a little Iowa Cubs baseball.

Now, all of you know that I'm an absolute die hard Cardinals fan and know that Cardinals fans don't mesh well with Cubs fans. BUT, Jason is a HUGE Cubs fan and has been since he was little. The Cubs Triple-A club is based in Des Moines and we absolutely love going to the stadium...especially with the kiddos. It's such a family friendly environment and still allows Jason and I to get in our baseball fix without having to travel major distances and/or dish out a bunch of moo la for tickets. Thanks to Grandpa Ken, aka Jason's dad, we are able to score first row tickets right by the opponent's dugout often during the season. Trey (and Jason) get their share of autographs and we basically feel like we are right on the field with the players. Can't beat that!!!

Luckily, Ken got tickets for both Thursday and Friday nights' games. Thursday night, Jason hit the stadium with Trey and Tylee while Taylen and I stayed home to keep warm. Friday's forecast was supposed to be better, but it ended up being drizzly all day. As Friday night rolled around, the temps weren't too chilly and the drizzle let up for the most part. Taylen and I braved the weather and hit the ballpark with the other three....and, it was a blast!! (With a few four year old melt downs and MULTIPLE potty trips thrown in, but that's part of the deal with three kiddos!!!)

Trey showing off his I-Cubs gear that he scored at Thursday night's game....stocking caps were the give away and Trey caught the T-shirt in between innings!! Just a little big, don't ya think?!?!

Tylee Jean hanging out in the baseball....

And, waiting for the game to start....

Trey ready to score some autographs and baseballs.....that cute smile gets them every time! He also just happened to win over the Albuquerque Isotopes (yep...that's the name of the L.A. Dodgers farm club) right fielder, Jamie Hoffman...three baseballs and four autographs later, Trey had fun yelling at him from his seat, "Great hit, Jamie!" after a home run shot. In return, Trey got a, "Thanks, Buddy!" Priceless.

Me and my three...I still can't believe I have THREE!!! Amazing...and so exciting!!!

Trey and Cubby Bear...he loves that bear!!!

This snapshot sums up the reason why Tylee is not in that pic with Trey and the Cubby Bear....she is terrified of him! This was after a WHOLE day of telling us that she was definitely going to be giving the bear a high five at the game. Uh, yeah right!!! Poor girl....her face says it all!!!

But....GOOD NEWS....She was NOT afraid of the Easter Bunny....below is a little sneak peek at what's to come....

So, after another fun weekend in Des Moines, we can officially say that we survived our first family of five outing (I don't know how they do it with 19 and counting)!! And, we also are proud to say we survived Good Friday with no breaks or major accidents!! Woo-hoo!!!

Here's to many more I-Cubs games and family fun at the ballpark!!!

Easter Egg TIME.....

Who doesn't have fond memories of dyeing Easter eggs?? That LOVELY smell of vinegar and the, "Be careful, don't knock over the cup of dye," warnings!! Those are about the ONLY two "not so fun" things that can be associated with such a fun, family activity!

My brothers and I looked forward to coloring and decorating our eggs every year a few days or so before Easter weekend. Not only did our eggs turn out AWESOME (in our eyes), but there were always LOTS and LOTS of laughs and good memories associated with this activity. Now-a-days, I absolutely love hard boiled eggs (only if the yellow is taken out....I've NEVER been a fan of the yolk....ugh! Especially if it was runny!!! Ewww...) But, back then, those hard boiled eggs weren't so popular. I remember my mom always putting our colored eggs on the edge of our plates in the few days following the dyeing activities, hoping that we'd peel them and eat them up. Day after day, they ended up being the only thing that was left on the plate...never getting their moment of glory, ending up back in the fridge. Fortunately, my kids (especially Trey) love eating hard boiled eggs, so, between me and them, the eggs will have no problem getting eaten up!!!

Regardless of what was to come of the eggs after we dyed them, we ALWAYS had a blast coloring them together and I'm glad to say that Trey & Tylee continued the tradition yesterday afternoon....and, I also have to tell you that I did utter those famous words, "Be careful, don't knock over the cups," many times! I guess it comes with the territory, especially with a four and two-year old!!!

Ready to begin....

Tylee using her white crayon to create a design...this was always my favorite part!! Such a surprise to see how it turns out!!! (It was cute watching her switch the egg and crayon back and forth between her right and left hand, not sure which way to hold them....until she settled on the method above!!)

So much for setting the egg into the cup....GENTLY!! I'm still shocked the egg actually made it into the cup and the cup didn't go tumbling!!

Trey decorating his with the crayon....and, writing his own name on it!!!

Trey dropping it in the green....the color he chose for Daddy's egg!!! Tylee in the background ready to drop another egg "bomb!" (She obviously still wasn't getting the whole "gentle" aspect...either that or she just preferred this technique to the one I suggested! I'm going with the latter...)

Trey checking out his masterpiece!!!

Tylee showing off her masterpiece....

Giving me a little cheesin' action while patiently waiting for her eggs to change colors....

All done and showing off their eggs....

Go Crazy, Folks!!! (They love silly shots...)

So proud and the beginning of a wonderful Easter tradition.....

Great job you two!! I enjoyed sitting back and watching you two have fun, laugh, and create beautifully colored eggs!!! I'm happy to report that we did not have any spilled cups and the mess was minimal!! (Although, you know we would have just cleaned up the mess and continued on, like we always do!) You two are now all ready to teach your little sister and let her join in when this time rolls around again next year!!! Can't wait!!!      

Next Up....A visit with the EASTER BUNNY!!!