Daddy Free Weekend

Daddy traveled to Ashville with his buddies to celebrate a bachelor party, so the babies and I had a fun weekend at home without him.

 

Friday night was low-key with a movie night complete with popcorn. Before the main attraction, Tuttle begged to be paint Maggie's toenails. I think his little sister was in Heaven.

 

 

Saturday morning we attended a birthday party for Tuttle's classmate, Jamie, at a local jumpy place. Both kids had a blast, and Maggie worked up an appetite since she ate THREE pieces of pizza at the party!

 

 

Saturday evening Gram came over to babysit, so I could go out to dinner with girlfriends to celebrate Elaine's wedding (Jay was celebrating with the groom.). Gram brought new pajamas for Tuttle and Maggie and a new movie. They barely noticed when I left.

 

I had a great time eating at Noche and catching up for almost three hours. It was a nice break to just sit back and relax and definitely recharged me.

 

Sunday we went to church, and I bribed Tuttle and Maggie to take pictures with a trip to the church playground.

 

 

I loved spending time with these babies, but we sure were happy to see Daddy Sunday afternoon!



Trike-a-Thon

Today the Trike-a-Thon was held at Tuttle's preschool to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Tuttle was so excited to participate and wear his tshirt from last year.

 

 

Tuttle and his sweet friends each brought something to ride around the carpool lane. It was not a race, but that did not stop Tuttle from zooming around on his scooter as fast as he could! :)

 

 

Maggie enjoyed cheering for Tuttle and Gigi although she would only take silly pictures for me!

 

 

 

What a fun morning at preschool!

Easter 2014

We had such a nice day celebrating Easter with our family. We met the grandparents at our church for the morning service while the kids played in the nursery.

 

 

After a beautiful service with amazing music, we met back up at our house for lunch. I picked up fried chicken on the way home, and everyone brought a side. I made our traditional family squash casserole for the first time, and it was so easy and yummy.

 

 

 

We had a total of ten adults and two kids, and it was the perfect day to have all of our immediate family together. My family and Jay's family mesh so well. :)

 

 

I had a lot of fun planning Tuttle and Maggie's Easter outfits this year. They are just the cutest!

 

 

Since Tuttle's birthday is tomorrow, we saved the family celebration for today. We ate cake and watched him open a TON of presents. He is one spoiled four year old.

 

 

Tuttle and Maggie LOVE their grandparents. We are lucky to have both sets close, so our babies grow up visiting with them very frequently.

 

 

Happy Easter! He is risen, indeed!



Annual Easter Egg Hunt

Tuttle and Maggie enjoyed our annual Easter egg hunt at church this morning. I was worried the event was going to be cancelled because it rained all day yesterday and all day today, but they moved the event inside. It was a little silly to "hunt" for eggs in the fellowship hall, but the kids loved grabbing as many eggs as possible to dump into their baskets. :)

 

Maggie's age group went first, and she quickly got the hang of it. She found Cheerios, jelly beans, and stickers in her eggs, and of course, she went right for the black jelly beans! Gross! :)

 

 

Tuttle collected eggs next, and his age group snatched up the loot much faster than the baby group. Tuttle was quick and definitely got his fair share of eggs.

 

 

I found the sweetest courtyard to take some family photos. I never knew it existed, and I loved discovering this secret spot. :)

 

 

I am so lucky to have these babies.

 

 

I can rarely get a sweet smile from my silly (almost) four year old.

 

 

After the hunt we ate lunch at a local place, Treehouse Restaurant and Pub. Jay and I made the observation that we have made it to the point that we can enjoy a meal out as a family. Both kids were well behaved, ate their food, and stayed at the table. Jay was even able to enjoy a Bloody Mary in peace! It was so nice to have a lazy meal with my little family.

 

We are looking forward to celebrating Easter at church tomorrow with the grandparents and lunch afterward at our house. Happy Easter!



The Big Countdown and Easter Fun

I am trying to ignore the fact that I will have a FOUR year old in just a few days. It is just flying by, and I wish I could keep him little forever. He makes my days, so rich.

 

We have enjoyed some Easter fun this week. Yesterday we dyed eggs. It was a quick project, but the kids enjoyed picking out the colors for their eggs and later eating an egg of their choice.

 

 

Today we visited the Easter Bunny at the mall. Although he is creepy looking to me, the kids loved snuggling next to him for a picture. Even Maggie put on her brave face to meet him. I am usually the mommy standing behind the photographer snapping my own pictures, but I got the vibe that might not be acceptable this time. :) I ordered the best picture, and it will be mailed, so I will show everyone once it arrives!

 

Tuttle, Maggie, and Gigi looked so sweet in their spring outfits.

 

 

Tomorrow we are taking candy filled eggs to the fire station to hide for the firefighters. Tuttle and Gigi have been practicing their hiding skills for a few weeks now at home. Tuttle has been asking when we could visit the fire station again recently, and our firefighters are always so sweet and inviting. I think it will be a fun adventure!

 

We also have two egg hunts to look forward to on Saturday (church hunt) and Monday (school hunt).



Tuttle's 4th Birthday Party

We celebrated Tuttle's 4th birthday a week early since his actual birthday is the day after Easter. Tuttle was so excited to celebrate with all his buddies!

 

 

Jay came up with the idea of hosting a movie under the stars for the kids in our front yard. We incorporated all of Tuttle's favorite things: Costco pizza, Batman Legos cake and ice cream, popcorn, and of course, jammies.

 

 

It was the perfect spring night, and we had a great turn-out (about 50 friends and family!)

 

 

After enjoying pizza and juice boxes, everyone sang, "Happy Birthday" to Tuttle.

 

 

Right before sunset we handed out popcorn, and everyone found a comfy spot to watch Peter Pan.

 

 

All the kids surprised me by staying focused on the movie the entire time. It was so sweet to listen to Tuttle's buddies laugh at Peter Pan and the pirates.

 

 

All the parents decided we need to make an outdoor movie night a monthly thing! It was such a success! :)

 

 

Happy 4th Birthday, Tuttle! We love you!!

The celebration continues next weekend with a small family lunch after church on Easter. :)