the playground

we love where we live, especially the two playgrounds we have! there's rarely any other kids there, so it's like a private backyard for us! the kids love the bigger of the two playgrounds, and sammy's finally starting to see the fun:) we've been taking him, but he just didn't understand the slides. he LOVES the swings, but over easter, he finally started enjoying the slides:) every time we put him down one, he would get this HUGE smile all over his cute little face:) plus, now that he's walking, he gets to roam around and pick up dirt, gravel, rocks, whatever he thinks might taste good:)

he's A LOT bigger than last fall

check out that smile:)

on good friday, right before easter, we took the kids out for a picnic:) sammy was very perplexed by the grass and dirt, audrey just liked sitting on the blanket- "just like mickey and minnie mouse"- and jack flat out refused to leave the wagon. he would not sit on the ground for all the crackers and freezer cookies we tried to bribe him with. i don't think he's going to be a camper:) fine with us- we're not big on camping, either:)

eating grass

taking a bath after exploring the park and playground- i forgot the baby wipes, so sammy was extra dirty:)

audrey with her freezer cookie

he got out and got right back in once he saw what was happening:)

our little family!

sammy's 1st birthday

sammy turned 1 on sunday!! the kids were overly excited for sammy's birthday. audrey's was pretty sure sammy wanted bananas AND strawberries and his cake:) he only had strawberries. we had cake for breakfast, which made the kidlets even happier:) before we finished singing happy birthday, sammy had already taken some strawberries off the top and started chowing down:) jack and audrey helped him blow out the candles:) and of course, sammy got the remainder of the cake once everyone had a slice- he was one happy little boy! once sammy had a bath, it was on to presents- he liked the card nana and papa ou sent him more than any of his other presents! that's alright- audrey and jack played with his toys for him:) it was a pretty good birthday for sammy, but any day where he gets cake, strawberries, chocolate, AND a bath is a good day:)

taking strawberries off the top- we had to physically restrain jack from eating all the cak:)

carefully looking for more strawberries

happy happy boy!

it was demolished! not as messy as jack though, thankfully:)

listening to his elmo card- it's his new favorite "book"

i have no idea why audrey has that look on her face- i think jack was after her strawberries:)

catch of the day!

funny video clips

for your viewing enjoyment!

sammy's still a little bit wobbly when he walks, but that just adds to his toddler cuteness:)

i have no idea what was so funny, but it sure lasted a long time:)

easter

this easter was the first time we dyed eggs:) audrey was all over it while the boys, well, sammy couldn't have cared less and jack was only interested once he saw the colored water:) the kids each had six eggs and jack dumped three into the blue dye:) audrey very carefully selected her colors and then very impatiently waited for them to dry. she even made me set the timer so she would know when she could put stickers on them:) we also, as usual, had a cake, because we told the kids that easter was a time to celebrate the savior coming back to visit us. the kids that this was just great and said we needed cake to "make him happy":) we didn't have an easter egg hunt- our kids are already too good at hiding things and making things disappear for weeks at a time:) jack did carry around his favorite egg- "ohhh, baby egg so cute"- for about three hours before it started peeling and stinking. then we had to find it, which was not so fun:)

coating the egg with dye- she really liked this part:)

waiting for the eggs to be finished

this was jack cuddling his "baby egg":)

sammy was more interested in toys than the eggs

sammy's walking!

here are some pics of sammy walking. i'll post a video once i manage to get one where he's not distracted by the camera:) he loves to walk! right now, he's better without shoes, but we got him some flip-flops for the summer, so we'll see how he does with something flexible underfoot:) i love that he's walking- no more lower back pain from carrying two babies!!

he found the cereal:) he was VERY happy for the rest of the morning:)

the prerequisite naked bum shot:)

sammy loves to walk!

my toddler!!