A Happy Easter

We had a wonderful Easter. I must apologize that I did not snap 1 picture on my phone! I was too busy chasing kids :) Saturday we went to the farm and had a wonderful time. The weather was perfect - high 70's and sunny. Lilly loves the bluw car there and just wanted to ride in the car. Gabby is an awesome swinger and loves to hang outside on the swings. Around 11 we had an Easter Egg hunt for the big and small kids. It was a success. Gabby had made sure to tell Grandma that she needed to have a "Golden Egg" and that she wanted to make sure she found it. We are trying to teach the lesson that one does not always win and that is OK...any suggestions are welcomed. Grandfather Russ found a Golden Egg and gave it to Gabby and she was very appreciative of that. After the egg hunt, we had a wonderful ham lunch with cheesecake and then everyone just hung out and chatted. It was a perfect day. We headed home at 2:30 and both girls were sounds asleep within 10 min of being in the car - exhausted and sunburned! Once we hit our driveway, both were wide awake and ready to go some more. So we went straight outside and played in the yard for another couple of hours - it was the first truly warm day of the year. Both girls LOVE to swing and jump on the trampoline. Lilly hangs in there with Gabby and has only fallen off the tramp once - which was enough to prompt Gordon to get the new net put on the tramp so that will not happen again!

Sunday was another fun filled day. It was cloudy and cooler but still nice. We opened Easter baskets, went for a family walk on the golf course, did a few chores, went to church, Sandy stopped by for a visit and then had friends over for dinner. It was a full weekend!

Gabby had Monday off from school so she spent the day with Grandmother Ann. Tuesday (below) she was ready to go back to school. She told me that she was ready to do the hard lessons again. Gabby is getting very good at sounding out letters and putting them together to form words. She knows several sight words and is expanding her vocabulary daily. We are reading Biscuit books in the evenings as well as our Fancy Nancy books. I am always amazed at Gabby's ability to recall a story. I read her a story one night and then on the way to school the next day she recited the book almost word for word. It is truly amazing. The picture below is from Tuesday...Gabby wanted to wear everything pink. I had put this outfit up in her closet because it is a little small but she insisted on wearing it. What am I to do? She loves pink...and to dress herself. We encourage her to pick out her own outfits - what do I care what she wears to school? As long as it is reasonable and within guidelines, I'm fine with it. You should see some of the outfits she wears!

Lilly is on a biting spree. Yep, we are those parents with that kid! The irony is that on Lilly's first day in day care she got bit. We couldn't imagine how that could happen. Now we sign reports on a daily basis that Lilly has bitten another kid. Ughhh. The school has sent home all kinds of paperwork on biting and I can assure you that Lilly gets a lot of attention and love and that we do not allow biting in our home. In looking at the reports, she tends to bite when another kid comes over to take her toy that she is playing with...what am I supposed to do about that? She has moved into a bigger pair of crocs (4-5) and is growing every day. She has a lot of sounds but no words that are clear (other than Bye, Mom, Dad, etc...). You can tell that she is trying and it won't be too much longer. Her attention span is not what Gabby's was at this age for books but we read them anyways! She LOVES to be outside and to go for bike rides. Gordon and I think that she may be left handed but are waiting to see and she has a good arm. She throws overhand and loves to kick the soccer ball around the house. She is starting to like baby dolls but really likes to take whatever toy her sister has just to get a rise out of Gabby. Lilly is a good eater and has actually encouraged Gabby to try more foods. Lilly loves peas and now Gabby eats her peas without a peep! Lilly insists on eating with a fork (which causes a little heartache for mom since it is a metal fork) but I figure as long as she is eating well, why rock the apple cart?

The two girls are doing great and we are gearing up for Summer. The pool is ready - just not warm enough yet to swim in and we have the outside toys ready. We plan to have an open door policy this summer so that the girls can come and go as they wish. We are getting a playhouse and slide for the yard so that will be the place to hang out. All are welcome!