Wolf Family Easter

Our final stop of the day was my aunt and uncle's house. Gavin got to do his first egg hunt! The big kids didn't do a hunt because the weather was so nasty. They split up the eggs a different way. The little kids (under 3) did a hunt on the carport. It was a little wet, crowded, and nasty, but they had a great time. Macie was the fastest hunter and had her 10 eggs in no time. Gavin was the slowest hunter. He needed Mommy's help to walk around, but he did a great job. The kids got some candy, play bugs, and bead necklaces. After the hunt, Great-Grandma Wolf gave each kid a gold dollar! Once all of the hunts were over, we had dinner. I love all of the yummy foods. There is always a good variety! We left pretty much right after dinner because I was worn out from the strep and the kids were starting to melt. Overall, we had a great Easter. Hopefully next year, Gavin will be able to hunt eggs on his own!

Lunch at Aunt Allie's

After church, we went to Allie's house for lunch. My parents, Annie, and Charles joined us. The kids got a chance to show off their Easter outfits and we had a chance to relax. Allie provided a yummy lunch of sandwiches and chips. Allie got each kid an Easter egg with m&ms and before long Gavin had chocolate all down his sweater vest. Luckily, I was able to wash it out and dry it. Gavin took a nap there also. After hanging out for a while, the rest of my family left while we waited for Gavin's vest to dry and him wake up from his nap. Brian, Macie, and I had a lot of fun playing with a big ball in the living room. Macie was all giggles and had a blast!

I love these pictures...just wish they weren't so dark:(

Macie had to bring her Easter bonnet to show Grandma!

Aunt Allie with her favorite nephew

Easter Morning

Easter morning started off with Macie coming into our room. We got Gavin and cuddled for a brief moment. It wasn't long before Macie remembered putting out her Easter basket and she wanted to see what he left for her. Macie and Gavin must have been good little kiddos because they had several treats in their baskets! Gavin got two books, bubbles, and a Handy Manny movie. Macie got a book, bubbles, scissors, and a Juno movie. They also got an Elmo Big Book to share! After looking in baskets, we all got baths, ate blue berry pancakes, and got ready for the day. We went to Mass at 9. It ended up being a bilingual Mass, which was interesting and very long, but we made it! The kids did great for the first hour, but the last 20 or so minutes were rough! It helped that my friends sat near us and Macie was able to watch Hannah and Keelin. She looks up to those girls so much! When I was doing Macie's hair before Mass, she was so cute. She said, "I show my pretty hair to Jesus". It seriously brought tears to my eyes!

First attempt at cutting. We have a lot of work to do!

"Mommy, Take a picture"

I think I've created a monster! Every time Macie does something new or she thinks she looks cute, she says, "Mommy, take my picture"! What a mess! Here are a few of the latest:

New pjs

Wearing Mommy's shoes

Computer Viruses, Strep, and Water Pipes, Oh My

We've had a lot going on in the Mitchell household...

Computer Virus: Our laptop got another virus and Brian had to work like crazy to save our computer. I have most of my pictures on an external hard drive, but I hadn't uploaded the latest ones. I didn't want a single picture lost! Not to mention we don't really want to spend the money on a new laptop right now... Well, luckily he was able to save it and all is well! The only thing lost was some sleep on Brian's part!

Strep: Last week, I wasn't feeling so well. It started Wednesday night. I felt achy, whiny, and exhausted! I took some Tylenol and went to bed early. All day Thursday I was cold and felt awful, but I still had to work. After work, I crashed out. I had a fever, but it broke before I went to work. Friday was a bit better, but as soon as school was out I headed to Convenient Care. As soon as they tested me for strep, it was positive right away. The crazy thing is, I don't have any tonsils!! I had them taken out when I was younger because I had strep all of the time. I did get strep once in college, but it is still extremely rare. Lucky me! We had to change our plans Friday night and decided I wasn't going to go to Brian's family Easter Saturday morning. Unfortunately, Pops was sick and they had to cancel Easter all together. I'm feeling much better, but I swear, it wiped me out!

Water Pipes: Earlier this month, we got a letter from the water department telling us that we had a leak and we needed to fix it within 10 days or our water was going to be shut off. Great! My dad's friend came by and told us he would be able to fix it on a day it wasn't raining. HA HA HA! It's rained almost every day! We called the water department and they said that since we hired someone to fix it, they wouldn't shut off our water, but it needed to be fixed soon! In between the rain, Rocky was able to fix it and it didn't set us back too much. Now, we have a lovely hole in our front yard!

All of that plus Gavin was sick last week too and Brian had to miss some work. Nothing like a little madness in the Mitchell household!

Visiting Baby Parker

Yesterday afternoon, we headed to Owensboro for a visit. We'd only seen Parker once and I was wanting to hold that sweet baby again! We had a very nice time and Macie held Parker this time! She was all about him. Crazily enough...we got all three kids in the same picture with their eyes open looking in our direction! I don't think we could've planned it any better and I'm sure we won't be that lucky again! We also got a family picture with Parker, but Beth took it with her camera, so I may have to steal it from her blog later. We brought some gifts with us...wine for Beth and a tiger cub and book for Parker. I'm so glad that we got to spend some time together and I look forward to another visit!
*I forgot to mention a Macie funny moment...she took off her shoes and handed them to Aunt Beth and said "Hold these so I don't have to go home". Too funny...thanks Aunt Beth for reminding me about this on your blog post!

Zoo

Since buying our zoo pass, we haven't had a chance to make it back. Today, the weather was perfect, so we headed to the zoo first thing. We were there by 9 and the kids had a great time! It wasn't too crowded yet and both were in good moods. Macie even walked most of the zoo again. Gavin had a few firsts: he actually wore his sunglasses and he was able to crawl in the underwater otter tunnel. I was so happy for him and he was equally excited! I'm thrilled that he is able to do things that children his age are able to do. When we were leaving, it was getting a lot more crowded because they were having special activities for Earth day. We didn't stick around because it was time to come home for lunch and naps.

Gavin wasn't afraid of the otters and they were very interested in him. Macie was a little freaked out.

Daddy had to go in to make Gavin come out

Macie took this picture of the goats

Wii

We have a wii, but it's been a while since we've played it. My parents and Grams B came over for dinner last night and Dad wanted to play bowling. Of course, Macie wanted to get in on the action! She played wii for the first time. She didn't want to listen very well and kept pushing every button, but she was able to get the ball down the lane and knock down a few pins. We only let her bowl a few times before putting her to bed. With a little more practice, I'm sure she will get the hand of it. Then, we will have to make her own mii!

So excited!

A Cheerio Moment

I love the simple moments in life! Yesterday afternoon, Macie finished her snack before Gavin and tried to give him a hand. These sweet little exchanges between the two of them bring a smile to my face and make all of the challenges worth it!

Macie Lu at 2.5

I say it all of the time, but I can't believe that my little girl is getting so big! On the one hand, I feel as if time is flying by...but I do feel good about the fact that Brian and I make an honest effort to spend as much time with our children while they are young. That often means giving up things for us, but it is SO worth it. There is no way that I can list everything, but here are some of the things Macie is up to at 2 and a half!!

• She is still as adorable/feisty/stubborn/smart/vivacious as ever.


• She is potty trained (except for night) and sleeps in her big girl bed. She's been fighting us a bit lately though and I have to admit I think that diapers and a crib were much easier!


• She loves to be outside! She is getting a lot braver on her playground set and doesn't need much help. She also loves to play in her sand box, with her bike, and chalk outside too.


• She knows over half of the letters and words that go with them and she can count to 14 (skipping 5). She knows all of her colors and shapes. She also has a HUGE vocabulary and impresses us often.


• She is still a good eater and doesn't miss a meal! She also still needs her afternoon nap whether she thinks so or not.


• She adores Gavin and wants to play with him all of the time. They have started fighting over toys more lately, but overall she is a great big sister. She even checks to see if he has a dirty diaper!


• She is very independent and wants to do everything on her own, her way. BUT, she is also very clingy and needs our attention and love often.


• She has a great giggle and has started telling jokes.


• She can jump.


• She still loves Minnie, but has also developed a love of Dora and Barney.


• She always wants to help us cook, clean, or do anything we are doing.


• She loves to color, draw, write, and paint.


• As challenging as she can be, she brings so much joy to everyone she is around! Those big blue eyes and bright smile light up our world!

Cookout

Today we took full advantage of the nice warm weather! This morning, my dad and Brian tilled up a section of our yard to put in a garden. We've never attempted a garden because of the work it involves. However, I also know how great it is to get fresh vegetables for little to no cost! We didn't actually plant anything yet, but plan to in the next week or so. Macie is so excited and keeps calling it her garden. She wanted to be outside helping them, but instead she sat on the kitchen table and colored while looking out the window. This afternoon, we had a small cook out. We invited the Morris family, Sights family, Maurer family, and Allie over. We grilled smoked sausages, and had chips, baked beans, and hash brown casserole with them. We also had strawberry cake for dessert. It was so good! We hung out, played washers and corn hole, and the kids ran around like crazy! I think everyone had a good time and it was so nice to just hang out in the backyard. We just don't do it enough! Macie and Gavin both had a ball and were filthy from head to toe. When everyone left, we gave the kids a much needed bath and put them to bed. We didn't have too much clean up because we ate outside, so now we are spending the evening relaxing. I'm looking forward to more cookouts in the near future!

Macie watching Grandpa and Daddy

We just revealed Macie's sandbox to her on Friday. My friend, Jamie, offered it to us a while back and my parents just gave us a bag of sand. We obviously had a bunch of toys from Florida so we are set!