Egg Dying

Today we dyed our Easter eggs! I thought that there are usually 6 colors, but ours only had 5.  I guess you really only need the primary colors.

We told them they could each only do 6.  That way Ashlee couldn't dye all of the really quick like she did last year. Ashlee's approach this year was to keep them in the dye as long a possible to get the richest color she could.  Caitlin took her time coloring pictures on each of her eggs before dying.

We ended up with a cartoon full of very colorful eggs!

While the Big Girls Were Away

Caitlin and Ashlee were so lucky and got to spend last weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Will and their cousin Gavin and Uncle Nate and Aunt Amy in Granby, CO.

They were so excited for the trip and had so much fun!

They went skiing for the first time, and by skiing I mean ski school.

Ashlee and Gavin were in the same class and worked on their stance.

They also went rock climbing. Caitlin was a champ and climbed all the way to the top, and Ashlee got halfway up!

They also went roller skating and sledding and played basketball, and just had fun the whole time.  They left Friday morning and I picked them up in Rawlins on Tuesday.

And this girl was stuck at home with Mom and Dad- poor thing!

She had no idea what was happening, but she was sure excited to see her sisters yesterday. She cried and cried when I buckled her back in the car for the drive home because she just wanted to play!!

That was our longest time without some of our children and our house was quiet, but we sure missed them!

The Birthday Celebration

On her birthday Molly had blueberry pancakes for breakfast for the first time and really liked them.

Poor girl fell right before breakfast and got that bruise on her forehead.

Ashlee got bubbles from playgroup, but decided she wanted to give them to Molly.  Molly loved her blowing bubbles for her to try to pop.

Ready to open presents after she woke up from her afternoon nap.

The girls helped her open her presents.  She really had no idea what was going on.

Ashlee gave her bath books and animal crackers and she LOVED them.  The animal crackers were open and leaning against her chair, so she would just reach her hand right down into the bag to get another one. It was very cute and humorous.

Caitlin gave her some cars, which she also loved.

She got a shaker from Annie, which she loved to eat, and shake.

She also got some books (which she just wanted to eat), some stuffed animals, some kids songs (which she loves to listen to in the car), a dress and sweater, and Chris and I gave her the giraffe rocking horse.  She didn't like any of the stuffed animals or the rocking horse and didn't really want anything to do with those items.  Mostly, she just wanted to eat everything!

After dinner we put on birthday hats and sang happy birthday and had cake.  By this time she was very tired and feeling pretty overwhelmed by everything that was going on. But she was a trooper and seemed to enjoy her cake.

Side not about her cake: Ashlee took a bite out of the top of her 1 candle; eating, and SWALLOWING the wax and the wick! She was in big trouble and will probably never do that again.  Luckily we had another candle we could light.

She got the entire top layer of her up-up-up cake.

She ate a little of it, squished a lot of it, and then was ready for a bath and bed.

We were glad Grandma and Grandpa Will could drive up to spend Molly's birthday with us!


About Molly:

She loves table food, and macaroni and cheese, but her favorite thing is cottage cheese!

She stands and dances when the girls turn on Just Dance on the Wii.

She is very inquisitive and into everything.  She gets gets her fingers shut in cupboards and drawers after looking whats inside.

She loves taking baths.

She puts EVERYTHING in her mouth.  We have to fish things out of her mouth all the time, but luckily we have not had to perform the heimlich.

She likes to stand at the storm door and look outside on warm days.

She likes to reach up and play the piano.

She can say "ma ma ma" "da di" and "yay" and shakes her head no.

Happy Birthday Molly!

Today our sweet little Molly girl turned 1!!!

 This past year has flown by incredibly quickly.

Although, I must say, I feel like I really tried to cherish and enjoy every moment of her as a baby.
Still, its hard to see your kids grow so quickly.

Dear Molly, we love you so much and are so glad you joined our family one year ago.  Your sweet, quiet, shy personality balances us perfectly!!!

And the Madness Begins...

We love March Madness in this house.

We filled out our brackets on Sunday, and were excited for the play-in games to start today.

Although, we are much more excited for the real tournament to begin on Thursday.

Sleeping

I finished weaning Molly about 3 1/2 weeks ago, and as of last week she still wasn't sleeping through the night!
I knew we would have to train her to do it at this point, but I was sure she would NEVER stop crying during the night when she woke up.
My sister, Katie, gave me the confidence to do it.  She told me she would probably cry for a while the first couple of nights and then sleep through the night after that.
Last Wednesday I tried it, even though Chris was out of town.  She cried for a solid hour (and I think she was awake for a while before that) and then she stopped crying and went back to sleep!
It was bad, but not as bad as I thought it would be.
Then Thursday she slept through the night without waking up!!
Since then, she has woken up every night   But she hasn't cried, and she just makes a few noises and then goes back to sleep.
I am one happy momma!!

And, because blogs with only words are boring, here is a video of the morning Molly started clapping for the first time and few weeks ago.

Firehouse Fieldtrip

Ashlee's preschool class went on a field trip to one of the firehouses last Thursday.

She thought it was so fun, and decided she wants to be a fire girl when she grows up.

 They practiced Stop-Drop-and Roll

 And they all got to sit in the driver seat.

Walker

We pulled out our walking toy for Molly last week.  She really likes it.

In this picture she really looks like an old person hunched over their walker!

She walks in a straight line really well, and then runs into something and is stuck.  It takes a long time to figure out how to turn around.

All the girls lately

The weather is improving and we are so glad because it is hard being couped up inside all winter.

Here are a few pictures from the past week or so.

All the girls watching Saturday morning cartoons. (Molly only sat there for a few minutes)

 Eating after school snack.

 Everyone laying with Mom before school in the morning.

Caitlin and Ashlee love to flip and tumble and jump all over the house. They aren't suppose to jump on any of the furniture, but I think they do every time we aren't watching.

Funny Ashlee

All kids say funny things, but Ashlee really keeps us laughing. She, like her dad, is an hilarious person.

Tonight Chris and I were kidding around about something and trying to get Ashlee to take one of our sides.  She said, "Okay, wait wait wait! I will pick a number. I am thinking of a number between 9 and 8, 6 or 5."

I picked 5, Chris picked 8.  

She said, "It was 5!" 

I had won!

Then she told me "I knew it was 5 because you are my best Mom!"

Chris demanded a rematch. I told her to decide on the number before we picked.

She said, "I am thinking of a number between 12 and 8, 5 or 6."

Chris picked 6, I picked 11.  

She had picked 4!

She calls their dance recital her dance recycle.

We have been learning the Articles of Faith in Family Home Evening this year.

She is doing a great job memorizes them!  But she gets a little confused on number 3

"We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all nations under God......through obedience and justice for all!"

In the winter she had a cold and we were trying to get her to blow her nose really hard. She would prep up, and then barely blow. After trying, and trying she finally said "I can't, the nosey won't let me."

Chris and my mom have an ongoing Christmas tradition of giving each other the same can of cranberry sauce each year. Chris gave it to her last year, and this year she would be giving it to him.  They try to think of very creative ways to give it to each other. Chris told Ashlee that she was on his team, and to tell him if she heard anything about cranberry sauce.  Ashlee told him "and you let me know if you hear anything about paseghetti." 

She got some new scissors and called them her "Lightning the Queen" scissors.

Oh yes, my sister reminded me of another one.  A few weeks ago I made bread, and although I cooked it the same amount of time as always, this time it was just a little doughy.  So when Ashlee started eating her piece she said, "Are we eating play-dough?"  Enough said, we toasted all the remaining pieces so they were fine.

(I included some old pictures I had on my phone of Ashlee)

She has her fair share of crying fits, but you can never stay mad or frustrated with her for long because she is just so funny......and cute, and lovable.

In Loving Memory

Phyllis Will

1921-2013

Chris' dear Grandma passed away yesterday morning.  The girls called her "Grammy" and she was a very sweet lady.

When I met Chris in college I could tell right away that he had a special bond with his Grandma Will.  They even had their own secret handshake!

We love you, Grammy!