Happy Easter

Oliver (4 years old)

 Parker (2 years old)

Julia (6 months old)

Coming out to see if the Easter Bunny came

Very excited about candy

A new toy!

Coloring his cross

Happy Kids

Our Family (ignore my hand, I was snapping to get everyone to look and it was the only one of our family pictures that Parker wasn't crying in) 

The Shook kids with Grandma Steffen

We went to an egg hunt in town today.  They had a lot of eggs, but it was organized pretty well.  It was broken up into age groups and Parker & Oliver were split up.  Parker did very well hunting for eggs.  Oliver was with mom and she said he ran right in and started picking up eggs.  He was very excited that some of the candy in the eggs was safe for him to eat.  It was a warm morning to do the hunt.

 

 

 We dyed eggs tonight for Easter.  The boys had lots of fun. 

Parker liked yellow- he also threw his first egg in. 

Oliver liked to check his eggs and mix them around with the spoon.

Julia was very happy to watch :)

 

Warmer Weather

Today was a much warmer day than we have had for awhile.  We spent about 2 hours outside this afternoon.  The boys had so much fun.  Julia enjoyed herself too.  The boys wore boots because there was still some snow, however, they also found the puddles and boots didn't hold out all of that water.  They didn't mind though and they just kept playing out there.  They both had wet pants and socks by the time we went inside.  Julia hung out with my mom and spent some time in the stroller.  She seemed to enjoy the fresh air.  Eric and I got a little bit of yard work and garage cleaning work done. 

 

Puddle splashing!

Room Change

Wednesday

I did more painting today.  We had a moving company come and prepare a quote for us.  I think it is likely that today was the last day of painting.  It is warming up too, we have lost a lot of snow.  I will try to post earlier tomorrow and include some pictures.

We had a fun day today.  Some of the boys friends came over this morning for a play date.  The boys had a lot of fun playing superheroes and doing a lot of running around.  I had a good time visiting with their mom.  Later in the evening, my mom, Dale, Audrey, and Madison came.  My mom will be staying with us for awhile and the others were on their way to New York for Easter.  We brought Applebee's back to the house and enjoyed a yummy dinner when they were here.  We visited for a while and then dale, Audrey, & Madison headed to their hotel for the night.  They will be heading out early in the morning.  The boys were very excited to have visitors and Julia was very happy to be held a lot.

Snow Day

We got about 12 inches of snow yesterday and last night.  The boys definitely enjoyed it.  Eric worked from home for the day (the university actually cancelled classes) so in the morning, the boys and I went out for almost 1.5 hours while Julia stayed in with Eric.  Our neighbor emailed and asked if I could shovel his driveway so that he could pull in when he got home from being out of town, so while I was shoveling, the boys were busy playing in his yard.  Oliver loved it, it was a little too deep for Parker.  He was much happier after I shoveled the sidewalk so he could walk along there and play in the snow on the sides.  We came back to our house and I shoveled our sidewalks and a walkway to the road, then we all came back in.

After nap time, Eric went out the shovel our driveway and the boys went out and played again.  This time, I filled squirt bottles with colored water.  They thought that was pretty cool.  Eric helped them build a big snowman.  Julia watched them out the window.  Parker has gone and waved to his snowman many times tonight.  

Pictures will come tomorrow but we got some more work done.  The boys' room is wave-free now.  We got about seven inches of snow today.  Eric and the boys played out in it for awhile tonight.  Short post because it is late, I'm tired, and I'm holding a sleeping Julia.

Work day

Eric and I met with our realtor this afternoon and filled out some paperwork.  We were lucky enough to enjoy a lunch date beforehand since Eric's parents were in town and watched the kids for us.  When we got home, I began painting, Bill began working on windows in our kitchen, Eric worked on his dissertation, and Lisa watched the kids.  The kids were able to play outside for awhile which they loved- it was beautiful out!  We are ignoring the fact that we are supposed to get up to 8 inches of snow tomorrow.  Julia also had sweet potatoes tonight- she seemed to like them!

Friday night

We had a quiet day at home.  The boys enjoyed a Friday night movie night.  We ran a few errands after dinner and got Julia some baby food to try out soon.  She is still really enjoying her oatmeal so I'm guessing food with real flavor will be good.  Eric's parents are coming tomorrow to help work on some house projects.  We are looking forward to their visit.  Oliver and Parker are excited too.  Here's hoping we get a lot done this weekend!

Packing

I was working in the basement during naptime and found a box of some baby toys.  I brought them up and all 3 kids were happy to play with them.  Oliver was doing a lot of playing, but when I took pictures, he told me he had to eat his goldfish and couldn't play.

Julia trying out a new block.

Parker playing with a train- surprise I know :)

She eats!

So all that fuss at the beginning of her life where she wasn't so into eating... not so much the case now.  We gave her oatmeal last night for the first time and she loved it- so much so that I went and made her a second bowl.  I couldn't get it into her mouth fast enough and she knew just what to do with it.  Eric and I were both pretty surprised at how well she did with it.  And I'm sure it is probably just coincidence, but she slept in her bed from 8:30-12:00, got up and ate, and then slept until 6:30.  Pretty amazing feat around here.  

Here is a link for a video of her eating: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz_8KK0pY3Y&feature=youtu.be

For some reason, the color is way off, but you get the idea I'm sure :)

Cookie Fun

 Today we frosted cookies to put in a package to send to Uncle Kaleb.  The boys helped, but after looking at their pictures, I'm guessing you can see why I opted to only send the ones I frosted to Kaleb (especially the yellow ones).

First it started with Oliver frosting

Then Parker joined and Oliver took his first (of many) taste tests of the frosting

Parker was very proud of his dot of orange frosting

A little concentration on these cookies

Guess what Parker is about to do?

Straight from the tube- cookies are optional in this house.  He said "I eat lellow!"

Oliver's special cookie

One thing I learned from today, frost cookies after lunch, not right before.  The boys weren't very hungry at lunch today for some reason...

And for good measure, a picture of Julia

Pigtails are adorable but the aftermath leaves a crazy-haired little girl