We Love Pump It Up!!

We went to Pump It Up yesterday for Joseph's 5th Birthday party! The whole family had so much fun!! Maddie went ninety to nothing the entire time and didn't even want to stop for cake and ice cream. Daddy and I both took turns going down the slide with Turner and he loved it too. Most of our Sunday school class was there with their kids and everyone had a great time. It was a great start to our Saturday and we are so glad we were able to help celebrate Joseph's special day!

The Tunnel!

Kevin has wanted to buy the kids this tunnel for months! He thought the kids would love it and they aren't very expensive. So Sunday we were all at Super Target going down the toy aisles and there it was.....Kevin had to have it, the kids love it, and it was so worth the $14.99 we paid for it:) I have never heard Turner laugh so much, never seen Maddie move so fast, or watched Kevin try to wiggle his way through something that small before!! If I had done the "favorites post" this week, the tunnel would have definately made the list. It is providing entertainment for all!

Maddie and Trey

Friday night we had Mary and Trey over to visit and play. Maddie just loves Trey and from the time she woke up yesterday was asking when he would be there. I was quite excited when they knocked on our door:) I had decided to let them bake cookies with a kit I had bought before Easter. The box was so cute with pictures of cookies in different shapes and colors. Well....once you opened the box you had the dough and food coloring. You had to come up with the cute shapes and animals yourself. I am pretty good at following directions, but creative I am not!!! So....the kids had some blue dough, yellow dough, and red dough. We got out some cookie cutters and ended up with a bunch of plain sugar cookie balls that were different colors. The dough just wasn't acting right and we sure couldn't get those cookie cutters to work. But....the kids had a good time making them and they enjoying eating some when they were done! Turner sat in his high chair and observed it all. After cookies they wanted to put in a movie which they watched for all of five minutes:) I was so glad they were able to come over and always enjoy catching up with Mary while the kids play. They gave each other lots of hugs before Trey left and Kevin was trying to separate them. Poor Maddie-she just isn't going to have a chance with her daddy around. He is quite the protective one!! Seeing him when she is three makes me really wonder what he will be like when she is 16!! Thank goodness we have a while before we get there:)

A few Favorites!

The kids interests seem to change all the time! Turner just turned 14 months old yesterday and he is such a fun little boy!!! His favorite thing to do though hasn't changed in months-play kitchen!! It cracks us up. He is constantly cooking something up, dragging tupperware out of our cabinets, and pretending to drink out of a cup. We have bought him a ton of trucks, toys that make noise, push toys....those are all great for a few minutes, but he is happiest at his kitchen:) He also has learned how to climb up on the couch and really likes sitting there next to Madddie. He loves to snuggle (so do we) and is great at giving kisses. Another obsession is the telephone. I rarely get on it at home if he is awake. If he sees it he wants and it isn't to talk! He might say "hey" but spends the rest of the time pushing buttons. He is our very active little boy who is so much fun!!

Maddie-3 1/2 years old and so full of life. Her vocabulary is amazing and I often forget that I am only talking to a toddler! She can be quite the little sassafrass! She still loves to color, does it every day a LOT. She also loves to paint, and do "projects" with me. She is artsy but also athletic. She loves to be outside playing basketball, baseball, and riding her bike. Her energy seems to be neverending. When she is sitting still, she loves watching movies. Some recent favorites are Annie, The Wizard of Oz, and most recently Alice in Wonderland. She also likes Calliou and Barney (Kevin hates that:) She loves seeing her friends and playing with others. At the Church Easter Egg Hunt last week she was so talkative to everyone and just wanted to play. I love that about her. I hope that she is always so friendly and tries to make everyone feel comfortable.

Maddie and Turner are so different and yet alike in ways too. I think we are getting the best of both worlds by having both a girl and boy and are so proud of them. Most of the time they play well together and I would love for them to grow up being the best of friends. Here is a picture of Turner snuggling with Megs.

Happy Easter!!

What an exciting, exhausting, fun-filled, blessed day!!! I started my day about 3:15 in the morning when Turner woke up screaming. I gave him a few minutes, but he never quit. I went and got him and we never went back to sleep. I wasn't sure whether it was his ears or his teeth, so I gave him some tylenol, but he was just restless. I am assuming now that it was his teeth, because he has been fine ever since. So Daddy joined us about 5 when he came to see what all the crying was about. He went outside to hide the easter eggs and it wasn't five minutes after he was finished, the Maddie walked in the den-perfect timing!!

First thing out of Maddie's mouth-"Did the Easter Bunny come?". I think she was remembering Christmas, because she was looking around the den and when she didn't see anything she said "oh no, did the bunny hop over our house?" Yeah right-as if I would let that happen:) So we took both kids into the kitchen to see their baskets. Turner did perk up quite a bit as he got to playing and Maddie thouroughly enjoyed going through all her goodies. Since it was still dark outside, we fixed breakfast before letting them find the eggs. Maddie was so sweet to Turner. She really wanted to be the one to find and pick up the egg, but she had no problem giving the eggs to him once she had gotten it. Turner was able to get a few on his own with Daddy's help.

After the excitement from the Easter Bunny died down, we all got ready for Church. The kids and Daddy looked pretty dern cute in their coordinating outfits-I will have to participate next year:) The service at Church was great and we had a full house! Some friends of ours visited yesterday and we really hope to see them again. Their little boy is Maddie's fishing buddy. After Church we went to Jim's Place East with my dad's side of the family. There was a bunch of us, and we were there FOREVER!! I loved seeing everyone, but the service wasn't great, and 3 hours was asking a little much of my kids. So, after lunch we went by Mimi and Boo Boo's for the kids to get their happy's from them. Maddie got a cute swimsuit cover up, book, dominos, and a craft. Turner got some swimming trunks, book, and hammer set. Turner slept through the visit, but Maddie enjoyed her goodies. Megs and Davids also had them each a stuffed animal, which Maddie has carried around ever since. Thanks y'all!!

We spent the rest of afternoon playing outside. Maddie rode her bike and Turner drove his car. It amazes me how well he drives it. He looks so grown up!! Over all, we had a great day spent with family and are thankful for Jesus and everything he did for us!!

Sneak Peek

The Easter Bunny has come-the kids are in for a treat in the morning! More updates tomorrow. Happy Easter everyone!

Easter Egg Hunt #2!

The kids had a ball today! We had a church Easter egg hunt and there were kids everything. There were several bouncers set up and Maddie couldn't stay out of them. She was a chatty Kathy today and didn't know a stranger. We couldn't stop laughing at playing with all the kids, even the one she didn't know! We let Turner get in the bouncer some too and he just laughed and held unto the sides. They were able to sit with the Easter bunny and hunt eggs. I went with Maddie and Daddy had Turner. Turner got five which I thought was great. Maddie had a lot! She took it very seriously and ran hard until they had all been found. They both had such a great time. Turner is at the age where we can have fun with both of them and they just do their own thing. Turner was all over the place and hugging up to everyone. I don't think he realized I was behind him the whole time and kept looking for a "momma"-apparently any one would do:)

Mimi, Boo Boo, Megs, and David all came to watch and visit. Boo Boo helped Turner with a Capri Sun, which he loved. We only give him milk and water so this was a big treat! Maddie was too busy playing to socialize much but did give out a few hugs. They played hard and are already fast alseep. Maddie did ask me if the Easter Bunny comes in Santa's sleigh before she fell asleep. She is too funny!!

Coloring Easter Eggs!

This afternoon we colored and decorated Easter Eggs. I made Maddie wait till Turner woke up from his nap. He sat in his high chair and watched. I felt bad because he wasn't really old enough to help. We had boiled a dozen eggs and only colored 10. We decided to eat the other 2 and Turner sure did enjoy it:) Maddie loves any kind of "project" so she really enjoyed getting the eggs out and putting the stickers on them. We have set them out for the Easter Bunny to enjoy tomorrow night.

One Maddie funny of the day-she rode with me to pick up dinner at Sonic tonight. I have been talking to her about the meaning of Easter and asked her what Jesus did for us. She kept saying "tell me". I told her that Jesus died on the cross for us so that we could.....she finished the sentence by saying "he died so that we can dye easter eggs!!!" Not quite, but we will keep telling her:)

Enjoying the Weather!

We have spent a lot of time playing outside this week, especially after Maddie's rash got under control. She has had a few bumps come up the past few days, but nothing like Tuesday. It has been fun letting the kids use their outside toys. I bought Turner a tool bench last year at a yard sale and this has been the first week he used it. Between it, the basketball goal, playhouse, and swingset, the kids have had a blast in our backyard. It is so nice now that Turner is walking and able to really play. Maddie is quite the basketball player and learning how to swing by herself. Today Daddy mulched the flower beds and Maddie was able to help. Here are some pictures I have taken throughout the week. I can't wait till we can open the pool and enjoy that as well!

Viral Infection Rash-GO AWAY!!

So we have had an interesting few days. I think I mentioned last week that Maddie had an ear infection and has been on antibiotics. I also think I mentioned that Sunday she seemed to be a little broken out on her face. We spoke with the pharmacist and they thought it was a reaction to her antibiotic and said to stop giving it to her. Monday morning she wakes up-face and body are clear! I pick her up from Jene's that afternoon-she is broken out. Worse than the day before and I am getting concerned. This time I call the pediatrician-they don't think it is due to the medicine. Right now I can't even remember what they said, but it was different than what the pharmacist had said. They did say that if she did the same on Tuesday to bring her in. Tuesday morning she wakes up-face and body are clear!!! Are you seeing a pattern here? This has been a very frustrating, roller coaster week! I take her to Jene's, call and check on her every hour and she is fine. I get a call from work about 1 from Jene, telling me she is covered from head to toe. They had been playing outside and when came back inside she looked a hot mess!

I get her an appt., race out of work to go get her, and almost cry when I see her. Thank goodness this rash didn't hurt or bother her, because it looked TERRIBLE!!! I immediately cancelled our hair appointments for that afternoon and was expecting the worst. I didn't know what was wrong with her, but I knew something was happening. Dr. Welch was very thorough in checking over Maddie. She drew her blood-which resulted in very loud screams for a very long time, and said that it was a viral rash. She said it might not look pretty, but as long as she is still eating, playing, and acting the same, that is what is important. She said it could take a few weeks to completely clear up and is aggravated by the heat or when she gets hot-which is why she looked so terrible after playing outside at Ney Ney's. There is nothing we do to treat it and fortunately she hasn't had any spots since Tuesday. I am praying that was the worst of it and it won't come back. Folliculitis, viral infection rash.....if there is something crazy to be gotten, I think my child will get it. But praise God for an otherwise pretty healthy little 3 year old. I can handle these minor illnesses, food allergies, asthma....there are so many children suffering with terminal diseases and other much more serious illnesses. I count my blessings every day and thought I would show you a picture of her bumps:)