Easter Fun at KRK

April 2014

I'm not really sure why, but I love going up to Kids'R Kids each year to watch the egg hunts.  There are only ever a handful of other parents there, but Tommy and I have been every year that our kids' classes have had parties, since they could barely walk.  This is only the second year we've visited the Easter egg hunt for Livi's class.  Last year, she had just learned to walk and spent a lot of the time crawling around the playground to pick up eggs.  I can't believe how much she's grown in just a year!  This year, her class made adorable bunny ears for everyone to wear:

All of the bunnies were excited to get outside and find some eggs!

And they're off!

After the craziness of the Pearson Farms hunt, Livi was a pro at egg hunting.  She ran around filling her basket with eggs while most of the kids in her class realized there was candy in the eggs and stopped to eat after finding a couple.

  

 

Then we headed back into the classroom for the snack part of the party.  I love this picture - it looks like Livi is mastering the art of flirting early - we're in big trouble!

Here she is enjoying her snacks with her buddies:

Clearly, applesauce pouches were a hit...

But chocolate cupcakes weren't so bad either:

 

Next, we headed over to Jack's class.   He was really excited to begin his egg hunt:

His whole class was packed against the door waiting to run outside.  When the door finally opened, the group of kids practically exploded outside!

 At this age, everyone understands Easter egg hunts, and they all run around like crazy:

 

Jack ran around for a little while:

And then found a secret stash of eggs on the stairs of the playset that everyone had overlooked.  I think he pretty much filled his basket right there:

Livi's class came outside to their playground to play.  She was so upset that her whole family was on the other side hunting eggs.  Poor girl!

Here's Jack showing off his collection of eggs:

Then it was time to head inside for treats.  Somehow, Jack managed to get a cupcake and get seated at his table and dig in before anyone else even sat down:

 

 Finally some friends joined in the feasting:

As a working mom, sometimes I feel like I miss out on getting to see my kids play with their friends, so I love days like this when I get to see them with all of their friends, happy in their everyday world.

Whatever Works...

April 2014

Kids R Kids has a photographer come in twice a year to take pictures of all of the kids.  Usually, they somehow manage to get the biggest smiles on the kids faces and I love all of them.  The pictures were still really good this time, but not as good as they usually are.  I think I'm probably partly to blame for that.  The photographers were already taking pictures of Livi's class when we arrived at school, so I thought I'd just stay and watch the pictures. Mostly because I was there, I think, we couldn't get Miss Livi to smile her usual, big smile.  At least the photographers had no trouble getting my 4-year-old boy to smile by making their stuffed Elmo make "toot" noises.  Whatever works!  Here they are together - I swear I didn't dress Livi in that dress every day like the last few blog posts would have you believe!

Little Miss Livi and her half smile:

Tommy says that the sweater, dress, and shoes together, combined with the way she is standing, make her look like a little grandma in this one.  I giggle whenever I look at this picture now, but I still think its adorable:

 And my cute man, probably a little overdue for a haircut, but with a super cute smile thanks to flatulent Elmo :)

 

The Easter Bunny Comes to Pearson Farms!

April 2014

Our Easter egg hunting season began this year with our neighborhood Easter egg hunt.  We were lucky to have a beautiful day (following one rain out), and even luckier that the Bells came to visit that weekend from Houston. Scott and Cynthia had a wedding to attend in a little town north of Frisco, so they decided to stay with us on Saturday night.  That meant that Oscar could join Olivia and Jack for the big Pearson Farms egg hunt.

We had a few minutes to visit after they arrived and then it was time to head to the park.  They are getting so big - fitting all three in the wagon was a tight squeeze:

The Easter Bunny had just arrived when we got there.  Livi acted really excited when she saw him from a distance, but when we got up close and it was time to sit in his lap, she was having none of it.  Kicking, screaming, the whole 9 yards.  The experience really made an impression on her.  For weeks after that, out of the blue, she would shake her head and say, "Via scared.  No sit in yap."  Poor girl!  Jack, on the other hand, was really excited to get his picture with the Easter Bunny.

After Livi calmed down, we tried to get the cute shot of the two of them together with their Easter baskets. Jack's not really smiling, but this is the best we got:

They had sections roped off for each age group, but they really underestimated the pre-K and below group. We sort of ended up invading the older kids sections, but there were way too many eggs in those sections for the number of older kids anyway:

And we're off!  I'm carrying Livi so she doesn't get trampled:

There were plenty of eggs to go around.  Jack is an expert at egg hunting this year:

Livi got the hang of it quickly:

Oscar borrowed Jack's Lightning McQueen basket and had a great time!

Here are all three kiddos with their very happy Easter baskets.  Why is it so hard to get three kids to look at the camera at the same time?   And don't you just love Oscar's curly hair?

Happy 1st Birthday Cousin Charlie

April 2014

At the beginning of April, we celebrated cousin Charlie's big first birthday.  This little boy who struggled so much in his first couple of months of life is now happy, thriving, and soon to become a big brother!

We celebrated in the McCarthy's backyard with family, friends and tons of neighbors.  Here's the birthday boy with his cute family:

And here's our cute family, ready to celebrate!

Of course, Nana and Papa joined the party:

Brandi made a yummy, toddler friendly snack mix and the kids sat at the picnic table to enjoy their munchies:

Brandi and Ryan have a great backyard for playing, and so many fun toys to play with, but sometimes, its just fun to run around. Here, Livi looks like she's caught in a lightning storm, but I promise, she's just in the middle of a run across the yard:

Then it was time for cake!  Such a cute little cake, surrounded by cupcakes:

 

The birthday boy thought the cupcakes were pretty delicious:

And so did his cousins:

Jack chose the green cupcake, of course!

The big boys enjoyed playing in the fort:

And when the boys do something, Livi is not far behind!

Happy first birthday, sweet Charlie!!