Easter '15

I was hoping for a great Easter like last years was but I was forgetting one thing. Last year Scarlett was a cute little 4 month old who was just content to be held, this year she runs around and gets into mischief. It was still good, just a bit more stressful.

Saturday evening we dyed Easter eggs. Miller was so excited and got really into it. We all wore our bunny ears except Scarlett. They were off as soon as they pictures were taken.

Every egg Scarlett got her hands on went into the blue.

This is about as perfect as you can get for a family picture with these two. I really love it!

Two days before Easter, we were over at Luke's house and Miller figured this out. For the whole day, this was his spot in the jeep. No other could would attempt it. I am really worried that this is foreshadowing out future in 14 years.

This picture started with only Isla and I was pregnant with Miller. We have 7 kiddos now and will be adding more to this crew next year.

I am so glad we take this big group shot, and this was such a good one. (Please notice Miller peeking over my head on the bottom right. He was making a different face in every picture we took.)

Trick or Treating Recap

(Yes, I know that I am so behind)

I love Halloween and this has been my favorite year in a long time. I am so excited that Miller is finally getting into these things. I am really looking forward to Christmas. Miller is already asking to watch Christmas movies and telling me all about how Santa brings presents down the chimney. I hope everyone else has had a great Halloween season like we have.

Disney '14: Part 1

Another year and another successful trip to Disney World. I was a little nervous about this years trip since we now have two kids to deal with but it was a major success.

Day 1: We left super early Sunday morning because we had dinner reservations at 5:10, yet we still cut it pretty close. We checked into our hotel and had about 10 minutes for diaper changes before we had to leave for dinner. We went to the Beaches and Cream Soda shop because I thought it would be fun. We were still a little on edge from a long day of traveling but dinner was good. Well lets be honest, dinner was okay but dessert was great. 

Day 2: Our first day at the Magic Kingdom. Heather and I had wracked our brains and came up with outfits that were inspired by characters without being costumes. Miller was the prince from Snow White. I made  the shirt a few months before and ever since then he was dying to wear it. He looked adorable!

I was Snow White, Ben was Peter Pan, Scarlett was Ariel, Mom was Pocahontas, Heather was Cinderella, Steve was Cinderella's Prince Charming, Isla was Elsa and Ruby was Anna. We got soooo many compliments on our outfits. We even had a bus driver stop her bus and yell out her door to us.

Our first ride was Dumbo. Scarlett started out asleep on daddy but woke up and tried to figure out what was going on

I went to Disney with my Mammaw and Pappaw when I was 3. I loved Cinderella and really wanted to see her. My pappaw always tells the story about how we could not find her but we saw Snow White one time. I cut the line of kids waiting to see her and asked her where Cinderella is. She told me she was in the castle but would come out soon. I did not see her on that trip, or any of the other 4 times I went but we were going to see her  this  time. I told her that story and how my Pappaw loved telling it. She was so sweet and kept telling me to tell him that she said hello. I know that she is just playing a part but it was sweet.

We also got to see Rapunzel which was great because "Tangled" is one of Miller's favorite movies right now.

Scarlett got a chance to get down for a minute while we rode the steamboat.

Ariel was such a sweetie and got so excited when she saw Scarlett's outfit.

Miller is in love with Belle so I was ecstatic that we got to see her at Enchanted Tales with Belle.

The kid passed out hard and missed  the parade. I was disappointed because he would have loved it, but we took pictures and videos and he has enjoyed looking at those at least.

We went back to hotel for a little rest and went back that evening when it was of course raining. Tinkerbell was so spunky and funny.

All of us decked out in our rain gear.

Day 3: We went to Downtown Disney to look around and have lunch at Rainforest Cafe. The thunder scared the kids a bit but they eventually got used to it and had a good time.

Mousekeeping arranged all of Miller's friends. We told him it was Mickey Mouse because he was good. Mickey Mouse is the Santa of Disney.

I hate to always do this but I had to divided this into three parts. I still need to edit the other posts.

Easter '14

Easter is such an odd holiday for me. I never grew up with any big traditions so I am never sure what we have to do. We have started a few over the last few years but as Miller gets older, I feel the need to incorporate more.

 Of course this year has been crummy for holidays and we have done the bare minimum, which I hate because I love doing fun things for holidays. Halloween we were just getting back from Disney World. Thanksgiving we had a stomach bug and I was 38 weeks pregnant. Christmas we had just had Scarlett. New Years/ my birthday is always jumbled up in the post holiday slump. Valentine's Day we had our plans get all messed up because of a snow storm. St. Patrick's Day we were just getting back from a week in TN. Now Easter and we had just moved into the new house a week earlier. 

On Saturday we decorated eggs. Since our first Easter, Ben and I have worn our bunny ears to dye eggs. I was a bad mommy and forgot to find Scarlett some until it was too late so she wore mommy's this year. Remind me next year to find purple ones early in the season. 

 

 Miller kept taking his off but I finally got him to wear them for a picture. Then he forgot and kept them on the rest of the time and insisted on having them on after we were done. 

 

 Miller was more involved this year which just meant more mess. 

The ears came off and just went into the mouth.  

 He had no patience for letting the colors sit so we went through them pretty quickly. I just grabbed a paint brush and let him paint the mats we were using. 

  

The Easter bunny brought the kids some presents. I said I was not going to go overboard and only get each kid one thing but of course I got a few more things than that but I did not spend a ton of money.

The Easter Bunny also hid some eggs that Miller got hunt.

Scarlett just hung out.

We went to church and then went home to cook our food. After we ran a few house related errands, we went to Lindsey's house for our annual Easter brunch with our friends. I managed to get a few family pictures while we were all dressed up.

Miller became a pro at hunting for eggs. Every time he would find one, he had to open it up. He was not looking for anything, it was just part of his process.

Here is our babies this year (all but Sadie).

This is a comparison shot from last year. Look how they have grown. This is the first year that no one was pregnant (unless someone is keeping a secret or does not know yet).

It was a great Easter! The weather was perfect, the kids were great and their were minimal Miller incidents. It was amazing to wake up in our own house to start traditions where the kids will be growing up. It makes this mommy so happy.

Pre- Christmas Activities

I know that I am late getting these on here but better late than never.

The first day home from Thanksgiving we put up our Christmas tree, that way we had the most time to enjoy it. Miller actually did help. Then over the following weeks, he helped us deconstruct it, one ornament at a time. He never wanted to harm the ornaments, just play with  them. That is probably our fault since all of our ornaments look like toys from movies. 

The first weekend in December is the town square lighting in our town. Our friends Jeanne and Steve hosted a pre lighting party and we all met at their house and then walked over. While the women wrangled babies and protected the food from the kids, this is what the men did. Every party is the same.

 Miller and Luke playing.

It was a cold evening so Miller was all bundled up in two coats.

We wanted a family picture with the tree but lighting is tricky. Heather was so smart and found this spot with a spotlight to use. I think this is our last picture as a family of 3.

Santa rode in on a firetruck. Miller could not have cared less about Santa but loved the firetruck and all the police cars. He disappeared with mom because he wanted to go befriend the police officers who were manning the crosswalk.

 

His police officer friend let him hold his baton and gave him a sticker. He was ecstatic!

While we were biding our time before the baby came, we tried to be productive. We did all of our Christmas baking before she came. Miller was super excited.

He actually helped us roll balls but his favorite was decorating.

His fingers were magenta from eating sprinkles.

We managed to get all the baking done with little Miss took her sweet time arriving.

I just had to share this pic of Scarlett getting her first bath at home. She HATED it! She has gotten better with being naked and does not scream everytime she gets her diaper changed or a bath. It is actually pretty cute to watch her just lay there and try to figure out what is going on.